Travels Amongst American Indians, Their Ancient Earthworks and Temples / Including a Journey in Guatemala, Mexico and Yucatan, and a Visit to the Ruins of Patinamit, Utatlan, Palenque and Uxmal

by Lindesay Brine

During our residence in Guatemala, I was fortunate in having the acquaintance of Don Francisco Gavarrete, who held a post under the Government and was well informed upon all subjects relating to the Indians. He was also, I understood, the proprietor of some of the lands within which were the sculptured monoliths and idols of Quirigua. At the Museum in the city there was a good collection of Indian antiquities which had been found within the territories of the Republic, including several idols from Copan and Santa Cruz del Quiché. When examining these I was accompanied by him and he directed my attention to certain objects of importance. Many of them were well carved and it was clear that the sculptors were able to work and shape the hardest stone with accuracy and skill.

There was a small idol, made of hard green stone, which had been found hidden behind the high altar of a church near the town of Gueguetenango. Dr. Scherzer, who during his travels in Central America, had learnt much about the religious customs of the natives, told us that the priest of a church situated amongst the hills near Atitlan had noticed an Indian girl, who was one of his parishioners, showing an unusual fervour in her devotions, and he tried to find out the cause. He, at last, discovered that she had buried an idol in the ground close behind the church beyond the altar, so that although she appeared to be praying to what was before her in the church, she was actually addressing her requests to the idol outside. This priest considered that his Indians were by nature idolaters and that it was not practicable to prevent them from returning to their ancient habits. Señor Gavarrete said that in the Department of Vera-Paz the Indians had still the custom of erecting somewhere near the churches small idol-houses in which they kept the image of a saint. To this they offered sacrifices of meats and flowers, and at certain seasons they were accustomed to keep watch or guard at the door throughout the night.

It is more than strange that nothing has been discovered in the course of the explorations of the various ancient sites in this part of the continent, which throws any light upon the methods employed by the Indians, for the purpose of carving and shaping granite, green marble, and hard lava. No mason’s implement of any kind has been found. A few copper chisels appear to have been used for some purpose which is unknown. They could not apparently have been of much service in working stone, for the edges were rounded and the metal was soft. This question as to the system adopted by the Indian sculptors in producing such excellent work, is as inexplicable now as it was to the Spaniards in the sixteenth century.

Señor Gavarrete asked me to accept a fine obsidian spear head which had been found amongst the ruins of Quirigua. This black volcanic glass is admirably adapted for cutting and wounding purposes. I had previously picked up in an ancient earthwork outside the city, several fragments of the same substance, which had evidently been placed on the edges of wooden daggers or swords which inflicted jagged and dangerous wounds. Obsidian knives were used by the Aztec priests when offering human sacrifices to their gods. The spear head was in form and in the method followed for chipping the mineral into the requisite shape, similar to the large arrow heads made by the Indians in the western parts of North America, where obsidian is obtained near the volcanic ranges of the Sierra Nevada.

During the latter part of the month numerous groups of Indians passed through the city on their return from the pilgrimage to Esquipulas. The festival of the church at that place occurs annually on the 15th of January. It is estimated that upon an average over eighty thousand Indians are present upon that occasion. Esquipulas became an important shrine in consequence of a wooden crucifix, black from age, having been found buried in the ground near that town. It was supposed by the Spaniards that it must have been lost by one of their missionary priests when passing through that part of the province at some early period soon after the conquest. This black crucifix was placed in the sanctuary, and from some cause which has not been ascertained, it was soon held in the highest veneration by the natives.

Indians assembled there in great numbers from all parts of the country, and travelled great distances in order to be present at the festival, and to take part in the performance of the religious ceremonies.

At the Cathedral in Guatemala we frequently saw the pilgrims kneeling before the shrines and showing much devotional respect to certain images. These natives were invariably grown up men and women. They journeyed on foot, carrying with them their provisions and water-gourds. They seemed to be desirous of avoiding all contact or conversation with others. Their conduct was quiet and unobtrusive. It was their custom to pass silently through the city. At the doors of each church they stopped for a few moments, and then entered and knelt before the altar. After the completion of these acts of worship, they proceeded on their journey across the plains towards the huts and villages scattered over the slopes of the distant hills. They never halted in the street, or took any part in the daily movements of the inhabitants.

The pilgrimage is also undertaken by Indians from the distant regions of Central America. Many of them traverse hundreds of miles. There is something in the devotional nature of these ignorant aboriginal people which escapes the comprehension of those who observe them. I noticed that the Indians varied considerably in stature and complexion. The men who dwelt among the Cordilleras seemed to be of a finer race than those who were settled on the plains, and were much darker in the colour of their skin.

The most attractive spot in the city was the market place. Within the square, crowds of people, Indians and Ladinos, were daily assembled, all of them buying, selling and carrying on the ordinary traffic, with a silence and listless indifference which was in strong contrast with the life and animation of the cities in the United States. It was a constant pleasure to observe the movements of the younger Indian women, who in their appearance and demeanour, were far superior to the men. This difference arises from their habits and employment. The women have a certain kind of dignity in their manner, caused, in a great measure, by their usage of carrying water jars and pans of crockery poised upon their heads. They therefore walk slowly and hold themselves upright. This custom which begins from early childhood, and forms part of their daily life, has the result of giving them good figures and a particularly graceful movement.

The men, on the contrary, have a crouching appearance, caused by the method in which they have been accustomed, from boyhood, to carry their burdens. They relieve the pressure of the weight on their backs by means of a broad band passed over the forehead and thus, by bending forward, the load is made less oppressive. The men and boys consequently contract a stooping posture, and this presents an unfavourable contrast to the women, whose bearing is precisely the reverse. There is another circumstance which has its influence in shaping the figures of the women. They carry all small things on the open palm of the left hand, which is thrown back and held well raised up. In fact the same causes which affect the appearance of the Indians in North America are present here, but with the difference that there it is the squaw who contracts the stooping and bent figure, through carrying her children and other burdens, and it is the man who maintains the upright figure and dignified manner.