Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish AmericaJoyce, Thomas Athol
History
Mexican archæology : $b an introduction to the archæology of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations of pre-Spanish America
Joyce, Thomas Athol
Mayas -- Antiquities; Mexico -- Antiquities
In later Yucatan, pilgrimages were made from all parts of the country
to important shrines, and we are told that the temple at Cozumel was
one of the most celebrated at the conquest. Pilgrims were wont to stop
to offer incense at deserted temples, and Cogolludo mentions the fact
that he found recent offerings of copal in a temple at Uxmal. The
present-day Lacandons also offer incense at the ruins, in the belief
that they are haunted by the ghosts of their forefathers. Divination
formed an important part of a priest’s duties, and it was principally
for this purpose that the tonalamatl was employed in Yucatan. Thus at
the birth of a child its horoscope was cast to determine its future
profession. The Kakchiquel too practised divination, not only by means
of the tonalamatl, but also with maize-grains, as the Mexicans. They
also used blocks of polished obsidian for scrying, one of which was
enshrined in a particularly celebrated temple, whither state messengers
were sent to consult it on important occasions. Obsidian was supposed
to have been produced in Xibalba at the creation, to be the “sustainer”
of mankind, probably as the source from which the will of heaven could
be ascertained. Maize was also employed for divination in Yucatan, and
omens were taken from dreams and the voices of birds. Various minor
superstitions were found, of which a few have been recorded. Thus if
a man on a journey stumbled over a stone, many of which were placed
at the commencement of a road, he made an offering of a green branch
to it, and rubbed his knees with a pebble to prevent fatigue. If a
traveller feared he might be late in arriving at his destination, he
placed a stone in a tree to stay the course of the sun, or plucked out
hairs from his eyebrows and blew them towards the heavens. In eclipses,
dogs were pinched to make them howl, and a noise was made by striking
the doors or furniture of the huts. An eclipse of the moon was supposed
to betoken that the luminary was dying, or was being bitten by ants.
The offering of eyebrows, and the pinching of the dogs during an
eclipse, were also practised in Peru.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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