in acts of the most horrible cruelty--flogging, burning, mutilation, and
even crucifixion.
DRESS
The men wear hats of platted palm leaf, which they make themselves;
those woven from coarse split palm leaf are known as _xani pok_, those
of very fine leaf, like Panama hats, bear the name _bomi pok_ (pl. 1).
They wear cotton trousers (_eex_), or in some sections short cotton
drawers (_xkulex_), with a short, loose, shirt-like jacket of cotton
hanging outside the trousers. On the feet they use sandals of danta hide
(_xanapkeuel_) held in place by a leather or henequen thong passing
between the great and second toes and around the back of the heel to the
front of the instep, where it is fastened. Formerly the cotton was
grown, spun, and woven at home, but nowadays it is giving place to cheap
imported English and American goods, while the sandals are being
superseded by moccasins and even by imported shoes. The moccasins the
Indians make themselves, tanning the hides (usually of deer or antelope)
in lime and red mangrove bark and stitching the parts together with thin
strips of leather. These moccasins, which are made on crude wooden
lasts, are very comfortable and wear well.
[Illustration: PLATE 1
GROUP OF SANTA CRUZ INDIANS]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Gold earrings made and worn by the Santa Cruz
Indians.]
The women wear two garments of cotton; the huipil (_yuptè_), a loose
short-sleeved blouse, cut square at the neck, and reaching nearly to the
knees, and a short skirt reaching to between the knee and the ankle,
known as a _pik_. The neck, the lower border, and the armholes of the
blouse and the edge of the skirt were formerly beautifully embroidered
in varicolored floral and geometrical devices; now, however, cotton
manufactured in England or the United States and stamped in colors to
imitate the original embroidery is rapidly coming into use. The women
formerly went barefooted or wore loose slippers; now they frequently
wear imported shoes, often with high heels, a feature which renders
their walk and carriage awkward and stilted. They often go bareheaded,
but sometimes wear a sort of shawl (_bostch_) around the head and
shoulders. Many of them wear large round or oval plaques of gold (_tup_)
in the ears, survivals, probably, of the enormous round ear disks worn
by the ancient Maya (fig. 2). Some of the women wear long gold chains,
with religious medallions attached, while the smaller children wear a
variety of curious objects, as small coins, shells, beads, dried seeds,
and berries, with figurines in wood, stone, pottery, and metal, strung
round their necks. Many of these are worn as charms or amulets to
protect the wearer against diseases, accidents, or evil spirits, or to
bring good luck. A charm worn by nearly all children consists of a small
cross of _tancasche_ bark (fig. 3) which is regarded as a sovereign
remedy for flatulence, a complaint from which, owing to the nature of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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