34. Moreover, it is certain that among the Nagualists, one of their most revered symbols was the serpent; in Chiapas, one of their highest orders of the initiated was that of the chanes, or serpents. Not only is this in Christian symbolism the form and sign of the Prince of Evil and the enemy of God, but the missionaries were aware that in the astrological symbols of ancient Mexico the serpent represented the phallus; that it was regarded as the most potent of all the signs;[49-‡] and modern research has shown, contrary to the opinion long held, that there was among these nations an extraordinary and extensive worship of the reciprocal principle of nature, associated with numerous phallic emblems.[49-§]
Huge phalli of stone have been discovered, one, for instance, on the Cerro de las Navajas, not far from the city of Mexico, and another in the State of Hidalgo.[50-*] Probably they were used in some such ceremonies as Oviedo describes among the Nahuas of Nicaragua, where the same symbol was represented by conical mounds of earth, around which at certain seasons the women danced with libidinous actions. Although as a general rule the pottery of ancient Mexico avoids obscenity, Brasseur stated that he had seen many specimens of a contrary character from certain regions,[50-†] and Dr. Berendt has copied several striking examples, showing curious yoni symbols, which are now in my possession.
We may explain these as in some way connected with the worship of Pantecatl, the male divinity who presided over profligate love, and of Tlazolteotl, the Venus Impudica of the Aztec pantheon; and it is not without significance that the cave-temple of Votan, whose contents were destroyed by the Bishop of Chiapas, in 1691 (see above, [p. 39]), was located at Tlazoaloyan, both names being derived from a root signifying sexual action.[50-‡] The other name of the divinity, called “the Heart of the Hills,” is in Quiche, Alom, “he who begets,” and the Zapotec Cozaana, another analogue of the same deity, is translated by Seler, “the Begetter.” Such facts indicate how intimately the esoteric doctrines of Nagualism were related to the worship of the reproductive powers of nature.
35. It will readily be understood from what has been said that Nagualism was neither a pure descendant of the ancient cults, nor yet a derivative from Christian doctrines and European superstitions. It was a strange commingling of both, often in grotesque and absurd forms. In fact, the pretended Christianity of the native population of Mexico to-day is little more than a figment, according to the testimony of the most competent observers.[50-§]
The rituals and prayers of the nagualists bear witness to this. It is very visible in those I have quoted from Nuñez de la Vega, and I can add an interesting example of it which has not heretofore been published. I take it from the MSS. of Father Vicente Hernandez Spina, cura of Ixtlavacan, in Guatemala, a remote village of the Quiches. He wrote it down in the native tongue about forty years ago, as recited by an ah-kih, “reader of days,” a native master of the genethliac art, who had composed it in favor of a client who had asked his intercession.
Prayer of an Ah-Kih.
“O Jesus Christ my God: thou God the Son, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, art my only God. Today, on this day, at this hour, on this day Tihax, I call upon the holy souls which accompany the sun-rising and the sun-setting of the day: with these holy souls I call upon thee, O chief of the genii, thou who dwellest in this mountain of Siba Raxquin; come, ye holy spirits of Juan Vachiac, of Don Domingo Vachiac, of Juan Ixquiaptap, the holy souls of Francisco Excoquieh, of Diego Soom, of Juan Fay, of Alonzo Tzep; I call the holy souls of Diego Tziquin and of Don Pedro Noh: you, O priests, to whom all things are revealed, and thou, chief of the genii, you, lords of the mountains, lords of the plains, thou, Don Purupeto Martin, come, accept this incense, accept to-day this candle.[51-*]
“Come also, my mother Holy Mary, the Lord of Esquipulas, the Lord of Capetagua, the beloved Mary of Chiantla, with her who dwells at San Lorenzo, and also Mary of Sorrows, Mary Saint Anna, Mary Tibureia, Mary of Carmen, with Saint Michael the Archangel, the captain St. James, St. Christoval, St. Sebastian, St. Nicolas, St. Bonaventura, St. Bernardin, St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew, and thou my beloved mother St. Catherine, thou beloved Mary of the Conception, Mary of the Rosary, thou lord and king Pascual, be here present.
“And thou, Frost, and thou, excellent Wind, thou, God of the plain, thou, God of Quiac-Basulup, thou, God of Retal-Uleu, thou, lord of San Gregorio, thou, lord of Chii-Masa. [These are mountains and localities, and in the original there follow the names of more than a hundred others. The prayer concludes as follows:]
“... I who appoint myself godfather and godmother, I who ask, I the witness and brother of this man who asks, of this man who makes himself, your son, O holy souls, I ask, do not let any evil happen unto him, nor let him be unhappy for any cause.