'':■/'•' 'v;i'' ,,■!:,■ ''' ''iil'l^'iiL.''.,' ■■!, ■ '^o' '^0^ °^ .M-^^ "hV o ^'^oC,^'' o' '^S^^' • .*^\ > V^ w ^^v>' ^'j^jm>^\ '^^^^ oV'^^^a'" ^ov^ '^0^ ^°-n^. . ■'-^ .«- . "- O. - ^ v'^ ♦J ^ S*^ A i-*' ..'^•'. ^^ ./. >- /.-^^^-X .oo^.^^.A ./V>i^.X .^° z^^. -n^o^ 0' V'^oTo' ,0 ^.'-T^^ii;^. ^ o^ *■, ' ^^ /"V '.'T' 'n^^ -; \ '^ -■^ ym^'-. x.^^' •■ v<^^ *- /.i^.>o ./\c;^^.\ co*.i^^->o >\ ^^ ** ♦ AT ^ sP-*. .5»^^vr. ■ ' '■<•. ^^^■^^ '.- .^'"'^. ,-.: % \ *^^* *- ^^'^^^ ^-^ V-^^ .»• ,0 .^".0^ q,. **^ •* ^0^ '^-^^ %;»i?ro- .^^ ^o,^ %7r, .^ ^o ^^\.... .'♦ > 4V ^ vO' »' " '^^vn^^'"' -^IK''- %/" *''^^^^'' ^^'^ "^^ ^^'- V _ ^*^\ %%p.- _/-\ '^: ^ ^^'\ %.''''Tr.^- A •*^_ 'a<^ ^ •' ^..^^^ 0* ♦.L^'* > V" »*• ^< •- %. c'^'^' ^"^W^"' '^^ ^ ^\ o "'^^^^^ ^^..^^ '•^•^- :^/^-«, i°^.'j^L'.\ % '-^^0^ oV^^^i^'- ^^v> '^jm^^\ ^^^rS o, q,. ••.^•* aO '-^0^ : .45°.^ '<^^ ^^. /::i^.^-, > ^^o^ci^^ :Mm.'^ ^^w^" ; V ../\. ^'^.\^^'\ '^' ..V .♦^ •^^ .«J> .i atci^aeologtcal 31n0tttute of America REPORT OF THE FELLOW IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY 1902-1905 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MAYAS AND THE LACANDONES BY ALFRED M. TOZZER, Ph.D. NEW YORK PUBLISHED FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA BY Efje JHacmillan (fTompang 64-66 Fifth Avenue LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1907 / A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MAYAS AND THE LACANDONES ^rcl^aeological ginistitute of America REPORT OF THE FELLOW IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY 1902-1905 A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MAYAS AND THE LACANDONES BY ALFRED M. TOZZER, Ph.D. NEW YORK PUBLISHED FOR THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA BY Ejje lEacmtllan Companu 64-66 Fifth Avenue LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 1907 Collected set. Norfaooli \Bris5 : S. Gushing & Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. Norwood. Mass., U.S.A. By transfer 30 Mr 1907 PREFACE The following report is based upon the field work carried on principally in Yucatan and Chiapas, Mexico, during the years 1902, 1903, 1904, and 1905 as Fellow in American Archc^- ology of the Institute. A more detailed account of the exact time and places where the work was undertaken may be found in the brief reports that I have given each year to the Com- mittee of American Archseolog}^ and published in the Supple- ments to the American Journal of Archceology, Vols. VI, VII, VIII, and IX. The report is entirely ethnological in character. The former Maya culture is touched upon on\j in relation to that found at the present time. Where there is any connection between the two this has been brought out, but no attempt has been made to sketch any phase of the ancient culture. The linguistic part of the report is not included in the present volume. As it forms a unit in itself, it will be pub- lished as a separate contribution. It will include a treatment of the Maya grammar together with a comparative study of the Maya, Tzeltal, Choi, and Chontal dialects of the Maya stock. I desire at this time to express my appreciation and thanks to the three original members of the Committee on American Archseology, Mr. Charles P. Bowditch, Chairman, Professor F. W. Putnam, and Professor Franz Boas. To Mr. Bowditch, through whose initiative and aid the Traveling Fellowship in American Archseology was founded, and to Professor Putnam, both of whom have given unsparingly of their time in advice and counsel both before and during the four years of the Fellowship, and to Dr. Boas, who has been of great aid in his ' advice on the linguistic side of the work, I am deeply grateful. I owe special thanks to Mr. Edward H. Thompson, American Consul at Progreso, Yucatan, for the many weeks spent on Vi PREFACE his delightful plantation at Chichen Itza, and to Mr. and Mrs. W. M. James of Merida for their many acts of kindness. To Don Audomaro Molina and Don David Casares and their families, I am grateful for an insight into the life of the capital of Yucatan. My actual field work would have been doubly arduous but for the kind attentions and hospitality of friends connected with many of the large mahogany companies in southern Chiapas. The Compahia Mexicana Sud-Oriental of Belgium through Mr. Luis Pelegrinni, Mr. Robert Herzog, and Mr. Alfonso Altes ; the American Trading Company of New York through Mr. Pedro V. Rubio and Mr. D. N. Carrington ; the Corapania Romano of San Juan Bautista, Chiapas, through Don Roman Romano, the Vice President, and Don Domingo Morgadanes; and the Bulnes Company, also of San Juan, through Don Enrique and Don Quentin Bulnes, have all placed many facilities of travel at my disposal. This is not the time and place to enlarge upon the obliga- tions I feel myself under to each and every one of the persons named, in addition to a large number of others. It is always a regret that the conditions of the country are such that, in many cases, one is compelled to accept hospitality and favors which he can never hope to repay. A. M. T. Harvard University, June, 1906. CONTENTS PAGE Preface . v Introduction . 1 Maya and Lacandone 1 Maya and Lacandone, linguistically considered 1 Name and derivations 3 Habitat 4 Number 5 History (summary) 7 Mayas and Yucatan 7 Lacandones and Chiapas 12 Habitat 14 Position -14 Archteological remains ^ 14 Orography 15 Rivers 16 Soil 17 Geological formation . . 17 Rainfall 18 Seasons 18 Climate . 18 Mineral wealth .....* 19 Flora 19 Fauna . . * 22 Personal Characteristics . , 24 Physical 24 Stature and head form 24 Physical strength 24 Color of skin and hair ; texture of hair 25 Health 26 Artificial flattening of head 26 Mental 27 Intellect 27 Morality 27 Condition on the haciendas of Yucatan 27 Drunkenness 28 Clothing 29 Lacandones 29 Mayas 31 Social Characteristics 33 External relations 33 vii viii CONTENTS PAGE Social Characteristics (cont.) External relations {cont.) Lacandones , , , . . 32 Isolation and its causes 34 Mayas 36 Permanence of language 3(> Interrelations 37 Internal relations 38 Permanent settlements 38 Descent and inheritance 39 Family imperfectly constituted 39 Totemic divisions and their locations 40 Divisions as regards precedence in birth ...... 42 Political life . 43 Honor paid to chief of settlement ....... 44 Tamily life 44 Leadership 44 Morality . 46 Marriage rite 45 Polygyny 45 Fecundity 46 Naming of children 46 Puberty rites 47 Mortuary customs 47 Ideas of future life 47 Sociologj' of Mayas 49 Industrial Activity' ........... 51 Agriculture 51 Food and the preparation of food 51 Crops ■• . . . .53 Hunting 53 Fishing 54 Navigation 54 Weaving 55 Cloth making 55 Hannnocks and carrying nets 56 Baskets 57 Manufacture of bows and arrows 57 Varieties of arrows .......... 59 Flint chipping 00 Arrow release 61 Arrows as ceremonial objects 61 Pottery making 62 Mayas as potters 62 Lacandones as potters ......... 62 Apiculture 63 Fire making 63 House building 63 CONTENTS IX PAGE Artistic Activity .,,,.. 65 Decoration 65 Absent among the Mayas 65 Gourds for food and drink among the Lacandones .... 65 Figure of winged serpent on cliff at Lake Petha .... 69 Sacred incense-burners of the Lacandones 69 Ceremonial gourd rattle 70 Ceremonial robe 70 Sacred hut, or hermita 72 Personal decoration 72 Music 73 Games 76 Dancing 77 Keligion 79 Lacandones 79 Ideas expressed 79 General character 80 Gods 80 Number 80 Character and attitude toward the natives 81 Residence 81 Pilgrimages 81 Finding of incense-burners 81 Connection with ancient culture 81 Use by Lacandones 84 Survival of older form 85 Changes of form 85 Representation 87 Idols of stone 87 How obtained 88 Their place in the incense-burnei-s 88 Renewal of braseros, or incense-burners ... 89 Functions of the braseros 89 Detailed description of braseros 89 Different types 90 Sacred hut 91 Great secrecy and privacy observed . . ... 92 Names of gods 93 Those represented in an encampment 99 Mode of selection 99 Divination by leaf 100 Divination by hands 100 Use to determine offering 101 Kinds of offering 102 Possession of set of idols and braseros 103 Priestly duties 104 Ceremonies 105 Women excluded 105 X CONTENTS PAGE Religion (cont.) Lacandones (cont.) Ceremonies (cont.) General form 105 Renewal rites for braseros 105 Time of year 106 Preparation 106 Braseros, braseritos, and drum 107 Number in an encampment 107 Shelter erected 108 Method of manufacture 108 Akna, the handled incense-burner . . . .110 Ceremonial robe Ill Interior of ceremonial hut Ill Stages to every offering made to the braseros . . . .116 Character of chants 117 Daily gift of »osoZ to old 6?-aseros 117 Copal placed in the incense bowls 118 Jicaras ot posol 'Placed 119 Shell blown at east of sacred hut 119 P0.S0Z administered to brai^eros, to the east of hut, to those on the shelf, and to the ceremonial drum . .119 Shell blown at east of hut 120 Copal lighted in incense-burners 120 Chant with leaves in smoke of incense .... 121 Chant over members of family with leaves . . . 121 Second administration of poso? 122 Variations of rite 122 Posol distributed 122 Rite of offering balt^e, buliwa, meat, and fillets to the old braseros 123 Preparation 123 Making baltSe 123 Chant during fermentation 125 Purification 125 Board of nodules of copal 125 Male and female nodules 125 Survival of form 126 Purification 127 Jar filled with baltie 128 Buliwa placed before the braseros and idols . . . 128 Mixture of cocoa placed 128 Nodules of copal placed 128 Baltie and cocoa placed in jicaras 128 Jar refilled 129 Second and third set of jicaras of baltSe placed before the braseros 129 Bark fillets offered 129 CONTENTS XI PAGE Keligion (cont.) Lacandones (cont.) Ceremonies (cont.) Kenewal rites for braseros {cont.') Kite of offering baltse, etc. {cont.) Baltse administered to braseros and other points . . 129 Jicaras of baltse around jar distributed .... 1.30 Women enter sacred inclosure 130 Second administration of baltse from jicaras around jar . 130 Sliell blown at east of hut 130 Buliwa offered 130 Baltse before braseros offered 131 Board of nodules offered at east of hut . . . .131 Drum beaten 131 Potion of balt§e to all present 132 Board of nodules offered inside hut 132 Second potion of baltse to all present .... 132 Third administration of balt§e from jicaras around jar . 132 Nodules distributed in braseros 132 Dishes of meat placed 133 Jicaras refilled around jar 133 Fourth administration from jicarfts around jar . . . 133 Jicaras of balt§e around jar distributed .... 133 New fire kindled 133 Palm leaves distributed 134 Copal nodules in incense bowls lighted .... 134 Chant with leaves in smoke of incense .... 134 Third potion of baltse given to all 134 Chant with leaves over family 134 Meat offered 13.5 Baltie and meat administered to the braseros and the other points 135 Fifth administration of baltSe from the jicaras around the jar 135 Jicaras around jar distributed 135 Period of general drinking 135 Obligatory drunkenness 1,36 Piercing ear with stone point 137 Placing body over fire of copal 137 Buliwa and meat distributed among those present . . 137 Women enter sacred inclosure 138 General feasting begins 138 Necessity of consuming all the baltse .... 138 Fillets distributed 138 Last offering of posol to old braseros .... 138 New braseros and braseritos brought in ... . 138 Condition of old braseros " . 139 Cleaned and idols extracted 139 COA' TENTS Kklioion (cant.) LacandoiK's {cont.) Cereiiionips {coiit.) Kencwal rites for hrascros (cont.) llito of offoriiiK baltie, etc. (cont.) Old bra sen IS placed at one side of hut Now brascros installed iu Iheir place . Offering of baltie Idol placed in bowl of incense-burner . Board of nodules made .... Offering of achiote Spots painted Second day in life of new brasiros . Offering of posol Third day. offering of baltSe .... Tamah's of corn jilaceil .... Jar tilled with baltie from hollow log Jicarax of baltie placed before brascros and bt Shell blown at east of liut .... Baltie administered to sacred alias . Nodules of copal placed and spattered with baltie Baltse ilistributed in jicaras from those around Cigars made of first tobacco and offered . Second administration of baltie Distribution of baltse fvom Jicaras around jar , Third administration of baltse ... Jicaras of posol brought in and offered Foiu'th administration of baltse Nodules of copal offered at east of hut Nodules of copai offered inside hut . Fillets of bark offered .... Nodules of copal distributed in brascros and bri New fire made Nodules of copal lighted .... Different articles painted with achiote Chanting with leaves in smoke of incense . Chanting with leaves over family Offering of frcjolcs placed .... Tamah's and frcjolcs offered Necessity of giving first fruits Tamalcs and frcjolcs administered Baltse in jicaras before sacred ollas, tamalcf jiilcs distributed .... An e.Kchange of offerings Fillets and cigai"s distributed Fourth day in life of new brascros . Offering of posol and balls of ground corn Fifth day Offering of posol and cocoa and frc 140 MO 140 140 140 141 141 141 142 142 142 142 142 142 142 142 142 142 143 143 143 143 143 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 144 145 145 145 145 145 145 145 145 145 CONTENTS Xlli PAGE Religion (cont.') Lacandones {cont.) Ceremonies (cont.) Renewal rites for braseros (cont.) Sixth day 145 Offering of posol and balls of ground corn . , . 145 Seventh day 145 Offering of posol and cocoa 145 New braseros placed on shelf 146 Ceremonial hut carefully swept 146 Old braseros placed in nets and carried to cliff . . . 146 Brascritos carried and deposited at Petha .... 147 End of rite 147 Rite on undertaking a journey 147 Nodules made 147 Chant with leaves in smoke of incense 147 Chant over members of family about to depart . . .147 Simple offering of copal 148 Pilgrimage to home of a god 148 Journey . 148 Celebration of rite 149 Divinatory rite in woods 150 Mayas 151 Many survivals of ancient rites 151 Causes of success of Spanish missionaries 151 Catholic religion in Yucatan 152 Cosmical conceptions 15-3 Four periods to history of the earth 153 Seven heavens above the earth and their inhabitants . . . 154 Other .spirits among the Mayas 156 Ceremonies 159 Offering to Catholic santos 160 Harvest rite 160 Baltse offered 160 Nine tortillas made 160 Offering to four cardinal points 161 Rite in milpa to spirits of the winds 161 Rite for rain 162 General ceremony for rain 162 Rite on departure for hunting 162 Corral rite 162 Divination 163 By crystal 163 By corn 163 By ring 164 New fire rite 164 Conclusions 164 Chants . . , , 169 BlBLIOGKAPIlY 191 LIST OF, PLATES PLATE I. Diego de Landa, first Bishop of Yucatan. II. 1. Usumacinta River above Tenosique. 2. Usumacinta River above Tenosique. III. 1. Grand Genote at Chichen Itza. 2. Lacandone woman carrying child on liip. IV. 1. Group of Lacandones from Petha. 2. Group of Lacandones from the Lacantun River. V. 1. Lacandone bark dress. 2. Lacandone mother and child. VI. 1. Lacandone boy and girl. 2. Tw^o Maya women and child. VII. 1, Maya from Chichen Itza. 2. Two Mayas in working costume. VIII. 1. Lacandone settlement from the east. 2. Lacandone settlement from the south. 3. Shelter of the Lacandones. IX. 1. Maya woman grinding corn. 2. Maya woman molding and baking tortillas. X. 1. Lacandone shooting with native bow and arrows. 2. Lacandone youth shooting fish with bow and arrows. XL 1. Lacandone woman spinning. 2. Lacandone woman weaving. XII. 1. Lacandone loom. 2. Lacandone hammock. XIII. 1. Front of the ceremonial robe of the Lacandones. 2. Back of the ceremonial robe of the Lacandones. 3. Maya woman modeling a pot. XIV. 1. Lacandone shell necklace. 2. Olla used in collecting the soot from burning coiJol. 3. Lacandone native oboe. XV. 1. Design on ceremonial robe of the Lacandones. 2. Typical Lacandone incense-burner. XVI. 1. Incense-burner from Labna, Yucatan. 2. Incense-burner from Cozumel, east of Yucatan. 3. Incense-burner from the Hondo River, British Honduras. 4. Incense-burner from the Hondo River, British Honduras. 5. Lacandone incense-burner. XV LI6T OF PLATES PLATE XVII. 1. Incense-burner from the State of Oaxaca. 2. Head of an incense-burner from the south of Yaxchilan. 3. Head of an incense-burner from the south of Yaxchilan. 4. Incense-burner from the south of Yaxchilan. 5. Incised incense-burner of the Lacandones. XVIII. 1. jMayas dancing. 2. Lacandone offering two braseritos in a rite. XIX. 1. Clay animal of the Lacandones. 2. Smallest type of the Lacandone incense-burner. 3. Handle of an incense-burner from the Ulloa River, Honduras. 4. Wooden bark beater. XX. 1. Interior of ceremonial hut of the Lacandones from the northeast. 2. Ceremonial drum of the Lacandones. 3. Lacandone chanting before old braseros. XXI. 1. Incense-burner, offering of baltse, leaves, and a cigar. 2. Lacandone chanting with leaves. XXII. 1. Lacandone youth with his share of offering of j)osol. 2. Lacandones making baltse. 3. Two logs containing baltse. XXIII. 1. Board for offering nodules of copal. 2. Nodule of copal found in Yucatan. 3. Nodule of copal found in Yucatan. XXIV. 1. Leader in rite sitting before jar of baltse. 2. Jar containing baltse. 3. Lacandone offering board of nodules of copal. XXV. 1. Lacandone with slain monkey. 2. Lacandone making ceremonial fire. XXVI. 1. Lacandone with spotted pioncho and ceremonial fillet. 2. Interior of sacred hut from the northwest. XXVII. 1. Interior of sacred hut from the south. 2. Lacandones carrying out the "dead" braseros. XXVIII. Three atlantes from Chichen Itza. XXIX. 1. Three Mayas offering posol to the spirits of the wind. 2. Maya offering posol. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN 'TEXT Woman weaving, from Codex Lacandone bow and arrows . Package of flint flakes for arrow points Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltSe Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltie Incised design of men on jicaras . Incised design of men on jicaras . Incised design of men on jicaras . Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised designs on jicaras for baltse Incised figure on cliff, Lake Petha Painted figures on cliff, Lake Petha Figure from Codex showing face painting Lacandone gourd rattle Figure with rattle, from Codex String figure of chicken's foot String figure, "sawing wood " Stick game of the Mayas Jade idol of the Lacandones . Idol inside jar, from Codex . Lacandone incense-burner, Petha type Offering in bee rite, from Codex . Molding or carving incense-burner or idol, from Codex Baking incense-burner, from Codex Painting idol or incense-burner, from Codex Painting idol or incense-burner, from Codex Handled incense-burner of the Lacandones Plan of interior of sacred hut, or hermita Figure in Codex offering leaves . Top of male nodule of copal . Male nodule of copal, side view . Female nodule of copal, side view Copal offered in bowls, from Codex Figure gathering rubber, from Codex Jar for baltse, from Codex . 73 75 75 76 76 77 87 88 91 98 109 109 109 109 110 112 121 125 126 126 126 127 127 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 41. Figure offering board of nodules of copal, from Codex 42. Figure offering board of nodules of copal, from Codex 43. Blood rite, from Codex 44. Figure showing drunkenness, from Codex . 45. Carrying the incense- burner, from Codex 46. Incense-burner or idol covered with copal, from Codex 47. Figure offering meat to incense-burner or idol, from Codex 48. Figure offering corn to incense-burner or idol, from Codex 49. Smoking rite, from Codex PAGE 131 131 136 137 139 139 140 140 143 LIST OF CHANTS NO. PAGB 1. A set of bow and arrows offered to the gods when a boy arrives at the age of puberty 169 2. Eclipse of sun 169 3. Diviuation for name of god whose presence is desired . . . .170 4. Divination for name of offering desired by the gods .... 171 5. Distribution of copal in the braseros during the process of the manu- facture of the new incense-burners 171 6. An offering of posol placed In jicaras before the line of braseros . . 173 7. An offering of posol administered to the braseros .... 173 8. An offering of posol administered to the brasero of Usukun . . 174 9. An offering of posol offered at the east of the sacred hut . . . 174 10. An offering of posol administered to the braseros on the shelf . . 174 11. An offering of posol administered to the drum, Qaiyum . . .174 12. Palm leaves distributed to the participants in the rite . . . .175 13. Palm leaves held over the smoke of the burning incense . . .175 14. Chant over a young boy with the palm leaves consecrated in the smoke of the incense 175 15. A jicara of posol distributed to each of the participants . . .176 16. Individual offering of a particle of the gift of posol . . . .176 17. Chant given during the fermentation of the ceremonial drink . . 177 18. Purification of the ceremonial drink contained in the hollow log . . 178 19. Purification of the nodules of copal 178 20. An offering of baltse and cacao placed before the braseros . . 179 21. An offering of bark fillets to the gods 179 22. Baltse administered to the braseros in behalf of the gods . . .180 23. An offering of baltse at the east of the sacred hut . . . .181 24. A jicara of baltse distributed to each of the participants . . .181 25. Answer of those receiving the gift of baltse 181 26. A jicara of baltse given to each of the members of the family of the leader of the rite 181 27. Individual offering of a small portion of the gift of baltse . . .181 28. Buliwa offered to the braseros in behalf of the gods . . . .181 29. Baltse offered to the braseros in behalf of the gods .... 182 30. The nodules of copal about to be offered to the gods .... 182 31. The nodules of copal offered at the east of the ceremonial hut . . 182 32. The nodules of coj)al offered to the bi-aseros inside the ceremonial hut in behalf of the gods 183 33. The nodules of copal distributed in the braseros 183 34. An offering of meat placed before the braseros in behalf of the gods . 184 xix LIST OF CHANTS A potion of the ceremonial drink given to the leader . A gift of meat offered to the braseros in behalf of the gods . An offering of meat and buliwa administered to the braseros The offering of meat and buliwa presented at the east of the ceremo nial hut The offering of meat and buliwa distributed to the participants . Individual offering of a particle of the gift of meat and biiliwa . The last offering of posol to the old braseros .... The old braseros cleaned and the idols removed .... The first offering made to the new braseros and the idol placed inside the bowl An offering of posol given to the new braseros in behalf of the gods An offering of baltse administered to each of the braseritos An offering of baltse given to the ceremonial jar A gift of tobacco given to the braseros in behalf of the gods A gift of posol offered to the braseros in behalf of the gods . A gift of frejoles offered to the braseros in behalf of the gods A gift of frejoles and tamales administered to the braseros . The chant used when a journey is to be undertaken . PAGE 184 184 184 185 185 185 186 186 186 187 187 188 188 188 188 188 KEY TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF MAYA WORDS The vowels and consonants have their continental sounds with the followii exceptions : — a like ti in hut ai like i in island k (Beltran's c) ordinary palatal k q (Beltran's k) velar k o (Beltran's o) ts explosive or fortis o (Beltran's tz) ts non-explosive s (Beltran's x) like sh in hush ts (Beltran's ch) like ch in church ts (Beltran's cfe) ch explosive p (Beltran's pp) p explosive t (Beltran's €h) t explosive INTRODUCTION The Mayas of Yucatan and the Lacandones of Chiapas, Mex- ico, and the upper Usumacinta River both belong to the same branch of the great Maya-Quiche linguistic stock. There is no distinction made between the people of these two localities when they are taken in connection with those of the less closely allied branches of this linguistic family, the Quiche, the Choi, the Tzeltal, the Mam, the Pokom, and the Huaxteca groups. The Mayas of Yucatan together with the Lacandones are usu- ally designated as forming the Maya proper, and I shall limit myself in this study to a consideration of this group alone. The Maya of Yucatan and the Lacandone are separated only by a slight dialectical difference. This is now about the only common ground on which to judge the people of the two locali- ties. A comparison of the life and customs of the two sections affords a most striking example of the effect of Spanish contact upon a portion of a once homogeneous people, one part having lived in close and intimate relations with Spanish influences since the time of the Conquest, and the other entirely free from all close contact with the Spanish-Mexican element of the population. In speaking of the Maya of Yucatan, the typical native of the country will be considered, not a resident of one of the large towns or cities, but the Maya who lives in one of the small Indian pueblos scattered everywhere throughout the pen- insula. In the eastern section of Yucatan, there was to be found not long ago what one might call the pure Yucatan Maya. In the southernmost sections of the peninsula, he still exists. In eastern and southern Yucatan there are three different settlements of Mayas which are practically independent. The Mayas occupying the eastern portion of the peninsula have 1 2 MAYAS AND LACANDONES never been completely conquered by the Mexican troops sent against them. The last general uprising was in 1847. The stronghold of the suhlevados bravos (fighting insurgents) was called Chan Santa Cruz. This was destroyed by the Mexican troops and the site is now occupied by them as a camp. The Indians live in the bush and keep up a guerrilla warfare with the Mexicans sent against them even up to the present time. Travel in this portion of the peninsula, unless one is accom- panied bj'' a detachment of Mexican soldiers, is dangerous, owing to the untrustworthiness of these Indians and to their fear of allowing a Mexican spy to ascertain their true condition. Mr. Sapper ^ estimates these Indians formerly to have numbered about forty thousand and now to be not more than a fourth of this number. In the southern portion of the peninsula of Yucatan, west of Belize and north of Peten, there are two practically independ- ent Indian states, that of Ixkanha in central Yucatan, which has intercourse with Campeche to the westward, and that of Icaiche farther to the south, which carries on trade relations with Orange Walk in British Honduras. These states, according to Sapper,^ number respectively eight thousand and five hundred. They were formerly in league with the Indians of Chan Santa Cruz, but in 1853 they made a treaty with the Mexican government, thus arousing the hatred of their former allies. These two Indian states have full independ- ence in internal affairs, and they in turn recognize the authority of Mexico, and their officers have nominally to be confirmed by the central government of Mexico. These people stand half- way between the civilized Mayas to the northward and the Lacandones to the south. I have no personal knowledge of these Indians, and they will not be considered in the following report. For my comparison, I shall take the Lacandone as he is 1 Sapper, 1895, pp. 197-201 ; 1904, pp. 623-624. I have availed myself of this article for the greater part of the facts in the account above. [Articles are referred to by date and the titles may be found in the bibliography at the end.] INTRODUCTION 6 found to-day, unchanged and untrammeled by Spanish contact, and the Maya proper of Yucatan, a being now essentially Mexican, but still retaining, however, his native dress, lan- guage, general mode of living, and fundamental ideas con- cerning religion. The term "Maya" will be used as meaning, not the people linguistically considered and taken as a whole, but simply the native population of Yucatan. I shall touch upon the ancient culture of the Mayas only as it is shown as surviving among the people of the present time. Both the Mayas and the Lacandones call themselves mas- sewal. This comes from the Nahuatl word masehualli (plural masehualtin), meaning the lower class of working people. This name is thought by some to have been given to those of the inhabitants who originally come from Mexico. It is now applied to all the natives of the country without distinction. The white people of the land know the Indians of the peninsula as Mayas and the Lacandones as Caribes. This later name is of course inappropriate, as the inhabitants of Chiapas have no connection with the tribe commonly known as Caribes, which was originally found in northern South America. The name " Lacandone " has been given to the natives of Chiapas and the upper Usumacinta River by writers to dis- tinguish them from the Mayas proper of Yucatan. The name is probably a debased form for Lacantun, which means, in Maya, great or massive rocks. The form ton is used for tun in several dialects of the Maya, and we would then have Lacanton. The surd t may easily have been mistaken for the sonant d. Mistakes in mixing the surd and sonant are common in the native place names as recorded by the Spaniards. The term " Lacantun " is still found in its correct form in the name of one of the rivers flowing into the upper Usumacinta, on which settle- ments of this people are found. It has seemed best to retain the name Lacandone as designating the people about whom we are to speak. This is done in order to avoid confusion, inas- 4 MAYAS AND LACANDONES much as most of the early Spanish authorities use this form of the word, although it has no derivation in Maya. Mr. Seler considers that the right term is Acandon, as used by Alonso Ponce in 1586. ^ This name would be derived from acan, to groan or to thunder, and tun or ton, stone. Mr. Seler further suggests that the term may also have been applied to an idol. Stephens speaks of the Candones or " unbaptized Indians who live as their fathers did."^ These were in all probability the same people as the present-day Lacandones. Early historians when speaking of the Mayas in general always include the Lacandones and the Itzas, who inhabited the country around Lake Peten in Guatemala. At that time, all three people had practically the same language, religion, and customs. After the conquest of the Itzas in 1697, the province was held only by a small garrison of Mexican troops for over half a century, when it was finally made into a criminal colony. The j^eople now inhabiting this portion of the country around Lake Peten are a peaceful, quiet lot, and are more Mexican in character than Maya. The Lacandones inhabit the territory to the south of Tenosi- que. Tabasco, and west of the Usumacinta River in the state of Chiapas, the country drained by the rivers Lacantum and Lacanha, which unite with the Chixoy, or Salinas, to form the Usumacinta. The country of the Lacandones is crossed and recrossed by rivers and streams, thus furnishing an abundant water suppl3\ The soil is fertile owing to the many rivers and the dense tropical vegetation. There are several large lakes in the territory occupied by the Lacandones. Many of the early writers and some even down to within a comparatively few years ago have made a twofold division of the Lacandones, — the eastern Lacandones, living on the Rio de la Pasion and east of the Usumacinta, a harmless agricultural people who spoke Maya ; and the western Lacandones who spoke Choi or Putum, a dialect of the Maya stock. ^ The 1 Seler, 1901, pp. 5, 6. 2 Stephens, 1841, Vol. II, p. 195. 3 Berendt, 18G7, p. 425. INTRODUCTION 6 Lacandones of Lake Petha, who would naturally belong to the western division, do not speak Choi, but Maya and a Maya differing very slightly from that spoken in Yucatan, as will be shown in the linguistic part of this study. This former classi- fication has broken down, and there is no longer any reason to suppose that there is a body of Lacandones speaking the Choi dialect of the Maya stock. ^ In the names of a few of the gods worshiped by the Lacandones at the present time, and in the painting of the face during some of the religious rites, there seems to be some slight variation as one travels from the east to the west. This may point to some original differ- ence in the composition of the people. As far as could be ascertained both from observation and inquiries, there seem to be no large settlements of this people in any part of the country. They are very much disseminated, living in small family groups, each with its animal totem. As far as I know, there is only one family of Lacandones living near the banks of the Usumacinta River, and also only a single family on the lower Lacantun. Within the last five years the whole country has been overrun with mahogany cutters, and their canoes are constantly passing up and down the rivers. As a consequence of this intrusion, the Lacandones have pressed back farther into the interior and have made their homes on the smaller streams flowing into the Usumacinta and Lacantun. Concerning their number, one hestitates in giving even an estimate, inasmuch as they are scattered over so wide a range of country. Mr. Sapper is nearer the truth, it seems to me, in his earlier statement, in which he places the number of Lacandones as between two hundred and three hundred.^ In a later publication ^ he places the number at five hundred, although he questions the accuracy of this numeration. 1 Seler (1895, pp. 21-53 ; 1904, pp. 75-122) speaks of a letter he received from Mr. Sapper denying the fact of a western body of Lacandones spealcing Choi. Mr. Sapper also states that the Lacandones who held out so successfully against the constant expeditions sent against them by the Spaniards spoke the Maya proper in part at least. 2 Sapper, 1897, p. 259. 3 jjjici.^ 1904, «, p. 9. 6 MAYAS AND LACANDONES The Mayas, on the other hand, may be numbered by the tens of thousands. Brinton estimates the number of pure Mayas as two hundred thousand and those of mixed blood as number- ing one hundred thousand. ^ Mr. Sapper estimates the num- ber of Mayas in Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas, Tabasco, Peten, and British Honduras as three hundred thousand. ^ Whole villages and cities in Yucatan are composed entirely of Mayas. In the eastern section until a very few years ago, as has been stated, they held undisputed control. The country occupied by both these dialects of the Maya stock furnishes the inhabitants with game of all kinds and many fruits and vegetables which grow wild. Both the Lacandones and the Mayas are inherently a moral people. They have a certain code of conduct and live up to that with great faithfulness. The family life of the Lacan- dones is both simple and pure. Polygyny is practiced. When the men are not engaged in hunting and fishing, they are busy in the observances of their religious ceremonies, carried on before their incense-burners in behalf of the family gods. The main object of these rites is to cure diseases and to avert evils. The family life of the Maya proper is for the most part good. The Mexican looseness in this respect, as in many others, has come in to take the place of the simple and natural conditions formerly existing. The natives of the cities and towns naturally feel more heavily the effect of the contact with these new influences. The religion of the Lacandone is clearly a survival of that described by the early historians as existing throughout Yuca- tan at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards in the sixteenth century. In the peninsula at the present time, owing to the influence of the energetic Spanish priests and missionaries, there is existing a nominal Catholic religion. In the less populated districts, however, the fundamental religious ideas of the na- tives savor greatly of the former religion of the country. There are, moreover, rites still carried on which are native in character. 1 Brinton, 1882, p. 19. 2 Sapper, 1904, a, p. 9. HISTORY The Mayas in all probability are not indigenous in Yuca- tan. The myths and early historians tell of a twofold mi- gration into Yucatan in the earliest times, one from the east, or more exactly from the southeast, and the other from the west or southwest.! The migration from the east was niuch less numer- ous than that from the west. Brinton identifies the eastern ar- rival as a sun myth, but the other is supported by the chronicles of the Mayas, and certainly has some historical importance.^ If we accept the idea of the two migrations, we can assume that they were composed of people of the same stock, possess- ing the same language, customs, and religion. The situation of the ruins in Yucatan and the country to the southward seems to give weight to the idea of a twofold migration. There is a line of ruined cities stretching southeast into Honduras and another to the southwest toward the River Champoton. The eastern migration is supposed to have had among its members the culture hero, Zamna, or Itzamna, to whom is as- cribed the invention of the characters used by the early Mayas in writing. After many years of wandering, Chichen Itza became the headquarters of this eastern migration. At a later date the second and westerly migration from Tabasco and Champoton took place under the command of the Tutul-Xius. According to the early chronicles, the Chanes, or Itzas, who had founded Chichen Itza, also established at a later date settle- ments at Izamal and T-ho, the present site of the city of Merida. Chichen Itza was governed by three brothers, one of whom 1 Molina, 1896, p. xii. 2 Brinton, 1882, p. 20. 7 8 MAYAS AND LACANBONES absented himself from the kingdom. The remaining two be- came tyrannical, internal discord broke out, and civil war re- sulted. Chichen Itza was finally abandoned, and, after many years of wandering, the Itzas established themselves in Chan- Peten.i Here there was prosperity for many years. For some motive not clearly shown, a move was made to the north- ward and the city of Mayapan founded. At the same time war was made against the Caciques of Izamal and Motul with the aid of the Xius, who had come from the southwest and founded the city of Uxmal at a time previous to the settlement of Mayapan. It was in ahau two of the Maya chronology that the famous confederation was made among the cities of Uxmal, Izamal, Ma- yapan, and Chichen Itza, which had been reestablished after the return of the Itzas from the south. It was probably during this confederation, which lasted over two hundred years, that Kukulcan came to Yucatan from the southwest. According to the early accounts, he brought the ideas of religion found existing among the Mayas at the time of the Conquest. After he had seen his ideas carried out, he departed as mysteriously as he had come. Civil war broke out immediately after the withdrawal of Kukulcan, between the cities of Chichen Itza and Mayapan. Izamal espoused the cause of Chichen Itza. The leader of Mayapan called to his aid the Nahuas, who had settlements in Tabasco. With the help of this foreign force, Chichen and finally Izamal fell under the power of Mayapan. The ruling power at Mayapan fell to the house of Cocomes. Owing to the tyranny of one of the kings of this family, the Tutul-Xius, who up to this time had not joined against Maya- pan, made an uprising which was entered into by the former inhabitants of Chichen and Izamal. The city of Mayapan and the power of the Cocomes were destroyed. A son alone was saved by being absent from the city at the time of the up- rising. 1 Brinton, 1882, p. 96, HISTORY 9 On the return of this surviving member of the family of the Cocomes, his followers gathered around him and they founded the city of Tibulon in the district of Zotuta. One of the former priests of Mayapan was the founder of the family of Cheles in the district of Izamal. The Tutul-Xius founded a new capital at Mani. After the destruction of Maya- pan, Yucatan was divided for the most part among the three families of the Xius, the Cocomes, and the Cheles, among whom there existed the most intense hatred. There was a state of constant warfare. This, briefly, is the history of Yucatan up to the time of the arrival of the Spaniards. The accounts are often conflicting, and there are many places where the myths and the early chronicles are silent. In 1502 on the fourth and last voyage of Columbus, when the expedition was in the Gulf of Honduras, an Indian canoe was encountered which had probably put out from the shores of Y^ucatan. This was the first news in Europe of the exist- ence of Yucatan. In 1506 two of the companions of Columbus set out to in- vestigate the former vague reports. They were in the Gulf of Honduras, and, "turning to the northward, discovered a great part of Yucatan." 1 In the year 1511 Geronirao de Aguilar and Valdivia were shipwrecked on the coast of Yucatan. Valdivia and four of the sailors were, according to the early accounts, sacrificed by the natives of the country and afterward eaten. Aguilar and another companion, Guerrero, who were reserved until a later time, managed to escape into the country to the southward. In 1517 Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba set sail from Cuba for Yucatan. He touched first at the Isla de Las Mujeres and then sailed round the northern side of the peninsula and to the south as far as Campeche. The natives stoutly resisted the Spaniards at every opportunity. In the following year the governor of Cuba, Diego Velasquez, sent Juan de Grijalva to 1 Herrera, 1601-1615, Dec. I, Libro VI, Cap. XVII. 10 MAYAS AND LACANDONES the new land. Francisco de Montejo, who later played a great part in the history of the country, accompanied this expedition, as well as Bernal Diaz del Castillo. They landed at Cozumel, and they, also, went around the north of the peninsula and down the western side to Tabasco. In 1519 Hernando Cortes set sail in company with Montejo to take possession of Yucatan in the name of Spain. They rounded Cape Catoche and landed at Cozumel. They finally retraced their course and went to Tabasco and the Boca del Terminos. The Indians often showed great courage in their resistance to the advance of the Spaniards. In the year 1526 Montejo, who had accompanied both Gri- jalva and Cortes, came to Yucatan with his son. The former was the first Adelantado of the country under a grant from the king of Spain. After great difficulty, he made a settlement at Chichen Itza, which, later, he was compelled to abandon on ac- count of the hostility of the natives. In 1535 he was finally driven from the country. In 1540, however, after a long strug- gle, he conquered part of Campeche. About this time he dele- gated all his powers to his son, who returned to Yucatan and conquered it again in behalf of the king. In 1542 the city of Merida was founded on the site of the native Maya settlement of T-ho, and Valladolid was made an encampment in the following year. In 1546 an Indian insur- rection broke out, and the Spaniards in Valladolid were mur- dered almost to a man.^ There was no large attempt made at Christianizing the na- tives until the year 1546, when one hundred and fifty missiona- ries were sent over from Spain. It was in this year that Bar- tolome de Las Casas arrived at Campeche. He was one of the earliest of the historians of the country. Villalpando settled at about this time at Campeche, where he founded a convent, and later at Merida, where another convent was established. In the year 1548 the province of Yucatan was made subject to Mexico. 1 Cogolludo, 1088, Bk. V. HISTORY 11 About 1551 Diego cle Landa was sent to Yucatan as a mis- sionary (PL I). Twenty years later he was made Bishop of Merida. He took energetic measures to exterminate the native religion and convert the Mayas to Christianity. His book, entitled " Relacion de Las Cosas de Yucatan," is one of the few authorities from which a start can be made in studying the calendar system of the early Mayas. His account of the customs and ceremonies of the natives at the time of the Con- quest is the best that we possess. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a companion of Cortes, is another historian who wrote in this century. His accounts are gen- erally considered more truthfully drawn than those of his master. The first half of the seventeenth century is marked by the number of Spaniards who visited Yucatan and the country to the south. They returned and wrote full accounts of the history of the country and of their travels. Many of these men came to Yucatan and Tabasco as missionaries. Antonio de Remesal was a visitador of the Dominican order from 1613 to 1617. While in Central America, he wrote his " Historia de las Provincias de Chiapa y Guatemala." ^ Antonio de Herrera was an historian under Philip II of Spain. In the first quarter of the century, he wrote a work entitled " Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del mar Oceano." Diego Lopez de Cogolludo, a Spanish Franciscan, spent the second quarter of the century in Yucatan. His " Historia de Yucatan" is the best authority on the early history of the country down to 1655. Torquemada and Lizana were other historians who belonged to this century. Since that time Yucatan has been taken up, more or less at length, in all the histories of Mexico and many of those of Central America. The best of the more recent books is one written by a native of Yucatan, Don Juan F. Molina y Solis, " Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de Yucatan con una reseiia de la historia antigua." A second volume has lately 1 No attempt at bibliographical fullness has been made in the works noted. 12 MAYAS AND LACANDONES been published, bringing the history down to the end of the sixteenth century. Later volumes will follow, bringing the work down to the present time. In regard to the history of the Lacandones, we know very little. The people of Peten are supposed to have come from the north at the first appearance of the Spaniards. In 1525 Cortes made his famous journey through Tabasco, Chiapas, and Guatemala to Honduras. The Indians whom he describes inhabiting this territory were undoubtedly Lacandones. In the year 1537 Las Casas and Piedro de Angulo set out to Christianize the Indians of the Tlerra de Querra, now known as Vera Paz, part of the territory through which Cortes had passed on his way to Honduras. The missionaries realized that as long as the Indians lived scattered through the country, the work of conversion would be slow. They endeavored, therefore, to gather the natives into towns. This they suc- ceeded in doing only in part. The Lacandones seem to have resisted all the attempts at Christianization. In 1555 thej^, together with the natives of Acalan, slew with their arrows two priests and thirty of the Indians of Vera Paz Avho had yielded to the teachings of the missionaries.^ Four years later a determined attempt was made against the Lacandones. The expedition set out from Comitlan, reached the settlements of the Indians, and drove all before them. The victory was not followed up, however, and no definite results of submission were accomplished. Various attempts were made at about this time to conquer " the powerful tribe " of the Itzas, whose stronghold was on an island in Lake Peten in Guatemala. In 1G18 two missionaries left Merida for Peten, from which, two years later, they barely escaped with their lives. ^ Two years after this a Franciscan went from Bacalar to Peten, where he was treacherously put to 1 Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. I, Chap. IX, X. 2 Ibid., 1701, Bk. II, Chaps. II, III. HISTORY 13 death. ^ Again, in 1646, another vain attempt was made, this time from Campeche and up the Usumacinta River. In 1675 and again ten years hxter, more successful attempts at Christianizing the Choles were made, but all endeavors to conquer the Lacandones met with failure. In the year 1695 a combined effort was made to conquer these Indians. One expedition moved from the province of Vera Paz, another from Gueguetenango, and a third under the command of Barrios from Ocosingo.^ The last two expe- ditions met at a place called Dolores. Here an effort was made to found a town of Lacandones; but gradually, family by family, they slipped away until even the site of the town has long since disappeared. In 1696 all the expeditions from the south were abandoned. Don Martin de Ursua had come forward with a plan to build a military road from Merida through the country of the Lacandones to Santiago de Guatemala. He was made acting governor of Yucatan during the absence of the governor in Mexico, and thus he was able to make a start toward carry- ing out his plan. After the failure of several of the leaders whom he had sent against the Itzas of Peten, Ursua decided to take the field in person. In 1697 he left Campeche. After a hard struggle, he captured the stronghold of the Itzas on an island in Lake Peten. Two years after, owing to internal discords, the settlement at Peten was abandoned and General Ursua returned to Yucatan. Various vain attempts were made to Christianize the Lacan- dones down to the beginning of the last century. Since that time they have been left completely to themselves. 1 Cogolludo, 1688, p. 689. 2 Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. IV, Chap. X, p. 249. HABITAT The Lacandones, concerning whom the writer has personal knowledge, live in the State of Chiapas, Mexico, principally along the waters of the upper Usumacinta River (PL II, Figs. 1 and 2) and the rivers Lacantun and Lacanha. These rivers unite with the Chixoy, or Salinas, to form the Usumacinta, which flows northward into the Gulf of Mexico. Concerning the Itzas of Guatemala, and especially those around and near Lake Peten, I have no personal knowledge. It is supposed that these people withdrew somewhere about 1550 from the northern part of the peninsula, owing to the approach of the Spaniards.^ It was through the country of the La- candones that Cortes passed on his arduous march from the Gulf of Mexico to Honduras. ^ From Peten northward stretches the main body of Mayas proper, occupying the whole peninsula of Yucatan. The in- habitants of the state of Campeche are sometimes excluded from the Mayas proper, as the dialect of the Maya spoken by them varies slightly, as does that of the Lacandones, from that spoken throughout the rest of the peninsula. The territory occupied by both the Lacandones and the 1 CogoUudo, 1688, Bk. IV, Chap. XIV, p. 507 : " Estos Indies Itzaex son de nacimiento Yucathecos y originarios de esta tierra de Yucath^n, y assi hablan la misma lengua Maya que ellos. Dizese, que salieron del territorio y juris- diccion que oyes de la Villa de Valladolid, y del Pueblo de Chichen Ytza, donde oy permanec^ unos de los grandes edificios antiguos que se v6n en esta tierra." 2 This is described in his fifth letter to the king of Spain. It is impossible to follow accurately the march of Cortes step by step through this country, as there is no longer any trace of many of the names given either in his account or that of Bernal Diaz who accompanied him. The letters of Cortes are pub- lished in many places, as in Kingsborough, 18.31-1841, Vol. VIII, p. 401 (see also Cortes, 1866). An English translation of the fifth letter was published by the Hakluyt Society, 1868. 14 HABITAT 15 Mayas is rich iu archseological remains.^ With the exception of the ruins on the border between Guatemala and Honduras, the cities of Copan and Quirigua, there are few large centers of archaeological interest not included within the country occu- pied by the Mayas and Lacandones. The ruined cities scat- tered over the entire northern part of the peninsula of Yucatan are in the same territory as that occupied by the Mayas proper. The ruins of Palenque are upon the northern and the ruins near Ocosingo in Chiapas on the western edge of the country occu- pied by the Lacandones, whereas the ruins along the Usuma- cinta River are in the very center of the territory occupied by this people. A large part of this latter region is practically unexplored. Mahogany hunters have traversed the whole area, and mounds and remains of ruined structures are constantly being reported throughout this territory of southern Chiapas and northern Guatemala. The country ^ occupied by the people of the Maya stock to be considered may be regarded as continuous,^ stretching, from the peninsula of Yucatan on the north, southward, including the department of Peten, Guatemala and the states of Chiapas and parts of Tabasco, Mexico. Just as the people of the north and south differ in customs, so also do the physical conditions of the two districts. The peninsula of Yucatan is generally level, with slight eleva- tions of not more than two hundred feet, due mainly to erosion. Owing to the formation of the country, the hydrographic conditions of Yucatan are peculiar. It is only in the extreme south of the peninsula that we find any rivers. The limestone formation, however, admits of numerous underground streams. Natural sinkholes, called in Spanish cenotes, after the Maya 1 For the best general accounts of the Maya archseological remains, see Ste- phens, 1841, 1843 ; Charnay, 1887 ; Maudslay, 1889-1902 ; Holmes, 1895-1897 ; and Maler, 1901-1903. 2 For a detailed account of the geography of Yucatan, see Casares, 1905. 3 The Huastecos, on the River Panuco, north of Vera Cruz, speak a dialect of the Maya, and they form the only exception to the fact of the continuity of the territory occupied by the Maya-speaking people. 16 MAYAS AND LACAND0NE8 word oonot,! are found everywhere throughout the peninsula (Tl. Ill, Fig. 1). The first settlements were made around these natural reservoirs. These cenotes may have underground connection with one another, although no current is perceptible in them. Water can be obtained at nearly every point in Yucatan if a well of sufficient depth is sunk. A very thin layer of soil covers the generally level but rough base of limestone which crops out everywhere. The soil, owing to its shallowness, is not as fertile as that of Chiapas. For cer- tain products, however, it is admirably fitted, especially for henequen or hemp. In central Yucatan there is one good-sized lake called Chichancanab. Further to the south, in the vicinity of Bacalar, there are a number of smaller lakes. ^ The country to the south of Yucatan has features entirely different. The territory of Peten may be considered a plain, but the state of Chiapas, where the greater part of the Lacan- dones live, is mountainous. Mr. Sappei- divides the mountain- ous territory into two parts, one composed of a chain of mountains and the other of a mountain mass.^ The territory occupied by the Lacandones is watered by 1 Dr. L. J. Cole of Harvard University has been making a study of the water system of Yucatan. The results of these investigations will soon appear in print. Attention is especially called to a late paper by a Yucatan gentleman, Don David Casares, 1905. 2 The best map of this region is that found in Sapper, 1895 and 1904, to which reference has b^en made. Mr. Sapper has traveled through a large portion of Yucatan. Count Maurice de P^rigny of the French Geographical Society has lately re- turned from a trip into the interior of Yucatan, and we may hope for an early report on this interesting territory. 3 Sapper, 1897, p. 178 : " Das Gebirgsland des nordlichen Mittelamerika schei- det sich in zwei schon landschaftlich leicht zu unterscheidende Abtheilungen ; ein Kettengebirge in den nordlichen Theilen und ein Massengebirge in den stidlichen Theilen des Gebirgslandes. Das hauptsachlich aus mesozoischen und tertiaren Ablagerungen bestehende Kettengebirge des Staates Chiapas bildet aber keineswegs die unmittelbare Fortsetzung des Kettengebirges von Mittel- guatemala. . . . Das Kettengebirge von Mittelguatemala besteht nur in seinen nordlichsten Bestandtheilen aus mesozoischen und tertiaren Ablagerungen, wahrend siidlich davon eine palaozoische und dann eiiiige archaische Ketten folgen." HABITAT 17 In addition to the two main rivers, the Lacan- tun and the Lacanha, which unite with the Chixoy or Salinas to form the Usumacinta, there are a number of other good-sized rivers, together with a countless number of smaller streams and brooks which interlace the country. There are four large lakes included in the territory occupied by the Lacandones, Laguna Petha, Laguna Anaite, and Laguna Lacanha in the state of Chiapas and Laguna Peten in Guatemala, around which the famous Itzas once centered. These lakes, together with the rivers, assure a never-failing water suppl}^ besides furnishing an abundance of fish and water fowl of many kinds. The soil, often of considerable depth, is very fertile, owing to the large decay of vegetation and the many rivers. The waters of the lakes and of the larger rivers which have washed away the outer soil are highly saturated with lime, so that, in general, the settlements of the Lacandones are found on the smaller streams, in small arroyos^ where the water has had no force to penetrate to the subsoil beneath. In traveling northward at right angles to the rivers flowing into the Usumacinta, which flows northward, one is constantly climbing one ridge only to descend again to the bed of a river and then up again over the watershed of the third. The whole peninsula of Yucatan is of limestone formation, mainly tertiary but partially of the cretaceous period. ^ Over- lying the older rock and shell conglomerate there is a soft lime- stone (Maya tun) in process of hardening. There is a still harder, whiter, and more compact stone (Maya t6tunits).3 Through- out the limestone formation, nodules of flint are found. This geological formation of lime furnishes an abundant supply of excellent building stone easily workable and admirably fitted for sculpture. This fact is noted in Yucatan and also in the coun- try occupied by the Lacandones in the remains of ancient build- ings and temples which have been described by travelers since 1 For the best map of this region, see Maler, 1901-1903, PI. I. - For a detailed study of the geological formation of Yucatan, see Casares, 1905. 2 See p. xxi for a key to the pronunciation of the Maya words. 18 MAYAS AND LACANDONES the earliest occupation of the country by the Spaniards. In Chiapas and Tabasco there is much igneous and sedimentary rock. Owing to the trade winds, the mountainous portion of the territory — and, as I have said, this is the part occupied by the Lacandones — has a large precipitation, and is, as a consequence, heavily timbered. Yucatan, on the other hand, has not a suffi- cient elevation to retain the moisture from the trade winds of the north, and the mountains in the south collect all the moisture coming from the Pacific. The country is consequently very dry except in the regular rainy season. The forest growth on the peninsula is generally small and singularly even. Some early authorities account for this from the fact that, according to the earliest accounts, Yucatan was visited by a terrific hurricane which laid low all the vegetation. ^ Owing to the mountainous formation, the rainy season among the Lacandones is not sharply marked as in Yucatan. There, the season of rain lasts from May until September and the re- mainder of the year is very dry. In Chiapas the dry season is of much shorter duration. The rains continue until January or February, when they give place to a dry season interrupted by occasional showers from February to April, when the regular wet season begins. The climate of Chiapas and the upper Usumacinta is generally not healthful. With care, however, places may be found on high land away from the river bottoms where one may live in com- parative security from fevers. The climate seems to have a more noticeable effect on the Mexicans than upon the natives, who are generally healthy, owing, no doubt, to their greater care in the selection of their camp sites. The climate of Yucatan, on the other hand, is much drier and more healthful. Calentura and other forms of fevers are less common than in any other part of southern Mexico. In many of the early Belacidnes, or reports sent to Spain regarding the 1 Landa, 1864, p. GO. HABITAT 19 conditions in the country, there is a distinction made between the healthfulness of Yucatan as compared with the moist charac- ter of the country to the southward and its consequent unhealth- fulness. Owing to the great evaporation, cold nights follow days of intense heat. On the average, the temperature is lower in Chiapas than in Yucatan. ^ The country occupied by the Mayas and the Lacandones seems to be lacking in precious metals. The land is not so poor in useful minerals. Salt is obtained in Yucatan by evaporating sea water. In Chiapas the Indians formerly boiled in earthen pots or evaporated in shallow pans the brine obtained from salt mines. At the present time the Lacandones procure their salt in trade from the Mexicans. The one utensil, found in every household throughout Yucatan, the region of the Usumacinta, and every other part of Mexico as well, is the stone metate for grinding corn (PI. IX, Fig. 1). They are usually made of a vol- canic rock, andesite, or basalt. Sometimes they are made of flint. This latter has always been an important stone among the Mayas. The Lacandones flake and chip points of flint for their arrows (p. 60). Arrow points and knives are occasion- ally found of obsidian. At El Cayo, on the Usumacinta River, Mr. Maler has named carnelian, syenite, jadeite,^ ofite, hema- tite, white marble, and petrified wood. ^ Flora. — To attempt to give a complete account of the flora of the country occupied by the Mayas and the Lacandones would be to give a catalogue of the plants and trees which grow in the tierra caliente^ or warm country. I shall therefore limit my- self exclusively to those which are made use of by the Indians in their daily life. These in themselves unless curtailed would include almost as many as would come in the former list, inas- much as the native makes use of practically every tree, plant, 1 For a detailed account of the temperature of Yucatan, see Casares, 1905, p. 21.3. 2 The stone called jadeite is in all probability serpentine. 3 Maler, 1901-1903, p. 84. 20 MAYAS AND LACANDONES and shrub for food, medicine, or in the practice of some of his arts. I shall take up first the woods which have been of most help to the Indian. The Lacandones use the mahogany tree in the manufacture of their canoes (tsem), hollowing out of a single log, by fire and the machete, a boat often thirty feet long. Logwood (^Hcematoxylon campechianum ^) is found tln-oughout the territory occupied by both these branches of the Maya stock. The Lacandones use it for the foreshafts of their arrows and for coloring. The guayacan, or lignum vitce {Ciuaicum sanc- tum}, furnishes an excellent wood for making bows, as it is flexible and at the same time very strong. The leaves of the ramon {AUcastrum brownei, Maya os) are used extensively in Yucatan for fodder, as there is little grass in the country. The gum of the Protium Jieptaphyllum is used as an incense in the religious ceremonies of both the Mayas and the Lacandones. It is called copal by the Mexicans and pom by the natives.^ The sap of the rubber tree (Castilloa elastica, Maya qiq) is also used as incense among the Lacandones. A pitch pine (Maya t6te) is used for light in making journeys by night. It burns with a slow steady flame. From the bark of a tree called in Maya baltse there is manufactured an intoxicating drink used extensively in the religious rites of the Lacandones and in certain of the cere- monies of the Mayas of Yucatan. A large variety of pliable vines (Spanish bejuco, Maya aq) grow in the country, and these are put to various uses. The leaves composing the roofs of the native huts are tied to the framework by these vines, and the frame itself is held together in the same manner. Baskets and the wickerwork doors of the houses are made of the vines. 1 For the botanical names, I have, for the most part, followed Charles F. Millspaugh, 1896-1904. 2 Cf. an early account of the use of copal in the " Relaci6n del Pueblo de Mama" (1580), 1900, Vol. XI, p 169, "... ay un arbol que llaman los yndios pom ; sera tan grande como una gran higuera dandole algunos golpes al Rededor y dejandolo dos dias destila de si una Resina como trementina exceto ques mas duray muy blanca Uainanle los espanoles copal y huele muy bien y tiene niuchas virtudes con lo qual se curan los yndios . . . usaban niucho los naturales deste gahumerio que les afrecian sacrificio a sus dioses, el qual dicho arbol ay en esto dicho pueblo y acuden en busca del demas de veynte leguas a la Redonda." HABITAT 21 They are used in all the places where rope and twine would be used among a more civilized people. There are two varieties of hejuco which furnish water to the traveler in the forest. A piece six feet long often yields a half pint of water. A number of kinds of palms are found in Yucatan and Chiapas. The leaves of many of the varieties are used as roofs to the native huts. One of the most common kinds used in this con- nection is Sahal mezicana, guano in Spanish (Maya san). The ceiba QBombax ceiba, jNlaya yastse) is a tree which plays a part in the religious beliefs of the people (p. 154). Of fruits we find a large number, many of which grow wild. The chicosapote (^Sapota achras, Maya ya), the mamey (Lucuma mammosa)^ anona (^Anona squamosa)^ guanabana (^Ariona muri- cata)^guayaba (^Psidiumguajava), tamarindo (Tamarindus indica, Maya patsuhuk), aguacate (^Persea gratiasima, Nahuatl ahuacatl), mango (^Mangifera indiea^^ cocoanut (^Oocos iiucifera^, cocoyol {Acrocomia mexicana^ Nahuatl cocoyot\)\ papaya (^Papaya earica^ Maya put), and the cacao (Theobroma cacao, Maya sau) are found throughout most of the territory occupied by the Mayas. The lemon (^Citrus Umonum), the lime (^Citrus limetta'), the sour and sweet orange (^Citrus vulgaris and Citrus aurantiurn), two varieties of bananas (^Musa sapietitum, Maya bos, and Musa paradisiaca, Maya miya), and the pineapple {Anonas satiras^ are cultivated by many of the Mayas of the peninsula in little gardens often surrounding their huts. Bananas, limes, and a small tomnto (^Ly coper sicum esculeyitum, Maya beyantsan, Nahuatl tomatl) are grown by the Lacandones. The achiote (^Bixia orel- lana, Nahuatl achiyotetl) and chayote QSecluum edule, Nahuatl chayotli) are found among both the Mayas and the Lacandones. The camote {Convolvulus batatas, Maya is, Nahuatl camotli), yuca (^Manihot utilissima, Maya oin), frejoles (^Phaseolus vul- garis, Maya buul), a flat bean called in Maya ip, chili {Cap- sicum baccatum, Nahuatl chilli) are grown in the fields, together with the corn (Maya isim) among both the Mayas and the Lacandones. Cotton (Maya taman) is cultivated especially among the latter people. 22 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Tobacco (Maya quo) and sugar cane are grown in small quantities both in Yucatan and Cliiapas. In Yucatan there are several large sugar plantations, where anis, the drink of the country, is made. The northern half of the peninsula of Yucatan, owing to the shallowness of the soil overlying the limestone, is singularly fitted for the cultivation of henequen (^Agave rigida elongata or Agave sisalana). From a commer- cial standpoint this is by far the most important product of the country. Many varieties of gourds grow in both regions. They are called in Spanish jicaras, after the Nahuatl word xicalli. In Maya, luts is the name given to one variety ( Crescentia cujete}. They are universally used among both the Mayas and the Lacandones for vessels of all kinds, and a certain variety make canteens for carrying water on journeys. Fauna. — As with the flora, so with the fauna, the list will be limited to include only that part used principally for food among the Mayas and Lacandones. A complete list of the animal and bird life in the country of the Mayas would take in with few exceptions all the animals and birds found in the colder portions of the torrid zone. Game in abundance is found everywhere throughout Yucatan and Chiapas. In Yucatan we find at least two species of deer (^Odocoileus toltecus^ and Hippocamelus pandora^ Maya ke), two species of wild turkey {Meleagris mexicana and Agriocharis oeel- lata, Maya kuo), the wild boar ( Tagassu angulatum, Maya qeqem), the partridge (^Eupsychortyx nigrogularis, Maya wan), quail (Dactylortyx thoracicus sharpei, Maya bets or kos), the arma- dillo ( Tatu novemcinetum, Maya wets), and a large number of less important animals which are hunted for game. In the country inhabited by the Lacandones there should be added the ocelot (^Felis pardalis^, the mountain lion {Felisconcolor), the jaguar {Felis onca, Maya balum or tsakmul), the tapir (^Tapirella dowi), two specimens of monkeys (^Ateles veUerosus, Maya maas, II am indebted to Dr. Cole for the scientilic names. HABITAT 23 and Salmiri orstedii, Ma3^a baao), two species of parrot {Amazona alhifrons and Conurus aztee, Maya tut), the badger {Taxidea taxus, Maya kotom), and the Tepeizquinte (^Agouti 'paca). Alligators (Maya ayin) and turtles are abundant in the rivers and lakes. Iguanas (hu) are rarely eaten, although they are very common in Yucatan. Snails (Melania lexissima, Maya Sot) furnish a means of sustenance among the Lacandones. A species of dog was known before the advent of the Spaniards. It is described in the early accounts as having no hair, with only a few and sharply pointed teeth and small ears and that it did not bark.i An interesting study and one well worthy of attention would be an attempt at identifying the many kinds of fauna repre- sented in the three Maya Codices ^ and in the bas-reliefs found on the ruined buildings. Many different kinds of animals are to be noted, and in some cases they may be clearly made out.^ Among the Nahuas, ten of the twenty day signs represent the heads of animals : cipactli, crocodile ; cuetzpalin, lizard ; couatl, snake ; magatl, deer ; tochtli, rabbit ; itzcuintli, dog ; ogomatli, ape ; ocelotl, jaguar ; quauhtli, eagle ; and cozcaquauhtli, vulture. 1 " Relacion de la Ciudad de Merida," 1900, Vol. XI, p. 63: ". . . ay perros naturales dela tierra que no tienen pelo ninguno, y no ladran, que tienen los dientes ralos e agudos, las orejas pequenas, tiesas y levantadas — a estos engordan los yndios para comer y los tienen por gran rregalo — estos se juntan con los perros de espaiia." 2 The Troano, published by Brasseur de Bourbourg in 1869 and 1870 ; the Cortesianus, a part of the precedhig manuscript, published by Juan de Dios de la Rada y Delgado in 1893 ; the Dresden, published by Fiirsteniann in 1880 and again in 1892 ; and the Peresianus, published by Leon de Rosny in 1887, are the most available editions of the three Maya pre-Columbian manuscripts. 3 Compare the mythological animals represented in Schellas, 1897 and 1904. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS The whole Maya race is short in stature. The male Lacan- done is of slightly higher stature than the Maya of Yucatan. The women of both sections are about equally short. ^ The Mayas of Yucatan are a strongly bracliy cephalic race. The Lacanclones who were measured exceed the Mayas in the cephalic index. They are probably the most brachycephalic of any of the Mexican and Central American peoples. ^ The whole Maya race is physically a most capable one. The Lacandone is here again slightly ahead of the Maya in this respect. The complete isolation of the Lacandone has freed him from assuming the tamed and subdued character that is often noted in the Maya proper. Both the Maya and Lacandone have broad foreheads and broad shoulders, stand erect and walk with remarkable ease and grace. The Lacandones often make long journeys on foot to the shrines of their various gods. The women accompany the men on these trips, often carrying a child astride the hips (PI. Ill, Fig. 2), together with another swung on a net on the back. Landa regards this custom of carrying children astride the hip as the cause of the many cases of crooked legs among the Mayas.^ This may well be the true cause of this deformity. The Lacandone women are physically nearly as capable as the men, often cutting the firewood for the use of the family, besides helping the husband in the clearing away of the forest 1 Sapper (1904, p. 11) distinguishes between a short type in northern Yucatan, a taller, more slender type in central Yucatan, and a short, thick-set type in southern Yucatan. 2 In a short series of nineteen both of the Mayas and of the Lacandones, the index for the Mayas was 85.4 and for the Lacandones 86.5. Starr (1902, p. 51), in a series of one hundred men and twenty-five women, found the mean cephalic index to be 85. His mean measurement for the stature of males was 1552.4. This seems to me to be a little low. 3 Landa, 1864, Chap. XX, p. 112 : " Que los Indios de Yucatan son bien dis- puestos y altos y rezios y de muchas fuergas y comunmente todos estevados, porque en su ninez, quando las madres los Uevan de una parte a otra, van ahorca- jados en los quadriles." 24 PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 25 in preparing the ground for sowing. The Maya women, on the other hand, are much more delicate as a general thing, and would be physically incapable of enduring some of the hardships which the Lacandone women have to suffer. The features of the Mayas as a whole are often very strong and noble. They are a prognathous race. The women of Chiapas do not have the beauty so often spoken of in connection with the native women of Yucatan. The color of the Lacandone is a golden brown slightly lighter than that of the native of the peninsula. Discoloration of the skin was noted in one family of the Lacandones. This is more common however among the Mexicans occupying the same country. The hair of the Lacandone is black and often has some curl. In the children, it i« often bleached by the sun to a reddish hue. The hair of the Maya proper is in general perfectly straight. The Lacandone men as well as the women wear the hair long. It thus serves as a pro- tection for the neck and shoulders.^ In one settlement only did I see any one with short hair (PI. IV, Fig. 2). When those with short hair were conducting a religious rite, a piece of cloth was tied over the head and hung down behind. This was not noted in the case of those whose hair was long. The women wear it simply tied at the back and not in the knot as seen among the Maya women. The Lacandone man very often has considerable hair on his face and especially on the tip of his chin, where it is allowed to remain.^ The heads on the incense- 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XX, p. 114: " Que criavan cabello como las mugeres; por lo alto quemavan como una buena corona." Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. VIII, Chap. XII, p. 498: " Traian las cabelleras largas, quanto pueden crezer : Y assi, es lo mas dificultoso en los ludios el reduzirlos k cortarles el pelo, porque el traerlo largo es senal de Idolatria. Y los Sacerdotes de sus Idolos, nunca las peynavan trayendolas emplastadas, y enredadas en mechones ; porque las untavan continuamente con la sangre de los que sacri- ficavan." 2 This is in accordance with what we find on many of the sculptured figures ■which are shown as possessing a beard. In only a few cases in the Maya Codices do we find figures represented with beards. For a detailed discussion of the ap- pearance and dress of the figures shown in the inscriptions and manuscripts as compared with the accounts given by the early travelers, see Schellhas, 1890, 26 MAYAS AND LACANBONES burners of the gods are represented as having beards. This idea of the gods having hair on the chin is doubtless the reason why the men never pull out the hair or shave, as do the natives of the peninsula.! As a race, the Mayas are healthy. The Lacandones use great care in the selection of their camp sites and generally hold themselves completely aloof from the Mexican element of the population, who they fear will bring them fevers and colds. They have great powers of endurance, making, as has been stated, long journeys on foot and often carrying heavy burdens on the back suspended by a strap over the forehead. The children, when old enough to walk, are accustomed each to carry his proportionate load when going to and from the fields. Other than a possible slight flattening of the skull in front, owing to the custom of suspending burdens from the forehead,^ the Lacandones do not artificially deform their crania. The Mayas of Yucatan have the slight flattening of the head in front as well. They too have the universal custom of sus- pending burdens on the back, a part of the weight of which comes on the forehead.^ The Mayas are not as erect as the Lacandones, and when under a heavy load they run in a slow and even gait. They too are capable of making singularly long journeys on foot, often under heavy burdens. The sacral spot is found on very young infants of pure Indian blood. It vanishes usually after the first year of birth. It is variable in size and usually of a purple color.* 1 This is not in accordance with Landa (18G4, Chap. XX, p. 114), who speaks of the Mayas as pulling out the hairs of the face. "No criavan barbas, y dezian que les quemavan los rostros sus madres con panos calientes, siendo ninos, por que no les naciessen, y que agora crian barbas aunque muy asperas como cerdas de tocines." 2 This slight flattening doiibtless has some effect on the cephalic index, and may partially explain the extreme brachycephalic character of the heads measured (p. 24, note 2). 3 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XX, p. 114: "Y que tenian las cabe5as y frentes lianas, hecho tambien de sus madres por industria desde ninos." 4 Starr (1903) observed it on children of pure blood of less than a year old, but notes that it was lacking in children of mixed blood. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 27 Among the early Mayas, tattooing was practiced. ^ The women, according to the early accounts, filed their teeth, and the mothers artificially deformed the heads of their children.^ No traces of these customs have been found either among the present Mayas or the Lacandones. Writers have often remarked upon the great neatness of the Mayas. This is, indeed, a very evident fact. In spite of the scarcity of water in some places, bathing is almost a daily custom, and even considering the fact that the dress of both the men and the women is of white material, it is very seldom that one sees a soiled garment. The methods of cooking among the Mayas are remarkable for their cleanliness. As much can- not be said of the Lacandones, who are far below the Mayas in respect to personal and domestic cleanliness. Intellectually the Lacandones who have been encountered do not rank as high as the Mayas of the peninsula, who are gen- erally quick to learn, quick to understand, and think with considerable rapidity. The mental processes of the Lacan- dones seem to act with much more slowness. The Maya race is inherently a moral one.^ The morals of the Lacandones are good. Their family life is happy, and even with a multiplicity of wives, there is seldom any occasion for discord and strife. They view with disgust the loose morals and the infidelity of the Mexicans with whom they come in contact. They have the strongest of family attach- ments and great respect for old age. Morally as well as physically the Mayas proper rank below the Lacandones. The second may be the result of the first and both the result of their condition. The working force on the large henequen haciendas, which cover the whole northern 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XXI, p. 120: " Labravanse los cuerpos y quanto mas, tan to mas valientes y bravosos se teniau." 2 Ibid., Chap. XXXI, p. 182. A skull found at Labna, Yucatan, now in the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, has the teeth iiled into points. Many of the mask-lil?e snouted figures composing the decoration on the facades of the ruined structures in northern Yucatan have the teeth represented as filed. 3 Cf. Sapper, 1905. 28 MAYAS AND LACANDONES part of the peninsula, is composed entirely of Mayas, So important is this branch of industry that a separate and dis- tinct set of laws has grown up to regulate the relations between the owners of the haciendas and their workmen. On all the large plantations improved methods have come in, much to the betterment of the native. It has now been acknowl- edged that success is in proportion to the health and comfort of the natives. It has taken many years, however, to arrive at this opinion. Improved dwellings, medical care, and better superintendence is doing much to raise the condition of the Indian. According to law, a native as long as he is indebted to another virtually belongs to the owner of the debt. The servants on the haciendas all have debts against them ranging sometimes as high as one thousand pesos. At the present time labor is very scarce in Yucatan, and it is often only after a struggle that an Indian is allowed to pay his debt, and thus becomes free. Drunkenness is a very great evil throughout the whole peninsula, and does much to destroy the physical well-being of the native. On the haciendas the laborers are often more or less intoxicated on Sundays and feast days. It is regarded as a thing that cannot be helped by the white men of the country. On week days the men are held in check by the mayordomo. On many of the plantations in the morning and again at night each man is given a drink of ams, the beverage of the country. Among the Lacandones drunkenness is seen, but it is always in connection with their religious rites. It does not have the evil effect as noted in Yucatan. It is considered a part of the obligation of the feast in behalf of the gods that the partici- pants should become intoxicated. The gods are said, however, not to like wranglings and disputes. Consequently, these seldom occur. Dancing and singing are pleasing to the gods, and these are indulged in by the participants in the cere- monies. The Lacandones are generally truthful, honest, and mild except when exasperated, and sometimes with good reason, at PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 29 the acts of their Mexican neighbors. The Mayas are not as generally truthful, although mild and gentle except when under the influence of liquor. Both the Lacandone and the Maya are naturally hospitable and generous.^ Clothing. — As in everything except language, so in clothing, the Lacandone differs from the Maya of the peninsula. The native male of Chiapas wears in addition to the loin cloth (qagnSk) which stretches several times around his body, with the ends hanging down behind and in front,^ a single cotton garment of. poncho form (sikul) (PI. IV, Figs. 1 and 2).^ This garment is woven in two pieces of cloth and the two sewed together lengthwise, with the exception of openings for the arms and for the head. The dress hangs to the knees. Formerly, and even now, in some remote localities far removed from any trading center, this garment is made of maguey fiber or from the bark of a tree (PL V, Fig. 1).* The Lacandones wear no head covering of any sort and seldom any protection for the feet. When they are at work in their fields, they sometimes wear a sandal of leather fastened to the foot by a cord passing over the toes and over the heel. 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXIII, p. 134 : " Que los Yucataneses son muy partidos y hospitales, porque entra nadie en su casa a quien no den la comida o bevida, que tienen de dia de sus bevidas, de noche de sus coniidas.*' ^ Ibid., Chap. XX, p. 116: "Que su vestido era un liston de una mano en ancho que les servia de bragas y calgas y que se davan con el algunas vueltas por la cintura, de manera que el un cabo calgava dalante y el otro detras." Also cf. "Relacidn de los Pueblos de Campocolche y Chochola," 1900, Vol. XIII, p. 189: ". . . los bestidos antiguos destos yndios era andar en cueros sola- mente sus verguengas con una venda que algunas de ellas a cinco e seis varas cehydas y dadas tres e quatro bueltas por los quadriles e por debaxo de las piernas e quedavale un rramal por detras y el otro por delante de manera que le tapava todo con las nalgas de fuera y todo lo demas del cuerpo." This band is seen represented in both the Maya Codices and the bas-reliefs. Cf. Schellhas, 1890, p. 218. 3 Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. VIII, Chap. XII, p. 498: "Sus vestiduras, de que usavan, eran unos Ayates, 6 Gabaches, sin Mangas, y sus Mantas, todo de Algod6n, texido de varios colores." * The articles pictured throughout the paper are without exception in the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, Cambridge. The ethnological speci- mens, with but few exceptions, were collected by the writer, and, owing to the 30 MAYAS AND LACANDONES The Lacandone women wear the same poncho-\\ke garment as the men.i In addition to this, they also wear a scant skirt (pik) reaching from the breasts to the ankles (PL V, Fig. 2).2 This is held in place by a band of cloth wound several times around the waist, forming a wide belt (uhetSebinnoq) which is concealed by the upper garment. In one of the settlements visited, the women wore simply the jyowcAo-like upper garment, which came down below the knees, thus dispensing with the skirt altogether. The women, as well as the men, never wear any covering for the head or any protection for the feet. The children often go entirely nude until the age of two or three years, when they wear clothes the exact counterpart of those worn by their fathers and mothers (PL VI, Fig. 1). Every man usually has two garments, one woven by his wife of the native cotton, and another made of the common cotton cloth of Mexi- can manufacture. Tlie woman usually wears the hand-woven skirt, but the upper garment is often made of calico or of white cotton cloth. The skirt is woven in fine colored lines. The Lacandone women wear a bunch of gayly colored bird feathers and the breasts of small birds hanging from the back of the hair where it is tied. They are also further adorned with necklaces, often wearing as many as twelve strings of beads and seeds (PL V, Fig. 2).'5 These necklaces are com- posed principally of small black seeds (tSankala) which have to be strung when green. A very effective necklace is made of red berries (qante). Job's tears {Ciox laert/ma, Maya suk- paen) are grown extensively, and these are strung and worn especially by the children. One necklace was seen made of mussel shells hung as pendants from a cord (PL XIV, Fig. 1). kindness of the council of the Institute, they were turned over to the Peabody Museum. 1 In the Maya manuscripts in most instances where women are represented, the upper portion of the body is shown uncovered. 2 Cf. representations from the Codices pictured in Schellhas, 1890, p. 220. 3 Necklaces of many varieties and often very elaborate are shown on both male and female figures in the Codices and on the bas-reliefs. Cf. Schellhas, 1890. PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS 31 From the lower ends of the strands of seeds there often hang pendants of various sorts, among which are pieces of bone, bits of sweet-smelling wood, and the skulls of very small monkeys. These are in the nature of charms. The Mexicans when travel- ing through this part of the country often bring in for barter strings of glass beads. These are highly prized by the natives. Small children often have single bird feathers tied at inter- vals on the hair at the back of the head. These seem to have no other purpose than decoration. In certain of the ceremonies, the men and women have a narrow band of fiber bark (huun),i colored red, and tied around the forehead (PL XXVI, Fig. 1). The decoration of one's person, such as facial painting, will be taken up under ornamental art (p. 72). The Mayas of Yucatan are much more picturesque in their dress than the Lacandones. The dress of the women is of the same general form as that of the women of Chiapas. ^ The material, however, is quite different. It is of the whitest linen or cotton cloth,^ of Mexican or American manufacture, as contrasted with the coarse and rough garment of the Lacandone woven in the primitive loom from cotton of his own raising and spinning. The Maya woman cuts her upper garment (yupte), called in Spanish hipil after the Nahuatl word huepilli, very wide and full. The opening for the neck is square, the edge of which, together with the bottom of the garment, is decorated with a band of the finest needlework in bright colors and 1 This is also the Maya term for book or paper. The bark of the tree is pounded out so thin that it resembles paper. It was this sort of bark of which the ancient manuscripts were made. 2 Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. IV, Cliap. V, p. 188, thus describes the dress of the women at the time he wrote : " Las mugeres usan de Uaipiles que es una vesti- dura, que coge desde la garganta hasta la media pierna, con una abertura en lo superior por donde entra la cabeQa, y otras dos por lo superior de los lados por donde salen los bra9os, que queda cubiertos mas de hasta la mitad, porque no se cine al cuerpo esta ropa, que tambien les sirve de camisa." ^Cf. Ibid., p. 187: "Visten ropas de algodon blanquissimo, de que hazen camisas, y cal^ones, y unas mantas como de vara y medio en quadro, quell aman tilmas, 6 hayates." 32 MAYAS AND LACANDONES often by an edging of hand-made lace. The ordinary every- day dress of the woman has, in place of the embroidery, a band of cotton cloth stamped with a simple design colored or in black (PL VI, Fig. 2). The skirt (pik), which is worn longer than among the women of Chiapas, is of the same white material as the hipil. This is also decorated with the embroid- er}' and the lace. In the small hamlets the women often wear simply the skirt when at work around the hut or in the fields. The hair of the Maya woman is worn tied at the back of the head in two loops (sinta). The women cover their heads with the rehosa (boti), a long scarf either of cotton or of brightly colored silk, wound around the shoulders and over the head (PI. VI, Fig. 2). The women of the cities and larger towns wear gold earrings and elaborate gold chains on which are usually hung the medals of the Catholic Church. The Maya men wear breeches (Skulei) of white cotton cloth and a simple shirt of the same material, usually hanging outside the breeches (PL VII, Fig. 2). When working in the fields they invariably wear a piece of cloth tied around the waist, which serves as an apron (tsiknaknoq). Those who live in the cities often have the shirt made of some colored cloth. In this case it is longer, contains two pockets near the bottom, and the apron is usually dispensed with. In the fields, the men ordinarily divest themselves of the shirt and wear only the short breeches with the apron (PL VII, Fig. 2). The head is always covered with a wide-brimmed hat of braided straw. The women wear slippers of modern manufacture and the men sandals (sanapqewel) of leather, attached to the foot by a strap or rope passing between the first and second toes (PL VII, Fig. 2).i 1 The figures represented in the Codices are seldom shown with any protec- tion for the feet. On the bas-reliefs sandals are more common, but they are shown as attached by two cords passing between the first and second and the third and fourth toes, a method different from that now in use where only one cord is employed. Cf. Schellhas, 1890, pp. 215-216. Some figures in the Codi- ces are shown as wearing sandals with a piece behind coming up over the heel. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS The relations of the Lacandones to those around them are generally slight. The greater part of the country occupied by this people is under grant by the government to companies formed for the exploitation of mahogany. These companies have headquarters on the rivers and from these settlements as centers radiate temporary camps called monterias, which are found practically everywhere throughout the territory occupied by the Lacandones. The Lidians thus have a limited contact with the Mexicans who live in these logging camps. They visit these monterias when they are in need of salt; and the Mexicans, on the other hand, when passing to and from the different camps, visit the Lidians, more often stealing than buying bananas and tobacco from the Lacandones. This com- paratively slight contact with the Spanish population has all come within the last five years. It seems up to the present time to have had no perceptible influence on their daily life. The Indians still keep up their ancient rites, undisturbed by the I^Iexicans, whom they never allow to approach, or see their idols or any of the ceremonies. The Mexicans regard the Indians as quite beneath their notice other than as curiosities. In the customs and rites of the Lacandones, no trace of the early Spanish Catholic contact is to be found. After repeated attempts the early explorers and missionaries, owing to their ill success, finally gave up their idea of converting the Lacandones (p. 13). A little farther to the north, the natives of Palenque, who speak another dialect of the Maya, are all good Catholics. Their former religion, as is the case in Yucatan, has given way to that brought in by tlie Spanish missionaries. These people were much more accessible than were the inhabitants of the interior of Chiapas. 33 34 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Galindo (1834) makes the following significant remark con- cerning the pureness of the Lacandones of the Maya stock: " La seiile portion de pure race restant de cette grande nation [Maya], se reduit a quelques tribus eparses, habitant principale- nient les bords des rivieres Usumasinta ... la totalite de leur territoire fait, politiquement parlant, partie du Peten." Sometimes in one of the monterias there is found a Lacandone who has adopted the life and customs of the Mexicans. His hair is short, and he is not readily to be distinguished from his fellow-Mexican. This desertion of the family gods is not common. The Lacandones regard such a course as a bad breach of conduct. The seceding Indian, on the other hand, thinks it an upward move. He often renounces his family, and in some cases he refuses to understand his native tongue. With the exception of the few Indians who have renounced their tribe for good and all, no case of intermarriage between the Lacandones and the Mexicans has been observed. The slight contact between the two races is shown in the very cur- sory knowledge of Spanish by the Lacandone, and the very few Maya words known by the Mexicans of the country. Those Lacandones who live in the vicinity of the logging camps understand a few Spanish words necessary in trading with the Mexicans. There are only a very few who are able to carry on any connected conversation in Spanish. Mr. Sapper ^ gives as a reason for the freedom from Spanislr influence and control the fact that they " even then " were a nomadic people. The Lacandones are an agricultural rather than a nomadic race. That they are a nomadic people seems to be disproved by the fact that they are divided into totemic divisions, which may still be identified with certain localities. 3 Sapper, 1897, p. 259: "Audi in der Conquista-Zeit ist ihre Zahl schon ziem- lich beschrankt gewesen, iiiul audi damals waren sie sdion wenig sesshaft, wie man aus den Nachrichten alterev Schriftsteller entnimnit, und aus der Verpfle- gungsschwierigkeit fiir die Truppen und der steten Veranderung der Lacan- donenwohnsitze erklart es sidi audi in erster Linie, weslialb das in den unzu- ganglichen Urwaldern hausende Volk niemals unter die Botmassigkeit der Spanier gekommen ist." SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 35 They are primarily an agricultural people, and a wandering life would be impossible. It is true that a change of residence is made as often as the fields become barren, but the new site is in the immediate neighborhood of the former home. Their whole manner of life is entirely at variance with that of a nomadic character. Finally, the collection of incense-burners made by each encampment as representatives of the gods, together with the sacred shrine where they are kept, would seem to show a certain permanence in their dwelling place. We must, I think, look for another cause for the failure of the Span- ish to make a permanent impression upon the life and customs of the Lacandones, such as they were so successful in doing among the Mayas of Yucatan and in other parts of Mexico. If one but reads the Fifth Letter i of Hernando Cortes to Charles V of Spain, describing the expedition to Honduras, and the less colored account by Bernal Diaz,^ he will readily see the main cause of the ill success of the Spanish in the territory drained by the Usumacinta. In a country where, as in eastern Yucatan, there are no natural impediments in the way of progress such as rivers, swamps, or high mountains, it was only after repeated outbreaks and insurrections that the main body of the Mayas of Yucatan were compelled to acknowledge the superior force of Spanish arms and Spanish religion. Even to this day, a part still hold out against Mexican rule. It is not then surprising that, in a habitat where the natural difficulties at certain sea- sons of the year are practically unsurmountable, the Spanish were unsuccessful with a people of the same race as those whose allegiance was gained only partially under the most favorable of natural conditions. The accounts given by Cortes of the difficulties he suffered in crossing Chiapas and Guatemala are no exaggerations, and this was the very country occupied by the Lacandones. Another cause which may have prevented any prolonged attempt of the Spanish to conquer the natives of the upper Usumacinta was the natural poverty of the country in the way 1 See note 2, p. 14. ^ Diaz, 1632. 36 MAYAS A WD LACANDONES of mineral wealth. An inborn courage, the love of liberty, and the fact of the dissemination of the natives may be ascribed as other causes of the prolonged independence of the Lacan- dones. There is no reason to suppose, however, that these people are any more sincere in their observances of the old rites than once were those farther to the north together with the natives of the peninsula. The two people at one time were, in all probability, one in customs and religion as they now practically are in language, because, as will be shown later, the customs described by Diego de Landa and the other early missionaries and historians as existing in their time are identical in many ways with those now carried on by the Lacandones. These two sections of the Maya stock are separated by a range of mountains which has proved to be a dividing line between the two fields as regards contact with Spanish influence. As to the relation of the Mayas of Yucatan with people of another blood, one very interesting fact comes out, a fact noted b}^ all historians and writers on the inhabitants of the peninsula. The Spanish, as seen throughout Mexico, Central and South America, came into the country with their language, religion, and customs. Unlike any other part of the vast territory in the new world governed by a Spanish-speaking population, Yucatan stands almost alone in the fact that the native lan- guage has survived and has not been superseded by the language of the Spaniards, conquerors in all other respects. In most of the states of Mexico, with the exception of Yucatan, very little remains of the native tongue. It is only found in isolated communities where there is little or no contact with the Mexican element. In Yucatan, the conditions are much differ- ent. Whether in Merida, its largest city, with an ever increas- ing European population, or in the fastness of the suhlevado Indians, the native language has still survived. The Mayas almost without exception speak their mother tongue, and the white people of the country often speak Maya more or less fluently. On the haciendas which cover the whole northern SOCIAL CHAEACTERISTICS 37 part of the peninsula, tlie mayordomos invariably speak Maya to the servants, and even the owners frequently use the same tongue when addressing the field hands. Books are printed in Maya and sermons are frequently given in it in the churches. The priests almost without exception have a knowledge of the language. The contact with Mexican influence has also failed to change the native manner of dressing. Tradition is so strong on this point that if an aspiring Indian assumes the American or Spanish custom of dress, he is chided and made fun of until he is quite ready to resume the cotton pantaloons and shirt of his race. In most respects, however, other than language and dress, the Maya of Yucatan is practically one with the Mexican. What remains of the native beliefs and religion has been altered so that it coincides more or less faithfully with the ideas of the Catholic Church. The Lacandones have been described as an agricultural rather than a nomadic people. The Mayas as well do not seem to have a wandering spirit. They usually are born and die in the same place and their children after them. If the fathers are in- dented servants on the haciendas, the sons usually become so, although they do not as a rule inherit the debts of their fathers. It takes usually more energy than the Mayas possess to over- come the inertia necessary in making a new move. The Lacandones recognize the Mayas of the peninsula as speaking the same language and as members of the same tribe. They observe, however, a difference when speaking about them. They say that the Mayas of Yucatan have different Santos, meaning the protective saints of the Catholic Church as contrasted with the native gods of the race. They recognize, moreover, a closer relation between themselves and the Mayas proper, than between themselves and the natives living to the northward around Palenque, who speak the Choi dialect of the Maya stock. This is not as closely allied to the dialect spoken by the Lacandones as is that of the natives of Yucatan. There is a much closer relation, however, between the Lacandones and 38 MAYAS AND LAC AN DON ES the Itzas of Peten, tlian between the former and the inhabit- ants of the peninsula to the northward. By some authorities, the Itzas and the Lacandones are regarded as the same people. Constant trade communications were kept up between the settlements on the Usumacinta and its affluents and those of Peten. The Maj^as recognize the Lacandones as speaking the same language, but as a people very slightly connected with them, inasmuch as tlieir customs differ so considerably. When any mention is made of the Mayas of Tabasco and Chiapas, they are always described as 710 son cristianos. The divisions of the Lacandones among themselves show the remains of a once well-regulated system, now more or less broken down. The natives live in widely scattered settlements, two or three related families together. The Lacandones move their encampments, as has been stated, from place to place, but only within a very narrow range. As soon as the fields around a settlement become barren, a new site is found in the immediate vicinity. Thus a family always lives in the same general locality, and there is a certain idea of per- manence in their method of living absent in that of a truly nomadic people. The changes of encampment usually come every three or four years. There is no rule that on the death of a member of the family, a new home must be found. This is sometimes done, but it is always owing to the supposed or real unhealthfulness of a certain locality, rather than to any tribal custom. These settlements are usually made on the site of a corn field (PL VIII, Figs. 1, 2, and 3). Each consists of a sacred hut, where all the religious observances are carried on, and where the gods of the family are kept (p. Ill), a smaller hut or sheltei where the food is prepared for the offerings made to the idols, and one or more domestic huts. Sometimes two families live in the same house but occupy separate ends. The domestic life of each family is distinct. There is little idea of communal SOCIAL CHABACTERISTICS 39 life other than that side touching the religion and the possession of the fields. Each encampment has four trails leading to it, corresponding to the four cardinal points.^ As has been stated concerning the Nahuatl race at the time of the Conquest,^ so it is true of the Lacandones of the present time, they '^lave achieved progress to descent in the male line." The oldest son of the first and principal wife is the main heir. The younger sons receive a part of the inheritance, consisting principally of the idols of the gods. If there are no sons, the brothers of the dead man inherit his possessions. The land is held in common, so that property in land does not exist. Daughters do not inherit any of the personal possessions of their father. As would be expected from the fact that the women take no part in the observance of the religion, they oc- cupy an inferior place in the household. A widow usually lives with the oldest son, and as head of the family it is his duty to support her. Mr. Bandelier calls attention to the curious fact that among the early Mexicans certain grades of consanguinity are called by the same names, showing that the modern descriptive system for relationship appears in a minority of cases only. From this he infers that the Mexican family was yet but imperfectly con- stituted at the time of the Conquest.^ Among the Lacandones we find the same thing true. The title Yum is given to the father, the paternal uncles and the eldest son of the oldest uncle, the future head of the family. Brothers, sisters, and cousins call each other by the same name. The oldest brother or male cousin is called Sukun, the oldest sister or female cousin, Kik. The oldest children are thus distinguished as to age and sex. The younger brothers, sisters, and cousins of both sexes all have the same name, Wioin. 1 Cf. Landa, 1804, Chap. XXXV. p. 210: " Uso era en todos los pueblos de Yucatan tener hecho dos montones de piedra, uno en frente de otro, a la entrada del pueblo por todas las quatro partes del pueblo. . . ." 2 Bandelier, 1879, p. 567. ^ /jjVZ., p. 670. 40 MAYAS AND LACANBONES Each family branch bears the name of some animal. This is transmitted through the male line. Inasmuch as the members of one line of descent generally live in the same neighborhood, the animal names become associated with certain localities. Landa makes no mention of the family totem names. He says, however, that it was considered a sin for members of the same family to marry. ^ Now, although not frequent, one sometimes finds a marriage existing between two people of the same family connection, thus bearing the same animal name. Whatever there may have been of the idea of the totem and totemic devices in regard to the animals, it has been lost, and nothing remains but the mere animal name of the division. The animal totem is called yonen, the general term for rela- tive. The kid (yuk) painted on the ceremonial robe (PL XV, Fig. 1) is the only example found where there was any approach to a representation of a totemic device. There seems to be a common practice of keeping in captivity the animals connected with the settlement in a totemic signification. Monkeys, doves, and small birds were noted as kept as pets, especially by the women. The names of eighteen animal divisions were obtained. The location given may be taken only approximately, as it was im- possible to obtain an accurate idea of the situation of the differ- ent gentes. The people who live in the vicinity of Lake Petha^ belong to the maaS (Spanish mico) or monkey gens. Near Anaite, on the Usumacinta River, live the koton (Spanish tejoti} or badger gens and the sanhol gens. Tlie Mexicans of the country call the sanhol the cabeza hlanca. The qeqen (Span- ish jabalin) or wild boar, the kitam (Spanish puerco del monte)^ the ke (Spanish venado) or small deer, the yuk (Span- ish cabritu) or kid, the tsilup (Spanish golondrina)^ and the sup gens are all located near the shores of the Lacantun River. It was impossible to obtain a more accurate idea of their situa- 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XXV, p. 140 : " y muchos avia que nunca avian tenido sino una (mujer) la qual ninguno toraava de su nombre, de parte de su padre." 2 See map in Maler, 1901-1903, Plate I. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 41 tion. Near Teiiosique are found the qambul (Spanish faisan) or pheasant, the balum or tiger, and the mo or macaw gens. Near the monteria of San Hipolito (a few leagues north of Lake Petha) are to be found the harleu (Spanish tepeizquinte) and kos (Spanish cojolito i) gens. Near El Cambio, on the Chan- cala River, are located the wan (Spanish perdiz) or partridge, the tut or parrot, and the baao (Spanish saraguato) gens. The akmai (Spanish mico de 7ioche) gens is said to be located at Peten in Guatemala. In addition to the animal name which every person bears, there is another designation which is very indefinite. The people of the qeqen and kitam gens are also given the name kow6, and those of the kotom and sanhol divisions, the name tas, which has the meaning level. Those who belong to the maao gens are also known by the term Jcarsia. This word seems to be more Spanish tlian Maya in form. The Mexicans of the vicinity know this particular settlement by the latter name, whereas they are in total ignorance of the divisions according to animal names. Sapper speaks without comment of the G-arcias seemingly as a division of the Lacandones.^ The balum gens has the other designation puk, the root of the verb meaning to destroy anything made of earth. It is impos- sible to tell on wliat this second classification is based. There seems to be no special class of objects used as names. The same words are found used as surnames among the Maj'as of Yucatan. Kow6 is the name of a family living near Valladolid.^ This second designation among the Lacandones may be the remains of a once elaborate system of social organization with divisions made up of families and groups of families joined together with bonds of relationship. The native speaks of the animal names noted above as in- yonen, my relative, so that there seems to be a close bond 1 This is from the Nahuatl word cojolitli. ~ Sapper, 1897, pp. 262, 263. 3 Among others there were noted as surnames among the Mayas, t§an, little ; boS, black; mes, beard; tu§, a falsehood; eq, palo de tinta ; and oap, the rattler of a snake. 42 MAYAS AND LACANDONES between all the people bearing the same name and the animal itself. There is another name corresponding to the Spanish word tocayo, or namesake. This is also the name of an animal, but it is not handed down from father to son as in the former case, but seems to be given as regards priority of birth. The first son is usually given the name Qin, sun, and his secondary ani- mal name is Baao, monkey.^ The first daughter is called Naqiu, (from na, house), and she also shares the same animal name as her oldest brother. The second son to be born is usually given the name Qaiyum, singing god, and his secondary animal name is Sanhol (Spanish caheza hlanca). The second daughter is called Naqaiyum, and she is also associated with the sanhol as is the second son. The third son is called TSanqin, little sun, and the third daughter, in the same way, Natsanqin. There are other names found in use, Bol, a verb meaning to distribute food, and Nabol, the corresponding name given to the girl. I could not make out what son and what daughter bore these names, but those who jjossessed it had as their secondary animal names, Qimbol, a species of snake. It seems from the meaning of the word bol that the domestic head of the family may have had this designation. If this is the case, it seems probable that the persons having this name did not always occupy the same relative position in the order of age in the famil}^ In one case I found the name Bol given to the oldest son, but in all other cases he bore the name Qin. It may come out on further inves- tigation that there may be a difference as regards naming the first son in respect to his mother, whether or not she is the wife first married or a later one. Each of the pairs of names — Qin and Naqin, Qaiyum and Naqaiyum, TSanqin and NatSanqin, Bol and Nabol — has as their special possession secular songs relating to the animals whose names they bear. 1 It will be noted that the baao is also found as one of the names in the primary animal classification. SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS ,43 Thus, to sum up, we find a number of different names used by the Lacandones. (1) They address each other by the terms of relationship to themselves, cousins and brothers being considered the same. (2) Each family has an animal name which is transmitted from father to son. (3) There is some larger division, and certain families are united under one name. This has not been successfully worked out. (4) Each person in the family bears a name as regards the order of precedence of birth. (5) Each person in the family bears an animal name which varies as the name under (4) varies. All first sons have the same name and the same animal name. It may be well to investigate in detail the form of govern- ment of the families among whom most of the rites described were witnessed. Two brothers, Qin and Chanqin, of the maao gens, had married two sisters of the qeqen family. These two families live in peace under the same roof; each, however, with its own distinct camp fire and food. The older brother rules supreme in the little settlement, and it is he who decides all questions which may come up. A half league away lives the aged mother of the two brothers together with a grandson, the child of her oldest son who is dead. Two of her daughters also live in this encampment. They are both married to a man of the same gens. The grandson, Qin, the heir of the oldest son, would naturally be the head of the encampment. He is still young and unable to carry out the demands of the religious ceremonies. These are therefore undertaken by the husband of his two aunts and not, as might at first be supposed, by one of the uncles. One may see in this the faint remains of the matriarchal system, where, on the death of the oldest son and during the childhood of the heir, the regency is held, not by the deceased man's brothers, but by the husband of his sister. There is little or no need of concerted action or of any 44 MAYAS AND LACAND0NE8 central government among the Lacandones, living, as they do, separated into self-sustaining communities.^ When a man gives a feast, he invites all his neighbors far and near. He is the lord of the ceremony, however, and holds absolute control within the little settlement where it is observed. The others are his guests, and they all pay him honor and obedience as their host. A pleasing custom always observed among the Lacandones is seen in the greeting and taking leave of the giver of one of the feasts by the guests. A set form of speech is used and the giver of the feast is addressed by the title Yum, father or lord. At the entrance to the sacred inclosure each person utters the following words, Bininkinwile inyume, I come to see you, my lord. The person addressed always bids him enter, Orken. In taking leave the form is Bininka tinna, I am going to my house. The guest never leaves, however, until the giver of the feast has given him permission to depart, Sen, go. The members of the family of the host are also addressed singly by their titles of relationship to the speaker as Bininkin- wile inkik, I am coming to see you, my sister. Among the Mayas, tlie form used in taking leave is more in the nature of asking permission, Sikeni, may I go? and the answer is Sen, go. This custom is not carried so far among the Mayas as among the Lacandones. 2 Every one present in a hut is not individ- ually addressed when one is leaving, as among the latter people. The family with the father at the head is the unit in the social organization of the Lacandones. A group of related families seems to form the gens. There is no evidence that we can safely accept which shows any larger division than the gens There is no need for a larger unit. Wars have disappeared, and there is no cause for the compact form of society where strength 1 Margil, 169G, gives an interesting account of the social organization of the Lacandones. ~ Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXIII, p. 132 : " Porque en el progresso de sus platicas, el menor por curiosidad suele repetir el nombre del ofl&cio 6 dignidad del mayor." SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 45 is needed to resist an enemy or where each family has its portion of labor to perform in order to sustain the whole, as among people of a higher social status. Among the Lacandones, family is isolated from family, each with its own fields. The different functions of society are carried out by the members of the family. The father, assisted by his oldest son, clears the forest to make the fields and carries on the rites of their re- ligion, while the mother and the daughters spin and weave the cotton into clothing, grind the corn, and carry on the ordinary work of the household. Their part in the religious life con- sists in the preparation of the food and drink to be offered the idols in behalf of the gods. The family thus seems to be the unit also in the religious life. The gods are, for the most jDart, family deities rather than tribal. The gathering of the families of the same gens occurs at certain of the important rites. The daily and weekly cere- monies carried on before the incense-burners are performed by the male members of the family. The morals of the family are strict. Prostitution or adultery seldom occurs. Until marriage the daughters remain under the strict control and care of their fathers. The father of the boy seeks the bride, and she comes to live in his home.^ There are exceptions to this rule, as in the case cited before, where the husband had married the two sisters and had come to live at their home. The marriage ceremony is not complicated. There is an offering of posol and baltSe to the gods, and the man and woman eat together as a sign that they are man and wife. After marriage, a man and woman never again eat with their parents. If one is visiting at the home of his father and mother, he eats apart from them. A widow, all of whose sons are married, is thus compelled to eat alone. Polygyny is not an uncommon thing among the Lacandones. No instances have been observed of a man having more than three wives. The women all live together, and the duties of the household are divided and shared among them. There 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXV, p. 140. 46 MAYAS AND LAC AN BONES seems always to be a favorite wife. Usually she is the first one married. It is she who brings to her husband, in the sacred in- closure, the food and drink prepared by the wives to be offered to the gods. A woman is regarded in the relationship of aunt (oena) to the children of her husband by another wife. Polyandry has been reported among the Lacandones, but the fact has, I think, never been established. Among the Mayas of Yucatan, the man has to make a present to the parents of the girl, and it is he who pays for the clothes necessary for the marriage. The fecundity of the Maya race is large but not excessive. ^ Marriages generally take place at a very early age. One often finds mothers of thirteen and fourteen, which shows the quick development of the girl into the woman. At child birth there is a special ceremony held before the idols, where prayers are offered up in behalf of the mother and her child. A pregnant woman wears around her neck a cotton string (kutS). This is to preserve the life of the embryo. After the child is born, the mother places the string around the neck or the leg (see PI. XXVT, Fig. 1) of some one who is ill, usually a male relative. If it is taken off, the child dies and the man loses the beneficial effect of its presence. It is effective for about a year. Children are kept at the breast a much longer time than among white people. 2 Children among the Lacandones are usually called by the terms of their relationship to the speaker. This is especially true of brothers, sisters, and cousins who address each other as brother and sister. The eldest son of a family bears the name Qin until the death of his father, when he receives the title Yum. The eldest daughter is named Snuk (the large one), 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXXII, p. 192 : " Son muy fecmidas y tempranas en parir, y grande.s criaderas por dos razones, la una porque la bevida de las mananas que beven caliente cria mucha leclie y el continue moler de su maiz y no traer los pechos apretados les haze tenerlos muy grandes donde les viene tener mucha leche." "^ Ibid., Chap. XXX, p. 180: " Mamavan mucho, porque nunca dexavan de darles leche pudiendo, aunque fuessen de tres o quatro anos." SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 47 and the younger daughters are usually called TSasnuk (little ones). These names are in addition to those used in connec- tion with animal names. In Yucatan the child is always carried astride the hip. Among the inhabitants of Chiapas, the custom is also common (PI. Ill, Fig. 2). Here the very small children are often suspended in a net on the back of the mother, the net being supported by a cord passing over the forehead. There seem to be no elaborate puberty rites. When a boy arrives at the age of manhood, the father offers a bow and a set of arrows to the gods in behalf of the boy, with a prayer be- seeching them to make his son a good hunter. After this the boy may take an active part in all the rites, and it is at this time that he assumes the loin cloth. A girl, on arriving at the age of puberty, wears the bunch of bird feathers suspended from the back of the head. Ages are reckoned as regards the number of dry and wet seasons that have passed. Yaiqin, the first sun, is used to desig- nate the dry epoch, and hahal, from ha, water, the rainy season. I was unable to find any trace of the ancient system of reckon- ing time. The mortuary customs furnish a means of ascertaining the ideas concerning death and a future life. The belief among the Lacandones is, that when a person dies, his "pulse," as it is expressed (upisanuqab), goes below, to live in the underworld with Kisin (p. 95), and the heart goes above, to remain with Nohotgakyum, the main god. Among the Lacandones, the body, lying on its back, is placed in a grave about two feet in depth. On the abdomen a bundle of ground corn is deposited for making posol and tortillas. Parallel sticks are laid crosswise the body, followed by a layer of palm leaves. On these the earth is piled until the grave is filled and a mound about a foot high is made. Ashes are sprinkled over the mound, and at each of the four corners there is placed a small figure made of palm leaves and representing a dog. These are sup- posed to accompany the soul as guardians to its final resting 48 MAYAS AND LACANDONES place. ^ Around the grave is a line of small sticks about four inches apart. On the top of each stick is a bit of cloth clipped in beeswax. Each male member of the family of the deceased plants and lights three or more of these rude candles, and each woman and child two.^ A shelter of palm leaves is finally built over the grave. From the roof there is suspended a gourd filled with posol, another with water, and a third containing tortillas.^ This food, together with that placed directly on the ^ Seler (1900-1901, pp. 82-83) gives an interesting parallel of the Nahna idea of the dog and his connection with death. He paraphrases Sahagun as follows : "The native Mexican dogs . . . barked, wagged their tails, in a word, behaved in all respects like our own dogs, were kept by the Mexicans not only as house com- panions, but above all for the shambles, and also in Yucatan and on the coast land for sacrifice. The importance that the dog had acquired in the funeral rites may perhaps have originated in the fact that, as the departed of both sexes were accompanied by their effects, the prince by the women and slaves in his service, so the dog was consigned to the grave as his master's associate, friend, and guard, and that the persistence of this custom in course of time created the belief that the dog stood in some special relation to the kingdom of the dead. It may also be that, simply because it was the practice to burn the dead, the dog was looked on as the Fire God's animal and the emblem of fire, the natives got accustomed to speak of him as the messenger to prepare the way in the kingdom of the dead, and thus eventually to regard him as such. At the time when the Spaniards made their acquaintance, it was the constant practice of the Mexicans to commit to the grave with the dead a dog, who had to be of a red-yellow color, and had a string of unspun cotton round his neck, and was first killed by the thrust of a dart in his throat. The Mexicans believed that four years after death, when the soul had already passed through many dangers on its way to the underworld, it came at last to the bank of a great river, the Chicunauhapan, which encircled the underworld proper. The souls could get across this river only when they were awaited by their little dog, who, on recognizing his master on the opposite side, rushed into the water to bring him over." ( Sahagun, 3 Appendix, Chap. I.) 2 The idea of candles in connection with the burial rites may be of Spanish origin, although there is no suggestion of the cross in connection with the burial ceremony. 3Cf. Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. XII, Chap. VII, p. 699: "Que en muriendo la persona, para sepultar el cuerpo, le doblan las piernas, y ponen la cara sobre las rodillas . . . abren en tierra, un hoyo redondo. . . . Al rededor le ponen mucha vianda, una xicara, un calaba50 con atole, falvados de maiz, y unas tortillas grandes de lo mismo, que han Ueuado juntamente con el cuerpo, y assi lo cubren despues con tieiTa," Also cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXXIII, p. 196: " Muertos los amortajavan hinchandoles la boca del maiz molido que es su comida y bevida que llaman koyem." For a later account, cf. Sapper, 1897, p. 265: " Bei den Lacandonen im SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS 49 body, is to furnish sustenance on the journey which the soul (pisan) takes to the home of the main god of the Lacandones. After its arrival at the final resting place, its welfare is assured. The water contained in the gourd, hung in tlie shelter, is to wash the hands before the food is touched, and the four dogs, as has been noted, are supposed to accompany the body on its journey as protectors. The parallel sticks placed over the body are to guard it from being devoured by the animals of the forest. Otherwise the animals might consume the body and then they might be killed and eaten, in turn, by the people. This would be considered as one of the greatest crimes known to the Lacandones. The ashes placed on top of the grave symbolize the warmth given to the soul to protect it from the cold. Incineration is no longer practiced in any form.^ Among the Mayas of Yucatan, a burial is usually carried out according to tlie customs of the Catholic Church. Food and drink, however, are placed on the grave. Trade is carried on to a limited extent by the Lacandones among themselves. Cocoa berries, masses of copal, wax, rubber, and bunches of feathers are often used as the mediums of ex- change as in former times. ^ Sociology of the Mayas. — There is little that can be said concerning the sociology of the Mayas. They live under the laws of the Mexican Republic. In the pueblos they elect their own presidente for the town. All the former forms of tribal division are completely lost. Polygyny is not allowed to exist, and it is not openly carried on. The morals of the family are loose. Prostitution is common. Landa speaks with surprising candor of the morals of the natives before and after the entrance ostlichen Chiapas sollen die Leichname ira Walde auf eiiien Holzrost in einer niir handtiefen Grube gelegt und mit Laub und Erde destreut werden, so dass sie also den Thieren zum Frasse dienen konnten." 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, p. 198. 2 Cf. " Relacl6n de Mutul," 1900, Vol. XI, p. 87 : " Los tratos y contrataciones y grangerias que ay entre los naturales y espanoles son mantas de algodon, cera, y miel, y sal, y otras cosasde mantenimiento, que benden unos a otros y en cacao que se trae de laprobincia de tabasco y de onduras." 50 MAYAS AND LACANBONES of the Spaniards into the country. ^ When one takes into con- sideration the fact that the account was written by a priest of the people whom he criticises so harshly concerning the evils which they have brought into the country, the statement has great weight. 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XXXII, p. 186 : " Preciavanse de buenas y tenian razon, porque antes que conociessen nuestra uaciou, seguu los viejos aora llorau, lo eraa a maravilla." INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY Agriculture. — Agriculture is necessarily very crude among both the Mayas and the Lacandones, owing to the nature of the ground and the lack of modern tools and methods. It is prac- tically identical in both localities. Corn, the staple product and the fundamental article of food, is cultivated after the manner of the country. There are several kinds of corn found among the Mayas and the Lacandones, and they are distinguished chiefly by their colors. ^ Some of the varieties are found in every settlement and encampment. In December or January a site well exposed to the sun is selected, and the trees are felled and the undergrowth cut away. During the succeeding months of the season of drought, the fallen trees become well dried. Just before the rainy season sets in, during the middle of April or the first of May, the mass of underbrush and trees are burned, thus clearing and enriching the ground at the same time. At the coming of the rains, the corn is placed in the ground, which has had no preparation other than the clearing and burning of the trees. The preparation of the corn for food may well be regarded as a separate industry. The greater part of the time of the women is thus taken up. Most of the corn is eaten in the form of tortillas. The corn is first soaked overnight in an alkali to remove the hulls. In Yucatan, limestone is burned to furnish this alkali. In Chiapas, it is often difficult to find limestone which is pure enough for this purpose. The shells of the fresh- water snails are burned as a substitute. A strong lye is also obtained from the ashes of the bark of the mahogany tree. 1 Among the varieties of corn are sakSim or gnuknal, a large white corn ; tSaktsots or tiakinuknal, a large red variety ; tsaktsikinoonot, a small red corn ; qansim, a yellow kind ; and tiikinoonot, a blue variety. 51 52 MAYAS AND LACANDONES The corn is ground moist on the stone metate (Nahuatl met- atl) (PL IX, Fig. 1). As seen among the Maj^as, the stone is slightly concave, is inclined, and supported on three legs. The crusher is long and round, and extends beyond the edges of the metate. The corn is often ground over six or seven times, until it is in the form of a fine paste or batter. This is then made into tortillas (PI. IX, Fig. 2). In Yucatan the ordinary form of tortilla is about four inches in diameter, whereas among the Lacandones the size often approaches nine or ten inches. There is a form of tortilla (op) called in Spanish tostados or totopostle (Nahuatl totopochtli). These ai-e browned and re- semble more nearly the cracker. The totopostle are made in large numbers at one time, and are used as desired by simply warming them in the ashes. Another form in which the maize is largely used is called posol (maao), a drink. The corn is first boiled without lye and then ground moist as before. Masses of this are then wrapped in banana leaves, and it is used as desired. These bundles of ground corn furnish the principal food when journeys are undertaken. A handful of the corn is mixed thoroughly with water. This forms a most refreshing as well as a nourishing drink. The corn in this form is considered better if it has soured. Tsokosaka is a drink made of the ground corn used in making tortillas mixed with warm water and taken hot. Saqnum is made of the corn treated with lye mixed with water and the whole boiled together. Qa is a drink made from corn ground dried after being roasted. The third way in which the corn is used is in the form of tamales. The maize serves as a covering for an interior of chile, meat, or frejoles. The whole is then wrapped in a large leaf and boiled or steamed. Among the Lacandones a great quan- tity of these tamales are made of corn and frejoles. They are called buliiva, and are one of the principal offerings made to their gods in the religious rites (p. 102). Throughout Yucatan, as well as Chiapas, the Mexicans and INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 63 other inhabitants have very generally adopted the food native to the country. In the fields between the hills of corn are planted camotes (is),^ a species of sweet potato. When fully grown, their presence in the ground is indicated by a slight cracking m the surface of the soil. A pointed stick is all that is used in digging them out. Yucca (oin), a farinaceous plant, is also grown in the same field with the corn as well as a small tomato (beyant&an). Frejoles (buul), a species of black kidney bean, form with the tortilla the daily food of the Maya. The beans are boiled and eaten with chile. Sugar cane and bananas are grown extensively. Among the Lacandones tobacco (quo) finds a place in their fields. Native cotton (taman) is extensively grown. This is spun, woven, and made into clothing. In Yucatan the prin- cipal product outside of the corn (iiim) is Jienequeri (soskil). The cultivation of this plant would be impossible but for the presence of the natives. The entire working force on the haci- endas is composed of Mayas. Hunting. — Next to the cultivation of corn, the hunt fur- nishes the most important means of obtaining food. The La- candones use the bow and arrow (PL X, Fig. l)^ in killing their game, which ranges in size from the smallest birds up to the mountain lion. The Indians have great accuracy of aim and put great force into sending the shaft. The description of the bow and the several kinds of arrow will be taken up later (p. 57). The necessity of offering meat to the idols of the gods in their ceremonies causes the Lacandone to devote much time to the hunt. They often leave the hut before daybreak 1 For the botanical names, see under Flora, p. 21. 2 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXIX, p. 170 : "Que tenian armas offensivas y defen- sivas. Ofensivas eran arcos y flechas que llevavan en su cargaje con pedernales per caxcillos y dientes de pescados muy agudas, las quales tiran con gran des- treza y fuerza." Also cf. Sapper, 1897, p. 261 : " Zur Jagd verwenden die Lacandonen noch immer Bogen und Pfeile, letztere mit Feuersteinspitzen, welche sie mittelst eines Hornmeissels spalteu." 64 MAYAS AND LACANDONES and return late at night, and very seldom with empty hands. All the Mayas of the peninsula, together with the Lacandones who live nearest the settlements of the Mexicans, use in place of the bow and arrow the old muzzle-loading musket and the powder horn. The natives of both localities are skillful in imitating the cries and calls of animals and birds. The cry of the young venado is ver}^ faithfully reproduced by a horn whis- tle, which the natives manufacture. Often a large number of Indians will join together for a general hunt, and the results are divided on the return. Venado, a small deer, and wild turkeys are the principal game in Yucatan. Partridge and quail are also plenty. In the re- gion of the Usumacinta River, practically all the animals known to the colder parts of the torrid zone abound. Monkeys of several varieties furnish a constant source of food.^ Fishing. — The natives of the coast of Yucatan engage exten- sively in fishing. Owing to the lack of rivers and lakes, how- ever, the greater part of the Mayas of the peninsula have no knowledge of the industry. Among the Lacandones it is quite different, as rivers and lakes abound and they are well stocked with fish. Among the most important are the saktan or nahwa (Spanish sardina), sohom, tSaklau, whicli is a red fish, makabil, tsakbil, and tiakal. Turtles and turtle eggs form a large supply of food. As many as four hundred or five hundred eggs are sometimes found in one hunt. Fresh-water crabs and snails (tot) are numerous. The natives of Chiapas have a primitive way of catching fisli. They shoot them from the end of a canoe with a wooden-pointed arrow (PL X, Fig. 2). They are very expert in this. They also have come to know the use of the hook and line, and they are skillful in making nets. A spear about eight feet long is sometimes used in catching fish and turtles. This has a detachable point hung by a cord. Navigation. — Along the coast of Yucatan, especially on the eastern side, on the Usumacinta River and its tributaries, and on the lakes of Chiapas and Guatemala, navigation is engaged 1 See p. 22 for a more complete list of animals hunted for game. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 55 in extensively by the natives. As has been noted (p. 9), Columbus on his last voyage encountered a canoe some way out at sea which probably came from Yucatan. The early Mayas and the Lacandones of the present time use the cai/uco, or dugout (tSem). It is made of a mahogany log, and is often thirty or more feet in length, three feet in breadth, and capable of carrying fifteen or twenty men. Weaving. — The Mexican influence seen throughout the pen- insula, with the exception of the narrow strip along the eastern coast, has robbed the Mayas of many of their former arts and industries by furnishing them with substitutes, — the gun for the bow and arrow and cotton cloth for the hand-woven clothing. The Lacandones, however, still keep up the practice of their for- mer arts of spinning and weaving, basket and pottery making, and the fashioning of the bow and arrow. There is some fear that the arts of spinning and weaving, long since vanished from Yucatan, will also disappear from among the Lacandones in another generation. They now buy the cotton cloth of Mexi- can manufacture for their commonest clothes. Every Indian along the Usumacinta still has his cotton patch, however. The wives gather the product and spin it upon a spindle composed of a slender pointed stick about ten inches long, which passes through a small ball or disk either of wood or bone. The spindle is twisted between the fingers as the lower end rests in a small gourd, which is either held between the knees or placed on the ground in front of the person. The mass of unspun cotton rests on the shoulder, and, as it is spun, it is wound on the spindle (PI. XI, Fig. 1). The coarse yarn thus made is used directly in the loom. The colored thread used in making a woman's skirt is usually obtained from the Mexicans in trade. The loom is of the same form as is seen among the Mexican Indians (PI. XII, Fig. 1), the Pueblo peoples, and the Navajos. The position of the loom is horizontal rather than vertical, as among the Navajos. The Lacandone loom has two bamboo reeds fastened to the finished cloth to hold it out to the desired width, as the piece of cloth woven is often eight 66 MAYAS AND LACANDONES or ten feet long. As it is finished it is wound up on tlie top cross stick. A shuttle is used in weaving the plain garments. The end of tlie loom where the work is being done is fastened by a band around the waist of the weaver ^ and the other end is tied to a post or tree. The worker then sits as far back as possible from the post to give the required tension (PL XI, Fig. 2). 2 Tlie cloth is always woven in one straight piece, and is sewed together afterward in forming either the poncho- like upper garment of the men and women alike or the scant skirt of the women. The looms are all about the same width, which is not over two and a half feet. Another form of weaving is seen in the manufacture of hammocks. According to Don Juan Molina Solis,^ the hammock is not, as is commonly supposed, native to the Mayas of Yucatan, but its use was introduced by the Spaniards, who first brought it from the island of Santo Domingo. The hammock is now used uni- versally throughout Yucatan by the Mexicans as well as by the Mayas. A swinging seat much like a hammock is suspended in a tree and used by hunters at night. This, according to Mr. E. H. Thompson, is native to the country, and may be the ancestor of the hammock.* The hammocks are all of native workmanship, and are Fig. 1. Tro-Cort. 79, c. 1 Compare the loom used among the Pokomchi Indians pictured by Sapper, 1904, rt, Plate IV, Fig. 2. 2 Fig. 1 shows an interesting parallel taken from the Codex Tro-Cortesianus. 8 Molina, 1896, p. 247. * An Italian Ms. in the British Museum by Galeotto Cey (Viaggio e Relazione delle Indie, 1539-1552) has upon the margin of one of the pages an interesting ink sketch of a hammock, called amaccor, probably the first picture of a ham- mock from the Indies. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 51 usually made of henequen. This is first twisted into cord by rolling it on the bare knee with the palm of the hand. The strands are then woven on frames set up in the domestic hut. The Lacandones also use the hammock for sleeping. They make them only for their own use, and it is almost impossible to find one which may be bought. The cord is a species of agave liber, and is twisted in the same manner as in Yucatan. Tlie hammock, however, is quite different. It is not woven in the strict sense of the word, but is composed of parallel cords knotted together at intervals of about six inches (PI. XII, Fig. 2). The finished hammock is only about three feet wide and seven feet long, whereas that of Yucatan is often sixteen feet long and can be stretched out to a great width. Tlie Lacandone hammock, owing to the nature of its construction, cannot be stretched. The natives of Chiapas also make a ham- mock with the ordinary checker-board weave. Still another form of weaving among the Lacandones is seen in the manufacture of the carrying nets or bags which are carried supported on the back by a strap or cord going over the forehead. These are used principally to bring corn and other products from the niilpa. These bags are made of ac/ave fiber, and are netted rather than woven. Baskets are made both by the Mayas and the Lacandones. They are crude affairs, however, and have little or no artistic value. Coiled basketry is unknown. The form usually taken by the INIaya baskets is that of a wide-mouthed bowl with straight sides. Bird cages of basketry are often made in both localities. These are round and come to a point at the top. When the huts of the natives have doors, as is the case in most parts of Yucatan, they are usually made of vines or hejucos woven on upright sticks. Manufacture of Bows and Arrows. — The Lacandones seem to devote all their artistic strength to the manufacture of their bows(tsulul orpooptse) and arrows (hul orherierl) (Fig. 2, p. 58). These bows and arrows in their shape and finish certainly show a love of the beautiful in their fashioners. The bow I 58 MAYAS AND LACAND0NE8 4 is made of the wood of the guayacan or lignum vitse (Guaicum sanctum), which is especially adapted by- reason of its strength and elasticity. The only tool used in the manufacture of the bows and arrows is the machete, now to be found every- where throughout most of the ter- ritory occupied by the Lacandones. The natives who live between Lake j I Petha and Ocosingo in Chiapas seem to be the principal fashioners of the bows. They get out the wood, shajje it rudely, and then barter it with the Lacandones of other regions. The wood of which the bow is made is full of pitch. This is extracted by heating in the fire. Heat is also used in straightening and shaping the arrows. The bow is usually a little shorter than the person for whom it is intended. The general length is about five feet six inches. They are nearly straight, curving slightly in the direction op- posite to that when drawn. The cross section of the middle of the bow approaches an ellipse, the larger di- ameter about an inch. This decreases toward the ends, which are round in cross section and about a half inch in diameter. The bow string is made Fig. 2. Lacandone bow and arrows (after Maler) : a, bow ; h, bird bolt ; c, wooden pointed arrow for fish and small game ; d, stone-pointed backed arrow ; e, stone-pointed arrow. Scale: J. 1 INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 59 of twisted agave fiber. The upper tip of the bow is called uni, its nose ; the middle of the back upatS, its back ; the middle of the front utan, its middle ; and the end resting on the ground utsun, its stem.i The arrows in their finish are works of art. They are of three kinds, according to their intended use. The arrows used with the largest bows are about four feet six inches long, with the exception of the bird bolt, which is slightly over four feet. All the arrows have two clipped feathers (u§ik, its wing) at the end, at riglit angles to the notch for the bow string. This notch is made in a separate piece of wood, which is in- serted into the hollow end of the reed forming the shaft of the arrow. The feathers are from the buzzard (balunkuk or kon- toq), two species of parrots (mo and oiman), and two species of hawk (ekpip and suktsitS). Both feathers on the same arrow are usually from the same bird. Large quantities of feathers are usually kept on hand. Each is strung upon a cord, and the whole carefully wrapped in bark fiber until they are used. A set of arrows is usually composed of twelve: a bird bolt (pakat) (6, Fig. 2), four unpointed (c. Fig. 2), two stone- pointed and the foreshafts barbed (c?, Fig. 2), and five stone- pointed and the foreshafts either square or round (e. Fig. 2). The bird bolt is made of a hollow reed (Spanish carrizo or cana hrava). It is very light in weight. The point is made of wood and is very blunt. This arrow is designed for use in capturing birds alive, as it stuns rather than kills them. All the arrows other than the bird bolt are made with a shaft (her- lerl) and foreshaft (tsuste). The shaft is always made of the same hollow light reed as the bird bolt, and is about two feet ten inches long for use with the bow of five feet six inches. The foreshaft is about one foot eight inches long, and is either round in cross section or square. This is made of several 1 For a detailed discussion of the Lacandone bow and arrow and a compari- son with those of other Central American peoples, see Sapper, 1903, p. 56, Figs. 15-17, d. 60 MAYAS AND LACANDONES kinds of wood. The 2)alo de tinta or logwood (eq) is often found. The chicosapote (sSkya) is also a common wood for the foreshaft.i The foreshaft is tipped with a stone point (toq) generally of flint 2 but sometimes of obsidian, bone, or glass. The base of the point is sunk in a notch (upak) in the end of the fore- shaft, which is afterward wound with sinew heavily coated with wax. By holding the end over the fire for a moment, the wax melts and the whole is rubbed smooth, making a firm joint. The point of insertion (uqas, its band) of the foreshaft Package of flint flakes from which arrow points are made. (After Maler.) into the hollow reed which is the shaft is wound firmly with the waxed sinew (tSukikib). The chipping of the flint is easily and quickly done by means of a knuckle bone or piece of steel. The chipping of the flake from the large core is done after heating the latter in the fire. The flake which is to be pointed is held in the left hand between the thumb and forefinger, the former being pro- tected by a piece of bark fiber. The bone or steel is held in the right hand. The point is easily made into the desired shape by pressure alone. ^ 1 The names in Maya for some of the varieties of wood employed in the fore- shafts, some of which I have been unable to identify, are as follows : qiis, moste, tsakya, uqaqtse, kektSe, and kuktSe. 2 Fig. 3 (after Maler, 1901-1903, p. 37) shows a package of flint flakes from which arrow points are made. ^ Cf. Sapper, 1897, p. 261 : " Ich selbst habe nicht Gelegenheit gehabt, das Verfertigen von Pfeilspitzen mit anzusehen ; dagegen sah ich am See Pet Ha in Chiapas zu, wie ein Lacandone abgebrochene Pfeilspitzen wieder scharfte ; er INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY 61 In every set of twelve arrows, there are usually two whose foreshaft is cut into barbs either on one or both sides. This arrow (tututs) is used for shooting monkeys in order that it cannot be pulled out. For shooting fish and small birds an arrow is used of the same form as the stone-tipped arrow with the stone point lacking. The wooden foreshaft is simply sharpened. The arrow release is the " primary release," with the arrow between the thumb and the second joint of the forefinger. Owing to the great length of the arrow, the bow, when pulled, has necessarily to make a large arc in order that the arrow may be aimed correctly. The male children have arrows suitable to their size, which they always carry with them. They early become expert in shooting. The bows and arrows are often used as ceremonial objects. They are made and presented to the idols in behalf of the gods as a prayer for success in the hunt. Two round spots of red paint are placed on the shaft of the arrows when they are thus offered. When a son arrives at the age of puberty, the father offers a set of arrows and a bow to the gods (Chant No. 1^). The bark stripped from a young ceiba (yaStSe) is used to wrap around the bow and arrows as a sort of quiver. During the last few years, the Mexicans living in the monterias adjacent riss mit der unteren Kante eines stavken Messers Splitterchen um Splitterchen von der Pfeilspitze weg, die er fest in der Hand hielt, und nach kaum einer Minute war aus den abgebrochenen Trumm eine kleine scharfe Pfeilspitze geworden." Professor Saville of Columbia University has kindly placed at my disposal the following unpublished communication of Dr. Hermann Berendt to the American Ethnological Society, November 12, 1873, regarding a method of arrow chipping: "The mode of making arrow heads from flint stone, still in use, among the Lacandones is very similar to that already described by Colonel Jones. The nucleus being placed on the calf of the leg, a sharpened deer horn is used as a chisel and a piece of hard wood as a hammer to separate the flakes. It is probable that the same proceeding was known in Yucatan, for while living in Campeche a sepulcher was opened, and in an earthen bowl, besides some obsidian and flint implements, a deer horn was found with identically sharpened points." 1 This and succeeding chants will be found at the end of the volume. 62 MAYAS AND LACANDONES to the settlements of the Lacandones have found that there is a market for the bows and arrows in the Mexican towns. As a consequence, some of the less retiring of the natives have been persuaded to make sets of bows and arrows for sale. It is very seldom, however, that the}' will consent to part with those they actually use in hunting, as in many cases these also have some ceremonial use. No trace of the bow and arrow has been found in Yucatan, although we have many references to their use by early writers for offensive weapons.^ Pottery Making. — Pottery making still exists in Yucatan in the manufacture of the earthen water jars. A centre of this industry is in Ticul, south of Merida, Yucatan. The jars are used by the women throughout the peninsula in carrying water from the cenote or well to their huts. The usual form of vessel has two handles opposite each other. They are made by hand with the help of a smooth wooden paddle. The mass of wet clay rests on a square block of wood which is turned by the feet of the modeler as he sits on a stool before the pot (PI. XIII, Fig. 3). This may be an interesting and early form of the potter's wheel. ^ After the jar is shaped by hand, it is baked in a wood fire to complete it. An interesting survival of form but with the change of material is seen in the jars which are now made of tin. They are of the same shape as the earthen ones. These are used in great numbers by the natives living around Palenque in the state of Chiapas. The shape of the pots makes them admirably fitted to be carried on the hip, as is the universal custom. Among the Lacandones the jar-shaped water pots are not found, as all the water is carried in large hollow gourds. Earthen vessels of all sizes, however, are made by the natives 1 Cf. " Relacion de la Ciudad de Merida," 1000, Vol. XI, p. 41 : " Las arraas con que los yndios peleaban en la guerra eran arcos de palo y flechas de caiias delgadas con puntas de pedernal," and in "Relacion de Tahzib," 1900, Vol. XI, p. 187, " — peleaban con arco y flechas puesto un pedernal en la punta." 2 Cf. Mercer, 1897. INBVSTBIAL ACTIVITY 63 of Chiapas. Bowls for food are modeled by hand, the clay resting on a banana leaf which readily turns on the board on which it rests. The clay incense-burners of the Lacandones will be described in detail later, when taking up the religion of the Lacandones (p. 84). The ceremonial drum is also another example of the potter's art among these natives. It is often of a graceful shape and with the same crude, mask-like face seen on the incense-burners (PI. XX, Fig. 2). Jars of a slightly different shape from that of the drum are made for holding the ceremonial drink (baltse). These pots have a much shorter neck than those of the drums, and rest on three very short legs (p. 114). Some of these also have the crude head on one side. It is smaller, however, and much more insignificant than the head on the drum. Apiculture is practiced among both the IVIayas and the Lacandones. Among the latter people it has a ceremonial sig- nificance. Hollow logs are placed inside the sacred house of the gods, and the deposition of the honey by the bees has a religious meaning. ^ Fire Making. — Under the head of industries would come the making of fire. The flint and steel is known throughout Yuca- tan and a part of the territory of the Lacandones. In certain of the ceremonies among the latter people, it is necessary to make new fire. The simple "two-piece" apparatus is used (PI. XXV, Fig. 2). An upright stick is twisted between the palms of the' hands and one end of the stick rests in a groove of a horizontal one which lies on the ground. The friction thus made ignites some tinder made of logwood shavings, which m turn is used to light the wood already prepared for the fire. House Building. — The dwellings of both the Mayas and the Lacandones are practically identical in construction. The only difference is that the house of the native of Chiapas is really little more than a shelter and often has no sides and doors as do the houses in Yucatan. The usual form of house found through- 1 The bee industry, probably from a ceremonial standpoint, is pictured at great length in the Codex Tro-Cortesianus, 103-112. 64 MAYAS AND LACANBONES out the peninsula is oblong with rounded ends. There are two doors opposite each other in the sides which face the street or path on which the house is located. In the native huts in the towns of Yucatan, at either side of the door facing the street, there is a protruding wall connecting the house with the stone wall which invariably starts at either side of the entrance to the hut. The better type of Maya dwellings always has a smaller and less carefully built structure in the yard behind, where all the cooking is done. The framework of the roof rests on four forked posts, which stand at each corner of the house. The roof is thus independ- ent of the sides and walls, which are made either of slender sticks set close together and covered with mud or palm leaves, or of rock and plaster, the form usually seen in the villages. In the early Relaciones references are made to the palm- leaf huts as being more healthful than those built of stone. ^ The steep roof, which comes down very low, is made of palm leaves tied to a framing by flexible vines. ^ The parts of the frame itself are also tied with the vines or bejucos. The doors are usually made of wickerwork.^ The huts of the Lacandones seldom have rounded ends and often no sides. The roof, especially that of the ceremonial shelter, comes down very low and serves in place of walls. The gable ends, however, are open. In the material used and the method of construction, the huts are identical with those of the Mayas (PL VIII, Figs. 1, 2, 3). 1 "Relacion ce Quizil y Sitipeche," 1900, Vol. XI, p. 219: " Comunmente l3s yndios hazen sus casas de raadera y baragon cubiertas de paja y de hojas de palmas que en algunas partes ay en abundancia aunque pudieran hazerlas de piedra por aber raucha en la tierra, — dizen que lo hazen por mas sano bebir en las casas de paja que de piedra por causa de las calores que hazen desde el raes de abrill hasta setienbre." 2 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XX, p. 110: "Que la manera de hazer las casas era cubrirlas de paja que tienen muy buena y mucha, o con hojas de palma que es propria para esto." * For a detailed drawing showing the construction of the Kekchi home, which resembles in general plan that of the Maya, see Sapper, 1904, a, Plate V. ARTISTIC ACTIVITY Decoration. — In the decorative art, the Mayas are very low in the scale of human culture. The kind of civilization which the Maya has received from the Spaniards has rendered him an impossible subject for a study of primitive art. The Lacandones, on the other hand, one would imagine might furnish a fertile field for this study. They are, however, nearly as destitute of any evi- dences of artistic activit}^ as are the natives of the peninsula. An attempt at decoration among the Lacandones is found on the gourd vessels in which they offer posol and baltSe to the idols in behalf of the gods. The designs (Figs. 4-15, pp. 66-68)^ are remarkably crude in their conception. They are made by incised lines on the rounded surface of the gourd. It was impossible to obtain a satisfactory explanation for any of the figures except those which were said to be men. These are curiously drawn, showing the ribs and backbone. The greater part of the designs are star-shaped figures surrounding the slight projection where the stem of the gourd has been broken off. Many of the vessels have parallel wavy lines running around them. The name uhotal, the generic name for decora- tion or adornment, was the only answer to questioning in regard to the significance of the designs. However full of symbolism these designs may once have been, it is lost among the Lacandones of the present time. The figures certainly have no hieroglyphic significance. Mr. Sapper mentions the designs he saw on the drinking vessels, but he does not seem to attach any importance whatever to the meaning of the figures. ^ 1 For an interesting design on a gourd vessel, see also PI. XXI, Fig. 1. 2 Sapper, 1897, p. 262. 65 a, h, designs on opposite sides of jicara for baltse ; c, design on bottom of same jicara; d, decoration at stem end {ufauis) ; e, a man {iui7iik) ; /, decoration at end {iiyit or utoh). a b Fig. 5. a, side oi jicara for balihe; b, bottom of same Jicara Fig. 6. a, side oi jicara for balt'se ; b, bottom of same jicara ; c, stem end. Fig. 8. Figs. 7-9, designs on jicaras for baltse. DID % // - v>- Fig. 10, T M I I i^ ^ «jy n V o o -^ Fig. 11. r ^"^^ Fig. 12. Figs. 10 and 11, a and 6, designs on opposite sides of jicaras for baltse. Figs. 10-12 represent men. 67 Fig. 14. Fig. 13. Designs on jicarus. (After Maler, 1901-1903, Figs. 6 and 7.) Fig. 15. Design unjicara. (After an unpublished drawing by Maler.) Fig. IC. Figure on cliff, Petlia. (After Maler.) ARTISTIC ACTIVITY 69 Figure 16 ^ shows a design made on the face of a high cliff which rises directly from the water in Lake Petha in Chiapas. Behind this cliff, as will be described later (p. 148), a rite performed in behalf of one of the gods was witnessed. I was unable to obtain a satisfactory explanation of this figure other than that it was done by the god who inhabited the cliff. Besides this design, there are several hand prints in red, some parallel lines, and a crude human figure (Fig. 17). Undoubt- edly the latter designs were made by the Lacandones now inhabiting the country. It is probable, on the other hand, that the figure of the two-headed serpent (Fig. 16), from the nature of the design and the method of carrying it out, was made by a people who possessed a higher artistic level than that which the Lacandones of the pres- ent time seem to have attained. The incense-burners of the La- candones show decoration of two kinds, a crude attempt at sculp- ture and at painting (PI. XV, Fig. 2). The result cannot be said to be in any way artistic or carefully carried out. The head has a roughness which even its ugliness cannot hide, and the decoration is correspondingly crude. The red paint is made of the ac'hiote berry (Bixa or ell ana), which is ground and mixed with water. The black is the soot formed in burning copal gum under an overturned olla. This making of soot has a ceremonial significance wdiich wall be described later (p. 71), Fig. 17. Figures on cliff, Petha. (After Maler.) 1 1 have taken this drawing from Maler (1901-1903, p. 30, Fig. 9), as my sketch of ■ the same figure is inferior, since it was impossible to trace it as Mr. Maler has done, or even to get anywhere near it on account of the lowness of the water below the cliff on which the drawing occurs. 70 MAYAS AND LACANBONES as also the meaning of the shape and decoration of the incense- burner (p. 84). Besides these ollas for burning incense, there are other objects which show decoration. The gourd rattle (Fig. 19, p. 75), used as an accompaniment to the singing in certain of the rites, is decorated with red and black lines which, as far as could be ascertained, have as little significance as the lines on the gourd vessels. The round part of the rattle is divided into quarters by double red lines (uoibal, anything written) running from the knob of copal on top to the place where the handle of reeds is inserted. Between the double line there is a row of holes (uibil uwits). At the lower end of the handle are thirteen streamers made of fiber bark colored red and decorated with cross lines. The chief priest in certain of the ceremonies wears a robe (PI. XIII, Figs. 1 and 2) decorated with a design in red and black (PI. XV, Fig. 1).^ The red in this case is made from the achiote berry and logwood. The black is the soot of the copal mixed with the extract made of the logwood, which, as in the former case, serves as a mordant. The garment is woven by hand and is white, with the exception of two fine red and blue lines which are woven on each edge of the cloth. The form of the robe is the same as the ordinary poncho^ worn by the men and women alike. As has been noted before, the cloth in the native loom is narrow, and two strips have to be sewed together to give the desired width to the garment. The seam comes in the middle of the front and back. As the red and blue line is woven into the very edge of the cloth, this sewing together makes a double line of red and blue in the center of the front and back, in addition to the other decoration, which is painted. The two lengths are sewed together with white 1 1 did not see this robe used in any of the rites. From the nature of its deco- ration and the slight information that could be obtained, it seems to be for use in a rite performed when rain is desired. Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. I, Chap. V, p. 21, mentions a long robe found in one of the sacred huts and states that it belonged to one of the priests. ARTISTIC ACTIVITY 71 thread, witli the exception of a small portion about halfway- down the front and back, where red and blue threads are used. The other decoration is all done with paint. The whole gar- ment is thickly spotted with red and black dots. With the excep- tion of a zone about a foot in width at the top of the garment and another at the bottom, there is scattered at less frequent intervals than the dots a design of a broken circle in black with red and black dots in the center, the number of which vary from three to six. This circle may represent the earthen cover which is placed over the burning copal to collect the soot for the manufacture of the black paint (PL XIV, Fig. 2). This process has a ceremonial object as well. The rounded in- terior of the cover represents the dome of the heavens and the soot collected in it is symbolic of the black rain cloud. The god of rain is called Meusabak (the maker of the black powder or soot). It is probable that the figures of the broken circles on the ceremonial robe represent the bottom of this cover used to collect the soot, not only when it is desired for paint, but in certain of the rites when rain is needed. The breaks in the circles are the holes at the bottom edge of the cover which allow the air to enter. The dots inside the circles and over the other parts of the garment may represent the rain. About halfway down the poncho in the center of the right side is represented in solid black a female kid (yuk),^ and on the opposite side a male of the same animal. The kid is not, as one might suppose, the totemic animal of the encampment where the robe was made. The reason for its portrayal could not be ascertained. Below this animal on either side is a group of concentric circles in red and black. These are said to be the breasts (uyim) of the robe. Outside these circles toward the side of the garment is a star-shaped figure representing a tarantula (toi) of a harmless variety. This is said to have been the first thing the owner of the robe had seen after 1 Yuk, among the Lacaiulones, is translated by the Spanish word cahrito, a young goat. Among the Mayas, yuk is given to the venado Colorado. 72 MAYAS AND LACANDONES he hud begun to decorate the ponclio. This was probably not undertaken until after a rite of some kind had been performed. Down the center of the robe on either side, just outside the red and blue line woven in the cloth, but only in the middle zone described before, is a broken line in alternate red and black. The term uoibal, its writing, is given as the name of the line. Around the edge of the garment are groups of semicircular concentric lines of red and black inclosing usually two dots. The word uyokil, its feet or border, is the only explanation that could be obtained for this part of the decoration. This robe shows the most elaborate attempt at ornamentation found among the Lacandones. Besides this ceremonial garment, the ordinary poncho shows signs of decoration. Red paint is offered to the gods (p. 1-11) as a part of one of the rites. It is then used to decorate the clothes of the participants in the rite in question. Spots of the paint are scattered over the whole garment without any seem- ing order (PL XXVI, Fig. 1). These fade in time to a yellow. In some cases the po7ic7io of the leader of the ceremony has circles made upon it representing the breasts seen in the cere- monial robe. There is also an attempt at decoration seen in the ceremonial hut. On the ends of the two cross beams and also near the tops of the upright posts on the western side of the hut, on either side of the hanging shelf where the idols are kept, there are two circles of red. These may represent the red bands of fiber bark (huun) used in some of the rites to tie around the heads of the participants. In one instance the circle contained a cross inside, which may have had some astronomical significa- tion. The hollow log (tSem) which serves as a reservoir for the ceremonial drink also has the two red circles painted upon it for the same signification. The decoration of the person is not especially marked. After the rite where a gourd of red paint is offered to the gods (p. 141), in addition to the painting of the potichos, the ARTISTIC ACTIVITY 73 faces of the participants are also painted. The men have spots of red upon the chin and on the forehead and short lines under the eyes.^ This is the same decoration seen on the incense-burners. The leader in this rite has two circles of red running around each ankle and wrist. These probably corre- spond to the two circles on the beams and post of the cere- monial hut, on the reservoir for balt§e, and on the arrows when offered to the gods. In one case observed, a baby had his legs entirely painted with the red color. Among the natives on the Lacantun River, in place of the spot of red in the middle of the forehead, there is a line of red running down from the center of the forehead to the end of the nose, and the lines under the eyes are longer than those seen on the faces of the natives at Lake Petha. The spot on the chin is the same in both cases. This difference in painting has some totemic or tribal difference which I was unable to make out. It may, however, be coincident with the two different types of incense-burners and with the different gods found in the two places. No painting of the body with a black color according to many of the early accounts was observed. Music. — Music plays a surprisingly small part in the daily life of either the Mayas or the Lacandones. They cannot be said to be a musical people. The contrast is very marked when one is accustomed to hear the singing and playing of the Mexicans. Very few of the Mayas have good voices and their singing is harsh and unmusical. The grossest discords do not seem to be noticed. In addition to the many modern musical instruments which have been brought into the country, the Mayas have a few which are clearly fi survival of the time when music played a part 1 Figure 18, a figure from the Dresden Codex, shows spots of black paint on the chin and forehead. 74 MAYAS A^D LACAXDONES in their ceremonies. One example of the musical bow was observed. 1 This was made of a flexible rod and the sinewy fiber of a tree as the string. The cord is made to vibrate between the lips much in the manner of the Jew's harp as it is struck with a stick. Distinct musical sounds are thus produced. The drum is found made of a hollow log with two tongues of wood of different thickness which are struck with a beater. This same form of drum is found among the natives of Mexico, and it may have been brought into Yucatan by early settlers from that country. Among the Lacandones the ceremonial drum is still used (PL XX, Fig. 2). This is made of an earthen jar with the mouth covered with a piece of skin. The drum stands on a base made of twisted vines. It is struck with the palms of the hands. There are often two placed side by side in the cere- monial hut and beaten at the same time. This form of drum always has upon one side a head fashioned in clay similar in all respects to that seen on the incense-burners. The drum is a god in itself and called Qaiyum, the singing god. The conch-shell trumpet is also used in the rites of the Lacandones. It is blown in a single note after food has been offered to the idols. This is to call the gods to come down and partake of the offerings which have been placed on the lips of the incense-burners. Among the Lacandones a crude form of xylophone was ob- served. It was in such imperfect repair that it was impossible to ascertain the scale used among the Mayas. The idea may easily have been introduced by the Mexicans living in Chiapas, as the marimba is common among them. A very interesting form of reed oboe (PI. XIV, Fig. 3) is used quite extensively among the Lacandones. The mouthj)iece consists of a quill inserted in the end of the hollow reed. The opening where the sound is produced is built up and surrounded by a mass of pitch. There are five finger holes. This flute is often used as a ceremonial object and offered to the gods. In 1 Cf. Saville, 1897, pp. 272-27.3. ARTISTIC ACTIVITY 75 such a case red paint is placed around each of the finger holes.i The Lacandone ceremonial rattle (soot) has been mentioned under the head o£ decorations (p. 70). It is composed of a round gourd through which there runs a wooden stick (Fig. 19). At the top, the end of the stick is held in place by a knob of copal gum. The other end of the stick serves as the center of the handle, and is sur- rounded by six or eight slender reeds, the upper ends of which pierce the gourd in a circle around the center hole where the main handle enters. These reeds are bound around the handle by a winding of bark, and the ends of the strips of bark hang down in thirteen streamers from the lower part of the composite handle. 2 A sort of rude guitar (petSaktse) is made of a fiat and thin rectangular , board with cross pieces at either end, over which five strings of henequen are strung. There is no w^ay of tightening the strings, and there is no approach to a scale. The Mayas of Yucatan make a whistle of horn with which they imitate the cry of the young deer. They use this in hunting. 1 StaiT (1902, a, Fig. 15) describes and pictures a similar flute, but with four finger holes, used among the Nalmas in the dance called el Tore de Cuero. See also Seler (181)9) for representations of flute and other musical instruments found in the Codices. 2 Ibid. Fig. 24 is a picture of a rattle used among the Mayas and made in a simi- lar way as regards the handle. Cf . also Fig. 20, from the Codex Tro-Cortesianus. Fig. 19. Lacandone rattle. 76 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Writers on the Mayas in the days of the Conquest make mention of the tortoise-shell drum, a trumpet of the twisted gourd, and a sort of guitar with two arms opposite each other. ^ No examples of any of these musical instruments were observed either among the Mayas or the Lacandones. Games. — The natives of Yucatan still practice some of their old games. There is often difficulty in separating these from the games of later origin introduced by the Mexicans. Yucatan is no exception to the rule of the almost universal presence of the string game, or " string figure." The figure where three loops meet in the center and called by the Navajos a the hogan or hut is called among the Mayas the " chicken's foot " '^ (umot§kaS). I am not sure, how- ever, that the knot in the center is the same (Fig. 21). There is a figure which, after being made, is operated by two persons, called "sawing wood" (tinbuh- tSe, I am sawing wood). There are four loops (Fig. 22) : a is held in the mouth ; the ends of the saw, b and c, are held in either hand; and t?, the end of the wood to be split, is held by the second person. As the ends, h and c, are pulled out from the center in a sawing motion, the end d is correspondingly shortened. The wooden top (polbiritS) of the ordinary shape is found among the Mayas. The peg is a part of the top itself. A game is played by drawing a circle on the ground in the center of which money or grains of cocoa are placed. The aim is to knock outside the ring with the top the objects in the center. This is undoubtedly European in origin. A game corresponding to the American game of " jack stones " is played with kernels of corn. The name in Maya is pulanqam and in Spanish tirar y coger. 1 Sapper (1891, p. 893) mentions a two-armed stringed instrument which he saw among the Lacandones. This form probably arises from European influence. d Fig. 21. Fig. 22. String games of the Mayas. ARTISTIC ACTIVITY 77 A bull roarer is made of the dry pod or berry of a tree (piston). The pod, which is nearly round and hollow, has three holes cut in it. When whirled in the air on the end of a string, a pleasing musical sound is made. This instrument is said to have taught the early Mayas how to whistle. Four grains of corn with one side colored black are used in a gambling game (baSal i§im). The winning throws are two black or all black sides uppermost. A game called wakpel pul (to throw six) is played with five sticks (Fig. 23), each about three inches high, set in a circle with a sixth in the center. The pieces are made of a certain kind of wood which has branches starting out opposite to each other (a and b). Each stick has grooves cut in the upper end (c), and running in number from one to six. The game is to knock down one or more of y^ the sticks by standing at a distance and throwing coins, cocoa berries, or seeds. •The Mayas of Yucatan fly kites, and are quite successful in making fire crackers and rockets. The two latter accomplishments were of course introduced by foreigners. Dancing. — Dancing once played a very im- portant part in the ceremonial life of the Mayas. Special dances were given at certain ^***^^ |^™^ °^ **^® times of the year. There were often dances for the men and others for the women at the different festivals of the Maya year. The few dances which are now reported as taking place among the Mayas are generally of mixed origin (PL XVIII, Fig. 1). The Stol and palito dances are both strongly Mexican in character, although the native elements still remain to some degree. 1 1 Mr. E. H. Thompson has made a special study of the Stol Dance with bio- graphic and phonographic records, and at some future date I trust that we may have a paper from him on this subject. I was not fortunate in witnessing one of these dances. Mr. Starr saw the Stol Dance in 1891 and he gives (1902, a, pp. 18-19) the following description: "The xtoles, formerly danced every carnival season in Merida, is falling into disuse. . . . They [the dancers] are 78 MAYAS AND LACANBONES The Lacandones of the present thne have no definite and set dances. They perform a slow movement with the feet in time to the shake of the rattle in several of the rites. It seems to have no close connection, however, with the progress of the ceremony. Indians, or are intended to represent them. Their dress is peculiar, characteris- tic, and, in part at least, survival. In the company we saw there were fourteen dancers and a standard bearer ; of the dancers seven represented females and wore the usual female garments and necklaces of coral beads, gold chains, pen- dants, etc. ; their breasts were indicated as exaggeratedly developed. The other dancers wore the usual men's white shirts and drawers, but the latter had a red stripe down the side of the leg ; jingling hawkbeils were hung to various parts of the dress ; red fajas (belts) were worn about the waist. Most of the dancers wore sandals. All wore crowns, consisting of a circlet of tin, from which rose two curving strips of tin, which crossed above the middle of the head; from this circlet at spaced intervals rose four feathers — either real feathers or imita- tions in tin. Two of these crowns, with real feathers and of unusual magnifi- cence, denote the king and queen. Under these crowns, covering the top of the head and hanging down behind over the shoulders and back, were gay red and blue kerchiefs. All were masked, mostly with old bits of brown cloth, with eye perforations and with nose and chin pinched up and developed by tying. The men wore a baldric, or bandolier, which was probably of ancient type. It was wide, square at the ends, made of cotton, with inwoven designs — geometrical, animal, bird, etc. — in colors; at the ends hung bivalve shells. The rattles used had an oval body set into a conical bunch of splints, uniting downward into a handle ; these rattles were painted gayly. Fans were carried by most of the dancers ; they had a wooden frame and handle, decorated with the national colors ; the body was made of the handsome feathers of the ocellated turkey ; the handle is made of the turkey's leg. There were two musicians, one witli a pito, or whistle, with a small mouthpiece gummed at the end of a long tin tube pierced with note holes ; the other carried a painted tin drum of the huehuetl type ; this he played with his hands. . . . The standard con- sisted of a long pole, surmounted by a tin disk, representing the sun's face with a protruding tongue ; on the cotton banner were painted the sun, two men danc- ing, a serpent, and the words Suhurhio de Santiago, 1900. The leader of the dance, the queen, carried a cord of San Francisco, with which to strike un- skilled performers and intruders. Besides their own musicians, they had an accompanying band, which played music like their own ; it played before and after the dancing and when the company passed from house to house. During the dance itself the pitero and drummer perform. The music was peculiar and may be both old and Indian. The words sung were Mayan. ... At the begin- ning of the dance, the king, queen, and two musicians were in the center, the dancers circling around them in a double circle ; they then formed into two files, facing, alternately, men and women ; salutes were given and pairs danced ; a man danced, first with one, then with the other, of his immediate neighbors. There was a good deal of indecent suggestion in the dance. The fans and rattles were used in gi'aceful movements, among which crossings were frequent." RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES I SHALL assume from the very beginning that the religious life of the Lacaudones of the present day is a survival, not only of the former religion of this one branch of the people, but of the ancient Mayas of Yucatan as well, if not of the whole Maya stock. Grounds for this assumption are furnished by the frequent similarities which will be pointed out between the religion now existing among the Lacandones and that of the Mayas of the peninsula at the time of the Conquest as described by Padre Diego de Landa in his " Relaci6nes de Las Cosas de Yucatan," and by other Spanish priests and explorers. It has seemed best to take up first in detail the religion of the Lacandones of the Usumacinta region, and finally that of the Mayas of Yucatan. With a knowledge of the religious rites of the Lacandones, parallels may be more easily seen in the remains of rites now being carried on by the nominally Catholic subjects in Yucatan. Padre Landa states that the Mayas had great fear of death and disease.i This is seen to-day in all the ceremonies of the Lacandones in honor of their gods. The principal aim of these rites seems to be that of a supplication for life and health. The prayers used are, without exception, propitiations and supplications made to the gods to ward off dangers and diseases in exchange for the sacrifices offered to them.2 The 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XXXIII, p. 194: " Que esta gente tenia niucho temor y excessive a la muerte, y esto muestravan en que todos los servicios que^ a sus dioses hazian no eran por otro fin ni para otra cosa sino para que les diessen salud V vida y mantenimientos." . ^, , ,.„„ 2 Cf the same idea expressed in an account of the natives written in the latter part of the sixteenth century, " Relacidn de Cicontiim," 1900, Vol. XI, p. 201: - Adoraban a ydolos de piedra y barro y de palos que hazian de sus raanos, y era para pedir la salud y hazienda buenos temporales." 79 80 MAYAS AND LACANDONES spiritual side of the religion is, of course, always uppermost, as with all uncivilized and semi-civilized people. Brinton sa3^s, "The earliest hymns and prayers do not, as a rule, contain definite requests, but a general appeal to the god to be pres- ent, to partake of the feast which is spread, . . . and to con- tinue his good offices toward those who call upon him." ^ Both the Mayas and the Lacandones believe in a future life and in a place filled with everything good, where, with the exception of suicides, every one sooner or later goes. There is a conductor who accompanies the piSan or soul to its final resting place. Food is given for this journey, but at its com- pletion human aid is no longer necessary for the happiness of the departed spirit. ^ The Lacandones are not at the lowest stage of religious experience. Their entreaty for life and health is not purely personal and selfish, as the wife and children are always mentioned in the prayers. The personal ego enlarges into that of the family, and the beginning of altruism is formed. As the wife has no part in the ceremonial life of the tribe, her welfare has necessarily to be looked after by the husband. The ethical side of religion, as distinguished from the spiritual, is almost wholly lacking among the Lacandones. The social consciousness of this people acts with little strength outside the family, or possibly beyond the small totemic divi- sion. The general fear of death, with a desire for the per- petuation of the species, and the specific and local dangers of fever and the bite of serpents are the causes of religious observance among the Lacandones. Gods. — There is a hierarchy of gods, each of whom seems to have a different function to perform and possesses different attributes. Landa mentions the names of thirty-six gods and goddesses in describing the ceremonies celebrated in the months of the Maya year. In a few cases the names of the gods as given by the early authorities correspond to the names of those now being worshiped among the natives. The mere 1 Brinton, D. G., 1897, p. 104. 2 cf. Mortuary Customs, p. 47. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 81 name seems to survive often when the functions and attributes either have changed or have vanished completely. With one or two exceptions, the gods are more or less friendly and well disposed toward the natives. They are of both sexes, and are supposed often to inhabit the interior of cliffs. The ruined temples found throughout the country i are believed to be the shrines and homes of some of the gods. Each god has a distinct dwelling place, which is usually on the borders of a lake or river. Frequent pilgrimages are even now made by the Indians to the ruins. 2 Rites are performed there, as is shown by the finding of incense-vessels and the remains of burned copal in the rooms of the ruined structures. Almost constant references occur in the books of early travelers and missionaries, as well as in those of later explorers, concerning the finding of incense-vessels and copal in the ruined structures.^ 1 As has been stated, at Piedras Negras and Menche or Yaxchilan on the Usumacinta Kiver, there are large ruined cities, as well as many smaller ones on several tributaries of the river. For a map of the ruins, see Maler, 1901- 1903, PI. I. 2 Sapper, 1897, p. 265: "Bis vor Kurzem kamen eine Anzahl Lacandonen (v?ahrscheinlich von Lacanja aus) nach den Ruinen von Mench^ Tunamit um ihre Feste zu feiern und ihren Gottern zu opfern, v?obei sie ihre Opferschalen im Tempel zuruckliessen. Genaueres iiber den Verlauf ihrer Feste ist aber nicht bekannt." 3 For early accounts, see Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. IV, Chap. VII, p. 193: " Hallfe en una de las dos Capillas cacas ofrecido, y senal de copal (que es su incienso) de poco tiempo alii quemado, y que lo era de alguna supersticion, 6 idolatria recien cometida." Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. IV, Chap. XIV, p. 264: "... era el Adoratorio de los perversos Idolos de aquellos Lacandones, donde se hallaron nmchos de ellos, de formas raras, como assimismo cantidad de gallinas muertas, Brasseros, con senales de aver quemado copal y aun se hallaron las cenizas calientes, y otras diversas, rediculas, y abominables cosas, pertenecieutes k la execucion de sus perversos Ritos, y Sacrificios." Landa, 1864, Chap. XXVII, p. 158: "Que tenian gran muchedumbre de idolos y templos sumptuosos en su manera, y aun sin los comunes templos tenian los senores sacerdotes y gente principal oratorios y idolos en casa para sus oraciones y ofrendas particulares. Y que tenian a Cuzmil y pogo de Chiche- niza en tanta veneracion como nosotros a las romerias de Hierusalem y Roma y 82 MAYAS AND LACANBONES In an important ruined center, to which the name the Ruins of Tzendales has been given, on the Rio Colorado, an affluent of the Tzendales and this in turn of the Lacantun, which unites with the Chixoy or Salinas to form the Usumacinta,i there was found by the writer in one of the rooms of the best preserved of the structures five incense-burners of the type ordinarily made by the Lacandones. These were arranged on the floor in a line in front of a stela, sculptured only on one side and at right angles to it. This stone was not in its original assi les ivan a visitar y offrecer dones, principalmente a la de Cozmil, como nosotros a lugares. santos, y ya que no ivan, siempre embiavan sus offrendas. Y los que ivan tenian de costumbre de entrar tambien en templos derelictos, quando passavan por ellos a orar y quemar copal." For later accounts, see Charnay, 1882, p. 88 : ". . . se trouvent une multitude de vases d'une terre grossi^re et d'une forme nouvelle; ce sont des bols de dix k quinze centimetres de diamfetre sur cinq k six de hauteur, dont les bords sond orn^s de masques humains repr^sentant des figures camardes et d'autres h, grandes nez busqu^s, v^ritables caricatures ou Part fait compl^tement d^faut. Cependant 11 faut bien remarquer cette difference de types qui pourrait designer deux races. Ces vases servaient de bruler parfums, et la plupart sont encore k moitie pleins de copal. . . . Nous retrouverons de ces memes vases dans tons les Mifices qui paraissent avoir ^t^ destines au culte." Maler, 1901-1903, pp. 64, 88, 90, 123, 130, and 162. Maudslay, 1889-1902, Text, Vol. II, p. 46, and 1883, p. 200. In the latter place, in speaking of the ruins of Yaxchilan, Mr. Maudslay says: "In nearly all the houses, I found earthen pots, partly filled with some half-burned resinous substance. . . . They were in great numbers round the idol in the house I lived in. Some looked newer than others, and many were in such positions that it was clear that they had been placed there since the partial destruction of the houses. I have little doubt that they have been made and brought by the Lacandon In- dians, who still live in an untamed state in small communities on the banks of these rivers, and if my conjecture be correct, it may be that the fact of these Indians still holding in reverence the temples built by their ancestors, and mak- ing offerings of incense, has lent strength to the story which for many years has been current in Central America, that there exists an inhabited Indian city hidden away in the forests, and still flourishing as in the days of the Conquest." (Cf. Stephens, 1841, Vol. II, p. 195.) Sapper, 1891, pp. 891, 894 : " Sie pflegten die opferschalen an Ort und Stelle zuriickzulassen und als ich (am 21, Juli 1891) dieser Ruinen (Yaxchilan) besuchte, fand ich auch wirklich noch zahlreiche von diesen opferschalen vor, wenngleich zum grossten teil zerbrochen." 1 These ruins are of much importance, and I hope at some future date to give a more extended notice of them. They are on the land owned by the Compania Romano. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 83 position, but had probably been brought in from its place in front of the building and set up in the center of the back wall of the room in question. The bas-relief represented a priestly character. The entire room showed signs of the burning of incense, as the walls and ceiling were completely blackened. The incense-burners found showed signs of age. They were covered for the most part with a deep calcareous deposit often noted on the walls of the ruined buildings. Signs of paint still remained, and this was in most cases on the surface of the incrustation of lime, showing that, in all probability, the incense- burners were allowed to remain in the ruins and were redeco- rated from time to time when they were employed in carrying out a religious rite. The temples and sculptures in each of the ruined cities are supposed to have been made by the early ancestors of the race. This belief is common among the ISIayas as well as among the Lacandones. It is most natural therefore that the natives should visit these buildings and believe them to be inhabited by the gods of the race. In order that we may not rely too strongly on this fact of pilgrimages to the ruined centers, and the seeming adoration of certain sculptured figures as pointing to a direct connec- tion between the old and new cultures, and, furthermore, as showing the continuity of the whole, I will suggest another possible explanation. It is not at all unlikely nor unnatural for an intruding people gradually to connect unusual natural features, which to them seem unnatural and new, with their idea of the supernatural. This does not necessarily limit itself to natural phenomena, and we may easily imagine that on the discovery of immense structures of stone, these buildings would appear, as far as they were concerned, as if built by some supernatural agency. These ruined cities, even if in a com- paratively ruinous condition, might well have been gradually included in the religious conceptions of the people, so that the whole system of their mythology would come in time to be centered around the ruined stone structures. 84 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Now that the country is being overrun with mahogany- hunters, the Lacanclones have refrained from visiting tlie ruins lying in the common routes of travel and leaving their incense- burners, as those deposited in the past have either been appropriated or destroyed by the Mexican visitors. These incense-burners are used by the Lacandones in their religious ceremonies. Each family or group of connected fami- lies living together possesses several of the incense-burners or hraseros. There was no instance noted where there were hra- seros for all the gods. The selection and number of the idols and incense-burners depend on well-defined rules, which will be given later (p. 99). In one encampment there were forty of the sacred oUas, but no instance was observed where there were the large number recorded by Cogolludo.^ The incense-burner, or hrasero (PI. XV, Fig. 2), is a combina- tion of a bowl for burning incense with a grotesque face mask on one side of the olla.'^ They are made of native clay by the Indians who use them. In the bowl, on the edge of which is the head, copal is burned, and on the protruding lip of the face offerings of food and drink are made in behalf of one of the The early historians speak of idols of wood and stone as well as those of clay. They also mention the incense-vessels as if they were separate from the idols. ^ It seems at first as if the ollas which we have described have a double function, that of an idol as represented by the grotesque head and of an incense- 1 Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. IX, Chap. XII, p. 502: "Gran multitud de Idolos, tanto, que dize el Padre Fuensalida, que parece no se puede contar, porque para cada cosa, que sentian tener necessidad." 2 It has been suggested that the face of these incense-burners is represented as if in the open mouth of some animal. For a good example of this idea, see Penafiel, 1890, PI. 48, Fig. 107. For a discussion of this point, see Seler, 1895 and 1904, p. 85. Nadaillac (1884, p. 296) pictures a vessel which shows some similarity to the common form of incense-burner of the Lacandones. He describes it as representing the head of a priest covered with human skin. ^ Landa, 1864, Chap. XL, p. 242 : " La hazian cada ano y demas desto reno- vavan los idolos de barro y sus braseros, ca costumbre era tener cada idolo un braserito en que le quemassen su encienso." BELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 85 burner as shown in the bowl. This, it will be found, is in part true. That there were in use among the early Mayas of Yucatan ollas of clay identical with the braseros, or incense-burners, with the grotesque head now used by the Lacandones, is probable from a description of some idols of clay used at Valladolid in the early days of the Spanish occupation i as well as a few examples found in connection with archaeological work. Plate XVI, Fig. 1, shows a small incense bowl with the gro- tesque head upon the rim of the olla. This is from the ruins of Labna, and shows the same idea as is seen in the incense- burner of the Lacandones of the present time, that of a bowl for burning incense and a head representing a god of some kind. Plate XVI, Fig. 2, shows an incense-burner from the Island of Cozumel.2 This is a very interesting specimen, in that, instead of the large lip on which to place the offering, as in the braseros of the Lacandones, there is a shelf-like projection below the outh on which an offering of some sort is represented in clay. m 1 "Relaci6n de la villa de Valladolid, escrita por el cabildo de aquella ciudad por mandado de su Majestad y del muy ilustre Senor Don Guillen de Las Casas, Gobernador y Capitan General, Abril de 1578," 1881, Vol. II, p. 185; also 1900, Vol. XIII, pp. 27, 28 : "Adoraban unos Idolos hechos de barro a manera de jarrillos y'de uiacetas de albahaca, hechos en ellos de la parte de afuera rostros desemejados, quemaban dentro de estos una resina llamada copal, de gran oler. Esto les ofrecian a estos idolos, y ellos cortaban en muchas partes de sus miembros y ofrecian aquella sangre Para estos sacrificios y sus areytos usaban beber y euiborracharse con un vino que ellos haclan de una corteza de un arbol que llaman baleze y miel y agua." Also p. 178 (1881) and p. 19 (1900) : "Tenfan sus idolos en la casa de arriba hechos de barro, de la forma de macetas de albahaca, muy bocadeadas, con sus pies y en ellos hechos rostros mal ajestados y disformes de malas cataduras, echaban dentro de este idolo una resina que llaman copal a manera de iiicienso, y esta reverencia ofrendaban y quemaban que daba de sf muy gran oler, y con esto hacen contino sus ritos, ceremonias y adoraciones." Also, " Relacion de los pueblos de Popola, y Sinsimato y Samiol," 1900, Vol. XIII, pp. 44, 45: "Usaban de adorar unos jarrillos hechos en ellos rostros de- semejados, teniendolos por sus ydolos quemavan dentro y ofresian una rresina llamada copal ques como trementina elada, de gran oler, y se cortavan en muchas partes para ofrecer la sangre a aquel ydolo." 2 This specimen was collected by Mr. E. H. Thompson. 86 MAYAS AND LACANDONES The band encircling the upper part of the bowl may well rep- resent one of the bands of bark similar to those placed around the rims of the incense-burners of the Lacandones as offerings to the gods before they are tied around the heads of the partici- pants in the rites (p. 129). This specimen has three holes in the bottom. Plate XVI, Fig. 3, shows an incense-burner of the bowl variety ^ which seems to be a transition form. In place of the head we find a conventionalized representation. The five knobs of clay above that which seems to stand for the head is a conventional- ized method of representing the hair. This same idea is seen in a modern incense-burner collected by the writer in Chiapas (PL XVI, Fig. 5). It is an entirely different type from those usually seen. The face constitutes a part of the jar itself, and the hair is represented by the five knob-like bits of clay on the edge of the bowl. In the incense-vessel from the Hondo River these knobs are on the front rather than on the rim of the bowl. There are five in each case, and there can be little doubt that they represent the hair shown in the usual form of hrasero of the Lacandones by vertical pieces of clay painted alternately red and black (PL XV, Fig. 2). Plate XVI, Fig. 4, shows another hrasero from the Hondo River. In this the conventionalized head is seen as in the former incense-burner from the same locality. The represen- tation of the hair by the five knob-like projections has been enlarged into an ornamentation for the entire rim of the bowl. We thus find these different types of incense-burners belong- ing to the older culture period of Yucatan and the countrj^ to the south, together with modern examples which agree with them more or less perfectly. The greater part of the in cense- vessels found in the ruins of Yucatan and throughout the other regions of Maya culture contain no trace of the head. It is difficult to decide which is the older form, the simple plate or bowl for burning incense or 1 This bowl is from the vicinity of the Hondo River on the boundary of Yuca- tan and British Honduras. The specimen is now in the Peabody Museum. RELIGION OF THE LACANBONES 87 the bowl combined with some form of head. If we consider the type of bowl with the knob-like projection as a transition form, we are led to the conclusion that the most primitive form of incense-burner was the bowl on which was represented the whole body at first,^ and then the head of a person or animal. This form of hrasero is found in many parts of Mexico. Among the isolated Mayas of Chiapas and the south, the original form of the incense-burner with the head may liave survived,^ whereas, in Yucatan, the olla with the head had, for the most part, at the time of the Conquest, given way first to the conventionalized head and then to its disappearance altogether. This is simply given as a hypothesis and is worthy of extended investigation. It has been found that the idol proper, the stone image as representing the god, still exists among the Lacandones. Fig- ure 24 shows one of these idols. It is of jade. These idols are placed inside the incense-bowls and over them the incense fig. 24. is burned. 3 Collections of jade ornaments Jade head used as idol by „ , . , . , , ,11, the Lacandones. contani inany ngures whicli, without doubt, were formerly used as idols in the same manner as those found to-day among the Lacandones. Mr. Maler reports a collection of jade ornaments taken from a mound near Merida by one Rafael Quintero and finally given to a General Gonzalez of Mexico. There were five idols of jade which showed signs of fire and from the same excavation some jade medallions or 1 Cf. PI. XVII, Fig. 1, and also a vessel from the Isla de Mugeres pictured in Salisbury, 1878, PI. I, Fig. 4. - Plate XVII, Fig. 5, shows the most elaborate type of incense-burners found among the Lacandones. The two specimens of this type seen did not con- tain the head, but each clearly showed where it had once been. From appear- ances the head was evidently much smaller in proportion to the bowl than those of the u.^ual form. "We may find in this a sign of the coming disappear- ance of the head. •^ Figure 25, p. 88, from the Codex Tro-Cortesianus, may intend to show an idol inside an olla. 88 MAYAS AND LACANDONES breastplates showing no traces of ever having been in contact with fire. These idols of the Lacandones are sometimes of stone other than jade. They all are guarded with the greatest secrec}'. They have been handed down from generation to generation, and are believed, originally, to have come each from the home of the respective god whom it repre- sents. An ancestor of the family is sup- posed to have made a pilgrimage to the home of each god, and there obtained the carved stone, an image of the god. There is therefore the strongest feeling for the gods of the Fig. 25. family, although new idols are made Tro-Cort. 100, d. from time to time. Now, as it was explained, it is almost impossible to obtain a carved stone as representing a god whose presence is desired in the encamp- ment, but the pilgrimage must be made, and a stone, usually nothing more than a pebble, is brought back from the home of the god and placed in the incense-burner. ^ The Lacandones of the present time, judging from their utter lack of artistic skill and execution as seen in the decoration of their gourds and other religious utensils, as well as in the mod- eling of their braseros, are practically incapable of fashioning any images in stone.^ Consequently, when an entirely new idol is desired, a stone is employed with little or no artificial shaping. In one instance, in place of the usual incense-burners, pieces of unworked stone about eight inches square were used 1 When one of the.se journeys is made, an incense-burner of a smaller size and containing no idol is taken and left as an offering to the god in question. Mr. Maler (1901-1903, p. 123) tells of finding three new incen.se-burners in one of the rooms in the ruins of Yaxchilan. Compare also references to finding incense- burners in the ruins (p. 81, note 3). 2 The serpentine figure pictured by Maler (1901-1903, p. 02) from Budsilha may be an attempt at carving by one of the early Lacandones. Other crude figures and faces in stone often seen in collections may show attempts at manu- facturing these idols even down to the present time. BELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 89 on which to burn the incense. These had been brought from the ruins of Yaxchihin. They seemed to be more in the nature of incense-burners than of idols. A renewal of the incense-burners takes place at frequent in- tervals, and the idols of stone are then taken from the old and placed in the new- ollas. We do not encounter these idols in the ruins at the present time as we do the incense-burners. The latter which are found are either " dead," and thus have had the stone removed, or they are in the nature of servants who are supposed to carry out the demands of the gods, and these never contain the stone (p. 87). In spite of the fact that the idol proper is deposited inside the brasero, this latter in itself has a twofold function, that of idol and bowl for burning incense. It is to the head on the olla that the offerings are made in behalf of the god represented by the idol behind and inside the bowl. The grotesque head of clay is an idol in itself, in that it is a representation of a god of a much inferior capacity, whose duty it is to carry the offerings to the main deity to whom he is dependent. In the rite where the incense-burners are renewed, there are also made a large number of smaller oUas of the same shape as the larger ones, but not containing any stone as representing a god. This is the class of oUas that are usually found in the ruins. They are in the nature of offerings to the gods, to aid them in carrying out their demands (PI. XVIII, Fig. 2). For convenience, I shall call the large ollas containing the idols of stone braseros, the term used by Landa, and the smaller incense-burners braseritos. Each of the latter belongs to a cer- tain one of the gods represented by the idols in the larger oUas. The Lacandones do not, as far as my observation has gone, possess idols of wood or clay objects which might be taken for idols other then the heads on the braseros. Plate XV, Fig. 2, shows one of the braseritos, the head of which is much larger in proportion to the whole than are the heads on the bowls of the larger size. The olla represented is five inches across and three inches high. More often they are larger, 90 MAYAS AND LAC AN DON ES measuring seven inches in diameter and five inches in height. ^ The red and black stripes on the top of the head and below the mouth represent the hair and beard respectively. The lines of the same two colors on the front of the bowl are counter- parts of the decoration supposed to exist on the dress of the god. The raised red spot on the forehead between the eyes and the short line above and below the eyes have their counterj)art in the painting of the face of the participants in certain of the ceremonies (p. 141). No explanation could be obtained for these markings nor for the red-and-black star on either side of the mouth, other than that the latter were the cheek bones of the god. The ears are shown as protruding spots at either side of the face, and are painted black, in the centre of which is a small hole. The large and prominent nose is painted black on the end, and has two large elongated slits as nostrils. In many of the hraseros the teeth are shown and are painted alternately red and black. The decoration of both the brasero and braserito is in general the same. The differences are very slight. In the painting of the smaller class some have red and black lines crossing the vertical ones in front of the bowl. These with the cross lines are regarded as female in sex. Among the Lacandones who live to the south and east of Yaxchilan, there is a slightly different type of incense-burner (PL XVII, Fig. 2). The eyes differ from those of the Petha type (Fig. 26). The nostrils are round dots rather than slits and the mouth is very small. The forehead elevation is lacking.^ There is another type (PI. XVII, Figs. 2 and 3) from east and south Yaxchilan differing in the arrangement of the upper 1 The largest that was seen measured 6 inches in height to the top of the bowl. The height to the top of the head was 9^ inches. The diameter of the bowl was 8| inches. ■■^ Charnay (1887, p. 443) notes finding incense-burners of the two forms in the ruins of Yaxchilan, and he states that the difference of type may point to two different races. As I have before noted, this difference may coincide with a difference noted in painting the face and in the use of certain gods. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 91 part of the head from that just described. In place of the con- ventional arrangement of the hair, there is a rope effect. There is still another type of bi-asero among the Lacandones. This is composed of a larger bowl (PL XVII, Fig. 5), with a design similar to that seen on one of the gourds (PI. XXI, Fig. 1). On the one pictured the head is gone, but one similar in decoration seen in a settlement of C ('^ Lacandones on the Lacantun River had a head very much smaller in proportion to the size of the bowl than those of the regular Petha type. The Lacandones assert that in for- mer times the in- cense-burners were made in other forms, some pos- sessing arms and legs. These are seldom made or used now. In one of the encampments, small animals made of clay were noted (PL XIX, Fig. 1). One of these had on its back a minute bowl for holding copal. This was never used in any of the rites and seemed to serve as a plaything for the children. It may well have been a degraded survival of the time when animals made of clay were offered to the gods as sacrifices. Plate XIX, Fig. 2, shows one of the braseritos identical in shape with the larger varieties, but used by the children in learn- ing the sequences of the religious rites and the chants employed before the idols and incense-burners. As belonging to the gods themselves, the braseros are kept with great care and observance. In every collection of huts Fig. 2(i. Incense-burner of the Lacandones. 92 MAYAS AND LACANDONES there is always one which is larger than the others. This is used exclusively for the observances of the rites in behalf of the gods. 1 The domestic and religious life of the Lacandones are always carried on in separate places. The sacred hut has its own fire and its own utensils, which are exclusively used for the celebration of the religious observances. To bring any food into the domestic hut renders it unfit to be offered to the gods. Great secrecy and privacy in regard to the rites inside the sacred hut, together with its contents, are carefully ob- served. In many settlements this hut is surrounded by a screen of palm leaves to protect it from the prying eyes of the occasional Mexican visitor. Sometimes when there are important rites in progress all the trails leading to the settle- ment are stopped up with underbrush. Any attempt at approach to the sacred inclosure is absolutely denied the outsider. 2 It seems to be an especially bad omen if the sight of any of the braseros is obtained by a foreigner. With difficulty one may induce the Indians to talk about their gods when admis- sion to the sacred hut or any approach to it would be denied even at a time when there is no rite in progress. Outwardly, the hermita, or house of the idols, is the same as the domestic habitation (PI. VIII, Figs. 1, 2, and 3). It is thatched with palm leaves which come down very low, thus affording an effective screen to the interior of the hut, as there are no sides. The two ends are entirely open, and it is around these that the tall fence of palm leaves is built if they point 1 Cf. Villagutierre, 1701, Bk. IV, Chap. XIV, p. 264 : " Y la otra (casa) aim mas grande, que todas las otras, era el Adoratorio de los perversos Idolos de aquellos Lacandones, donde se hallaron niuchos de ellos, de fonnas raras." - Cf. Sapper, 1897, p. 203 : "In der Cariben-Ansiedelung am Pet Ha dagegen wurde mir der Zugang zur Erraita verwehrt ; melne Fiihrer aber besuchten die- selbe unbemerkt und machten mir eine Beschreibung davon, welche im Allge- meiuen mit meinen friiheren Erfahrungen von Izan zusammenstimmte." Also ibid., p. 265 : " Aber scheue Geschopfe, die jeden Versuch, liber ihrer Religion zu sprechen (so weit ihr sehr gebrochenes Spanisch so etwas uberliaupt gestatten wiirde), rait grosser Entschiedenheit zuriickwiesen. " Also Sapper, 1891, pp. 892-895. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 93 toward a path or trail by which the Mexicans are likely to approach the encampment. The house is oblong, with the long sides to the east and west. The list of gods found existing among the Lacandones of the present time numbers fifteen. This list is by no means ex- haustive. No collection of idols in any one community repre- sents all the gods, but only those who have shown themselves as well disposed toward the people among whom they are to exist. The major deity among the natives of Chiapas is called Nohotsakyum (the great father). The same god, called Nohoti- yumtsak, is found to-day among the Mayas of Yucatan. He is one of a class of spirits dependent only on El G-rati Bios, introduced by the Spaniards. Nohotiakyum is at the head of Lacandone pantheon. It is to him that the greatest rever- ence is paid. Two flowers, t§aknikte (Plumeria rubra) and saknikte (^Plumeria alba), are considered the father and mother respectively of NohotSakyum. These two flowers are used in some of the rites, one of each kind being placed on the mouth of the brasero containing the idol of NohotSakyum. In the prayers given before the idols, the other and lesser deities are invoked to come and carry the sacrifices offered and present them to " the great lord." His power is wholly beneficent. He does not use it at all times, however, but withdraws it and denies it as he sees fit. The method of ascertaining whether or not a god is willing to have himself represented by an idol and brasero in any encampment will be described later (p. 99). NohotSakyum of the Lacandones lives at the ruins of Yaxchilan. Tlie Lacandones of Lake Petha stated that NohotSakyum lived near Anaite. Now Anaite is a short distance south of the Usumacinta River, about midway between Piedras Negras and Yaxchilan or Menche. The location of the homes of the gods given by the Petha Lacandones was only in general terms. The direction " near Anaite " may well be either the ruins at Piedras Negras to the north or those of Yaxchilan to the south. It is stated that there are ruins at the home of NohotSakyum. Later, however, in a settlement much nearer the vicinity of the 94 MAYAS AND LACANDONES ruins themselves, it was definitely stated that NohotSakyum and many of the other gods inhabited the ruins of Yaxchilan. This city is in an easterl}- direction from the encampment near Lake Petha, where most of the observations were made. More- over, the spirits of the east, Yalanqinqu, are regarded as the servants of this main god. The sun itself occupies an inferior place in the pantheon. It is regarded as' a servant ready to carry out the commands of his master, Nohotiakyum. Many of the constellations and the spirit of the thunder are regarded as other servants of "the great lord." It is supposed that at the end of the world NohotSakyum will wear around his waist as a belt the body of Hapikern, a very bad spirit in the form of a snake, who draws people to him by his breath and slays them. Nohotiakyum has a daughter called Ertub (the little one) or Upal (his child). She lives at Yaxchilan in the same locality as her father. He also has several sons. None of them are represented in any of the collections of idols in any of the en- campments visited by tlie writer, and their names have not been made out. Nohotiakyum is one of four brothers. Yantho is the oldest of the four and seems to rank as second in importance to Nohotiakyum. His home is on the Usumacinta River near Tenosique, in some high cliffs.^ He has the spirit of the north, Samanqinqu, associated with him in his work, and his home is situated in the north in respect to the country occupied by the Lacandones. Among the Lacandones on the Lacantun River, the god Yantho is said to belong to another part, and in a few other cases there seems to be a distinction made in regard to the gods between the natives around Lake Petha and eastward of Ocosingo and those on the Salinas and Lacantun. This is a question on which it will be necessary to have much more material before we can decide with any definiteness. It may, as I have stated before, point to a time when the Lacandones were not as homogeneous as they now appear to be. 1 Undoubtedly the cliffs are those at Boca del Cerro. See Maler, 1901-1903, PI. I. i RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 95 The second brother, according to age, is called Usukun, which in Maya means his older brother. He is thus named in respect to NohotSakyum. This god lives in a cave. He has the earth- quake, Kisin, as his servant, and is not of good intention. His idol is usually found, however, in every collection of the sacred ollas, but it is always placed apart from the rest, as if its presence would be harmful when in the vicinity of the braseros of the other gods. The idol of Usukun is not neglected, however, but it is placated with offerings of food and drink as are those of the other gods. The younger brother of NohotSakyum is called Uyioin. This word has the meaning "his younger brother." He lives at Yaxchilan in company with the gods who make that place their residence. His power is always for the good. It is probable that the four brothers are identified with the four cardinal points, with NohotSakyum representing the east (yalanqin) as the leader. Yantho is clearly associated with the north (gamanqin). A god called Mensabak seems to be identi- fied with the west (tSiqin) rather than either of the two other brothers. The god associated with the south (noholqin) has not been made out. It is quite probable that the four brothers are the same as the four NukutiyumtSakob found existing among the Mayas of Yucatan (p. 155). Next in importance to the four brothers is the goddess Akna (the mother). She is considered the mother of certain of the lesser gods as NohotSakyum is the father of many of the gods. The exact relation existing between him and Akna has not been satisfactorily made out. Akna is the goddess of childbirth. Prayers and offerings are made especially to her on the birth of a child. When serving in this capacity she is called Kt§el. This is the same deity mentioned by the early authorities as goddess of medicine and of childbirth. The latter has a husband called AqantSob^ or T§itsakt§ob. 1 The literal meaning of this name is the squint-eyed one (tsob) crying aloud (aqan). 96 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Landa^ mentions that in the year whose dominical letter was Cauac, in order to avert certain calamities, idols were made to the demonios, one of whom was called "-Chichak-chob/'^ Among the Lacandones Aqant§ob or Tsitsaktiob is one of the favoring deities. Both he and his consort, Akna, live at Yaxchilan. A god named loana lives also at Yaxchilan. The similarity of the name of this god with that of Itzamna, also written Zamna, one of the culture heroes of the Mayas, is very striking. In the Lacandone pantheon, neither the position of loana nor that of another god called loananohqu points to any close con- nection between them and the Itzamna of old, as they both occupy places far inferior to that of NohotSakyum and his three brothers. In one settlement loana was said to be the caretaker of the underworld, but he seems in no way to be connected with the idea of death. We thus find in many of the names given to the gods of the Lacandones survivals of names stated by the early historians as the names of the gods of the Mayas at the time of the Conquest. In only a few cases, however, do the attributes of a god remain unchanged. The name of the other culture hero of the early natives of Yu- catan, Ququlcan (written Kulkulcan), is still retained among the Lacandones as the name of a mythical snake with many heads, living only in the vicinity of the home of Nohotiakyum. This snake is killed and eaten only at the time of great national peril, as during an eclipse of the moon and especially that of the sun. In a high cliff on the western shore of Lake Petha, there lives the god loananohqu, and on the opposite side of the lake the diety called Kakot&. The home of the former is the only one that has been located precisely. This is due to the fact that the abode of the god was visited in company with some Indians who went there to burn copal and offer sacrifices. The rite in connection with this will be described later (p. 148). 1 Landa, 1804, Chap. XXXVIII, p. 230. - Thi.s word written according to the system adopted by the writer would be Tiit§akt§ob. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 97 The god named Qaq (fire) lives near Tenosique. Among the early Mayas there Avas a goddess called Suhuikak (virgin fire). This god of the Lacandones may be connected with her, as new iire has to be made at certain points in the various rites (p. 133). Kananqas (caretaker of the forest) lives near the monteria of San Hipolito, a few leagues north of Petha. As his name im- plies, he seems to be the god of the forest. There is a class of spirits in Yucatan bearing the same name. They are the gods of the woods. What is found as the name of a single god among the Lacandones often appears as the name of a class of spirits among the ]\Iayas of the present time. This latter idea is perhaps the outgrowth of the Spanish influence to bring about a subordination of the Maya gods to the many saints of the Catholic Church. Mensabak ^ lives near San Hipolito. He is probably identi- fied as the god of rain, as has been explained (p. 71). He is also called Yumkanasabak.^ The latter name seems to be used when he is ajDpealed to in behalf of a sick person. Just as NohotSakyum has the spirits of the east to aid him, so Mensabak has for his helpers the spirits of the west (TSiqinqu). He has a brother called Oibani, of whom there is little known. Nohqu is a god living at Yaxchilan. The same name is found in combination in the name of the god loananohqu. They are probably two distinct gods however. Nohqu is a name given to a class of spirits among the Mayas who are the guardians of the 7nilpa. Qaiyum (singing god) is the god of music, and his hrasero is always in the form of an earthen drum (PI. XX, Fig. 2). He is said to live in the sky. Sakapuk is a god of unknown attributes. His name means a hill of white earth, which may denote the character of the locality near Anaite, where the god lives. 1 The literal meaning of this word is men, the maker of, and sabak, black powder or soot. 2 The literal meaning would be 3nini, the god ; kana, above ; sabak, the black powder. Freely it is the god who is above the rain cloud. MAYAS AND LACANDONES Fig. 27. Tro-Cort. 104, b. There is a god of the bees.^ It seems as if there were separate ideas among the different settlements of the Lacandones regarding the residence of the gods other than the few most important ones. That each en- campment had its own special gods in addition to a few pos- sessed in common, seems probable. In a settlement visited on the Lacantun, Icananorku, Kakotg, Sukapuk, and Mensabak were not found, although their names were recognized. Besides the main deities, there are a large number of lesser gods or spirits whose duty it is to aid the gods in carrying out their work. Stabai is the name of a class of spirits living in the stones of the forest. The same group of spirits is also now found in Yucatan. They are of evil nature. A god called Tabai without the female particle S is mentioned as a deity of the Mayas at the time of the Conquest. This is but another example of the fact of the survival of the name of the god to the present time with a change of attributes. Tanupekqu (the spirit who is moving) is the god of the thunder. He announces the approach of the rain. As has been stated, he is one of the servants of Nohotsakyum. Tanuhaoqu (the spirit who is striking or whipping) is the god of the lightning. He drives the storm, and the flash of the lightning is his whip. The sun, Qin, is one of the lesser gods. His consort is the moon, called Akna. She has no relation to the other goddess bearing the same name. When there is an eclipse of the sun, it is said that Nohotsakyum is ill. Rites are held and offerings are made to the gods.^ Every one abstains from secular work 1 Figure 27 shows a rite, probably an offering of corn (kan) in some form in honor of the bee god. In Codex Tro-Cortesianus, pp. 103-112, there is a long portion wliich has to do with the bees. 2 The rite does not differ from those which will be described. See Chant Xo. 2. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 99 of all kinds, and each family remains in their own home during the period of an eclipse. All kinds of animals may be freely eaten. An eclipse of the moon is a less serious event. It is regarded as a sign that the daughter of Nohotgakyum is ill. A rite (Chant No. 2) is celebrated as in the case of an eclipse of the sun. I was not successful in finding a god whose office seemed to deal with death, although it is certain that this god of death played a most important part among the early Mayas, as seen in his constantly occurring figure in the manuscripts. It is not impossible that some of the gods of the Lacandones may be identified with those represented in the Codices. The gods are all more or less well disposed toward the people with the exception of USukun. All have to be propitiated in various ways, however, or they are supposed to send fevers and other forms of sickness. All the gods named in the previous list are not usually rep- resented in any one encampment. Only those are found to whose shrine a pilgrimage has been made and a stone either carved or otherwise brought back.i These journeys cannot be made at will, but only after the god has shown himself as willing to receive such a pilgrimage. There are two methods of divination by which it may be ascertained whether or not a god is willing to have his idol placed in the sacred hut, thus showing his consent to come and exert a beneficent influence over the encampment in question. These acts of divination may only be performed by the father or oldest son of the settlement, and it is only they and their direct line who understand the rite. Chanting is a necessary part to this ceremony of divination. 1 In the encampment where a greater part of the rites to be described took place there were braseros containing tlie idols of Yantho, Upal, Akna, Ipananohqu, Aqantgob, Nohqu, Kakots, Mensabak, Kananqas, Oibana, Usukum, and Qaiyum. In an another encampment visited, there were braseros with their hidden idols of Nohotsakyum, Yantho, Upal. loananohqu, Men- sabak, loana, Aqantsob, Akna, Qaq, Sakapuk, Usukun, and Qaiyum. All these, as will be described later (p. 101), did not take part in any one rite, but only those who showed themselves as willing to accept the offering of the special rite. LOFC 100 MAYAS AND LACANDONES One of these rites is performed with a strip from the leaf of a palm, and a part of the detached stem. The leaf is folded in the middle from side to side. Starting with the folded end, the leaf is rolled around the stem. The rite proper is then ready to begin. The stem and the leaf are rolled on the palm and fingers of the left hand, starting at the wrist with the fingers and palm of the right hand. The stem thus rolls in the same direction as the leaf is placed around it. The thumb and fingers of the left hand grasp the roll until the thumb and fingers of the right can start the motion again, with the stem and leaf at the wrist of the left hand. This motion is contin- ued with frequent spitting on the hands until the end of the chant (No. 3) in which the name of the god occurs concerning whom the divination is desired. The leaf is then unwound from around the stem. If the latter is still in the same posi- tion in regard to the folded end of the leaf, it is a sign that the god is unpropitious in regard to the question asked. If, how- ever, the stem is between or inside the folded end of the leaf rather than outside, the chanter knows that the petition is granted. It will be seen that, during the rolling between the palms, if one end of the leaf takes an extra turn around the stem or, as quite the same thing, one of the ends of the leaf unrolls by a single revolution, one of the halves of the leaf will be turned over, and, on unwinding, the stem will be found inside rather than outside the folded end as it was at first. ^ There is another method of divination quite distinct from the first, but employed for the same purpose. The hands are placed together palm to palm and the fingers bent so that the nail of each finger on one hand may rest on the very edge of the nail of the corresponding finger of the other hand. The thumbs are not brought into play. This is a diificult act, and for a novice it is almost impossible. During the chant, which is the same as in the former rite of divination, the hands are held in this position, with the finger nails edge to edge, until the chanter 1 The pointed character of the ends of the leaf aids the untwisting or extra winding of one of the ends during the rolling motion between the palms. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 101 reaches the name of the god for whom the inquiry is held. The pahns are then spread apart. If the nails still remain edge to edge, it is a sign that the god is willing to have his idol placed in the sacred inclosure. If one of the nails should slip over the edge of the other opposite, the omen is evil, and it is in this way that the god shows his unwillingness. Sometimes before the fingers are placed together nail to nail there is a preliminary movement. The thumb and forefinger of the left hand are placed together nail to nfiil at the hollow on the inside of the arm opposite the elbow. The forearm is then measured off in spaces of about two inches by the thumb and forefinger. At each measurement the nails of the two digits must join edge to edge. This is carried to the top of the thumb of the right hand, when the part previously described of joining each finger of one hand to the corresponding finger of the other is carried out. I have spoken of these acts of divination as if they were carried out principally to ascertain the willingness or unwilling- ness of a god to have a pilgrimage made to his shrine in search of an idol of the god in question. These journeys are made at very infrequent intervals, and they are becoming more and more rare. The principal use to which the divinatory rites are put is to ascertain if a god whose idol is already in the sacred hut is willing to exert his beneficent influence in some special rite. If the augury is of evil omen, the brasero, together with its idol, is not placed on the altar of palm leaves with those to whom the offerings are to be made, but it remains on the shelf where all the ollas rest when a rite is not in progress.^ 1 In the encampment where most of the rites described were witnessed, three of the braseros with their idols remained on the shelf during all the rites observed, those of Akna, Kananqas, and Oibana. A year later, those of Kananqag and Oibana were still found remaining on the shelf during the rites, as they were not disposed to exert a good influence over the encampment as shown by the act of divination. There was a change however. Mensabak, who, the year before, had been placed on thejiltar with the others who were well dis- posed, now remained on the shelf ; and Akna, who, the previous year, had been kept on the shelf, was now used in all the rites. In the other encampment where the gods have been named, the idols and h-aseros of Qaq and Sakapuk 102 MAYAS AND LACANDONES The rites of divination are employed to the accompaniment of a different chant (No. 4) to ascertain the particular kind of offering desired by the gods in some special rite. In some encampments the gods as a whole enjoy one variety of offer- ing as shown by divination, and in a neighboring settlement an entirely different kind of offering is desired. The character of the offerings given to the gods is most varied.^ The gifts not only differ from place to place but from time to time. Each form of ceremony seems to have its special offering. The most common of all contributions is that of copal gum. This is either offered in crude lumps (pom) or worked into special forms (sil) (p. 125). The copal is burned as incense, and a pleasant odor is produced. Another form of incense is made by burning the sap of the rubber tree. This is often combined with the copal as a gift to the gods, qiqiluka. An intoxicating drink, baltse, and called in the chants ha, is another frequent offering together with different kinds of posol (maao). In the chants posol is called tsula or sul. There are many combinations of food and drink offered to the incense- burners in behalf of the gods, and in some cases the quantity is brought into account. Posol made with honey has the name kabitumaaoil ; posol with cocoa, ominuka. Offerings of baltse in different quantities are called napdil (something measured with the fingers) and wiobil (something snapped with the fingers). The name eroe is given to an offering of a small gourd of baltSe. An offering of thin and brown tortillas is called tikinawa, a form of tortillas made with wood yatsewa, and a tortilla made in the form of a cup lekuwahil. Norwa or tutiwa is a gift of thick tortillas to the gods. Buliwa is a tamale made oi frejoles (buul) seldom showed themselves as willing to be placed on the altar with the others in the celebration of a rite. These ollas remaining on the shelf were not entirely neglected. There were offerings made to them of food and drink, but copal was never burned in them nor was there any continued chanting made before them. ^ Space does not allow me to enter upon a discussion of the identification of several of the kinds of offerings represented in the Codices, but this in itself would be a fruitful study. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 103 and corn. Cocoa mixed with baltse is called uyonin. There are two offerings in which meat figures, baqiluka and ututil. Bands of bark are offered as fillets to the gods. They are called huun. A gift of these fillets together with baltse is called huuninuka. The bow and arrows are given to the gods at cer- tain rites. An offering of red paint made of achiote berries (kusu) is common. In some of the ceremonies, flowers are presented to the braseros in behalf of the gods. Offerings of certain kinds of fish (tsaklau and sSktan) are made in some of the rites. In addition to these offerings, a part of all the first fruits of the fields must be given to the gods each year. I have not been able to make out the strict rule regarding the possession of a separate set of these idols and braseros. At first one might suppose that each totemic division worships at a single place where there is located a collection of idols more or less complete. This is not so except where members of the same gens live in the same encampment. In the two encampments of the maao gens, where most of the rites described were observed, the two sets of sacred ollas together with their idols originally belonged to the same encampment. It will be seen (p. 99, note) that there is only one idol of Nohotiakyum in the two encampments, whereas both "settlements possess idols of many of the other gods. The du- plicate set was obtained in more recent pilgrimages. The idol of Nohot§akyum originally belonged to the father of the three brothers Qin, Chankin, and the one who had died (p. 43). By inheritance and pilgrimage, the father had come into the possession of the idols of a greater part of the gods. On his death they were divided among his three sons, the eldest obtaining the idol of Nohotsakyum and the brasero used at the time in connection with it, together with his share of the other idols with their incense-burners. The two younger sons took their part of the idols and the corresponding braseros, and made a new encampment for themselves not far away. These two collections of idols were gradually enlarged by pilgrimages to the home of the gods until each encampment contained those 104 MAYAS AND LACANDONES of the main gods, with the exception of that of NohotSakyum, of whom there was but one idol in the two settlements. This seems to show that there is some rule in regard to the posses- sion of but one idol of the main god in a single family line. Priestly Duties. — Landa makes reference ^ to a priestly class which shows a well-defined system of organization : Chilan, or priests ; Chac, sorcerers and physicians ; and Nacons, assistants. It is to the first of these classes that one would naturally turn to find explanations of the questions which we would like answered concerning the system of hieroglyphs and that of the calendar together with the closely allied subject of the religion and the ceremonial rites. This class seems to have vanished completely, and we have remaining in isolated districts only the gente rustica. In Yucatan one finds a class of men who claim to know how to read the future through a crystal or by some other means (p. 163). These people bear the title Men, from the root of the verb meaning "to know how."^ They are generally an ignorant and unintelligent class of people. They may be the descendants in office of the class of priests formerly called Chac, as they combine the power of healing with that of forecasting the future. One is not surprised to find that the Lacandones of the present time seem to have no priests. The religion has ceased to be in any way national, and the function of priest is carried out by the head of the family in each encampment as in the most primitive form of human society. In one case the leader of the settlement, in taking charge of a rite, placed around his neck a string of seeds like those worn by the women. This may have had some ceremonial importance as showing his priestly function. The rigid authority of the father and husband over the members of the family is perhaps the outcome of the place he holds in the religious life. Visitors at ceremonial rites, how- ever old they may be, are allowed only to assist the head of the family in the duties of the feast. The women and children of an encampment, together with the families of the near neigh- 1 Landa, 1864, Chap. XXVII. 2 cf. Garcia, 1905, pp. 52-57. BELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 105 bors, remain in the domestic huts while the husbands and older boys are inside the sacred inclosure taking their parts in the rites. Ceremonies. — There are no ceremonies where the women take any active part other than in the preparation of the offerings in the shelter adjoining the sacred hut.^ At the close of a rite they are allowed to enter the inclosure and take a part in the general feasting. This exclusion of the women from any share in the religious life is a question of sex rather than of any family connection. All the ceremonies of the Lacandones follow the same general idea, that of burning incense in behalf of the gods in the braseros and offering food and drink on the extended lip of the face on the incense-bowl. The rites vary only in regard to the nature, of the articles offered. Sacrifices are always accompanied by chants or prayers which cover the whole variety of human experience met with by an Indian from his birth to his death. The ceremonies to be taken up do not cover this whole field, but they may be taken as sufficient criteria by which to judge of the nature of the others. The rites described occurred in the two neighboring encamp- ments, the people of whom I have already mentioned. The carihals, as the settlements are called by the Mexicans of the country, are situated one league and a half east of Lake Petha in Chiapas, near the trail running from Tenosique and La Ilusion to Ocosingo. The people are the same individuals whom Mr. Maler describes as living on the shore of Lake Petha.2 I shall take up in detail the ceremony in which the sacred ollas or braseros are renewed. There are many minor rites 1 Cf. Cogolludo, 1688, Bk. XII, Chap. VII, p. 609: " Todos los Indies van siempre a la adoracion de el Idolo ; las mugeres no se hallan presentes, sino sola la doncella, que haze el pan a los Ministros de el demonio." Cf. also Landa, 1864, Chap. XL, p. 278: "Venido pues el afio nuevo, se juntavan todos los varones en el patio del teniplo solos, porque en nlngun sacrificio o fiesta que en el templo se hazia, havian de hallarse mugeres." 2 Maler, 1901-1903, Chap. V. 106 MAYAS AND LACANDONES which will be touched upon, but they are all similar to some part of the renewal ceremony. ^ Theoretically, there must be a renewal of the incense-burners each year. In practice, however, it does not always take place, owing to the great amount of work necessary in carrying out such a rite and the large quantity of corn consumed in the repeated offerings to the gods. To keep within the letter of the law, there is always at least one incense-burner made each year, and if the season has been a fruitful one, and there is an abundance of corn, the whole ceremony is celebrated. Regarding this renovation of the incense-vessels, there is a very pleasing parallel found in Landa.^ In the month Chen or Yax, which roughly corresponds, according to the author, to our December or January, a festival called Ocna was celebrated in honor of the Chacs, whom the people regarded as the lords of the field.3 The whole ceremony as observed among the Lacandones stretches over considerably more than a month. In the two celebrations of this series of rites witnessed, they began about the middle of February and lasted until nearly the end of March. I could find in the dates of the various parts of the ceremony no correlation to the phases of the moon or of any constellation, although it seems as if something of this sort must, at one time, have been the regulating factor. The time of observing the rite depends in great part on the ripening of the products of the milpa. It is in these rites that all the first fruits of the field must be offered to the gods before anything may be eaten by the people. The work of making the new milpa is usually postponed until the renewal ceremony is completed. 1 The word " ceremony " will be used as signifying a succession of rites held for a single purpose. 2 Landa, 186-4, Chap. XL, p. 242. (See quotation in note, p. 84.) Ibid., Chap. XL, p. 278 : " Para celebrarla con mas solemnidad, renovavan en este dia todas las cosas de su servicio, como platos, vasos, vanquillos, serillas, y la ropa vieja, y las mantillas en que tenian los idolos enbueltos." 3 The word tsak (chac) is seen in the name of the main god in the pantheon, Noho(ts)-tSak-yuin, and also in the name of the rain gods found among the Mayas of Yucatan, Nukuts-yum-t§ak-ob (p. 155). RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 107 The general idea in this series of rites for the renewal of the sacred ollas is that these braseros die and new ones must be made to take their places.^ Before the rite can take place where the braseros of the previous year are given their last offering and the sacred idol removed, the new ollas must be made together with a large earthen drum and a large number of braseritos. The latter are supposed to aid in the general ceremony as additional servants of the gods. Each of this smaller class of ollas belongs to a certain one of the idols contained in the larger incense-vessels. Although these braseritos are all very much alike as regards shape and decoration, they can be distinguished by their owners each from the other, and the leader knows to which one of the main gods each belongs. As an offering is administered to each of these braseritos^ the chant denotes in what way the gift is to be dis- posed of. Some of the braseritos are given directly to the gods represented by the larger incense-burners, who act as the agents of the idol contained in their bowls, and others of the braseritos are given to the gods to serve as messengers to carry the offering to Nohotsakyum, In one encampment where the renewal rites were observed there were thirty-two of the common form of braserito. Four were given to Aqantsob for his own use, two to Mensabak, two to Nohqu, two to Yantho, two to Upal, and four to loananohqu and Kakotg, and all for their individual use (atllili).2 Four others were given to loananohqu for him to carry to Nohotgakyum (akubtik yum).^ KakotS was given, in addition to those for his own use as servants, four to aid him in carrying the offering to the main god and another four to help in taking the sacrifice 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXVII, p. 158: " Bien sabian ellos que los idolos eran obras suyas y muertas y sin deidad, mas que los teiiian en reverencia por lo que representavan, y porque les avian heclio con tantas cerinionias, en especial los de pale." 2 Atilili, for yourself or for you as your right. It occurs in the chants. 3 Akubtik-yum, you restore it (the offering) to the father. The idea is that he originally gave it. 108 MAYAS AND LACANBONES to AqantSob. The relative importance of the gods in this en- campment as regards their willingness to cure may be made out from the respective number of braseritos given to each god. AqantSob seems to be the most well disposed of the gods repre- sented in the settlement, and loananohqu and KakotS, although having four of the braseritos as their own, still must play the role of messengers, and they each have four of the small oUas given them, with the express command to restore (kub) the offer- ing to NohotSakyum, and, as was seen, KakotS has, in addition, four others to carry to Aqant§ob. The prominence given to the latter god is probably due to the fact that in the rite of divina- tion the name of this god has always appeared as a good omen or that some one has been cured under the direction of this god. In the manufacture of the two kinds of incense-burners, the braseros and the braseritos, certain definite restrictions are made. A small shelter of palm leaves must first of all be built in a retired spot at some distance from the regular encampment, ^ Here a quantity of clay and quartz sand are brought together and the work of modeling the sacred alias begun. The very greatest secrecy is observed, and the women are on no account allowed to approach the shelter where the new incense-burners are being made. The modeler places a mass of clay on a portion of a banana leaf, which in turn rests on a low wooden stool. The bowl of the brasero is made first, chiefl}^ by means of the fingers. A small paddle of wood is used to smooth down the surfaces.^ On the edge of the bowl, a flat piece of wet clay is placed as the foundation for the head. The nose, hair, eyes, and mouth are made and stuck on afterward. Through the center of the bottom of the bowl a single hole is made, and at ^ Landa, 1864, Chap. XL, p. 308: " Venida la madera hazian una casilla de paja cercada donde metian la madera y una tinaja para en que echar los idolos y alii tenerlos atapados conio los fuessen haziendo . . . y con estos adere^os se encerravan en la casilla el sacerdote y los chaces y el ofiBcial, y comen^avan su labor de dioses." 2 Figure 28 may show the shaping by means of a wooden paddle, although it seems more likely that the implement in the hands of the workman is of stone, and in that case the carving of a stone idol is probably represented. RELIGION OF THE LACANDONES 109 both sides similar holes, one above the other, for ventilation. The oUas are allowed to dry several days, when they are baked for a few hours in a bed of hot coals. ^ After the baking, the Fig. 28. Tro-Cort. 97, b. Fig. 29. Tro-Cort. 100, b. bowls are ready to be decorated as has been described (p. 69). ^ The white paint is made of chalk, and put on over all the surface of the olla. The red color, made from the achiote berry, and the black, of the soot collected from the burning eopal^ are put on with a brush composed of a stick, on the end of which* some cotton is wound. At the first of these renewal ceremonies witnessed, there were twenty-six ollas made, all identical in form with one exception. Fig. 30. Tro-Cort. 99, d. Fig. 31. Tro-Cort. 101, b. Eight were of the larger size, and were to contain the stone idols of the gods, the other eighteen were smaller and were 1 According to Forstemann (1902, p. 138), Fig. 29 shows a clay idol being baked in an oven. The head is the same as that in Figs. 25 and 28, and is similar to god C, of Schellhas (1904, p. 19). - Figures 30 and 31 may show the painting of the incense-bowls with the end of a leaf. Figure 31 shows the same form of head. 110 MAYAS AND LACANDONES Fig. 32. Handled incense-burner of the Lacandones. made to contain no idols. Of this number of smaller ollas^ one differed from all the others in form (Fig. 32 and PL XX, Fig. 1). Below the head on the edge of the bowl there stretched a round projection of the same material as the bowl, about six inches long and an inch in diameter. The end was flattened and represented a hand. This olla may be described as a form of incense-bowl with a handle. This shape is met with, but without the head, in the remains of the older cul- ture. In the Peabody Muse- um there are several clay arms with closed hands which might well have served as handles to incense-burners in the same way as the arm and hand represented by this olla of the Lacan- dones.^ The handled incense-burner with the head on the side of the bowl, however, has not been met with as far as I know among other than the Lacandones. The ends of most of the ancient handled incense-burners represent the mouth of an animal, usually that of a serpent. It may be that the offerings of food were placed in the mouth of these animal heads on the ends of the handles, as we find at the present time the food placed in the mouth of the common form of brasero without a handle. But on the handled incense-burners of the Lacan- dones, it is on the outstretched hand rather than on the mouth of the brasero that the offerings of food and drink are placed. This handled olla is called Akna, the mother. It never appears except at this ceremony, when the new braseros are installed. The name of the renewal rite as given by Landa^ is Ocna. These two terms are undoubtedly the same; and the name of the whole rite may take its name from that of the idol with the projecting arm, as this is regarded as the ceremonial mother of the new ollas. She seems to have no relation to the other and Cf. PI. XIX, Fig. 3. 2 Landa, 1864, Chap. X, p. 242. RELIGION OF TEE LACANDONES 111 more important goddess who bears the same name. The latter is the mother of many of the main gods, whereas the former is the ceremonial mother of the hraseros themselves. This olla with the projecting arm plays an unimportant part in the several rites. In a later ceremony witnessed at another encampment from that just described, there were forty ollas (Fig. 33, p. 112), only seven of which were of the larger variety. The others were braseritos, and all of the same form with the exception of the ceremonial mother, whose olla has just been described. In addition to the sacred ollas there is also made in preparation for the renewal ceremony a ceremonial drum to take the place of that used during the previous year. Sometimes two drums are made at this time. These as well as the hraseros are sup- posed to die each year. The drum is composed of a clay jar (PI. XX, Fig. 2) about twenty inches high. Over tlie top of the jar is stretched a piece of the hide of the tepeizquinte for a head. The whole drum is painted white. On one side near the top there is a head similar in all respects to that found on all the sacred ollas. This head, as it has been explained, represents one of the lesser gods called Qaiyum. The modeling, baking, and painting of all the ollas occupies at least four weeks, and it is carried on, as has been stated, with the utmost secrecy, away from all except the men of the immedi- ate family who are to celebrate the feast. These men, during this period of preparation, as well as throughout the entire rite, sleep in the ceremonial hut where the old idols are kept. At this time of preparation a new ceremonial robe is started (PI. XV, Fig. 1). The cotton must be spun and woven by an old woman of the tribe, and a widow.^ All the work has to be done in the sacred inclosure. This robe is for the leader of the ceremony. I have already spoken of the exterior of the sacred hut (p. 64). A description of the interior would be of assistance 1 Cf. Landa, 1864, Chap. XXXVI, p. 222 : " . . . Les mandava el demonio ofrecerle hardillas y un paramento sin labores ; el qual texessen las viejas.*' 112 MAYAS AND LACANDONES QOO " OOOO ®0© o ^ K? [B