The Mexicans, and several of the Indian tribes of North America, believe in the doctrine of Metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls from one body into another.[533:7] This, as we have already seen,[533:8] was universally believed in the Old World.
The legend of the man being swallowed by a fish, and, after a three days' sojourn in his belly, coming out safe and sound, was found among the Mexicans and Peruvians.[534:1]
The ancient Mexicans, and some Indian tribes, practiced Circumcision, which was common among all Eastern nations of the Old World.[534:2]
They also had a legend to the effect that one of their holy persons commanded the sun to stand still.[534:3] This, as we have already seen,[534:4] was a familiar legend among the inhabitants of the Old World.
The ancient Mexicans were fire-worshipers; so were the ancient Peruvians. They kept a fire continually burning on an altar, just as the fire-worshipers of the Old World were in the habit of doing.[534:5] They were also Sun-worshipers, and had "temples of the Sun."[534:6]
The Tortoise-myth was found in the New World.[534:7] Now, in the Old World, the Tortoise-myth belongs especially to India, and the idea is developed there in a variety of forms. The tortoise that holds the world is called in Sanscrit Kura-mraja, "King of the Tortoises," and many Hindoos believe to this day that the world rests on its back. "The striking analogy between the Tortoise-myth of North America and India," says Mr. Tyler, "is by no means a matter of new observation; it was indeed remarked upon by Father Lafitau nearly a century and a half ago. Three great features of the Asiatic stories are found among the North American Indians, in the fullest and clearest development. The earth is supported on the back of a huge floating tortoise, the tortoise sinks under the water and causes a deluge, and the tortoise is conceived as being itself the earth, floating upon the face of the deep."[534:8]
We have also found among them the belief in an Incarnate God born of a virgin;[534:9] the One God worshiped in the form of a Trinity;[534:10] the crucified Black god;[534:11] the descent into hell;[534:12] the resurrection and ascension into heaven,[534:13] all of which is to be found in the oldest Asiatic religions. We also found monastic habits—friars and nuns.[534:14]
The Mexicans denominated their high-places, sacred houses, or "Houses of God." The corresponding sacred structures of the Hindoos are called "God's House."[535:1]
Many nations of the East entertained the notion that there were nine heavens, and so did the ancient Mexicans.[535:2]