In Zapotecapan the supreme pontiff was called the Wiyatao;[112] his residence was in the city of Yopaa,[113] and there he was from time immemorial spiritual and temporal lord, though, indeed, he made his temporal power felt more or less throughout the whole kingdom; and he appears in the earliest history of this country as master and lord of both the princes and the people of those nations who acknowledged him as the supreme head of their religion. The origin of the city of Yopaa is not known; it was situated on the slope of Mount Teutitlan,[114] which in this place formed a valley, shut in by overshadowing rocks, and watered by a stream which lower down flowed into the river Xalatlaco. The original inhabitants of this region were the disciples and followers of a mysterious, white-skinned personage named Wixipecocha. What race he belonged to, or from what land he came when he presented himself to the Zapotecs, is not known; a certain vague tradition relates that he came by sea from the south, bearing a cross in his hand, and debarked in the neighborhood of Tehuantepec;[115] a statue representing him is still to be seen, on a high rock near the village of Magdalena. He is described as a man of a venerable aspect, having a bushy, white beard, dressed in a long robe and a cloak, and wearing a covering upon his head resembling a monk's cowl. The statue represents him seated in a pensive attitude, apparently occupied in hearing the confession of a woman who kneels by his side.[116] His voice, to accord with his appearance, must have been of remarkable sweetness. Wixipecocha taught his disciples to deny themselves the vanities of this world, to mortify the flesh with penance and fasting, and to abstain from all sensual pleasures. Adding example to precept, he utterly abjured female society, and suffered no woman to approach him except in the act of auricular confession, which formed part of his doctrine.[117] This extraordinary conduct caused him to be much respected; especially as it was an unheard-of thing among these people for a man to devote his life to celibacy. Nevertheless, he was frequently persecuted by those whose vices and superstitions he attacked. Passing through one province after another he at length arrived in the Zapotec valley, a large portion of which was at that time occupied by a lake named Rualo. Afterwards, being entered into the country of the Miztecs, to labor for their conversion, the people sought to take his life. Those who were sent to take him prisoner, overtook him at the foot of Cempoaltepec, the most lofty peak in the country; but at the moment they thought to lay hands upon him, he disappeared suddenly from their sight, and soon afterwards, adds the tradition, his figure was seen standing on the summit of the highest peak of the mountain. Filled with astonishment, his persecutors hastened to scale the rocky height. When after great labor they arrived at the point where they had seen the figure, Wixipecocha appeared to them again for a few instants, then as suddenly vanished, leaving no traces of his presence save the imprints of his feet deeply impressed upon the rock where he had stood.[118] Since then we do not know that Wixipecocha reappeared in the ordinary world, though tradition relates that he afterwards showed himself in the enchanted island of Monapostiac, near Tehuantepec, whither he probably went for the purpose of obtaining new proselytes. In spite of the silence which history maintains concerning the time of his advent and the disciples which he left behind him, there can be no doubt that the priests of Yopaa did not continue to promulgate his doctrines, or that the Wiyatao, the supreme pontiff in Zapotecapan, was not there as the vicar and successor of the prophet of Monapostiac. Like the ancient Brahmans of Hindustan, the first disciples of Wixipecocha celebrated the rites of their religion in a deep cave, which M. de Bourbourg thinks was most probably hollowed out in the side of the mountain by the waters of the flood. This was afterwards used as a place of worship by the Wiyataos, who, as the number of their proselytes increased, brought art to the aid of nature, and under the hands of able architects the cave of Yopaa was soon turned into a temple, having halls, galleries, and numerous apartments all cut in the solid rock. It was into the gloomy recesses of this temple that the priests descended on solemn feast-days to assist at those mysterious sacrifices which were sacred from the profane gaze of the vulgar, or to take part in the burial rites at the death of a king.[119]
The classes of religious men were as numerous and their names and duties as varied among the Zapotecs as elsewhere. A certain order of priests who made the interpreting of dreams their special province were called Colanii Cobee Pécala. Each form of divination was made a special study. Some professed to foretell the future by the aid of stars, earth, wind, fire, or water; others, by the flight of birds, the entrails of sacrificial victims, or by magic signs and circles. Among other divinities a species of parroquet, with flaming plumage, called the ara,[120] was worshiped in some districts. In this bird a god was incarnate, who was said to have descended from the sky like a meteor. There were among the Zapotecs hermits or fakirs, who passed their entire lives in religious Ecstasy and meditation, shut up in dark caves, or rude huts, with no other companion but an ara, which they fed respectfully upon a species of altar; in honor of the bird they lacerated their flesh and drew blood from their bodies; upon their knees they kissed it morning and evening, and offered it with their prayers sacrifices of flowers and copal.
ZAPOTEC PRIESTS.
Priests of a lower order were styled Wiyana and Wizaechi, and the monks Copapitas. The influence which they were supposed to have with the gods, and the care which they took to keep their number constantly recruited with scions of the most illustrious families, gained them great authority among the people. No noble was so great but he would be honored by having a son in the temple. They added, also, to the credit of their profession by the strict propriety of their manners, and the excessive rigor with which they guarded their chastity. Parents who wished to consecrate one of their children to the service of the gods, led him, while still an infant, to the chief priest of the district, who after carefully catechizing the little one, delivered him over to the charge of the master of the novices. Besides the care of the sanctuary, which fell to their lot, these children were taught singing, the history of their country, and such sciences as were within their comprehension.
These religious bodies were looked upon with much respect. Their members were taught to bear themselves properly at home and in the street, and to preserve a modest and humble demeanor. The least infraction of the rules was severely punished; a glance or a sign which might be construed into a carnal desire, was punished as criminal, and those who showed by their actions a strong disposition to violate their vow of chastity were relentlessly castrated.
The Wiyanas were divided into several orders, but all were ruled in the most absolute manner by the pontiff of Yopaa. I have already spoken of the veneration in which this spiritual monarch was held, and of the manner in which he surmounted the difficulty of having children to inherit the pontifical chair, when continence was strictly imposed upon him.[121]
The ordinary dress of the Zapotec priests was a full white robe, with openings to pass the arms through, but no sleeves; this was girt at the waist with a colored cord. During the ceremony of sacrifice, and on feast-days, the Wiyatao wore, over all, a kind of tunic, with full sleeves, adorned with tassels and embroidered in various colors with representations of birds and animals. On his head he wore a mitre of feather-work, ornamented with a very rich crown of gold; his neck, arms, and wrists were laden with costly necklaces and bracelets; upon his feet were golden sandals, bound to his legs with cords of gold and bright-colored thread.[122]
PRIESTS OF MICHOACAN.
The Toltec sacerdotal system so closely resembled the Mexican already described that it needs no further description in this volume. Their priests wore a long black robe reaching to the ground; their heads were covered with a hood, and their hair fell down over their shoulders and was braided. They rarely put sandals on their feet, except when about to start on a long journey.[123] Among the Totonacs six great ecclesiastics were elected, one as high-priest, one next to him in rank, and so on with the other four. When the high-priest died, the second priest succeeded him. He was anointed and consecrated with great ceremony; the unction used upon the occasion was a mixture of a fluid called in the Totonac tongue ole, and blood drawn at the circumcision of children.[124] There existed also among these people an order of monks devoted to their goddess Centeotl. They lived a very austere and retired life, and their character, according to the Totonac standard, was irreproachable. None but men above sixty years of age, who were widowers of virtuous life and estranged from the society of women, were admitted into this order. Their number was fixed, and when one of them died another was received in his stead. They were so much respected that they were not only consulted by the common people, but likewise by the great nobles and the high-priest. They listened to those who consulted them, sitting upon their heels, with their eyes fixed upon the ground, and their answers were received as oracles even by the kings of Mexico. They were employed in making historical paintings, which they gave to the high-priest that he might exhibit them to the people. The common Totonac priests wore long black cotton robes with hoods; their hair was braided like the other common priests of Mexico, and anointed with the blood of human sacrifices, but those who served the goddess Centeotl were always dressed in the skins of foxes or coyotes.[125] At Izacapu, in Michoacan, there was a pontiff named Curinacanery, who was looked upon with such deep veneration that the king himself visited him once a year to offer him the first-fruits of the season, which he did upon his knees, having first respectfully kissed his hand. The common priests of Michoacan wore their hair loose and disheveled; a leathern band encircled their foreheads; their robes were white, embroidered with black, and in their hands they carried feather fans.[126] In Puebla they also wore white robes, with sleeves, and fringed on the edges.[127] The papas, or sacrificing priests of Tlascala, allowed their hair to grow long and anointed it with the blood of their victims.[128] Much more might be written concerning the priests of these countries, but as it does not strictly come within the province of this volume, it is omitted here.[129]