The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 1, Wild Tribes

WAR AND TREATMENT OF CAPTIVES.

Aboriginally, as with most northern nations, warfare was the normal state of these people. The so-called Chichimecs attacked all who entered their domain, whether for hunting, collecting fruit, or fighting. War once declared between two tribes, each side endeavors to secure by alliance as many of their neighbors as possible; to which end ambassadors are despatched to the chiefs of adjacent provinces, each bearing in his hand an arrow of the make peculiar to the tribe of the stranger chief. Arriving at the village, the messenger seeks out the chief and lays the arrow at his feet; if the proposal of his master be accepted by the stranger chief, the rendezvous is named and the messenger departs. The ambassadors having returned with their report, preparations are at once made for the reception of the allies, a feast is prepared, large quantities of game and intoxicating drink are made ready, and as soon as the guests arrive the viands are placed before them. Then follow eating and drinking, concluding with drunken orgies; this finished, a council is held, and the assault planned, care being taken to secure places suitable for an ambuscade and stones for the slingers. A regular organization of forces is observed and every effort made to outflank or surround the enemy. Archers and slingers march to an attack in single file, always occupying the van, while warriors armed with clubs and lances are drawn up in the rear; the assault is commenced by the former, accompanied with furious shouts and yells. During the period of their wars against the Spaniards, they often expended much time and labor in the fortification of heights by means of tree-trunks, and large rocks, which were so arranged, one on top of another, that at a given signal they might be loosened, and let fall on their assailants. The chiefs of the Tepecanos and contiguous tribes carried no weapons during the action, but had rods with which they chastised those who exhibited symptoms of cowardice, or became disorderly in the ranks.908 The slain were scalped or their heads cut off, and prisoners were treated with the utmost barbarity, ending invariably in the death of the unfortunates; often were they scalped while yet alive, and the bloody trophy placed upon the heads of their tormentors. The heads of the slain were placed on poles and paraded through their villages in token of victory, the inhabitants meanwhile dancing round them. Young children were sometimes spared, and reared to fight in the ranks of their conquerors; and in order to brutalize their youthful minds and eradicate all feelings of affection toward their own kindred, the youthful captives were given to drink the brains and blood of their murdered parents. The Chichimecs carried with them a bone, on which, when they killed an enemy, they marked a notch, as a record of the number each had slain. Mota Padilla states that when Nuño de Guzman arrived in the valley of Coynan, in Jalisco, the chiefs came out to meet him, and, as a sign of peace and obedience, dropped on one knee; upon being raised up by the Spaniards, they placed round their necks strings of rabbits and quails, in token of respect.909

As the wants of the people are few and simple, so is the inventory of their implements and household furniture. Every family is supplied with the indispensable metate, an oblong stone, about twelve by eighteen inches, smooth on the surface and resting upon three legs in a slanting position; with this is used a long stone roller, called the metlapilli, for rubbing down the maize, and a large earthen pan, called the comalli, on which to bake the tortillas. Their bottles, bowls, and cups are made from gourds, often prettily painted, and kept hanging round the walls; some unglazed earthenware vessels, ornamented with black figures on a dull red ground, are used for cooking, a block of wood serves for a stool and table, and lastly a few petates (Aztec, petlatl, 'palm-leaf mat'), are laid upon the ground for beds. These comprise the whole effects of a native's house. For agricultural purposes, they have wooden spades, hoes, and sharp stakes for planting corn. Their products are carried home or to market in large wicker-work frames, often five feet high by two and a half feet broad, made from split palm-leaves.910

In the State of Jalisco, the natives are celebrated for the manufacture of blankets and woolen mantas; in other parts of the country they continue to weave cotton stuffs in the same manner as before the conquest, all on very primitive hand-looms. The common designs are in blue or red and white stripes, but they are sometimes neatly worked with figures, the juice from the murex or purple shell supplying the vermilion color for the patterns. The inhabitants of Tonala exhibit much taste and excellence in the production of pottery, making a great variety of toys, masks, figures, and ornaments, besides the vessels for household use. In the vicinity of Santa Cruz, the fibres of the aloe, crushed upon the metate, are employed for the manufacture of ropes, nets, bags, and flat round pelotas, used in rubbing down the body after a bath. Palm-leaf mats and dressed skins also figure largely among the articles of native industry.911

In Vera Cruz, they have canoes dug out of the trunk of a mahogany or cedar tree, which are capable of holding several persons, and are worked with single paddles.912

TRADE AND ARTS.

A considerable trade is carried on in pottery, mats, dressed skins, and manufactures of the aloe-fibre; also fruit, feathers, vegetables, and fish. All such wares are packed in light osier baskets, which, thrown upon their backs, are carried long distances to the several markets. In the province of Vera Cruz, vanilla, jalap, and other herbs are important articles of native commerce, and all the interior tribes place a high value on salt, for which they readily exchange their products.913

The natives display much patience and skill in ornamental work, especially carvings in stone, and in painting; although the figures, their gods bearing witness, are all of grotesque shapes and appearance. With nothing more than a rude knife, they make very ingenious figures, of wax, of the pith of trees, of wood, charcoal, clay, and bone. They are fond of music, and readily imitate any strain they hear. From time immemorial they have retained a passion for flowers, in all seasons of the year tastefully decorating therewith their dwellings and shops. The art of working in gold and silver is well known to the natives of Jalisco, who execute well-shaped specimens of cups and vases, beautifully engraved and ornamented.914

The wild tribes surrounding, and in places intermixed with, the Civilized Nations of Central Mexico, as far as I can learn, do not appear to have had any systematic tribal government; at least, none of the old historians have given any account of such. Some of the tribes attach themselves to chiefs of their own choice, to whom they pay a certain tribute from the produce of their labor or hunting expeditions, while others live without any government or laws whatsoever, and only elect a chief on going to war.915

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

Marriage takes place at an early age, and girls are seldom found single after they attain fourteen or fifteen years. Gomara, however, says that women in the district of Tamaulipas are not married till they reach the age of forty. The Otomís marry young, and if, when arrived at the age of puberty, a young girl has not found a mate, her parents or guardians select one for her, so that none shall remain single. Among the Guachichiles, when a young man has selected a girl, he takes her on trial for an indefinite period; if, afterwards, both parties are satisfied with each other, the ceremony of marriage is performed; should it happen, however, that the man be not pleased, he returns the girl to her parents, which proceeding does not place any obstacle in the way of her obtaining another suitor. The Chichimecs cannot marry without the consent of parents; if a young man violates this law and takes a girl without first obtaining the parental sanction, even with the intention of marrying her, the penalty is death; usually, in ancient times, the offender was shot with arrows. When one of this people marries, if the girl proves not to be a virgin, the marriage is null, and the girl is returned to her parents. When a young man desires to marry, his parents make a visit to those of the intended bride, and leave with them a bouquet of flowers bound with red wool; the bride's parents then send round to the houses of their friends a bunch of mariguana, a narcotic herb, which signifies that all are to meet together at the bride's father's on the next night. The meeting is inaugurated by smoking; then they chew mariguana, during which time all preliminaries of the marriage are settled. The following day the resolutions of the conclave are made known to the young man and woman, and if the decision is favorable, the latter sends her husband a few presents, and from that time the parties consider themselves married, and the friends give themselves up to feasting and dancing.916

A plurality of wives was found among all the inhabitants of this region at the time of the Spanish conquest, the first wife taking precedence of those who came after her. Many had concubines who, it may be said, ranked third in the family circle. The missionary Fathers, however, soon put an end to the custom of more than one wife, whenever they had the power to do so. Herrera says that the Chichimecs indulged in one wife only, but that they had the habit of repudiating her for any slight cause, and of taking another. The women are kept under subjection by their husbands, and not only have all the indoor work to do, such as cooking, spinning, and mat-making, but they are also required to carry heavy burdens home from the market, and bring all the wood and water for household use. Infants are carried on the mother's back, wrapped in a coarse cotton cloth, leaving the head and legs free. Among the Chichimecs, when a woman goes out of her house, she places her child in a wicker basket, and there leaves it, usually suspending it from the branch of a tree. A child is suckled by the mother until another comes on and crowds it out. Mühlenpfordt relates that he saw a boy of seven or eight years of age demanding suck and receiving it from his mother. A woman near her time of confinement, retires to a dark corner of the house, attended by some aged woman, who sings to her, and pretends to call the baby from afar. This midwife, however, does not in any way assist at the birth, but as soon as the child is born she goes out, meanwhile covering her face with her hands, so that she may not see. Having walked once round the house, she opens her eyes, and the name of the first object she sees is chosen as the name of the child. Among the Otomís, a young woman about to become a mother is the victim of much unnecessary suffering arising from their superstitious practices; loaded with certain amulets and charms, she must carefully avoid meeting certain individuals and animals whose look might produce evil effects – a black dog especially must be avoided. The song of a mocking-bird near the house is held to be a happy omen. At certain hours the mother was to drink water which had been collected in the mountains, and previously presented to the gods; the phases of the moon were carefully watched. She was obliged to undergo an examination from the old crone who attended her, and who performed certain ceremonies, such as burning aromatic herbs mingled with saltpetre. Sometimes, amidst her pains, the ancient attendant obliged her charge to jump about, and take powerful medicines, which frequently caused abortion or premature delivery. If the child was a boy, one of the old men took it in his arms and painted on its breast an axe or some implement of husbandry, on its forehead a feather, and on the shoulders a bow and quiver; he then invoked for it the protection of the gods. If the child proved to be a female, the same ceremony was observed, with the exception that an old woman officiated, and the figure of a flower was traced over the region of the heart, while on the palm of the right hand a spinning-wheel was pictured, and on the left a piece of wool, thus indicating the several duties of after life. According to the Apostólicos Afanes, the Coras call the child after one of its uncles or aunts. In twelve months' time a feast is prepared in honor of said young, and the mother and child, together with the uncle or aunt, placed in the middle of the circle of relatives. Upon these occasions much wine is drunk, and for the first time salt is placed in the child's mouth. As soon as the child's teeth are all cut, a similar meeting takes place, and the child is then given its first meal; and again, at the age of twelve, the ancients come together, when the youth is first given wine to drink. As a rule, young people show great respect and affection for their parents; all their earnings being at once handed over to them.917

In early times, immorality and prostitution existed among these nations to an unparalleled extent. Gomara says that in the province of Tamaulipas there were public brothels, where men enacted the part of women, and where every night were assembled as many as a thousand, more or less, of these worse than beastly beings, according to the size of the village. It is certain that incest and every species of fornication was commonly practiced, especially in the districts of Vera Cruz, Tamaulipas, and Querétaro.918

CHILDREN AND AMUSEMENTS.

Their amusements are stamped with the general melancholy of their character. Dancing, accompanied with music and singing, is their favorite pastime, but it is seldom indulged in without the accompanying vice of intoxication. When the Totonacs join in their national dances, they attach a kind of rattle called aiacachtli to a band round the head, that produces a peculiar sound during the performance. Among some tribes women are not permitted to join in the dances. They make various kinds of drinks and intoxicating liquors. One is made from the fruit of the nopal or prickly pear, which is first peeled and pressed; the juice is then passed through straw sieves, and placed by a fire or in the sun, where in about an hour it ferments. Another drink, called chicha, is made from raw sugar-cane, which is mashed with a wooden mallet and passed through a pressing-machine. Their principal and national drink is pulque, made from the agave americana, and is thus prepared: When the plant is about to bloom, the heart or stalk is cut out, leaving a hole in the center, which is covered with the outer leaves. Every twenty-four hours, or in the hotter climates twice a day, the cavity fills with the sap from the plant, which is taken out and fermented by the addition of some already-fermented pulque, and the process is continued until the plant ceases to yield a further supply. The liquor obtained is at first of a thick white color, and is at all times very intoxicating.919

MAKING AN ALLIANCE.

Father Joseph Arlegui, in his Chrónica de la Provincia de Zacatecas, which province then comprised a much larger extent of territory than the present state of Zacatecas, describes a singular ceremony nowhere else mentioned. It is employed when one nation wishes to form a close connection, friendship, alliance, family or blood relationship, so to say (tratan de hacerse parientes), with another nation; and the process is as follows: From the tribe with which the alliance is desired, a man is seized, and a feast or drunken carousal commenced. Meanwhile the victim destined to form the connecting link between the two bands, and whose blood is to cement their friendship, is kept without food for twenty-four hours. Into him is then poured of their execrable beverages until he is filled, and his senses are deadened, when he is stretched before a fire, built in a wide open place, where all the people may have access to him. Having warmed well his body, and rubbed his ears, each aspirant to the new friendship, armed with a sharp awl-shaped instrument, made of deer's bone, proceeds to pierce the ears of the prostrate wretch, each in turn forcing his sharpened bone through some new place, which causes the blood to spurt afresh with every incision. With the blood so drawn, the several members of the tribe anoint themselves, and the ceremony is done. On the spot where the relative of a Cora is killed in a fight, a piece of cloth is dipped in blood, and kept as a remembrance, until his death be avenged by killing the slayer, or one of the males of his family. When meeting each other on a journey, they make use of many complimentary salutations, and a kind of freemasonry appears to exist among them. Major Brantz Mayer mentions a tribe at Cuernavaca that, in the event of a white man arriving at their village, immediately seize and place him under guard for the night in a large hut; he and his animals are carefully provided for until the following day, when he is despatched from the village under an escort, to wait upon him until far beyond the limits of the settlement. The custom, at the present day, of hiding money in the ground is universal; nothing would induce a native to entrust his savings with another. The inhabitants of Querétaro spend much of their time basking in the sun, and if the sun does not yield sufficient warmth, they scoop out a hole in the ground, burn in it branches and leaves of the maguey, and when properly heated, lay themselves down in the place, and cover themselves with a mat or the loose earth.920

The Mexicans are not subject to many diseases. Small-pox, brought into the country at the time of the conquest, typhoid fever, and syphilis are those which cause the greatest destruction of life; the two former are aggravated by the filthy condition of the villages. Yellow fever, or black vomit, very rarely attacks the aborigines. The measles is a prevalent disease. Death is likewise the result of severe wounds, fractures, or bruises, most of which end in mortification, owing to neglect, or to the barbarous remedies applied to combat them. The Huastecs of Vera Cruz suffer from certain worms that breed in their lips, and highly esteem salt for the curative properties they believe it to possess against this disorder. At the village of Comalá, in the state of Colima, a considerable number of the children are born deaf and dumb, idiots, or deformed; besides which, when they reach a mature age, if we may believe the early chroniclers, the goitres are more or less developed on them, notwithstanding Humboldt's assertion that the aborigines never suffer from this disorder. There is another disease, cutaneous in its character, which is quite prevalent in many parts of the country, and is supposed to be contracted under the influence of a warm, humid, and unhealthy climate, and may be described as follows: Without pain the skin assumes a variety of colors, the spots produced being white, red, brownish, or blue. The Pintos, as south-western coast-dwellers are called, the chief victims to this disorder, experience no physical pain, except when they go into a cold climate; then they feel twitchings in the places where the skin has changed color. The disease is declared to be contagious: and from all accounts no remedy for it has been as yet discovered. Formerly, an epidemic called the matlalzahuatl visited the country at long intervals and caused terrible havoc. All the Spanish writers who speak of it call it the peste, and suppose it to be the same scourge that destroyed nearly the whole population of the Toltec empire in the eleventh century. Others believe it to have borne a greater similarity to yellow fever. The disease, whatever it is, made its appearance in 1545, 1576, and 1736, since which date I find no mention of it, destroying each time an immense number of people; but upon no occasion did it attack the pure whites or the mestizos. Its greatest havoc was in the interior, on the central plateau, and in the coldest and most arid regions, the lowlands of the coast being nearly, if not entirely, free from its effects.921

MEDICAL TREATMENT.

When small-pox was first introduced, the natives resorted to bathing as a cure, and a very large number succumbed to the disease. An old Spanish author, writing in 1580, states that the natives of the kingdom of New Spain had an extensive knowledge of medicinal herbs; that they seldom resorted to bleeding or compound purgatives, for they had many simple cathartic herbs. They were in the habit of making pills with the India-rubber gum mixed with other substances, which they swallowed, and rubbed themselves withal, to increase their agility and suppleness of body. Cold water baths are commonly resorted to when attacked with fever, and they cannot be prevailed upon to abandon the practice. The temazcalli or sweat-bath, is also very much used for cases of severe illness. The bath-house stands close to a spring of fresh water, and is built and heated not unlike a European bake-oven. When up to the required temperature the fire is taken out, and water thrown in; the patient is then thrust into it naked, feet foremost and head near the aperture, and laid on a mat that covers the hot stones. The hole that affords him air for breathing is about eighteen inches square. When sufficiently steamed, and the body well beaten with rushes, a cold water bath and a brisk rubbing complete the operation.922

In Michoacan, the natives believe that the leaves of a plant called cozolmecatl or olcacaran applied to a sore part of the body will foretell the result of the disorder; for if the leaves adhere to the spot, it is a sure sign that the sufferer will get well, but if they fall off, the contrary will happen. When prostrated with disease, the nearest relatives and friends surround the patient's couch and hold a confab upon the nature of his ailment and the application of the remedy. Old sorceresses and charlatans put in practice their spells; fumigations and meltings of saltpetre abound; and by some jugglery, out of the crystallized saltpetre is brought a monstrous ant, a horrible worm, or some other object, which, as they allege, is the cause of the disorder. As the disease progresses, the friends of the sufferer severally recommend and apply, according to the judgment each may have formed of the matter, oil of scorpions or of worms, water supposed to produce miraculous effects on fevers, or like applications, and these empirical remedies, most of which are entirely useless, and others extremely barbarous, are applied together without weight or measure.923

BURIAL AND CHARACTER.

In common with other peoples, it is usual with these nations to place several kinds of edibles in the grave with the deceased. Among the Coras, when one died, the corpse was dressed and wrapped in a mantle; if a man, with bow and arrows, and if a woman, with her distaff, etc., and in this manner the body was buried in a cave previously selected by the deceased. All his worldly goods were placed at the door of his former house, so that he might come and take them without crossing the threshold, as they believed the dead returned to see about property. If the deceased had cattle, his friends and relatives every now and then placed some meat upon sticks about the fields, for fear he might come for the cattle he formerly owned. Five days after death a hired wizard essayed to conjure away the shade of the departed property-holder. These spirit-scarers went smoking their pipes all over the dead man's house, and shook zapote-branches in the corners, till they pretended to have found the fancied shadow, which they hurled headlong to its final resting-place. Upon the second of November most of the natives of the Mexican valley bring offerings to their dead relatives and friends, consisting of edibles, live animals, and flowers, which are laid on or about the graves. The anniversary or commemoration of the dead among the ancient Aztecs occurred almost upon the same day.924

The thick-skinned, thoughtful and reserved aboriginals of central Mexico are most enigmatical in their character. Their peculiar cast of features, their natural reserve, and the thickness of their skin, make it extremely difficult to ascertain by the expression of the face what their real thoughts are. The general characteristics of this people may be summed up as follows: peaceable, gentle and submissive to their superiors, grave even to melancholy, and yet fond of striking exhibitions and noisy revelry; improvident but charitable, sincerely pious, but wallowing in ignorance and superstitions; quick of perception, and possessed of great facility for acquiring knowledge, especially of the arts, very imitative, but with little originality, unambitious, unwilling to learn, and indifferent to the comforts of life. Irascibility is by no means foreign to their nature, but it seems to lie dormant until awakened by intoxication or some powerful impulse, when the innate cruelty flames forth, and they pass suddenly from a state of perfect calmness to one of unrestrained fierceness. Courage and cowardice are so blended in their character that it is no easy matter to determine which is the predominant trait. A fact worthy of notice is that upon many occasions they have proved themselves capable of facing danger with the greatest resolution, and yet they will tremble at the angry frown of a white man. Laziness, and a marked inclination to cheating and stealing are among the other bad qualities attributed to them; but there is abundant evidence to show, that although naturally averse to industry, they work hard from morning till night, in mining, agriculture, and other occupations, and in their inefficient way accomplish no little labor. Murder and highway robbery are crimes not generally committed by the pure aboriginal, who steals rarely anything but food to appease his hunger or that of his family. A Mexican author says, the Indian cuts down a tree to pick its fruit, destroys an oak of ten years growth for a week's firewood; in other words, he produces little, consumes little, and destroys much. Another Mexican writer affirms that the Indian is active, industrious, handy in agricultural labor, a diligent servant, a trusty postman, humble, hospitable to his guests, and shows a sincere gratitude to his benefactors.925