In Michoacan the funeral rites were of a very exacting character. When the king lay on his death-bed it was incumbent on all vassals and courtiers to attend at the palace, and those who stayed away were severely punished. While awaiting the final breath they were royally entertained, but none could enter the death-chamber. When the corpse was ready for shrouding, the lords entered to dress it in festive robes, each attending to a particular part of the attire; the emerald brooch was put between the lips, and the body was laid upon a litter covered with cloths of different colors. On one side of the body were placed a bow and quiver, on the other was a doll made up of fine mantles and dressed exactly like the king.[875] While the courtiers were giving vent to lamentations and tendering their respects, the new king proceeded to select those among the servitors, who, according to the inviolable law of the country, were doomed to follow the dead prince. Seven of these were noble women, to whom various duties were assigned; one was appointed to carry the precious lip-ornament, another to keep the rest of the jewels, a third to be cup-bearer, and the others to attend at table and to cook. Among the male victims, who seem to have been slaves for the most part, every trade and profession was represented,[876] as valets, hair-dressers, perfumers, fan-holders, chair-bearers, wood-cutters, boatmen, sweepers, doorkeepers, and artisans; also clowns, and some of the physicians who had failed to save the life of the monarch. Occasionally some enthusiast would offer to join his beloved master of his own accord, but this seems to have been prohibited; besides, the new king had, doubtless, selected all that were obnoxious to him, and could not afford to lose good servants. At midnight the litter was carried on the shoulders of the chief men to the temple, followed by vassals, warriors, and courtiers, some blowing trumpets, others chanting the glories of the dead. In the van of the procession were the victims, who had been bathed in aromatic waters and adorned with garlands stripped of their leaves and branches, and with yellow streaks over the face, who marched in files, sounding whistles, rattling bones, and beating tortoise-shell drums. Torch-bearers attended the party, and ahead went a number of men who swept the road, singing at the same time: "Lord, here thou hast to pass, see that thou dost not miss the road!"[877] Four turns were made round the pyre before depositing the corpse upon it. While the flames shot up, and the funeral chants fell from the lips of the mourners, the victims were stupefied with drinks and clubbed; the bodies were thrown into holes behind the temple, by threes or fours, together with the ornaments and other belongings of the deceased. The ashes and valuables were gathered from the smoking pyre, and made into a figure, which was dressed in royal habiliments, with a mask for its face, a golden shield on its back, bows and arrows by its side; this was set upon a throne facing the east, the whole being placed in a large urn, which was deposited upon a bed of golden shields and silver articles in a grave with stone walls, lined with mats, about twelve feet square, and equally deep, situated at the foot of the temple. The urn was covered with a number of valuable mantles, and around it were placed various implements, food, drink, and boxes filled with feather-work and ornaments; the grave was finally bridged with varnished beams and boards, and covered with a coating of earth and clay. After the funeral, all who had taken an active part in the ceremonies went to bathe, in order to prevent any injury to their health,[878] and then assembled at the palace to partake of a sumptuous repast. At the close of the banquet a cotton cloth was given to each guest wherewith to wipe his face, but all remained seated for five days with lowered heads, without uttering a word, except the grandees, who went in turn by night to watch and mourn at the grave. During this period the mourning was general, no corn was ground, no fires lighted, no business transacted; the streets were deserted, and all remained at home, mourning and fasting. The obsequies of the people bore a general resemblance to the above, the ceremonies being regulated by the rank and means of the deceased. The graves were usually situated in the fields or on the slope of a hill.[879]
SEPULCHRES IN OAJACA.
Among the Miztecs, in Oajaca, where cremation does not seem to have obtained, compliments and addresses were presented to the corpse of a chief, just as if he were alive. A slave arrayed in the same splendid garments worn by his master, with mask, mitre, and other insignia, was placed before it; and while the funeral procession accompanied the body to burial, he represented the chief, and received the honors paid to royalty. At midnight four priests carried the body to the forest, where it was placed, in the presence of the mourners, in a cave, with the feet to the east, and surrounded with various weapons and implements. Two male and three female slaves, who had in the meantime been made drunk and strangled, were also placed in the grave, together with idols to serve as guides. Burgoa was told by the natives that devoted servants used to follow their lord alive into the grave. On the return of the funeral cortège, the slave who represented the deceased was sacrificed and deposited in a hole, which was left unclosed. The cave selected for the grave of the chief was supposed to be the gate to paradise. Burgoa found two of these resting-places. One was situated in a hill and lighted by loopholes from above. Along the sides were stone benches, like troughs, upon which lay the bejeweled skeletons, and here and there were niches occupied by idols. Another was a stone vault, with plastered walls, arranged like the former; a stone block closed the entrance.[880] Some authors state that when the flesh was consumed, the bones were taken out and placed in graves in the houses or in the temples; this may, however, only have applied to certain chiefs, for Burgoa found skeletons, as we have seen, in the caves which he explored. Every year, on the anniversary of the birth of the last defunct lord, not on that of his death, great ceremonies were held in his honor.[881] Like the Aztecs, they believed that the soul wandered about for a number of years before entering into perfect bliss, and visited its friends on earth once a year.[882] On the eve of that day the house was prepared as if for a festive occasion, a quantity of choice food was spread upon the table, and the inmates went out with torches in their hands, bidding the spirits enter. They then returned and squatted down round the table with crossed hands and eyes lowered to the ground, for it was thought that the spirits would be offended if they were gazed upon. In this position they remained till morning, praying their unseen visitors to intercede with the gods in their favor, and then arose, rejoiced at having observed due respect for the departed. The food, which the spirits were supposed to have rendered sacred by inhaling its virtue, was distributed among the poor, or deposited in some out-of-the-way place. During the day further ceremonies, accompanied by offerings, were made at the temples, and a table was spread for the priests.[883]
PHYSICAL PECULIARITIES.
The Nahuas were physically a fine race. They are described by all the old writers as being tall,[884] well-formed, and of an olive or light copper color; as having thick, black, coarse, though soft and glossy hair, regular teeth, low, narrow, retreating foreheads,[885] black eyes, scant beards,[886] and very little hair on their bodies. Their senses were very acute, especially that of sight, which they enjoyed unimpaired to the most advanced age.[887] Their bodies they kept in training by constant exercise. They were wonderful runners and leapers, and, as we have seen, some of their athletic and acrobatic feats were looked upon by the conquerors as nothing short of the work of the devil. It was no unusual thing to meet with people who from their color could scarcely be distinguished from Europeans. The people of Michoacan enjoy the reputation of having been the tallest and handsomest among the Nahuas.[888] The women of Jalisco found great favor in the eyes of the reverend Father Torquemada. He was shown one there, he says, who might be considered a miracle of beauty; indeed, so fair was her skin, so well-proportioned her body, and so regular her features, that the most skillful portrait-painter would have been put to it to do her justice.[889] Deformed people were very uncommon; indeed, as we have seen, their rarity made them valuable as objects of curiosity, and kings and princes kept collections of them.[890]
CHARACTER OF THE NAHUAS.
The character of the Nahuas, although the statements of the best authors are nearly unanimous concerning it, is in itself strangely contradictory. We are told that they were extremely frugal in their habits, that wealth had no attractions for them, yet we find them trafficking in the most shrewd and careful manner, delighting in splendid pageants, gorgeous dresses, and rich armor, and wasting their substance in costly feasts; they were tender and kind to their children, and solicitous for their welfare, yet the punishments they inflicted upon their offspring were cruel in the extreme;[891] they were mild with their slaves, and ferocious with their captives; they were a joyous race, fond of feasting, dancing, jesting, and innocent amusements, yet they delighted in human sacrifices, and were cannibals; they possessed a well-advanced civilization, yet every action of their lives was influenced by gross superstition, by a religion inconceivably dark and bloody, and utterly without one redeeming feature; they were brave warriors, and terrible in war, yet servile and submissive to their superiors; they had a strong imagination and, in some instances, good taste, yet they represented their gods as monsters, and their religious myths and historical legends are absurd, disgusting, and puerile.
That the Nahuas were a most ingenious people is abundantly proven by their work as well as by the statements of those who knew them. It has been said that they were not inventive, but this Clavigero indignantly denies.[892] It is certain that their power of imitation was very great,[893] and that they were very quick to learn the new arts introduced among them by the Spaniards.[894] They were generous and remarkably free from avarice.[895] They are said to have been very temperate in their habits,[896] but judging from the vast number of dishes served up at the tables of the rich, and the stringent laws which were necessary to prevent drunkenness, this appears doubtful. Although terrible to their enemies, and naturally warlike, they were peaceable among themselves, and seldom quarreled. Las Casas says that when a difficulty arose between two of them, the disputants did not come at once to blows, but contented themselves with such personal abuse as: "Go to, thou hast bad eyes; thou art toothless;" or they threw handfuls of dirt in each other's faces and then separated and washed themselves. On rare occasions they pushed and elbowed each other, or even had a scuffle, in which hair was pulled out, clothes were torn, and bloody noses received, but deadly weapons were never used, nor even worn except by soldiers on duty. The same writer relates that two women were put to death by order of the king of Tezcuco for fighting in the public market-place, a scandalous outrage upon public decency, the like of which had never been heard of before. He says, further, that when two young men became enamored of the same woman, or when one carried off the other's mistress, the rivals were allowed to fight a duel for the possession of the woman. The combat did not take place, however, until the army went forth to war, when upon the first engagement they sought out each other, and fought with their weapons until one was vanquished.[897] They seem to have been very strict and jealous in all matters relating to their women.[898]