(3) South American: Chibcha; Choco; Quichua (Inca, Chanca); Aymara (Colla, Calchaqui); Antisuyu; Jivaro; Zaparo; Pano; Ticuna; Chuncho; Carib (Macusi, Akawai, Bakairi, Arecuna); Arawak; (Atorai, Wapisiana, Naypure, Parexi); Warrau; Chiquito; Bororo; Botocudo; Tupi-Guarani (Chiriguana, Caribuna, Goajira, Omogua, Mundrucu); [277] Payagua; Mataco; Toba; Araucan; Puelche, Tehuelche (Patagonian); Fuegian (Ona, Yahgan, Alakaluf.)
Present Restricted Domain.—The Arctic seaboard, Greenland, Alaska; numerous reservations and some unsettled parts of the United States and Canada; most tribes of Mexico, Central and South America are partly intermingled with the whites and blacks and still partly in the tribal state. By far the greater part of the native tribes never progressed beyond the savage state, except in the United States and Canada, where during the past quarter century, and particularly during the last decade, the Indians have rapidly advanced in civilization.
Religion.—Shamanism was widely diffused among the North America aborigines. But still more prevalent is the cult of the aërial gods, who support the four quarters of the heavens, and of animals (bear, wolf, raven, jaguar) which has given rise to strange wehrwolf superstitions, and to totemistic systems similar to those of the Australian natives.
Solar worship prevailed in Peru, while the cultured peoples of Mexico (Aztecs, Mayas, Zapotecs and others) had developed a complete pantheon of ferocious deities, such as Tezcatlipoca, Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc, whose thirst for human blood was insatiable. Thus arose an established order of priests, who sacrificed human victims on solemn occasions, and presided over other sanguinary rites often accompanied by unutterable horrors. Aztec women cast their infants into the Mexican lagoons to propitiate the Rain-god Tlaloc.
Some modern races, like the Zuñis, have an elaborate and highly mystical ritual, to the exhibitions of which none but the initiated are admissible. The snake-dance of the Moquis of Arizona is a most curious ceremonial and attracts many visitors. The ritual of the Roman Catholic Church has strong attractions for the Indian; and the less elaborate service of the Episcopalians has in several instances helped to win over to Christianity tribes which had long rejected the teachings of missionaries of other denominations.
THE CAUCASIAN THE REAL
HISTORIC RACE
Of all these races the only one whose history is important for us is the Caucasian or white race, to which we ourselves belong. This race is “historical” because it displays the most highly civilized type of mankind,—that type whose progress and achievements are the true province of history.
THREE DIVISIONS OF THE
CAUCASIAN RACE
This grand stock—the Caucasian race—has been classified into three main branches,—(1) the Aryan or Indo-European; (2) the Semitic; (3) the Hamitic.
The Hamitic branch is named from Ham, the son of Noah, and ancestor of some of its peoples, most notable of which was the ancient empire in Egypt. Accounts of their conquests, under great dynasties of kings, have come down to us in hieroglyphic inscriptions. The Egyptians became highly civilized at a very early time, and exerted a marked influence on the civilization of succeeding ages.