which we fhall treat fhortly, watch ing and fafting was very frequent amongst the Mexicans. A feftival hardly occurred for which they did not prepare themfelves with fafting for fome days, more or lefs, according to the preferiptions of their ri. tual. From all that is to be in ferred from their hiftory, their fafting confifted in abstaining from fleth 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 effufion 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 obferved even by children; the faft of four days before the festival of Tezcatlipoca, and alfo, as we fufpect, that which was made 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 fhed 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 houfe 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 exercised 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 elli, or elaftic gum, rubbed his face, belly, and back, with ftinking herbs, and delivered a fmall lance of itzili to him, that he might draw his blood. They reftricted him to a very abftemious diet, fubjected him to the hardest labours, and punifled him feverely for any failure in duty. At the end of the year, after being wafhed and cleanfed by four girls, with fweetfcented water, he was re-conducted to his houfe with great pomp and mufic. In the principal temple of Teohuacan, four priests conftantly resided, who were famous for the aufterity of their lives. Their drefs was the fame with that of the com. mon 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 Netonatiubzahualo, or Netonatiuhzabualitzli. 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 fasting 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 priests 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 refpect and efteem as to be held in veneration even by the kings of Mexico: but woe unto him who violated his chastity; for, it after a ftrict examination the crime was proved, he was killed by bftinados, his body was burned, and his afhes fcattered to the winds. Upon occafion of any public calamity, the Mexican high-priest always obferved a moft extraordinary fait. For this purpofe he retired fions of blood, deprived of all communication with men, and without any other food than raw maize and water. This faft was not indifpenfable, nor did all the high-priests obferve it; nor did those who at tempted it ever do it more than once in their lives; and certainly it is not probable, that those 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 Jame Work. AS foon as a child was born, the midwife, after cutting the navel-ftring, and burying the fecundine, bathed it, faying thefe words; Receive the water; for the goddejs * 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 addrefling her prayer to that goddess, the 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 invifible 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 Ometeućtli and Ome. chuatl have created thee in the high. eft place of heaven, in order to jend Goddefs 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 wa ched over the world, and gave to mortals their withes: the firit to men, the latter to women. thee thee into the world; but know that the life on which thou art entering is fad, 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, or of any great lord, the chief of his fubjects came to congratulate the father, and to with the highest profperity to his child *. When the first bathing was done, the diviners were confulted con. cerning the fortune of the child, for which purpose they were in. formed 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 just 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 bid, and if the fifth day after its birth-day, on which the fecond bathing was ufually perform. ed, was one of the dies infauft, 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 If he was a coun 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. tryman, or an artist, he prepared foue 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 sent thee to this difmal and calamitous world. Receive this water which is to give thee life. And after wetting its mouth, head, and breaft, with forms fimilar to thofe of the firit 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 rifed 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 parrots. The 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 fhould 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, the faid, 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 burn for war (if his father belonged to the army), may be die in it, defending the honour of the gods; jo 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 houfe itfelf, un. der the ftone 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 requefted 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 cozalli, or cradle, praying Joalticitl, the goddefs 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, Macuilcout, or V Serpent, and Omecalli, or II Houfe. At other times the name was taken from circumstances attending the birth; as for inftance, one of the four chiefs who govern ed the republic of Tlafcala, at the time of the arrival of the Spaniards, received the name of Citlalpopoca, fmoking ftar; becaufe he was born at the time of a comet's appeatance in the heavens. The child born on the day of the renewal of the fire, had the name of Molpilli, if it was a mile; if a female fhe was called Xiubneneil, alluding in both names to circumftances 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 parents, and the counfel of diviners.-For the most part they gave but one name to boys; afterwards it was ufual for them to acquire a furname from their actions, as Monte. zumad, on account of his bravery, was given the furnames of Libuaça. mina and Tlacaeli. as When the religious ceremony of bathing was over, an entertain. ment 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 diforderliness of drunken perfons extend not beyond private houfes. The torches were kept burning till they were totally confumed, and particular care was taken to keep up the five 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. Thefe These 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 cuftoms, fuperstition had a great fhare, nothing, however, attended them which was regugnant to decency or honour. Any marriage between perfons related in the first degree of confanguinity or alliance, was ftrictly for. bid, not only by the laws of Mexico, but also by the laws of Michuacan, 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 capable 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 be. fore 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 happiness or unhappiness of the match. If from the combination of figns attending their births, they pronounced the alliance unpropitious, 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. These women went the first 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 style. The first demand was, according to the cultom of that nation, infalli bly refused, however advantageous and eligible the marriage might appear to the parents, who gave fone plaufible reasons 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 requeft, 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. + 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 those fathers was not confined in its exertions to the nations of the Mexican empire, among whom fuch marriages were not fuffered, but extended to the barbarous Chechemecas, the Panuchele, and to other nations, which were extremely uncivilized in their cuftoms. There is not a doubt, that the council alluded to those barbarians, who were then (in 1585), in the progrefs of their convertion to Christianity, and not to the Mexicans and the nations under fubjection to them, who many years before the council were already converted Befides, in the interval of four years, between the conquest of the Spaniards and the promulgation of the golpel, many abulive practices had been introduced among thote nations never before tolerated under their kings, as the religious miflionaries employed in their convertion attet. · VOL. XXIX, K information |