'':■/'•' '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