A small portion of _balchè_ was next passed around to each of the participants, the priest again scattering a little on the ground and repeating the prayer. The calabash, which was now nearly empty, was then removed to the house for the benefit of the women. It was soon brought back by the assistant and refilled from the jar, and the same procedure gone through again. This was repeated till no more _balchè_ remained to be drunk. The priest then scattered some of the _sopas_ in four directions, using one of the fowls' claws to scoop it up from the calabash, after which what remained of the _sopas_ was divided up among the participants, each one being given a calabash in which a fowl's claw was placed for use as a fork. A small quantity of the mixture which remained was taken to the house for use of the women. Lastly the priest removed the _tutiua_ and _yokua_ from the altar, and divided these among the participants, giving each one at the same time a corn-husk cigarette. The ceremony was now finished, and the last act was completely to destroy all the objects used in it, including buildings, altar, calabashes, and _chuyubs_; this was done by fire. This Cha chac ceremony as performed by the Santa Cruz and Icaichè Indians bears a strong resemblance to certain ceremonies performed before the conquest, in honor of the Chacs, or Rain gods, and also to ceremonies carried out at the present day by the Lacandon Indians. The names given to the modern priests were, according to Landa, all in use in his day. The Chacs were four old men chosen to assist the priests.[22] The _men_ was an inferior priest or sorcerer, while the name _Ahkin_[4] was applied after the conquest, both to their own and to Christian priests by the Maya. Landa also mentions (Chap. XL, p. 260) a fiesta given to the Chacs, in conjunction with other gods, held in one of the plantations, when the offerings were consumed by the people after being first presented to the gods; these offerings consisted of turkeys and other fowls, corn cake, _sikil_, and _posol_,[5] all of which are used in the modern Maya Cha chac. The god Yumcanchacoob (Lord of all the Chacs) of the Santa Cruz probably corresponds to Nohochyumchac (Great Lord Chac) of the Lacandones, as does the Ahcanankakabol (keeper of the woods) of the Santa Cruz, to the Kanancash of the Lacandones, whose name has practically the same significance. A belief in _Xtabai_, or spirits, and _Ikoob_, or Wind gods, seems common alike to the Santa Cruz, the Lacandones, and the Indians of Yucatan. PART 2. MOUND EXCAVATION IN THE EASTERN MAYA AREA INTRODUCTION CLASSIFICATION OF THE MOUNDS In the following pages is a description of the mounds opened during the last few years in that part of the Maya area now constituting British Honduras, the southern part of Yucatan, and the eastern border of Guatemala (pl. 7). For descriptive purposes these mounds may be divided, according to their probable uses, into six main groups: