The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 09 of 12)

671

The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, ii. 24 sq. It is highly significant that the heathen of Harran celebrated the marriage festival of all the gods and goddesses in the very month (March) in which the artificial fertilization of the date-palm was effected (D. Chwolsohn, Die Ssabier und der Ssabismus, St. Petersburg, 1856, ii. 36, 251). The frequency with which the artificial fertilization of the palm-tree by a mythical winged figure is represented on Assyrian monuments furnishes strong evidence of the religious and economic importance of the ceremony.

672

The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings, i. 40 sqq., ii. 376 sqq.

673

J. de Acosta, The Natural and Moral History of the Indies (London, Hakluyt Society, 1880), ii. 323. I have modernized the spelling of the old English translator, whose version was originally published in 1604. Acosta resided both in Peru and Mexico, and published his work at Seville in 1590. It was reprinted in a convenient form at Madrid in 1894. Compare A. de Herrera, General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America, translated by Captain John Stevens (London, 1725-1726), iii. 207 sq.

674

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle-Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 61 sq.: “On appelait le cinquième moi toxcatl. Au premier jour on faisait une grande fête en l'honneur du dieu appelé Titlacauan, autrement dit Tezcatlipoca, que l'on croyait être le dieu des dieux. C'était en son honneur que l'on tuait, le jour de sa fête, un jeune homme choisi… Cette fête était la principale de toutes, comme qui dirait la Pâque, et, en réalité, elle se célébrait aux environs de la Pâque de résurrection, ou quelques jours après.” Compare J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. p. 256 (Madrid, 1723). As to Tezcatlipoca, the greatest of the Mexican gods, see J. G. Müller, Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen (Bâle, 1867), pp. 613 sqq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (London, 1875-1876), iii. 199 sqq., 237 sqq.; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 125 sqq. (Veröffentlichungen aus dem königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde, vol. vi. Heft 2/4).

675

On the twenty-third of April according to the Spanish text of Sahagun's work as translated in French by D. Jourdanet and R. Simeon (p. 52); the twenty-seventh of April according to the Aztec text of Sahagun's work as translated into German by Professor E. Seler (Altmexikanische Studien, ii. 194).

676

J. de Acosta, Natural and Moral History of the Indies (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 378, 380; Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 99, 101; Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 159, 160 sq. According to Clavigero, the fifth Mexican month, in which the sacrifice of the human representative of Tezcatlipoca took place, began on the 17th of May (History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen, London, 1807, i. 299); but this must be an error.

677

E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 117 note 1, 121-125, 153 sq., 166 sq. (Veröffentlichungen aus dem königlichen Museum für Völkerkunde, vol. vi. Heft 2/4).

678

J. de Acosta, op. cit. ii. 380; Diego Duran, op. cit. ii. 101; Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), p. 160; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. p. 257 (Madrid, 1723). I have modernized the spelling of Acosta's old translator (Edward Grimston).

679

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet, et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 61 sq., 96-99, 103; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899), pp. 116-165, 194-209 (the latter passage contains the Aztec text of Sahagun's account with a German translation); J. de Acosta, The Natural and Moral History of the Indies (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), pp. 350 sq.; Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 157 sqq., 180 sq.; Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 98-105; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 14, vol. ii. pp. 256 sqq. (Madrid, 1723); F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by Charles Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 300; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 510-512; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (London, 1875-1876), iii. 319 sq. According to Torquemada the flesh of the human victim was eaten by the elders “as a sacred and divine flesh”; but this is not mentioned by the other authorities of the sixteenth century cited above. Elsewhere (Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild, ii. 92 sq.) I cited this cannibal banquet as an example of a sacramental communion with the deity; but the silence of most early writers on the point makes it doubtful whether the custom has been correctly reported by Torquemada and later writers.

680

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 99-104; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 159-165, 202-209; F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by Ch. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 301-303; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale, iii. 512-516; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 321-324. As to the dances of the maidens wearing garlands of maize, see also J. de Acosta, Natural and Moral History of the Indies (London, 1880), ii. 380.

681

J. de Acosta, The Natural and Moral History of the Indies (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 321; Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 118-120; Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions, publié par D. Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 182 sq. Acosta's description of the idol is abridged. As to the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl, worshipped especially by the people of Cholula, see J. G. Müller, Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen (Bâle, 1867), pp. 577 sqq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (London, 1875-1876), iii. 248 sqq.

682

J. de Acosta, The Natural and Moral History of the Indies (Hakluyt Society, London, 1880), ii. 384-386. I have modernized the old translator's spelling. The accounts of Duran and the anonymous author of the Ramirez manuscript agree verbally with that of Acosta. It is plain that Acosta and Duran drew on the same source, which may be the Ramirez manuscript. However, Duran is the only one of the three who gives the date of the festival (the third of February). See Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 120 sq.; Manuscrit Ramirez, Histoire de l'Origine des Indiens qui habitent la Nouvelle Espagne selon leurs traditions, publié par de Charnay (Paris, 1903), pp. 182 sqq. Compare A. de Herrera, The General History of the Vast Continent and Islands of America, translated by Captain John Stevens (London, 1725-1726), iii. 218 sq.; J. G. Müller, Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen (Bâle, 1867), pp. 589 sq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (London, 1875-1876), iii. 286.

683

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 64, 115-117; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 18, vol. ii. p. 268. Compare F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 305; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale, iii. 517 sq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 325-327.

684

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet R. Siméon (Paris, 1880), pp. 65 sq., 118-126; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 19, vol. ii. pp. 269-271; E. J. Payne, History of the New World called America, i. (Oxford, 1892) pp. 421-423. Compare Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale, iii. 518-520; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 326 sq. I have followed Torquemada (vol. ii. p. 269) and the French translators of Sahagun (p. 65, note 2) in deriving the name of Xilonen from xilotl in the sense of “young cobs of maize.” But according to E. J. Payne, the word xilotl means “hair,” and Xilonen is “Hairy Mother” (Mater comata) with reference to the hair-like fibres or tassels that shoot from the maize-cobs. See E. J. Payne, op. cit. i. 417. On either interpretation the goddess is a personification of the young maize. The goddess of the maize in general was called Cinteotl or Centeotl (Centeutl), a name which, according to Torquemada, is derived from centli, “maize-cob” (Monarquia Indiana, lib. vi. cap. 25, vol. ii. p. 52). But E. J. Payne, while he regards Cinteotl as the maize-goddess, explains her name differently. He says (op. cit. i. 416 sq.): “The Totonacs worshipped the corn-spirit under names which were translated into Mexican as Tzinteotl (goddess of beginning or origin) and Tonacayohua (provider of our food). They considered her to be the wife of the sun, their supreme god. Theoretically subordinated to him, the maize-goddess was in practice the chief deity of the Totonacs: it was to her service that the principal warriors, quitting their wives and children, dedicated themselves in their old age.” Similarly Clavigero, who lived many years in Mexico and learned the Mexican language, explains Cinteotl (Tzinteotl) to mean “original goddess”; he adds that the Maize Goddess changed her name “according to the different states of the grain in the progress of its growth” (History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen, i. 253 note p). Another name applied to the Maize Goddess Cinteotl was Chicomecohuatl or “Seven Snakes.” See J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 13, vol. ii. p. 255; J. G. Müller, Geschichte der amerikanischen Urreligionen (Bâle, 1867), pp. 491 sqq.; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 108 sq., 112. Some have held that Cinteotl was a Maize God rather than a Maize Goddess. See H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, iii. 349 sqq.

685

The Mexican year of three hundred and sixty-five days was divided into eighteen months of twenty days each, with five supplementary days over. See J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 36, vol. ii. p. 300 (Madrid, 1723); B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), p. lxvii.; F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 290 sq.

686

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 75, 158-160; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 29, vol. ii. pp. 284 sq. (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen (London, 1807), i. 312; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations Civilisées du Mexique et de l' Amérique-Centrale, iii. 535 sq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 337 sq.

687

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 18 sq., 68 sq., 133-139: J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana (Madrid, 1723), lib. x. cap. 23, vol. ii. pp. 275 sq.; Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 185-191. Compare Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale, iii. 523-525; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, iii. 353-359; E. J. Payne, History of the New World called America, i. (Oxford, 1892), pp. 470 sq. A statue of basalt, about half the size of life, said to have come from Tezcuco, represents a man clothed in a human skin which he wears on his body, his arms, and his face; his own skin is painted bright red, the other skin a dirty white. See H. H. Bancroft, op. cit. iv. 522; Marquis de Nadaillac, L'Amérique Préhistorique (Paris, 1883), p. 295, fig. 119. In the Art Museum (Kunst-Museum) at Bâle there is a statuette of the same sort. It is labelled: “Xipe. Der in einer Menschenhaut gekleidete Gott. Gesch. v. H. Luk. Vischer (1828-1837).” The figure is about eighteen inches high and appears to be made of a porous stone. It represents a man seated on his haunches with his feet crossed in front of him and his hands resting on his knees. His own skin, of which the legs, feet, hands, wrists, neck and part of the face are visible, is coloured a terra-cotta red. The rest of his body is covered by the representation of the skin of a human victim, of a greyish colour, quite distinct from that of the wearer, and this skin is also worn like a mask on his face. At his back the jacket of human skin only partially meets, displaying the wearer's red skin under it for some distance; it is as if the skin of the human victim had been split up the back and then drawn together and fastened at the back of the wearer like an ill-fitting and imperfectly buttoned coat. The hands of the human victim are represented dangling at the wrists of the seated figure. I saw this remarkable statuette in the Museum at Bâle on July 25th, 1912, but I was not able to remove it from the case for closer examination. As to Xipe, the Mexican god clad in a human skin, whom the statuette represents, see below, pp. 296 sqq.

688

As to this name for the Maize Goddess, see above, p. 286 (#x_22_i16), note 1.

689

Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 179-184. This remarkable festival appears not to be noticed by the other early Spanish writers such as Sahagun, Acosta, and Torquemada, who have given us detailed descriptions of the Mexican festivals. It might perhaps have been conjectured that Duran was here describing the similar festival of the Mother of the Gods (see above, pp. 288 (#x_22_i18)sqq.), which fell about the same time of the year. But the conjecture is excluded by the simple fact that Duran describes both festivals, the one immediately after the other, assigning as their dates the fifteenth and sixteenth of September respectively (op. cit. ii. 180, 185 sq.). Almost nothing is known about Duran except that he was a Spanish monk, apparently a native of Mexico, who had weak health and died in 1588. His work remained in manuscript till it was edited at Mexico in 1867-1880 by José F. Ramirez. The original manuscript is preserved in the Natìonal Library at Madrid. The accounts contained in his history bear internal marks of authenticity and are in general supported by the independent testimony of the other early Spanish authorities.

690

Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild, i. 236 sqq.

691

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 37 sq., 58-60, 87-94, 584 sq.; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin, 1899) pp. 76-100, 171-188 (the latter passage gives the Aztec text of Sahagun's account with a German translation); Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de Nueva España (Mexico, 1867-1880), ii. 147-155; J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 11, vol. ii. pp. 252 sq. (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 297 sq.; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale (Paris, 1857-1859), iii. 503 sq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States (London, 1875-1876), ii. 306 sqq. According to Torquemada, the prisoners were flayed alive, but this statement is not, so far as I know, supported by the other early Spanish authorities. It is Duran who gives the 20th of March as the date of the festival at which the captives were killed and skinned; but this is inconsistent with the evidence of Sahagun, according to whom the second Aztec month, in which the festival fell, ended with the 13th of March. See B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, p. 51.

692

J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 30, vol. ii. pp. 285 sq. (Mexico, 1723); B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon (Paris, 1880), pp. 164 sq. The latter writer does not describe the mode in which the victims were sacrificed at this quadriennial festival; but he describes as in the text the annual sacrifice of victims in honour of the fire-god in the tenth month of the Mexican year (op. cit. pp. 67 sq., 129 sqq.). Compare F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 306 sq.; H. H. Bancroft, The Native Races of the Pacific States, ii. 329 sq.

693

J. de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. x. cap. 30, vol. ii. p. 286 (Madrid, 1723). Compare F. S. Clavigero, History of Mexico, translated by C. Cullen, Second Edition (London, 1807), i. 283 sq.; Brasseur de Bourbourg, Histoire des Nations civilisées du Mexique et de l'Amérique-Centrale, iii. 539 sq.

694

B. de Sahagun, Histoire Générale des Choses de la Nouvelle Espagne, traduite par D. Jourdanet et R. Simeon, pp. 37, 93; E. Seler, Altmexikanische Studien, ii. (Berlin. 1889) pp. 96, 185 (quoting the Aztec text of Sahagun).

695

R. Schomburgk, Reisen in Britisch-Guiana (Leipsic, 1847-1848), ii. 319. I have already noticed this and the following stories of the origin of death in The Belief in Immortality, i. 69 sqq.