DISCOVERY OF MAIZE.
In Paxil, or Cayala ('land of divided and stagnant waters') as it is called, were the ears of yellow maize and of white. These are the names of the barbarians who went to seek food; the Fox, the Jackal, the Paroquet, and the Crow,—four barbarians who made known to them the ears of the white maize and of the yellow, who came to Paxil and guided them thither. There it was they obtained at last the food that was to enter into the flesh of man, of man created and formed; this it was that was his blood, that became the blood of man—this maize that entered into him by the provision of him who creates, of him who gives being.
And they rejoiced that they had at last arrived in this most excellent land, so full of good things, where the white and yellow maize did abound, also the cacao, where were sapotes and many fruits, and honey; all was overflowing with the best of food in this country of Paxil, or Cayala. There was food of every kind; there were large and small plants, to which the barbarians had guided them. Then they began to grind the yellow and white maize, and of them did Xmucané make nine drinks, which nourishment was the beginning of strength, giving unto man flesh and stature. Such were the deeds of the begetter and giver of being, Tepeuh, Gucumatz. Thereupon they began to speak of creating our first mother and our first father. Only yellow maize and white maize entered into their flesh, and these alone formed the legs and arms of man; and these were our first fathers, the four men who were formed, into whose flesh this food entered.
And from this time of its traditional discovery by Gucumatz, or Quetzalcoatl, down to the conquest by the Spaniards and even down to the present time, the yellow and white maize, in their several varieties, have been the chief reliance of the Maya as of the Nahua nations for daily food. Every year during the latter months of the dry season, from March to May, the farmer busied himself in preparing his milpa, or cornfield, which he did by simply cutting or uprooting the dense growth and burning it. The ashes thus produced were the only fertilizer ever employed, and even this was probably never needed in this land of tropical fertility. Just before the first rain fell, equipped with a sack of seed-maize on his shoulder and a sharpened stick in his hand, he made holes at regular intervals among the ashes, and in each deposited five or six grains, covering it with the same instrument, aided perhaps by the foot. In Yucatan the planters united in bands of twenty for mutual assistance, working together until the land of all the club was properly seeded. It was not customary to plant very large fields, but rather many in different localities, to guard against a possible partial failure of the crops from local causes. Hedges, ditches, and fences were constructed to enclose the milpas, so effective in the Lacandone country that the Spaniards' horses were unable to leap them. The corn was carefully kept free from weeds while growing, and watched by boys after it had begun to ripen. In Nicaragua, where, Oviedo tells us, more attention was paid to agriculture than in any other region visited by him, the boys took their station in trees scattered over the field, or sometimes on raised covered scaffolds of wood and reeds, called barbacoas, where they kept up a continual shouting to drive away the birds. Irrigation was practiced when the rains were backward, and if we may credit Oviedo, by thus artificially forcing the crop in Nicaragua, well-filled corn was plucked only forty days after planting the seed. Villagutierre states that the Itzas spent most of their time in worship, dancing, and getting drunk, trusting to uncultivated fruits and the fertility of their soil for a subsistence, and contenting themselves with very small milpas.
CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL.
After maize, cacao was perhaps the crop to which most attention was paid. It grew in hot and shady localities, and where there was no natural shade, trees were set out for the purpose. It was called cacaguat in Nicaragua, and was gathered from February to April. Several varieties, of a somewhat inferior quality, grew wild, and were much used by the natives. The cultivation of beans, pepper, cotton, and of numerous native fruits, was carried on extensively, but we have no details respecting the methods employed.[1061] In connection with the planting and growth of the various cultivated plants, the Mayas entertained some peculiar superstitions. Far from understanding the simplest laws of nature, they recognized only supernatural agencies in the growth or blighting of their crops. In Yucatan, Cogolludo states that no meat was eaten while cotton was growing, from fear that it would fail to mature. The Nicaraguans, according to Dávila, ate no salt or pepper, nor did they drink any intoxicating beverage, or sleep with their women during the time of planting. Oviedo also observed certain bundles of sticks placed at the corners of each field, as well as leaves, stones, and cotton rags, scattered over the surface by ugly and deformed old hags, for some unknown but doubtless superstitious purpose. Palacio tells us that the Pipiles before beginning to plant gathered in small bowls specimens of all the seeds, which, after performing certain rites with them before the idol, they buried in the ground, and burned copal and ulli over them. Blood was drawn freely from different parts of the body, with which to anoint the idol; and, as Ximenez states, the blood of slain fowls was sprinkled over the land to be sown. In the case of cacao the finest grains of seed were exposed to the moonlight during four nights; and whatever the seed to be planted, the tillers of the soil must sleep apart from their wives and concubines for several days, in order that on the night before planting they might indulge their passions to the fullest extent; certain persons are even said to have been appointed to perform the sexual act at the very moment when the first seeds were deposited in the ground. Before beginning the operation of weeding, they burned incense at the four corners of the field, and uttered fervent prayers to the idols. When the corn was ripe they plucked the finest ears and offered them to the gods, to the priests, and sometimes also to the poor. At harvest time the corn was heaped up in the field, and was not moved until the grain itself gave the signal that it was ready; the signal was, as Brasseur states it, the springing up of a fresh blade, or, according to Ximenez, the falling of an ear from the heap.[1062]
The home of the Mayas in nearly every part abounded in many varieties of game, and the authors report the natives to have been expert hunters and fishermen, but respecting the particular methods employed in capturing food from forest, ocean, and river, little information has been preserved. The people of Yucatan used the bow and arrow; were especially skillful at throwing a kind of arrow or dart by means of a piece of wood three fingers thick, pierced with a hole at one third its length; and, according to Cogolludo, they bred hunting dogs which were trained to follow and seize deer, tigers, and boars, as well as badgers, rabbits, armadillos, and iguanas. The latter animal was, as it still is, a favorite food. Tradition relates that the Tutul Xius when they first came to Yucatan used no weapons, but were famous for their skill in taking game by means of snares, traps, and similar devices. In Guatemala, a blow-pipe and earthen bullets were sometimes used to shoot birds. A portion of all game taken had to be given to the rulers of town and province, and also a large portion—half, Las Casas tells us, in Guatemala—must be offered to the god of hunting, or, in other words, furnished for the priests' tables. Fish and turtles were the chief articles of food in some coast regions, and the Nicaraguans are described by Oviedo as expert fishermen, who took fish from ocean and river by means of rods, lines, and flies, also in cotton nets, and by pens and embankments in the tide waters. They are said to have had a plant, the baygua, a decoction of which being put in the water brought the fish senseless to the surface. The Itzas and probably others used the harpoon. Young alligators just hatched were esteemed as delicacies in Vera Paz, and large fleets of canoes were sent at the proper season to take them. The tapir was also a favorite article of food. Toads and other reptiles seem to have been eaten when other supplies were not at hand.[1063]
USE OF MEAT AS FOOD.
As an article of daily food, meat was comparatively little used; Cogolludo even goes so far as to say it was never eaten in Yucatan except at feasts. Besides the game-supply, dogs of a certain species were raised for food. They were of small size, without hair, could not bark, and when castrated became immensely fat. They were called xulos in Nicaragua, and tzomes in Yucatan, but were probably the same as the techichis already mentioned in Mexico. Turkeys, ducks, geese, and other fowl were domesticated; and pigs, rabbits, and hares are mentioned as having been bred. Multitudes of bees were kept for their honey and wax, and hives are spoken of by Las Casas without description. Gomara says the bees were small and the honey somewhat bitter. The only methods of making salt that I find particularly mentioned were to bake tide-washed earth, boiling down the brine made of the product, and also to boil the lye produced by leeching the ashes of a palm called xacxam. The former method was practiced in Guatemala, at great cost of labor and wealth, as Herrera says; the second is referred to Yucatan. Many roots were of course utilized for food, and a peculiar herb, called yaat, was mixed with lime and carried constantly in the mouth by the Nicaraguans on the march or journey, as a preventive of fatigue and thirst.[1064]
Respecting the preservation and cooking of food, as well as the habits of the people in taking their daily meals, there are no differences to be recorded from what has been said of the Nahuas. The inevitable tortillas and tamales were the standard dish, made in the same way as at the north; meat was dried, salted, roasted, and stewed, with pepper for the favorite seasoning. Fruits were perhaps a more prominent article of food, and were eaten for the most part raw.[1065] Cogolludo informs us that the Yucatecs eat regularly once a day, just before sunset; and we are also told that they took great pains to keep their bright-colored table-cloths and napkins in a state of perfect cleanliness. In Nicaragua, they were accustomed to wash the hands and mouth after eating; and the chiefs, who sat in a circle on wooden benches and were served by the women, also washed at the commencement of the meal. The men and women eat always separately, the latter taking their food from the ground, or sometimes from a palm-leaf basket-work platter. Very little food sufficed for the Mayas and they could bear hunger for a long time, but like all the aboriginal inhabitants of America they eat plentifully when well supplied, taking no heed for a time in the future when food might be lacking.[1066]