The illustrations should speak for themselves. Care has been taken to reproduce works which are characteristic of the art as well as of the mythic conceptions of the several peoples; and since, in the more civilized localities, architecture also is significantly associated with mythic elements, a certain number of pictures are of architectural subjects.

It remains to express the numerous forms of indebtedness which pertain to a work of the present character. Where they are a matter of authority, it is believed that the references to the Notes will be found fully to cover them; and where illustrations are the subject, the derivation is indicated on the tissues. In the way of courtesies extended, the author owes recognition to staff-members of the libraries of Harvard and Northwestern Universities, to the Peabody Museum, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of the University of Nebraska. His personal obligations are due to Professor Frank S. Philbrick, of the Northwestern University Law School, and to the Assistant Curator of the Academy of Pacific Coast History, Dr. Herbert I. Priestley, for valuable suggestions anent the bibliography, and to Dr. Hiram Bingham, of the Yale Peruvian Expedition, for his courtesy in furnishing for reproduction the photographs represented by Plates XXX and XXXVIII. His obligations to the editor of the series are, it is trusted, understood.

The manuscript of the present volume was prepared for the printer by November of 1916. The ensuing outbreak of war delayed publication until the present hour. In the intervening period a number of works of some importance appeared, and the author has endeavoured to incorporate as much as was essential of this later criticism into the body of his work, a matter difficult to make sure. The war also has been responsible for the editor's absence in Europe during the period in which the book has been put through the press, and the duty of oversight has fallen upon the author who is, therefore, responsible for such editorial delinquencies as may be found.

HARTLEY BURR ALEXANDER.

Lincoln, Nebraska,

November 17, 1919.

[CONTENTS]

[Author's Preface.] vii
[Introduction.] i
[Chapter I.]The Antilles.15
I[The Islanders.]15
II[The First Encounters.]18
III[Zemiism.]21
IV[Taïno Myths.]28
V[The Areitos.]32
VI[Carib Lore.]36
[Chapter II.]Mexico.41
I[Middle America.]41
II[Conquistadores.]44
III[The Aztec Pantheon.]49
IV[The Great Gods.]57
1[Huitzilopochtli.]58
2[Tezcatlipoca.]61
3[Quetzalcoatl.]66
4[Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue.]71
V[The Powers of Life.]74
VI[The Powers of Death.]79
[Chapter III.]Mexico. (continued)85
I[Cosmogony.]85
II[The Four Suns.]91
III[The Calendar and its Cycles.]96
IV[Legendary History.]105
V[Aztec Migration-Myths.]111
VI[Surviving Paganism.]118
[Chapter IV.]Yucatan.124
I[The Maya.]124
II[Votan, Zamna, and Kukulcan.]131
III[Yucatec Deities.]136
IV[Rites and Symbols.]142
V[The Maya Cycles.]146
VI[The Creation.]152
[Chapter V.]Central America.156
I[Quiché and Cakchiquel.]156
II[The Popul Vuh.]159
III[The Hero Brothers.]168
IV[The Annals of the Cakchiquel.]177
V[Honduras and Nicaragua.]183
[Chapter VI.]The Andean North.187
I[The Cultured Peoples of the Andes.]187
II[The Isthmians.]189
III[El Dorado.]194
IV[Myths of the Chibcha.]198
V[The Men from the Sea.]204
[Chapter VII.]The Andean South.210
I[The Empire of the Incas.]210
II[The Yunca Pantheons.]220
III[The Myths of the Chincha.]227
IV[Viracocha and Tonapa.]232
V[The Children of the Sun.]242
VI[Legends of the Incas.]248
[Chapter VIII.]The Tropical Forests: the Orinoco and Guiana.253
I[Lands and Peoples.]253
II[Spirits and Shamans.]256
III[How Evils Befell Mankind.]261
IV[Creation and Cataclysm.]268
V[Nature and Human Nature.]275
[Chapter IX.]The Tropical Forests: the Amazon and Brazil.281
I[The Amazons.]281
II[Food-Makers and Dance-Masks.]287
III[Gods, Ghosts, and Bogeys.]295
IV[Imps, Were-Beasts, and Cannibals.]300
V[Sun, Moon, and Stars.]304
VI[Fire, Flood, and Transformations.]311
[Chapter X.]The Pampas to the Land of Fire.316
I[The Far South.]316
II[El Chaco and the Pampeans.]318
III[The Araucanians.]324
IV[The Patagonians.]331
V[The Fuegians.]338
[Notes.] 347
[Bibliography.] 381