which we shall treat fhortly, watch ing and fafting was very frequent amongst the Mexicans. A feftival hardly occurred for which they did not prepare themselves with fafting for fome days, more or lefs, according to the prescriptions of their ri. tual. From all that is to be inferred from their hiftory, their fasting confifted in abftaining from flesh and wine, and in eating but once a day; this fome did at midday, others after that time, and fome tafted nothing till evening. Fafting was generally accompanied with watching and the effulion of blood, and then no perfon was permitted to have commerce with any woman, not even with his own wife. Some fafts were general and obferved by the whole people; namely, the faft of five days before the feftival of Mixcoatl, which was observed even by children; the faft of four days before the festival of Tezcatlipoca, and alfo, as we suspect, that which was inade previous to the feftival of the fun *. During this faft the king retired into a certain place of the temple, where he watch ed and shed blood, according to the cuftom of his nation. Any other fafts bound only particular indivi. duals, fuch as that which was obferved by the proprietors of victims the day before a facrifice. The proprietors of prifoners which were facrificed to the god Xipe, fafted twenty days. The nobles as well as the king had a house within the precincts of the temple, containing nu. merous chambers, where they occafionally retired to do penance. On one of the feftivals, all thofe per fons who exercifed public offices, after their daily duty was over, retired there at evening for this purpofe. In the third month the Tlamacazqui, or penance doers watched every night; and in the fourth month they were attended in their duty by the nobility. In Mixteca, where there were many monafteries, the first-born fons of lords, before they took poffeffion of their eftates, were fubjected to a rigorous penance during a whole year. They conducted the heir with a numerous attendance to a monaftery, where they ftripped off his garments, and clothed him in rags daubed over with olli, or elaftic gum, rubbed his face, belly, and back, with ftinking herbs, and delivered a fmall lance of itztli to him, that he might draw his blood. They reftricted him to a very abftemious diet, fubjected him to the hardest labours, and punished him feverely for any failure in duty. At the end of the year, after being washed and cleansed by four girls, with sweetfcented water, he was re-conducted to his houfe with great pomp and mufic. In the principal temple of Teohuacan, four priefts conftantly refided, who were famous for the auf terity of their lives. Their drefs was the fame with that of the common people; their diet was limited to a loaf of maize of about two ounces in weight, and a cup of atolli, or gruel, made of the fame grain. Every night two of them kept watch, employing their time in finging hymns to their gods, in offering incenfe, which they did * The fast which was held in honour of the fun was called Netonatiubzabualo, or Netonatiubzabualitzli. Dr. Hernandez fays, it was held every two hundred, or three hundred days. We fufpect that it was kept on the day I Olin, which occurred every two hundred and fixty days. four four times during the night, and in fhedding their blood upon the ftones of the temple. Their fafting was continual during the four years which they perfevered in that life, except upon days of feftival, one of which happened every month, when they were at liberty to eat as much as they pleafed; but in preparation for every feftival, they practifed the ufual auftere rules, boring their ears with the fpines of the aloe, and paffing little pieces of cane through the holes to the number of fixty, all of which differed in thickness in the manner above mentioned. At the end of four years, other four priefts were introduced to lead the fame kind of life; and if before the completion of that term any one of them happened to die, another was fubftituted in his place, that the number might never be incomplete. Thefe priests were fo high in respect and efteen as to be held in veneration even by the kings of Mexico: but woe unto him who violated his chaftity; for, it after a ftrict examination the crime was proved, he was killed by baftinados, his body was burned, and his afhes fcattered to the winds, Upon occafion of any public ca. lamity, the Mexican high-prieft always obferved a moft extraordinary faft. For this purpose he retired to a wood, where he conftructed a hut for himfelf, covered with, branches, which were always fresh and green; as whenever the first became dry, new ones were fpread in their place. Shut up in this hut he paffed nine or ten months in conftant prayer and frequent effu fions of blood, deprived of all com. munication with men, and without any other food than raw maize and water. This faft was not indifpen, fable, nor did all the high-priests obferve it; nor did thofe who at tempted it ever do it more than once in their lives; and certainly it is not probable, that thofe who furvived fo rigorous and long an abftinence, were ever able to repeat it." Concerning the Rites obferved by the Mexicans upon the Birth of their Children.-From the fame Work. 'AS foon as a child was born, the midwife, after cutting the navel-ftring, and burying the fecundine, bathed it, faying these words; Receive the water; for the goddess* Chalchiuhcueje is thy mother. May this bath cleanse the Spots which thou bearest from the womb of thy mother, purify thy heart, and give thee a good and perfect life. Then addreffing her prayer to that goddess, fhe demanded in fimilar words the fame favour from her; and taking up the water again with her right hand, the blew upon it, and wet the mouth, head, and breaft of the child with it, and after bathing the whole of its body, fhe faid: May the invisible God descend upon this water, and cleanfe thee of every fin and impurity, and free thee from evil fortune and then turning to the child, the fpoke to it thus: Lovely child, the gods + Ometeuli and Omecihuatl have created thee in the higheft place of heaven, in order to fend : *Goddess of water, and companion to Tlaloc, mentioned in page 123 ante +The former was a god and the latter a goddefs, who they pretended dwelt in a magnificent city in heaven, abounding with delights, and there watched over the world, and gave to mortals their wishes: the first to men, the latter to women. thee thee into the world; but know that the life on which thou art entering is Jad, painful, and full of uneasiness and miferies: nor wilt thou be able to eat thy bread without labour: May God affift thee in the many adverfities which await thee. This ceremony was concluded with congratulations to the parents and relations of the child. If it was the fon of the king, any great lord, the chief of his fubjects came to congratulate the father, and to with the highest profperity to his child *. or of When the first bathing was done, the diviners were confulted con. cerning the fortune of the child, for which purpofe they were informed of the day and hour of its birth. They confidered the nature of the fign of that day, and the ruling fign of that period of thirteen days to which it belonged, and if it was born at midnight, two figns concurred, that is, the fign of the day which was juft concluding, and that of the day which was juft beginning. After having made their obfervations, they pronounced the good or bad fortune of the child. — If it was bad, and if the fifth day after its birth-day, on which the fecond bathing was ufually perform, ed, was one of the dies infaufti, the ceremony was poftponed until a more favourable occafion. To the fecond bathing, which was a more folemn rite, all the relations and friends, and fome young boys, were rots. invited; and if the parents were in good circumftances, they gave great entertainments, and made prefents of apparel to all the guests. If the father of the child was a military perfon, he prepared for this ceremony a little bow, four arrows, and a little habit, refembling in make that which the child, when grown up, would wear. If he was a countryman, or an artist, he prepared fome inftruments belonging to his art, proportioned in fize to the infancy of the child. If the child was a girl, they furnished a little habit, fuitable to her fex, a fmall fpindle, and fome other little inftruments for weaving. They lighted a great number of torches, and the midwife taking up the child, carried it through all the yard of the houfe, and placed it upon a heap of the leaves of fword-grafs, clofe by a bafon of water, which was prepared in the middle of the yard, and then undreffing it, faid: My child, the gods Omemeteuftli and Omecihuatl, lords of heaven, have fent thee to this difmal and calamitous world. Receive this water which is to give thee life. And after wetting its mouth, head, and breast, with forms fimilar to thofe of the first bathing, fhe bathed its whole body, and rub. bing every one of its limbs, faid, Where art thou ill Fortune & In what limb art thou bid? Go far from this child. Having fpoke this, the raifed up the child to offer it to the gods, * In Guatemala, and other furrounding provinces, the births of male children were celebrated with much folemnity and fuperftition. As foon as the fon was born, a turkey was facrificed. The bathing was performed in fome fountain, or river, where they made oblations of copal, and facrifices of parThe navel ftring was cut upon an ear of maize, and with a new knife, which was immediately after caft into the river. They fowed the feeds of that ear, and attended to its growth with the utmost care, as if it had been a facred thing. What was reaped from this feed was divided into three parts, one of which was given to the diviner; of another part they made pap for the child, and the reft was preferved until the fame child should be old enough to be able to fow it. praying praying them to adorn it with every virtue. The firft prayer was offered to the two gods before named, the fecond to the goddefs of water, the third to all the gods together, and the fourth to the fun and the earth. You fun, she said, father of all things that live upon the earth, our mother, receive this child, and protect him as your own fon; and fince he is born for war (if his father belonged to the army), may be die in it, defending the honour of the gods; fo may be enjoy in heaven the delights which are prepared for all those who facrifice their lives in fo good a caufe. She then put in his little hands the inftruments of that art which he was to exercife, with a prayer addreffed to the protecting god of the fame. The inftruments of the military art were buried in fome fields, where, in future, it was imagined the boy would fight in battle, and the female inftruments were buried in the house itfelf, un. der the tone for grinding maize. On this fame occafion, if we are to credit Boturini, they obferved the ceremony of paffing the boy four times through the fire. Before they put the inftruments of any art into the hands of the child, the midwife requested the young boys who had been invited, to give him a name, which was generally fuch a name as had been fuggefted to them by the father.The midwife then clothed him, and laid him in the cozolli, or cradle, praying Joalticitl, the goddess of cradles, to warm him and guard him in her bofom, and Joalteučili, god of the night, to make him fleep. The name which was given to boys, was generally taken from the fign of the day on which they were born (arule particularly prac tifed among the Mixtecas), as Nabiaxochitl, or IV Flower, Macuilcoutl, or V Serpent, and Omecalli, or II House. At other times the name was taken from circumstances attending the birth; as for instance, one of the four chiefs who governed the republic of Tlafcala, at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, received the name of Citlalpopoca, fmoking ftar; because he was born at the time of a comet's, appear. ance in the heavens. The child born on the day of the renewal of the fire, had the name of Molpilli, if it was a male; if a female fhe was called Xiuhnenetl, alluding in both names to circumftanees at. tending the festival. Men had in general the names of animals; women thofe of flowers; in giving which, it is probable, they paid regard both to the dream of the pa rents, and the counsel of diviners.For the most part they gave but one name to boys; afterwards it was ufual for them to acquire a fur. name from their actions, as Monte. zumad, on account of his bravery, was given the furnames of Ilhuaca. mina and Tlacaeli. as When the religious ceremony of bathing was over, an entertainment was given, the quality and honours of which correfponded with the rank of the giver. At fuch feafons of rejoicing, a little excess in drinking was permitted, the diforderlinefs of drunken perfons extend not beyond private houfes. The torches were kept burning till they were totally con fumed, and particular care taken to keep up the fire all the four days, which intervened between the first and fecond ceremony of bathing, as they were perfuaded that an omiffion of fuch a nature would ruin the fortune of the child, was Thefe Thefe rejoicings were repeated when they weaned the child, which they commonly did at three years of age*,, Concerning their Nuptial Rites. "With refpect to the marriages of the Mexicans, although in them, as well as in all their cuftons, fuperftition had a great share, nothing, however, attended them which was regugnant to decency or honour. Any marriage between perfons related in the first degree of confan. guinity or alliance, was ftrictly for. bid, not only by the laws of Mexico, but also by the laws of Michua. can, unless it was between coufins t. The parents were the perfons who fettled all marriages, and none were ever executed without their confent. When a fon arrived at an age ca. pable of bearing the charges of that ftate, which in men was from the age of twenty to twenty-two years, and in women from fixteen to eighteen, a fuitable and proper wife was fingled out for him; but before the union was concluded on, the diviners were confulted, who, after having confidered the birthday of the youth, and of the young girl intended for his bride, decided on the happinefs or unhappiness of the match. If from the combination of figns attending their births, they pronounced the alliance un. propitious, that young maid was abandoned, and another fought. If, on the contrary, they predicted happinefs to the couple, the young girl was demanded of her parents by certain women amongst them called Cihuatlanque, or folicitors, who were the most elderly and refpectable amongst the kindred of the youth. Thefe women went the fift time at midnight to the houfe of the dimfel, carried a prefent to her parents, and demanded her of them in a humble and refpectful ftyle. The firft demand was, according to the cuftom of that nation, infalli bly refufed, however advantageous and eligible the marriage might appear to the parents, who gave forme plaufible reafons for their refufal. After a few days were paft, thofe women returned to repeat their demand,, ufing prayers and arguments alfo, in order to obtain their requel, giving an account of the rank and fortune of the youth, and of what he would make the dowry of his wife, and alfo gaining * In Guatemala it was ufual to make rejoicings as foon as the child began to walk, and for seven years they continued to celebrate the anniversary of its birth. t in the ivth book, tit. 2. of the third provincial council of Mexico, it is fuppofed that the Gentiles of that new world married with their fifters; but it ought to be understood, that the zeal of thofe fathers was not confined in its exertions to the nations of the Mexican empire, aiñong whom fuch marriages were not fuffered, but extended to the barbarous Chechemecas, the'. Panuchefe, and to other nations, which were extremely uncivilized in their customs. There is not a doubt, that the council alluded to those barbarians, who were then (in 1585), in the progrefs of their convertion to Chriftianity, and not to the Mexicans and the nations under subjection to them, who many years before the council were already converted. Befides, in the interval of four years, between the conqueft of the Spaniards and the promulgation of the gospel, many abufive practices had been introduced among thofe nations never before tolerated under their kings, as the religious millionaries employed in their convertion atteft. VOL. XXIX. K information |