Chapter IX: Public Festivals (1)

FREQUENT OCCURRENCE OF RELIGIOUS FEASTS--HUMAN
SACRIFICES--FEASTS OF THE FOURTH YEAR--MONTHLY
FESTIVALS--SACRIFICE OF CHILDREN--FEAST OF XIPE--MANNER OF
SACRIFICE--FEASTS OF CAMAXTLI, OF THE FLOWER-DEALERS, OF
CENTEOTL, OF TEZCATLIPOCA, AND OF HUITZILOPOCHTLI--FESTIVAL
OF THE SALT-MAKERS--THE SACRIFICE BY FIRE--FEAST OF THE
DEAD--THE COMING OF THE GODS--THE FOOTPRINTS ON THE
MAT--HUNTING FEAST--THE MONTH OF LOVE--HARD TIMES--NAHUA
LUPERCALIA--FEASTS OF THE SUN, OF THE WINTER
SOLSTICE--HARVEST AND EIGHT-YEAR FESTIVALS--THE BINDING OF
THE SHEAF.

[Sidenote: RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS.]

The amusements described in the preceding chapter were chiefly indulged in during the great religious festivals, when the people flocked together from all quarters to propitiate or offer up thanks to some particular god.

These festivals were of very frequent occurrence. The Nahuas were close observers of nature; but like other nations in a similar or even more advanced stage of culture, the Greeks and Northmen for example, they entirely misunderstood the laws which govern the phenomena of nature, and looked upon every natural occurrence as the direct act of some particular divinity. The coming of the rains was held to be the coming of the rain-gods, with their heralds the thunder and lightning; the varying condition of the crops was ascribed to their Ceres; drought, storms, eclipses, all were considered the acts of special deities.

The religious machinery required to propitiate the anger, humor the whims, and beseech the favor of such a vast number of capricious divinities, was as intricate as it was ponderous. Besides the daily services held in the various temples, prayers were offered several times during each day in that of the sun, special rites attended every undertaking, from the departure of a private traveler to the setting forth of an army for war, and fixed as well as movable feasts were held, the number of which was continually increased as opportunity offered. The priests observed fasts among themselves, attended with penance, scarifications, and mutilations sometimes so severe as to result fatally. Thus, at the festival in honor of Camaxtli, the priests fasted one hundred and sixty days, and passed several hundred sticks, varying in thickness from half an inch to an inch and a half through a hole freshly made in the tongue.[273] The people imitated these penances in a less degree, and scarified the members of their bodies that had been the means of committing a sin. Blood was drawn from the ears for inattention, or for conveying evil utterances to the mind; from the tongue for giving expression to bad words; the eyes, the arms, the legs, all suffered for any reprehensible act or neglect. The people of each province, says Las Casas, had a manner of drawing blood peculiar to themselves.[274]

At the public festivals each private person brought such offering to the god as his means allowed. The poor had often nothing to give but a flower, a cake, or personal service, but the wealthy gave rich robes, jewels, gold, and slaves. But no great feast seems to have been complete without human sacrifice. This was always the great event of the day, to which the people looked eagerly forward, and for which victims were carefully preserved. Most of these miserable beings were captives taken in war, and it was rarely that the supply failed to be sufficient to the occasion, especially among the Mexicans, since, as I have before said, there was nearly always trouble in some part of the empire, if not, a lack of victims for sacrifice was held good cause for picking a quarrel with a neighboring nation; besides, if the number of war prisoners was not sufficient there were never wanting refractory slaves to swell the number. We have it upon good authority that upon almost every monthly feast, and upon numerous other grand celebrations, several hundred human hearts were torn hot from living breasts as an acceptable offering to the Nahua gods and a pleasant sight to the people.[275]

The grandest festivals were celebrated during the fourth year, called Teoxihuitl, or 'divine year,' and at the commencement of every thirteenth year. On these occasions a greater number of victims bled and the penances were more severe than at other times. The Nahuas also observed a grand festival every month in the year; but, as these feasts were closely connected with their religion, and therefore will be necessarily described at length in the next volume, I will confine myself here to such an outline description of them as will suffice to give the reader an idea of what they were.[276]

[Sidenote: RELIGIOUS FEASTS.]

The Aztec feast that is mentioned first by the old writers, namely that of the month Atlcahualco, 'the diminishing of the waters,' or, as it was called in some parts, Quahuitlehua, 'burning of the trees or mountains,' was celebrated in honor of the Tlalocs, gods of rains and waters. At this feast a great number of sucking infants were sacrificed, some upon certain high mountains, others in a whirlpool in the lake of Mexico. The little ones were mostly bought from their mothers, though sometimes they were voluntarily presented by parents who wished to gain the particular favor of the god. Those only who had two curls on the head, and who had been born under a lucky sign were thought acceptable to the gods. The sacrifices were not all made in one place, but upon six several mountains and in the lake. These were visited one after another by a great procession of priests attended by the music of flutes and trumpets, and followed by a vast multitude of people thirsting for the sight of blood; nay, more, literally hungering for the flesh of the babes, if we may credit the assertion of some authors, that the bodies were actually brought back and the flesh eaten as a choice delicacy by the priests and chief men. But of cannibalism more anon.

The little ones were carried to their death upon gorgeous litters adorned with plumes and jewels, and were themselves dressed in a splendid manner in embroidered and jeweled mantles and sandals, and colored paper wings. Their faces were stained with oil of India-rubber, and upon each cheek was painted a round white spot. No wonder that, as the old chroniclers say, the people wept as the doomed babes passed by; surely there was good cause for weeping in such a sight. Gladiatorial combats and sacrifice of prisoners of war at the temple completed this feast.[277]

The next feast, that in the month of Tlacaxipehualiztli, 'the flaying of men,' was held in honor of Xipe, who was especially the patron deity of the goldsmiths.[278] This god was thought to inflict sore eyes, itch, and other diseases upon those who offended him, and they were therefore careful to observe his feast with all due regularity and honor. On this occasion thieves convicted for the second time of stealing gold or jewels[279] were sacrificed, besides the usual number of prisoners of war. The vigil of the feast, on the last day of the preceding month, began with solemn dances. At midnight the victims were taken from the chapel, where they had been compelled to watch, and brought before the sacred fire. Here the hair was shaven from the top of their heads, the captors at the same time drawing blood from their own ears in honor of the idol; the severed topknot of each war prisoner was afterwards hung up at the house of his captor as a token and memorial of the father's bravery. Towards daybreak some of the prisoners were taken up to the great temple to be sacrificed. But before we proceed farther it will be necessary to see how these human offerings were made.

[Sidenote: SACRIFICIAL RITES.]

Sacrifices varied in number, place, and manner, according to the circumstances of the festival. In general the victims suffered death by having the breast opened, and the heart torn out; but others were drowned, others were shut up in caves and starved to death, others fell in the gladiatorial sacrifice, which will be described elsewhere. The customary place was the temple, on the topmost platform of which stood the altar used for ordinary sacrifices. The altar of the great temple at Mexico, says Clavigero, was a green stone, probably jasper, convex above, and about three feet high and as many broad, and more than five feet long. The usual ministers of the sacrifice were six priests, the chief of whom was the Topiltzin, whose dignity was preëminent and hereditary; but at every sacrifice he assumed the name of that god to whom it was made. When sacrificing he was clothed in a red habit, similar in shape to a modern scapulary, fringed with cotton; on his head he wore a crown of green and yellow feathers, from his ears hung golden ear-ornaments and green jewels, and from his under lip a pendant of turquoise. His five assistants were dressed in white habits of the same make, but embroidered with black; their hair was plaited and bound with leather thongs, upon their foreheads were little patches of various-colored paper; their entire bodies were dyed black. The victim was carried naked up to the temple, where the assisting priests seized him and threw him prostrate on his back upon the altar, two holding his legs, two his feet, and the fifth his head; the high-priest then approached, and with a heavy knife of obsidian cut open the miserable man's breast; then with a dexterity acquired by long practice the sacrificer tore forth the yet palpitating heart, which he first offered to the sun and then threw at the foot of the idol; taking it up he again offered it to the god and afterwards burned it, preserving the ashes with great care and veneration. Sometimes the heart was placed in the mouth of the idol with a golden spoon. It was customary also to anoint the lips of the image and the cornices of the door with the victim's blood. If he was a prisoner of war, as soon as he was sacrificed they cut off his head to preserve the skull, and threw the body down the temple steps, whence it was carried to the house of the warrior by whom the victim had been taken captive, and cooked and eaten at a feast given by him to his friends; the body of a slave purchased for sacrifice was carried off by the former proprietor for the same purpose. This is Clavigero's account. The same writer asserts that the Otomís having killed the victim, tore the body in pieces, which they sold at market. The Zapotecs sacrificed men to their gods, women to their goddesses, and children to some other diminutive deities. At the festival of Teteionan the woman who represented this goddess was beheaded on the shoulders of another woman. At the feast celebrating the arrival of the gods, the victims were burned to death. We have seen that they drowned children at one feast in honor of Tlaloc; at another feast of the same god several little boys were shut up in a cavern, and left to die of fear and hunger.[280]

[Sidenote: SACRIFICES IN HONOR OF XIPE.]

Let us now proceed with the feast of Xipe. We left a part of the doomed captives on their way to death. Arrived at the summit of the temple each one is led in turn to the altar of sacrifice seized by the grim, merciless priests, and thrown upon the stone; the high priest draws near, the knife is lifted, there is one great cry of agony, a shuffle of feet as the assistants are swayed to and fro by the death struggles of their victim, then all is silent save the muttering of the high-priest as high in air he holds the smoking heart, while from far down beneath comes a low hum of admiration from the thousands of upturned faces.

The still quivering bodies were cast down the temple steps, as at other times, but on this occasion they were not taken away until they had been flayed, for which reason these victims were called _xipeme_, 'flayed,' or _tototecti_, 'one who dies in honor of Totec.' The remains were then delivered over to the captor by certain priests, at the chapel where he had made his vow of offering, a vow which involved a fast of twenty days previous to the festival. A thigh was sent to the king's table, and the remainder was cooked with maize and served up at the banquet given by the captors, to which their friends were invited. This dish was called _tlacatlaolli_; the giver of the feast, says Sahagun, did not taste the flesh of his own captive, who was held, in a manner, to be his son, but ate of others.

[Sidenote: GHASTLY BEGGARS.]

[Sidenote: THE FEAST OF CAMAXTLI.]

The next day another batch of prisoners, called _oavanti_, whose top hair had also been shaved, were brought out for sacrifice. In the meantime a number of young men also termed _tototecti_, began a gladiatorial game, a burlesque on the real combat to follow; dressing themselves in the skins of the flayed victims, they were teased to fight by a number of their comrades; these they pursued and put to flight, and thereupon turned against one another, dragging the vanquished to the guard-house, whence they were not discharged until a fine had been paid. A number of priests, each representing a god, now descended from the summit of the temple, and directed their steps to the stone of sacrifice, which stood below and must not be confounded with the altar, and seated themselves upon stools round about it, the high-priest taking the place of honor. After them came four braves, two disguised as eagles, and two as tigers, who performed fencing tactics as they advanced, and were destined to fight the captives. A band of singers and musicians, who were seated behind the priests, and bore streamers of white feathers mounted on long poles which were strapped to their shoulders, now began to sound flutes, shells, and trumpets, to whistle and to sing, while others approached, each dragging his own captive along by the hair. A cup of pulque was given to each of these poor wretches, which he presented toward the four quarters of the earth, and then sucked up the fluid by means of a tube. A priest thereupon took a quail, cut off its head before the captive, and taking the shield which he carried from him he raised it upwards, at the same time throwing the quail behind him--a symbol, perhaps, of his fate. Another priest arrayed in a bear-skin, who stood as god-father to the doomed men, now proceeded to tie one of the captives to a ring fixed in the elevated flat stone upon which the combat took place; he then handed him a sword edged with feathers instead of flint, and four pine sticks wherewith to defend himself against the four braves who were appointed to fight with him, one by one. These advanced against him with shield and sword raised toward the sky, and executing all manner of capers; if the captive proved too strong for them, a fifth man who fought both with the right and left hand was called in.[281] Those who were too faint-hearted to attempt this hopeless combat, had their hearts torn out at once, whilst the others were sacrificed only after having been subdued by the braves. The bleeding and quivering heart was held up to the sun and then thrown into a bowl, prepared for its reception. An assistant priest sucked the blood from the gash in the chest through a hollow cane, the end of which he elevated towards the sun, and then discharged its contents into a plume-bordered cup held by the captor of the prisoner just slain. This cup was carried round to all the idols in the temples and chapels, before whom another blood-filled tube was held up as if to give them a taste of the contents; this ceremony performed, the cup was left at the palace. The corpse was taken to the chapel where the captive had watched, and there flayed, the flesh being consumed at a banquet as before.[282] The skin was given to certain priests, or college youths, who went from house to house dressed in the ghastly garb, with the arms swinging, singing, dancing, and asking for contributions; those who refused to give anything received a stroke in the face from the dangling arm. The money collected was at the disposal of the captor, who gave it to the performers, and, no doubt, it eventually found its way to the temple or school treasury.[283] After the sacrifice, the priests, chiefs, and owners of the captives commenced to dance the _motzontecomaitotia_, circling round the stone of combat, weeping and lamenting as if going to their death, the captors holding the heads of the dead men by the hair in their right hands, and the priests swinging the cords which had held them toward the four quarters of the compass, amid many ceremonies. The next morning solemn dances were held everywhere, beginning at the royal palaces, at which everybody appeared in his best finery, holding tamales or cakes in his hands in lieu of flowers, and wearing dry maize, instead of garlands, as appropriate to the season. They also carried imitations of amaranths made of feathers and maize-stalks with the ears. At noon the priests retired from the dance, whereupon the lords and nobles arranged themselves in front of the palace by threes, with the king at their head, holding the lord of Tezcuco by the right hand and the lord of Tlacopan by the left, and danced solemnly till sunset. Other dances by warriors, and women, chiefly prostitutes, followed at the temple and lasted till midnight, the motions consisting of swinging of arms and interwinding. The festivities were varied by military reviews, sports, and concerts, and extended over the whole month. It was held incumbent upon everyone at this time to eat a kind of uncooked cake called _huilocpalli_. The Tlascaltecs called this month Cohuailhuitl, 'feast of the snake,' a name which truly indicates rejoicings, such as carnivals, sports, and banquets, participated in by all classes. Celebrations in honor of Camaxtli were also held at this time here as well as in Huexotzinco and many other places, for which the priests prepared themselves by a severe fast. The ceremonies when they took place in the fourth year, called 'God's year,' were especially imposing. When the time came for the long fast which preceded the feast to begin, those of the priests who had sufficient courage to undergo the severe penance then exacted from the devout were called upon to assemble at the temple. Here the eldest arose and exhorted them to be faithful to their vows, giving notice to those who were faint-hearted to leave the company of penance-doers within five days, for, if they failed, after that time by the rules of the fast they would be disgraced and deprived of their estates. On the fifth day they again met to the number of two or three hundred, although many had already deserted, fearing the severity of the rules, and repaired to Mount Matlalcueje, stopping half-way up to pray, while the high-priest ascended alone to the top, where stood a temple devoted to the divinity of this name. Here he offered chalchiuite-stones and quetzal-feathers, paper and incense, praying to Matlalcueje and Camaxtli to give his servants strength and courage to keep the fast. Other priests belonging to various temples in the meantime gathered loads of sticks, two feet long and as thick as the wrist, which they piled up in the chief temple of Camaxtli. These were fashioned to the required form and size and polished by carpenters who had undergone a five days' fast, and were, in return for their services, fed outside the temple. Flint-cutters, who had also undergone a fast to ensure the success of their work, were now summoned to prepare knives, which were placed upon clean cloths, exposed to the sun and perfumed; a broken blade was held as a sign of bad fasting, and the one who broke it was reprimanded. At sunset, on the day of the great penance, the _achcauhtli_, 'eldest brothers,' began chanting in a solemn tone and playing upon their drums.[284] On the termination of the last hymn, which was of a very lugubrious character and delivered without accompaniment, the self-torture commenced. Certain penance-doers seized each a knife and cut a hole in the tongue of each man, through which the prepared sticks were inserted, the smaller first and then the stouter, the number varying according to the piety and endurance of the penitent. The chief set the example by passing four hundred and fifty through his tongue,[285] singing a hymn at the same time in spite of all. This was repeated every twenty days during the fast, the sticks decreasing in size and number as the time for the feast drew near. The sticks which had been used were thrown as an offering to the idol within a circle formed in the courtyard of the temple with a number of poles, six fathoms in height, and were afterwards burnt. After the lapse of eighty days, a branch was placed in the temple-yard, as a sign that all the people had to join in the fast for the remaining eighty days, during which nothing but maize-cakes, without chile--a severe infliction, indeed, for this people--were to be eaten, no baths taken and no communion with women indulged in.[286] Fires were to be kept alight the whole time, and so strict was this rule that the life of the slaves in great houses depended upon the proper attention paid to it. The chief achcauhtli went once more to the Matlalcueje mountain[287] escorted by four others, where, alone and at night, he offered copal, paper, and quails; he also made a tour round the province, carrying a green branch in his hand, and exhorting all to observe the fast. The devout seized this opportunity to make him presents of clothes and other valuables. Shortly before the end of the fast all the temples were repaired and adorned, and three days previous to the festival the achcauhtlis painted themselves with figures of animals in various colors, and danced solemnly the whole day in the temple-yard. Afterwards they adorned the image of Camaxtli, which stood about seventeen feet high, and dressed the small idol by his side in the raiments of the god Quetzalcoatl, who was held to be the son of Camaxtli. This idol was said to have been brought to the country by the first settlers. The raiment was borrowed from the Cholultecs, who asked the same favor when they celebrated Camaxtli's feast. Camaxtli was adorned with a mask of turquoise mosaic,[288] green and red plumes waved upon his head, a shield of gold and rich feathers was fastened to his left arm, and in his right hand he held a dart of fine workmanship pointed with flint. He was dressed in several robes and a _tecucxicolli_, like a priest's vestment, open in front and finely bordered with cotton and rabbit-hair, which was spun and dyed like silk. A number of birds, reptiles, and insects were killed before him, and flowers offered. At midnight, a priest dressed in the vestments of the idol lighted a new fire, which was consecrated with the blood of the principal captive, called the Son of the Sun. All the other temples were supplied from this flame. A great number of captives were thereupon sacrificed to Camaxtli as well as to other gods, and the bodies consumed at the banquets that followed. The number killed in the various towns of the province amounted to over one thousand, a number greatly increased by the numerous sacrifices offered at the same time in other places where Camaxtli was worshiped.[289]

[Sidenote: FEAST OF THE FLOWER-DEALERS.]

The next feast, which was that of the month called Tozoztontli, or 'short vigil,' was characterized by a constant night watch observed by the priests in the various temples, where they kept fires burning and sounded the gongs to prevent napping. More of the children bought in the first month were now sacrificed, and offerings of fruit and flowers were made to induce the Tlalocs to send rain.[290] The chief event, however, of this month, was a fast given in honor of Cohuatlicue, or Coatlantona, by the _xochimanques_, or flower-dealers, of Mexico. The celebration took place in the temple of Yopico, which was under the special care and protection of the people of Xochimilco and Quauhnahuac, whose lands were renowned for the beauty and abundance of their flowers. Here were offered the first flowers of the season, of which hitherto none might inhale the perfume, and here the people sat down and chanted hymns of praise to the goddess. Cakes made of wild amaranth or savory, called _tzatzapaltamale_, were also offered. In this temple of Yopico was a grotto in which the skins of the victims sacrificed at the feast of the preceding month were now deposited by the priests who had worn them continuously until this time. These marched in solemn procession to the grotto, accompanied by a number of people whom the angered Xipe had smitten with itch, or eye diseases; this act of devotion would, it was thought, induce the god to relent and remove the curse. The owners of the captives to whom the skins had belonged, and their families, of whom none was permitted to wash his head during the month, in token of sorrow for the slain, followed the procession. The priests doffed their strange and filthy attire and deposited it in the grotto; they were then washed in water mixed with flour, their bodies at the same time being belabored and slapped with the moist hands of their assistants, to bring out the unhealthy matter left by the rotting skins. This was followed by a lustration in pure water. The diseased underwent the same washing and slapping. On returning home feasting and amusements broke out anew. Among other sports the owners of the late prisoners gave the paper ornaments which had been worn by them to certain young men, who, having put them on, took each a shield in one hand and a bludgeon in the other; thus armed they ran about threatening to maltreat those whom they met. Everybody fled before them, calling out "here comes the _tetzonpac_." Those who were caught forfeited their mantles, which were taken to the house of the warrior, to be redeemed, perhaps, after the conclusion of the game. The paper ornaments were afterwards wrapped in a mat and placed upon a tripod in front of the wearer's house. By the side of the tripod a wooden pillar was erected, to which the thigh-bone of a victim, adorned with gaudy papers, was attached amid many ceremonies, and in the presence of the captor's friends. Both these trophies commemorated the bravery of the owner. This lasted six days. About this time, says Duran, certain old diviners went about provided with talismans, generally small idols, which they hung round the necks of boys by means of colored thread, as a security against evil, and for this service received presents from the parents.[291]

[Sidenote: FEAST OF CENTEOTL.]

The following month, which was called Huey-Tozoztli, 'great vigil,'[292] a feast was celebrated in honor of Centeotl, the god of cereals, and Chicomecoatl, goddess of provisions. At this time both people and priest fasted four days. Offerings of various kinds were made to the gods of the feast, and afterwards a procession of virgins strangely and gaudily attired carried ears of corn to be used as seed, to the temple to be blessed.[293]

The first half of the succeeding month, called Toxcatl, was, among the Mexicans, taken up with a continuous series of festivals in honor of Tezcatlipoca; the latter half of the month was devoted to the worship of his brother-god Huitzilopochtli. Ten days before the feast began, a priest, arrayed in the vestments of Tezcatlipoca, and holding a nosegay in one hand and a clay flute in the other, came out from the temple, and turning first to the east and then to the other three quarters, blew a shrill note on his instrument; then, stooping, he gathered some dust on his finger and swallowed it, in token of humility and submission. On hearing the whistle all the people knelt, ate dust, and implored the clemency and favor of the god. On the eve of the festival the nobles brought to the temple a present of a new set of robes, in which the priests clothed the idol, adorning it besides with its proper ornaments of gold and feathers; the old dress was deposited in the temple coffers as a relic. The sanctuary was then thrown open to the multitude. In the evening certain fancifully attired priests carried the idol on a litter round the courtyard of the temple, which was strewn with flowers for the occasion. Here the young men and maidens devoted to the service of the temple formed a circle round the procession, bearing between them a long string of withered maize as a symbol of drought. Some decked the idol with garlands, others strewed the ground with maguey-thorns, that the devout might step upon them and draw blood in honor of the god. The girls wore rich dresses, and their arms and cheeks were dyed; the boys were clothed in a kind of net-work, and all were adorned with strings of withered maize. Two priests marched beside the idol, swinging their lighted censers now towards the image, now towards the sun, and praying that their appeals might rise to heaven, even as the smoke of the burning copal; and as the people heard and saw they knelt and beat their backs with knotted cords.

As soon as the idol was replaced, offerings poured in of gold, jewels, flowers, and feathers, as well as toasted quails, corn, and other articles of food prepared by women who had solicited and obtained the privilege. This food was afterwards divided among the priests, who, in fact, seem to have really reaped the benefit on most religious occasions. It was carried to them by a procession of virgins who served in the temple. At the head of the procession marched a priest strangely attired in a white-bordered surplice, reaching to the knee, and a sleeveless jacket of red skin, with a pair of wings attached, to which hung a number of ribbons, suspending a gourd filled with charms. The food was set down at the temple stairway, whence it was carried to the priests by attendant boys. After a fast of five days these divine viands were doubtless doubly welcome.

[Sidenote: FEAST OF TEZCATLIPOCA.]

Among the captives brought out for sacrifice at the same festival a year before, the one who possessed the finest form, the most agreeable disposition, and the highest culture, had been selected to be the mortal representative of the god till this day. It was absolutely necessary, however, that he should be of spotless physique, and, to render him still more worthy of the divine one whom he personated, the calpixques, under whose care he was placed, taught him all the accomplishments that distinguished the higher class. He was regaled upon the fat of the land, but was obliged to take doses of salted water to counteract any tendency toward obesity; he was allowed to go out into the town day and night, escorted by eight pages of rank dressed in the royal livery, and received the adoration of the people as he passed along. His dress corresponded with his high position; a rich and curiously bordered mantle, like a fine net, and a maxtli with wide, embroidered margin, covered his body; white cock-feathers, fastened with gum, and a garland of _izquixuchitl_ flowers, encircled the helmet of sea-shells which covered his head; strings of flowers crossed his breast; gold rings hung from his ears, and from a necklace of precious stones about his neck dangled a valuable stone; upon his shoulders were pouch-like ornaments of white linen with fringes and tassels; golden bracelets encircled the upper part of his arms, while the lower part was almost covered with others of precious stones, called _macuextli_; upon his ankles golden bells jingled as he walked, and prettily painted slippers covered his feet.

Twenty days before the feast he was bathed, and his dress changed; the hair being cut in the style used by captains, and tied with a curious fringe which formed a tassel falling from the top of the head, from which two other tassels, made of feathers, gold, and _tochomitl_, and called _aztaxelli_, were suspended. He was then married to four accomplished damsels, to whom the names of four goddesses, Xochiquetzal, Xilonen, Atlatonan, and Huixtocioatl were given, and these remained with him until his death, endeavoring to render him as happy as possible. The last five days the divine honors paid to him became still more imposing, and celebrations were held in his honor, the first day in the Tecanman district, the second in the ward where the image of Tezcatlipoca stood, the third in the woods of the ward of Tepetzinco, and the fourth in the woods of Tepepulco; the lords and nobles gave, besides, solemn banquets followed by recreations of all kinds. At the end of the fourth feast, the victim was placed with his wives in one of the finest awning-covered canoes belonging to the king, and sent from Tepepulco to Tlapitzaoayan, where he was left alone with the eight pages who attended him during the year. These conducted him to the Tlacochcalco, a small and plain temple standing near the road, about a league from Mexico,[294] which he ascended, breaking a flute against every step of the staircase. At the summit he was received by the sacrificing ministers, who served him after their manner, and held up his heart exultingly to the sun; the body was carried down to the courtyard on the arms of priests, and the head having been cut off was spitted at the Tzompantli, or 'place of skulls;' the legs and arms were set apart as sacred food for the lords and people of the temple. This end, so terrible, signified that riches and pleasures may turn into poverty and sorrow; a pretty moral, truly, to adorn so gentle a tale.

After the sacrifice, the college youths, nobles, and priests commenced a grand ball for which the older priests supplied the music; and at sunset the virgins brought another offering of bread made with honey. This was placed upon clay plates, covered with skulls and dead men's bones, carried in procession to the altar of Tezcatlipoca, and destined for the winners in the race up the temple steps, who were dressed in robes of honor, and, after undergoing a lustration, were invited to a banquet by the temple dignitaries. The feast was closed by giving an opportunity to boys and girls in the college, of a suitable age, to marry. Their remaining comrades took advantage of this to joke and make sport of them, pelting them with soft balls and reproving them for leaving the service of the god for the pleasures of matrimony.[295] Tezcatlipoca's representative was the only victim sacrificed at this festival, but every leap-year the blood flowed in torrents.

[Sidenote: FEAST OF HUITZILOPOCHTLI.]

[Sidenote: INCENSING OF HUITZILOPOCHTLI.]

After this celebration commenced the festival in honor of the younger brother of Tezcatlipoca, Huitzilopochtli, the Mexican god of war. The priests of the god prepared a life-size statue like his original image, the bones of which were composed of mezquite-wood, the flesh of _tzoalli_, a dough made from amaranth and other seeds. This they dressed in the raiments of the idol, viz: a coat decorated with human bones, and a net-like mantle of cotton and nequen, covered by another mantle, the _tlaquaquallo_, adorned with feather-work, and bearing a gold plate upon its front; its wide folds were painted with the bones and members of a human being, and fell over a number of men's bones made of dough, which represented his power over death. A paper crown, very wide at the top and set with plumes, covered this head, and attached to its feather-covered summit was a bloody flint-knife, signifying his fury in battle. The image was placed upon a stage of logs, formed to resemble four snakes whose heads and tails protruded at the four corners, and borne by four of the principal warriors[296] to the temple of Huitznahuac, attended by a vast number of people, who sang and danced along the road. A sheet of maguey-paper, twenty fathoms in length, one in breadth, and one finger in thickness, upon which were depicted the glorious deeds of the god, was carried before the procession on the points of darts ornamented with feathers, the bearers singing the praises of the deity to the sound of music.[297] At sunset the stage was raised to the summit of the temple by means of ropes attached to the four corners, and placed in position. The paper painting was then rolled up in front of it, and the darts made into a bundle. After a presentation of offerings consisting of tamales and other food, the idol was left in charge of its priests. At dawn the next morning similar offerings, accompanied with incense, were made to the family image of the god at every house. That day the king himself appeared in the sacerdotal character. Taking four quails, he wrenched their heads off one after another, and threw the quivering bodies before the idol; the priests did the same, and then the people. Some of the birds were prepared and eaten by the king, priest, and principal men at the feast, the rest were preserved for another occasion. Each minister then placed coals and _chapopotli_ incense[298] in his _tlemaitl_,[299] and wafted the disagreeable odor towards the idol. The ashes were then emptied from the censers into an immense brazier, called the _tlexictli_, or 'fire-navel.' This ceremony gave the name to the festival, which was known as the 'incensing of Huitzilopochtli.' The girls devoted to the service of the temple now appeared, having their arms and legs decorated with red feathers, their faces painted, and garlands of toasted maize on their heads; in their hands they held split canes, upon which were flags of paper or cloth painted with vertical black bars. Linking hands they joined the priests in the grand dance called _toxcachocholoa_. Upon the large brazier, round which the dancers whirled, stood two shield-bearers with blackened faces, who directed the motions. These men had cages of candlewood tied to their backs after the manner of women. The priests who joined in the dance wore paper rosettes upon their foreheads, yellow and white plumes on their heads, and had their lips and their blackened faces smeared with honey. They also wore undergarments of paper, called _amasmaxtli_, and each held a palm wand in his hand, the upper part of which was adorned with flowers, while the lower end was tipped with a ball, both balls and flowers being made of black feathers; the part of the wand grasped in the hand was rolled in strips of black-striped paper. When dancing, they touched the ground with their wands as if to support themselves. The musicians were hidden from view in the temple. The courtiers and warriors danced in another part of the courtyard, apart from the priests, with girls attired somewhat like those already described.

At the same time that the representative of Tezcatlipoca was chosen, the year before, another youth was appointed to represent Huitzilopochtli, to whom was given the name of Ixteocale, that is, 'eyes of the lord of the divine house.'[300] He always associated with the other doomed one of Tezcatlipoca, and shared his enjoyments; but, as the representative of a less esteemed god, he was paid no divine honors. His dress was characteristic of the deity for whom he was fated to die. Papers painted with black circles covered his body, a mitre of eagle-feathers, with waving plumes and a flint knife in the centre adorned his head, and a fine piece of cloth, a hand square, with a bag called _patoxin_ above it, was tied to his breast; on one of his arms he had an ornament made of the hair of wild beasts, like a maniple, called _imatacax_, and golden bells jingled about his ankles. Thus arrayed he led the dance of the plebeians,[301] like the god conducting his warriors to battle. This youth had the privilege of choosing the hour of his death, but any delay involved the loss to him of a proportionate amount of glory and happiness in the other world. When he delivered himself up to the sacrificers, they raised him on their arms, tore out his heart, beheaded him, and spitted the head at the place of skulls. After him several other captives were immolated, and then the priests started another dance, the _atepocaxixilihua_, which lasted the remainder of the day, certain intervals being devoted to incensing the idol. On this day the male and female children born during the year were taken to the temple and scarified on the chest, stomach, and arms, to mark them as followers of the god.

The feast in honor of Quetzalcoatl, as it was celebrated during this month in Cholula, and the feast of the following month, called Etzalqualiztli, dedicated to the Tlalocs, or rain gods, the reader will find fully described in the next volume.[302]

[Sidenote: SMALL FEAST OF THE LORDS.]

The next month was one of general rejoicing among the Nahuas, and was for this reason called Tecuilhuitzintli, or Tecuilhuitontli, 'small feast of the lords.' The nobles and warriors exercised with arms to prepare for coming wars; hunting parties, open-air sports, and theatricals divided the time with banquets and indoor parties; and there was much interchanging of roses out of compliment. Yet the amusements this month were mostly confined to the lower classes, the more imposing celebrations of the nobility taking place in the following month. The religious celebrations were in honor of Huixtocihuatl, the goddess of salt, said to have been a sister to the rain gods, who quarreled with her, and drove her into the salt water, where she invented the art of making salt. Her chief devotees were, of course, the salt-makers, mostly females, who held a ten-days' festival in her temple, singing and dancing every evening from dusk till midnight in company with the doomed captives. They were all adorned with garlands of a sweet-smelling herb called _iztauhiatl_, and danced in a ring formed by cords of flowers, led by some of their own sex; the music was furnished by two old men. The female who represented the goddess and was to die in her honor danced with them, generally in the centre of the circle, and accompanied by an old man holding a beautiful plume, called _huixtopetlacotl_; if very nervous she was supported by old women.[303] She was dressed in the yellow robes of the goddess, and wore on her head a mitre surmounted by a number of green plumes; her huipil and skirt with net covering were worked in wavy outlines, and bordered with chalchiuites; ear-rings of gold in imitation of flowers hung from her ears; golden bells and white shells held by straps of tiger-skin, jingled and clattered about her ankles; her sandals were fastened with buttons and cords of cotton. On her arm she bore a shield painted with broad leaves, from which hung bits of parrot-feathers, tipped with flowers formed of eagle-plumage; it was also fringed with bright quetzal-feathers. In her hand she held a round bludgeon, one or two hands broad at the end, adorned with rubber-stained paper, and three flowers, at equal distances apart, filled with incense and set with quetzal-feathers; this shield she flourished as she danced. The priests who performed the sacrifice were dressed in an appropriate costume; on the great day, the priests performed another and solemn dance, devoting intervals to the sacrifice of captives, who were called Huixtoti in honor of the deity. Finally, towards evening, the female victim was thrown upon the stone by five young men, who held her while the priests cut open her breast, pressing a stick or a swordfish-bone against her throat to prevent her from screaming. The heart was held up to the sun and then thrown into a bowl. The music struck up and the people went home to feast.[304]

[Sidenote: GREAT FEAST OF THE LORDS.]

The feast of the following month, Hueytecuilhuitl, or 'great feast of the lords,' occurred at the time of the year when food was most scarce, the grain from the preceding harvest being nearly exhausted and the new crop not yet ripe for cutting. The nobles at this time gave great and solemn banquets among themselves, and provided at their personal expense feasts for the poor and needy. On the eleventh day a religious celebration took place in honor of Centeotl, under the name of Xilonen, derived from _xilotl_, which means a tender maize-ear, for this goddess changed her name according to the state of the grain. On this occasion, a woman who represented the goddess and was dressed in a similar manner, was sacrificed. The day before her death a number of women took her with them to offer incense in four places, which were sacred to the four characters of the divisions of the cycle, the reed, the flint, the house, and the rabbit. The night was spent in singing, dancing, and praying before the temple of the goddess.[305] On the day of sacrifice certain priestesses and lay women whirled in a ring about the victim, and a number of priests and principal men who danced before her. The priests blew their shells and horns, shook their rattles and scattered incense as they danced, the nobles held stalks of maize in their hands which they extended toward the woman. The priest who acted as executioner wore a bunch of feathers on his shoulders, held by the claws of an eagle inserted in an artificial leg. Towards the close of the dance this priest stopped at the foot of the temple, shook the rattle-board before the victim, scattered more incense, and turned to lead the way to the summit. This reached, another priest seized the woman, twisted her shoulders against his, and stooped over, so that her breast lay exposed. On this living altar she was beheaded and her heart torn out. After the sacrifice there was more dancing, in which the women, old and young, took part by themselves, their arms and legs decorated with red macaw-feathers, and their faces painted yellow and dusted with marcasite. The whole pleasantly finished with a feast. Offerings were also presented to the household gods. This festival inaugurated the eating of corn.[306]

During the next month, which was called Tlaxochimaco, or 'the distribution of flowers,'[307] gifts of flowers were presented to the gods and mutually interchanged among friends. At noon on the day of the great feast, the signal sounded and a pompous dance was begun in the courtyard of the temple of Huitzilopochtli, to whom the honors of the day were paid, in which the performers consisted of various orders of warriors led by the bravest among them. Public women joined these dances, one woman going hand in hand with two men, and the contrary, or with their hands resting on each other's shoulders, or thrown round the waist.[308] The musicians were stationed at a round altar, called _momuztli_. The motions consisted of a mere interwinding walk, to the time of a slow song. At sunset, after the usual sacrifices, the people went home to perform the same dance before their household idol; the old indulging in liquor as usual. The festival in honor of Iyacacoliuhqui, the god of commerce, was, however, the event of the month, owing to the number and solemnity of the sacrifices of slaves, brought from all quarters by the wealthy merchants for the purpose, and the splendor of the attendant banquets. The Tlascaltecs called this month Miccailhuitzintli, 'the small festival of the dead,' and gathered in the temples to sing sorrowful odes to the dead, the priests, dressed in black mantles, making offerings of food to the spirit of the departed. This seems to have been a commemoration of the ordinary class only, for the departed heroes and great men were honored in the following month. Duran and others assert, however, that the festival was devoted to the memory of the little ones who had died, and adds that the mothers performed thousands of superstitious ceremonies with their children, placing talismans upon them and the like, to prevent their death.[309]

[Sidenote: FEAST OF THE FALL OF FRUIT.]

The feast of the next month, called Xocotlhuetzin, 'fall, or maturity of fruit,' was dedicated to Xiuhtecutli, the god of fire. At the beginning of the month certain priests went out into the mountains and selected the tallest and straightest tree they could find. This was cut down and trimmed of all except its top branches.[310] It was then moved carefully into the town upon rollers, and set up firmly in the courtyard of the temple, where it stood for twenty days. On the eve of the feast-day the tree was gently lowered to the ground; early the next morning carpenters dressed it perfectly smooth, and fastened a cross-yard five fathoms long, near the top, where the branches had been left. The priests now adorned the pole with colored papers, and placed upon the summit a statue of the god of fire, made of dough of amaranth-seeds, and curiously dressed in a maxtli, sashes, and strips of paper. Three rods were stuck into its head, upon each of which was spitted a tamale, or native pie. The pole was then again hoisted into an erect position.

Those who had captives to offer now appeared, dancing side by side with the victims, and most grotesquely dressed and painted. At sunset the dance ceased, and the doomed men were shut up in the temple, while their captors kept guard outside, and sang hymns to the god. About midnight every owner brought out his captive and shaved off his top hair, which he carefully kept as a token of his valor. At dawn the human offerings were taken to the Tzompantli, where the skulls of the sacrificed were spitted, and there stripped by the priests of their dress and ornaments. At a certain signal each owner seized his captive by the hair and dragged or led him to the foot of the temple-steps. Thereupon those priests who were appointed to execute the fearful sacrifice descended from the temple, each bearing in his hand a bag filled with certain stupefying powder extracted from the _yiauhtli_ plant, which they threw into the faces of the victims to deaden somewhat the agony before them. Each naked and bound captive was then borne upon the shoulders of a priest up to the summit of the temple, where smoldered a great heap of glowing coal. Into this the bearers cast their living burdens, and when the cloud of dust was blown off the dull red mass could be seen to heave, human forms could be seen writhing and twisting in agony, the crackling of flesh could be distinctly heard.[311] But the victims were not to die by fire; in a few moments, and before life was extinct, the blackened and blistered wretches were raked out by the watching priests, cast one after another upon the stone of sacrifice, and in a few moments all that remained upon the summit of the temple was a heap of human hearts smoking at the feet of the god of fire.

These bloody rites over, the people came together and danced and sang in the courtyard of the temple. Presently all adjourned to the place where the pole before mentioned stood. At a given signal the youths made a grand scramble for the pole, and he who first reached the summit and scattered the image and its accoutrements among the applauding crowd below, was reckoned the hero of the day. With this the festival ended, and the pole was dragged down by the multitude amid much rejoicing.

[Sidenote: FEASTS OF TEPANECS AND TLASCALTECS.]

The Tepanecs, according to Duran, had a very similar ceremony. A huge tree was carried to the entrance of the town, and to it offerings and incense were presented every day during the month preceding the festival. Then it was raised with many ceremonies, and a bird of dough placed at the top. Food and wine were offered, and then the warriors and women, dressed in the finest garments and holding small dough idols in their hands, danced round the pole, while the youths struggled wildly to reach and knock down the bird image. Lastly, the pole was overthrown.[312]

The Tlascaltecs called the same month Hueymiccailhuitl, 'the great festival of the dead,' and commemorated the event with much solemnity, painting their bodies black and making much lamentation. Both here and in other parts of Mexico the priests and nobles passed several days in the temple, weeping for their ancestors and singing their heroic deeds. The families of lately deceased persons assembled upon the terraces of their houses, and prayed with their faces turned towards the north, where the dead were supposed to sojourn. Heroes who had fallen in battle, or died in captivity, defunct princes, and other persons of merit were, in a manner, canonized, and their statues placed among the images of the gods, whom, it was believed, they had joined to live in eternal bliss.[313]