The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 2, Civilized Nations / The Works of Hubert Howe Bancroft, Volume 2

by Hubert Howe Bancroft

ORIGIN OF THE ORDER.

The origin of the order of Tecuhtli is not known. Both the Toltecs and the Tlascaltecs claim to have established it. Veytia, however, asserts that this was not the case, but that it was first instituted by Xolotl, king of the Chichimecs.[103] M. l'Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg infers from ancient Toltec history that the ceremony of initiation and the probation of the candidate derive their origin from the mysterious rites of which traces are still found among the nations of Mexico and Central America. The traditions relating to Votan and Quetzalcoatl, or Gucumatz, evidently allude to it. The birth of Ceacatl-Quetzalcoatl is celebrated by his father, Mixcohua-Camaxtli, at Culhuacan, with great rejoicings and the creation of a great number of knights; it is these same knights who are afterwards sent to avenge his death upon his assassins at Cuitlahuac, a town which appears, since that time, to have been always the principal place of residence of the order. After the separation of Cholula from the rest of the Toltec empire by Ceacatl-Quetzalcoatl, that town, together with Huexotzinco and Tlascala, appears to have had special privileges in this particular. It is in these places that after the conquest of the Aztec plateau by the Teo-Chichimecs, we find most of their chiefs bearing the title of Tecuhtli; it may be that the priests were forced into confirming their warlike conquerors in the honor, or it may be that they did so voluntarily, hoping by this means to submit the warriors to their spiritual power. This, however, is certain, that the rank of Tecuhtli remained to the last the highest honor that a prince or soldier could acquire in the states of Tlascala, Cholula, and Huexotzinco.[104]

THE MEXICAN PRIESTHOOD.

The priesthood filled a very important place among the privileged classes, but as a succeeding volume has been set apart for all matters relating to religion, I will confine myself here to such an outline of the sacerdotal system as is necessary to make our view of Aztec social distinctions complete. The learned Abbé, M. Brasseur de Bourbourg, gives us a very correct and concise account of the Mexican priesthood, a partial translation of which will answer the present purpose.

Among the nations of Mexico and Central America, whose civilization is identical, the priesthood always occupied a high rank in the state, and up to the last moment its members continued to exercise a powerful influence in both public and private affairs. In Anáhuac the priestly offices do not appear to have been appropriated exclusively by an hereditary caste; all had an equal right to fill them, with the exception of the offices about the temple of Huitzilopochtli, at Mexico, which were granted to some families dwelling in certain quarters of that city.[105] The ministers of the various temples, to be fitted for an ecclesiastical career, must be graduates of the Calmecac, colleges or seminaries to which they had been sent by their parents in their infancy. The dignities of their order were conferred by vote; but it is evident that the priests of noble birth obtained almost invariably the highest honors. The quarrels between the priest and warrior classes, which, in former times, had brought so much harm to the Mexican nation, had taught the kings to do their best to effect a balance of power between the rival bodies; to this end they appropriated to themselves the privilege of electing priests, and placed at the head of the clergy a priest or a warrior of high rank, as they saw fit; this could be all the more easily done, as both classes received the same education in the same schools.

The august title of Topiltzin, which in ancient times expressed the supreme military and priestly power, came to mean, in after years, a purely ecclesiastical authority. In Tezcuco and Tlacopan, where the crown was inherited in a direct line by one of the sons of the deceased monarch, the supreme pontiff was usually selected from among the members of the royal family; but in Mexico, where it involved, almost always, the duties of Tlacochcalcatl, or commander-in-chief of the army, and, eventually, succession to the throne, the office of high-priest, like that of king, was elective. The election of the spiritual king, for so we may call him, generally followed close upon that of the temporal monarch, and such was the honor in which the former was held, that he was consecrated with the same sacred unguent with which the king was anointed. In this manner Axayacatl, Montezuma II., and Quauhtemoc, were each made pontiff before the royal crown was placed upon their head. The title of him who held this dignity was Mexicatl-Teohuatzin, that is to say, the 'Mexican lord of sacred things;' he added also, besides a great number of other titles, that of Teotecuhtli, or 'divine master,' and he was, by right, high-priest of Huitzilopochtli; he was the 'head of the church,' and of all its branches, not only at Mexico, but in all the provinces of the Mexican empire; he had absolute authority over all priests, of whatever rank, and the colleges and monasteries of every class were under his control. He was elected by the two dignitaries ranking next to himself in the aboriginal hierarchy. The Mexicatl-Teohuatzin was looked upon as the right arm of the king, particularly in all matters of war and religion, and it rarely happened that any important enterprise was set on foot without his advice. At the same time it is evident that the high-priest was, after all, only the vicar and lieutenant of the king, for on certain solemn occasions the monarch himself performed the functions of grand sacrificer.

The Quetzalcoatl, that is, the high-priest of the god of that name, was almost equal in rank to the Mexicatl-Teohuatzin; but his political influence was far inferior. The ordinary title of the priests was Teopixqui, or 'sacred guardian;' those who were clothed with a higher dignity were called Huey-Teopixqui, or 'great sacred guardian.' The Huitznahuac-Teohuatzin and the Tepan-Teohuatzin followed, in priestly rank, the high-priest of Huitzilopochtli; they were his vicars, and superintended the colleges and monasteries in every part of his kingdom. The Tlaquimilol-Tecuhtli, or 'grand master of relics,'[106] took charge of the ornaments, furniture, and other articles specially relating to worship. The Tlillancalcatl, or 'chief of the house of Tlillan,' exercised the functions of principal sacristan; he took care of the robes and utensils used by the high-priest. The choristers were under the orders of the Ometochtli, the high-priest of the god so named, who had, as director of the singing-schools, an assistant styled Tlapitzcatzin; it was this latter officer's duty to instruct his pupils in the hymns which were chanted at the principal solemnities. The Tlamacazcatlotl, or 'divine minister' overlooked the studies in the schools; another priest discharged the duties of grand master of the pontifical ceremonies; another was archdeacon and judge of the ecclesiastical courts; the latter had power to employ and discharge the attendants in the temples; besides these there was a crowd of other dignitaries, following each other rank below rank in perfect order.

SACERDOTAL OFFICES.

In Mexico and the other towns of the empire, there were as many complete sets of priests as there were temples. Besides the seventy-eight sanctuaries dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, which were in part directed by the priests we have already enumerated, the capital contained many others. Each had jurisdiction in its own section, which corresponded to our parish; the priests and their pupils dwelling in a school or college which adjoined the temple.

It was the province of the priests to attend to all matters relating to religion and the instruction of youth. Some took charge of the sacrifices, others were skilled in the art of divination; certain of them were entrusted with the arrangement of the festivals and the care of the temple and sacred vessels, others applied themselves to the composition of hymns and attended to the singing and music. The priests who were learned in science superintended the schools and colleges, made the calculations for the annual calendar, and fixed the feast-days; those who possessed literary talent compiled the historical works, and collected material for the libraries. To each temple was attached a monastery, or we might call it a chapter, the members of which enjoyed privileges similar to those of our canons.