The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

When the king of the isles learned what had been done by Wapeani, he was greatly enraged, and the neighboring lords having been called together a council was held to consider what action should be taken in the matter. But the lords were in favor of peace, and it was finally arranged that the brother kings should be invited to come and settle among them, when the office of grand sacrificer should be conferred upon Pawacume and that of priest of the god Cuangari Changatun upon Wapeani. Messengers were accordingly sent to make these proposals to the brothers. Flattered by such brilliant offers and dazzled by the costly presents which the envoys brought with them, the princes readily consented to the arrangement, and at once embarked for the islands, where they were received with great state, and immediately invested with the promised dignities. But it seems that the brothers' followers had not been made acquainted with the details of this arrangement, for after impatiently waiting some time for the return of the princes, they also set out for the islands to discover the cause of their detention. Upon learning the true state of the case they were furious, and demanded with many threats that Pawacume and Wapeani, who, they said, had been appointed by Curicaneri as their guardians, should instantly be sent back to their own people. Curicaten thought it prudent to yield, and the brothers reluctantly returned with their followers to the mainland.

CITY OF PATZCUARO

But during their brief sojourn in the islands they had seen much that was new to them, and having observed the benefit to be derived from civilization, they resolved to improve the condition of their country. Knowing, however, that their influence alone would not suffice to make the people suddenly change their nomadic habits, they called to their aid the voice of the gods. One day they announced that the god of Hades had appeared to them in a dream, commanding them to erect temples in honor of all the Chichimec divinities. The people, whose religious fervor seems to have been unbounded, were at once anxious to begin the pious work. It only remained to choose a suitable site. Under the guidance of the brothers, they repaired to a densely wooded hill near Tarimi Chundido, where there was a beautiful stream of water, known henceforth by the name of Cuirizcatero. Here they set to work in earnest; hewing down the trees and clearing the ground for the foundations of the temples. One after another the stately edifices rose, and when they were finished the chiefs began to vie with each other in building fine dwelling-houses, so that in an incredibly short space of time the sides of the hill were covered with buildings. Such was the origin of the city of Patzcuaro,[825 - 'Patzcuaro veut évidemment dire le lieu de temples; cu ou cua, dans la langue tarasque, comme dans la langue yucatèque.' Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 72.] for a long time the capital, and afterwards one of the principal cities of Michoacan.

Now, at that time the kingdom of Curincuaro, which comprised part of the lake islands, was one of the most powerful states in all that region, and in common with its Tarasco neighbors, it regarded the rapid progress of the Wanacaces with feelings of jealousy and apprehension, which soon resulted in actual hostilities. An ambassador was sent to Patzcuaro to formally demand that its inhabitants should bring fuel to the altars at Curincuaro. The Wanacaces knew by experience what this meant, and at once prepared for war. All being ready they marched to meet the enemy. A terrible engagement took place near the town of Ataquaro, in which Pawacume and his brother were seriously wounded, and finally forced to retreat with their troops to Patzcuaro.

Soon after this the great feast of the goddess Curincuaro, the principal divinity of the kingdom that bore her name, was celebrated. It appears that it was arranged that all hostilities should cease during this solemn period, that the Wanacaces might join with their late enemies in the ceremonies. The lords of Curincuaro were particularly anxious that the brothers of Patzcuaro should appear at the feast, and to ensure their presence they employed an old woman, who had access to them, to expatiate on the grandeur of the coming festivities, and the number of sacrifices to be offered. She played her part so well that the princes promised to be present; afterwards, being assured by certain of their priests that treachery was designed, they renounced their intention of going; but emissaries from Curincuaro again found means to persuade them, and when the day of the feast arrived they set out to participate in it. On the way they fell into an ambuscade, and Wapeani was killed on the spot. His brother escaped and fled to Patzcuaro, but he was pursued by his enemies and slain in the city, which was deserted on account of all the people having gone to the feast. The bodies of the unfortunate princes were ransomed by their sorrowing subjects, and after being formally burned were buried with much ceremony in a grave dug at the foot of the steps leading up to the temple of Curicaneri.

Curatame, Wapeani's eldest son, now ascended the throne at Patzcuaro. He had two brothers named Xetaco and Aramen. Pawacume, as we have already remarked, had also a son named Tariacuri, by the fisherman's daughter. This prince was sent to the island of Xaracuero, to be educated by the Tarasco priests in the arts of civilized life. On his return to Patzcuaro, Tariacuri showed himself to be a youth of an excellent disposition, very pious and industrious, and withal highly accomplished in matters both of war and of peace. As soon as he arrived at a suitable age he was crowned king of the Wanacaces; whether his cousin Curatame continued to reign as his colleague, or what became of him, is not stated.

Tariacuri soon began to extend his empire by conquest in every direction. He carried his arms farther than any of his predecessors had done, and his hostile expeditions were invariably attended by success. Again the Tarasco princes were alarmed, and uniting their forces they marched upon Patzcuaro. But Tariacuri was irresistible; he surprised and vanquished the allies at Ataro and Tupuxanchuen, conquered the kingdom of Zirumbo, and finally blockaded the lake islands. Meanwhile, his cousins, jealous of his glory, conspired with his enemies to betray him. But he escaped their plots, and having possessed himself of the islands he became king of the whole of Michoacan. This king may be identical with Characu, the 'boy king,' to whom I have already referred. My reason for thinking so is that the events above recorded, or those immediately succeeding them, are said to have happened in the time of Montezuma I., while the founding of a city named Charo, in the reign of Characu, is also said by Beaumont to have taken place during the life of the same Mexican monarch. The founding of Charo was in this wise, according to one account.

CHARACU, THE BOY KING

During the reign of 'the boy king' the Aztecs made an inroad, aided by the Tecos and other unruly tribes. Being hard pressed, the king applied to the Matlaltzincas of Toluca for aid. Six captains started with their troops, and the Mexicans were defeated. In reward for this timely aid, the Matlaltzincas were granted their choice of lands within the kingdom of Michoacan, and selected the region around Tiripito, where the lower class founded Undameo, and the nobles, Charo, so named in honor of the king. This settlement being in the center of Michoacan, says Pimentel, the people came to be known as the Pirindas, 'those in the middle.'[826 - Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 499; Beaumont, Crón. Mechoacan, MS., pp. 61-2, quoting Basalenque, Hist. Mech., lib. i., cap. xv.]

In another place Beaumont gives Padre Larrea's version of the founding of Charo. In the time of Montezuma I. the Aztecs appeared in conjunction with the Tecos and Matlaltzincas to attack Michoacan. The Tarascos who were only one-third as strong as their enemies, had recourse to strategy. Large supplies of food and drink were spread in the camp, and when the Aztec forces attacked, the Tarascos fled, abandoning the camp. The hungry Aztecs at once commenced to gorge themselves, and when filled with meat and drink the Tarascos returned upon them making a great slaughter, and capturing a goodly number of Tecos and Matlaltzincas, who were given lands in Michoacan; the Tecos as the more turbulent in Patzcuaro and the capital, and the Matlaltzincas in Charo, which was founded by them.[827 - Beaumont, Crón. Mechoacan, MS., pp. 60-61. Granados, p. 185, refers to a seven years' struggle, which may be the same as the above. The records indicate two great battles at Tajimaroa and Zichu.] The Matlaltzincas who remained in Toluca were conquered by Axayacatl, as has been already related.[828 - Clavigero, tom. i., p. 150; Alcedo, Dicc., tom. iii., p. 461; Pimentel, Cuadro, tom. i., p. 499. See also this vol., pp. 432-5 (#Page_432). Sahagun, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 129.]

Before his death, Tariacuri divided the kingdom, and generously provided for the children of the cousins who had attempted his destruction. To Hicipan he left Coyucan, a very important city; to Hicucaxe, Patzcuaro and its dependencies, and to his son, Tangaxoan, he gave the territory of Tzintzuntzan, which comprised the lake islands. These events, says Brasseur, to which the anonymous historian assigns no date, occurred, in all probability, during the first part of the fifteenth century, Tangaxoan having been a contemporary of Montezuma I., of Mexico.

Michoacan did not remain long divided. Hicucaxe had a great number of sons, all of whom he put to death because they were disorderly and oppressed the people. Another son which was born to him later was killed by lightning, and apotheosized on that account. Thus the king of Patzcuaro died without leaving heirs, and his division was added to Tangaxoan's territory. The kingdom of Coyucan, upon the death of Hicipan, was also annexed to Tzintzuntzan, where Tangaxoan's son Ziziz Pandacuare, was then reigning. Michoacan became thus re-united under one head. Ziziz Pandacuare used his great power for the advancement and benefit of his country. He embellished the city of Tzintzuntzan, and made it his capital. His reign was a long and glorious one, and it was chiefly to his able administration that Michoacan owed its greatness.[829 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 51-78; Carbajal Espinosa, Hist. Mex., tom. i., pp. 264-85.]

REIGN OF ZWANGA

Ziziz Pandacuare was succeeded by his son Zwanga.[830 - Also spelled Tzihuanga, see note 62 (#cn_821).] It was during the reign of this prince that the valiant Tlascaltec general, Tlahuicol, invaded Michoacan at the head of a Mexican army, and took Tangimaroa, or Tlaximaloyan, and other towns, together with great spoils.[831 - See this vol., pp. 477-8 (#Page_476). Beaumont says that Tlahuicol gained nothing during his six months' campaign except some booty, and he doubts whether that was much, as along the frontier there was little to be had. Crón. Mechoacan, MS., pp. 59-60.] Zwanga was still on the throne at Tzintzuntzan when Cortés took Mexico. He was appealed to for aid by Cuitlahuatl, who was elected monarch after the death of Montezuma II. After some hesitation he promised his assistance. Ambassadors were sent to Mexico, who, when they arrived, found Cuitlahuatl dead, and the small-pox raging in the city. They hastened back to Tzintzuntzan, but bore with them the germs of the disease, which rapidly spread through the capital, and carried off the king and a great number of his subjects.

Zwanga left several sons, and the eldest of these, Tangaxoan II., seized the sceptre.[832 - He bore the title of Caltzontzin. See note 63 (#cn_822). Brasseur says he was also called Gwangwa Pagua, Hist., tom. iii., p. 78.] He appears to have been a weak prince, and totally unfit to fill the throne at such a critical period. One of his first acts was to cause his brothers to be put to death, on the pretense that they had conspired against his life, but really because he was jealous of their power.[833 - Beaumont, Crón. Mechoacan, MS., p. 68.] This cruel murder caused serious disturbance in the capital, and the fratricide brought great odium upon himself. It was said that such a terrible deed portended evil to the country – a prediction which was verified strongly afterwards, by the appearance of a Spanish soldier who had been sent by Cortés to reconnoitre the country.

The Tarascos, like most of the other Nahua nations, were warned by omens of their future subjection to a foreign power. Beaumont, who makes Tangaxoan II. a contemporary of Montezuma II., relates that the former was at first persuaded to assist the latter against the Spaniards, but was cautioned by the spirit of his dead sister, who, to prove that her utterances were not meaningless, pointed out certain signs in the heavens; namely, the figure of a young man with a glittering hand, and a sword, fashioned like those of the Spaniards, which appeared in the east on the day of the great festival. In the council convened to consider this warning it was decided not to resist the strangers.[834 - Crón. Mechoacan, MS., pp. 71-3.] It is related, moreover, that in Zwanga's time there lived a high-priest, named Surites, who foretold the introduction of a new religion, and in anticipation of it instituted two Christian-like festivals.[835 - See vol. iii. of this work, p. 446.]

THE MIZTECS AND ZAPOTECS

Among the earliest peoples of Mexico were the Miztecs and Zapotecs, whose country may be roughly described as comprising the modern state of Oajaca. The Miztecs occupied the western portion of this region, and their territory was divided into upper and lower Miztecapan,[836 - For boundaries of Miztecapan, see ante, vol. i., p. 678.] the latter reaching to the coast, and the former embracing the mountainous region farther north, which is sometimes called Cohuaixtlahuacan. Zapotecapan, the country of the Zapotecs, lay to the east of Miztecapan, and extended, at the time when we first hear of this people in history, to Tehuantepec.[837 - See vol. i., p. 679, for boundaries.]

The records of these nations are silent as to their history before they settled here; everything previous to this rests upon traditions of the vaguest character, one of which represents their ancestors as birds, beasts, and trees – to indicate their extreme antiquity, courage, and stubbornness, naively adds Burgoa, the historian of Oajaca.[838 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., pp. 195-6; Murguia, Estadist. Guajaca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. vii., p. 167.] But though their own annals do not reach back to the pre-Toltec period, they are stated by some authorities to have inhabited at that time the region of Puebla, together with the Olmecs and Xicalancas.[839 - Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 133; Veytia, tom. i., p. 150.] Most of the old writers connect them with the Nahua stock, although their language was distinct from the Nahua. Thus Torquemada derives the Miztecs from Mixtecatl, the fifth son of Iztac Mixcohuatl, of the Seven Caves; while Sahagun states that they were of Toltec descent, and adds that some go so far as to regard them as descendants of Quetzalcoatl, because of the richness and beauty of their country, in which the famous Tlalocan, the 'terrestrial paradise,' was said to be situated.[840 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 32; Gomara, Conq. Mex., fol. 299; Motolinia, in Icazbalceta, Col. de Doc., tom. i., p. 8; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., p. 175; Sahagun, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 120.] At the time when civilization was introduced into Yucatan and Chiapas, says Brasseur, the mountains of Miztecapan were inhabited by savage tribes without any particular name, but who were afterwards known as Miztecs, or Wild Cats.[841 - Hist., tom. iii., p. 5.] Civilization is said by tradition to have first appeared in the mountains of Apoala. At the entrance of a gorge in this region where, says García, the gods lived before man came on earth, stood two majestic trees, from which sprung two youths, the founders of the Miztec monarchy.[842 - Brasseur, citing Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 128-9, says they were male and female, and from them descended the race that subsequently governed the country. Hist., tom. iii., p. 6; García, Orígen de los Ind., pp. 327-8.] The braver of the two went to Tilantongo, and there had a contest with the Sun for the possession of the country. After a desperate combat, which lasted a whole day, the Sun was forced to go down behind the hills, thus leaving the youth the victor.[843 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., pp. 128, 175-6; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 80, says this story is merely invented to show the great age of the Miztecs. See also ante, vol. iii., p. 73.]

Other traditions relate that certain of the warlike tribes from the north, that invaded Anáhuac from the eighth to the eleventh century, passed from the Aztec plateau into Miztecapan, coming down from the mountains of Apoala to the beautiful and naturally fortified valley of Yanguitlan, 'new land,' where they determined to settle. The Miztecs resisted the invaders for a long time, and their final subjection was effected more by religious teachings than by force of arms. On this plateau the immigrants from Anáhuac founded Tilantongo, and built a temple called Achiuhtla.[844 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 128-9. Orozco y Berra, Geografía, p. 126, says the Zapotecs took their region by force of arms from the Huatiquimanes, or Guanitiquimanes.] The date of this event seems to coincide, says Brasseur, with the sending out of missionaries from Cholula, though whether the followers of Quetzalcoatl or the tribes from Anáhuac arrived first is not known. But it appears certain that from the union of the priests of Achiuhtla and the Olmecs who fled from Cholula at the time of Huemac's invasion, sprung the power which civilized these regions.[845 - Hist., tom. iii., pp. 8-9.]

It is in Zapotecapan, however, that the disciples of Quetzalcoatl appear most prominently. There they are said to have founded Mitla, or Yopaa, and to have diffused their arts and religious teachings throughout the whole country, as far as Tehuantepec.[846 - Torquemada, tom. i., p. 255; Herrera, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xi.; Veytia, tom. i., p. 164; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 297-8, 343-5.]

The mysterious apostle Wixipecocha, of whom a full account has already been given,[847 - See vol. ii. of this work, pp. 209-11.] is said to have appeared in these regions. The tradition, which is very vague, relates that he came from the south seas, and landed, bearing a cross, at Tehuantepec. He taught morality, abstinence from women, confession, and penance. He was generally respected but was sometimes persecuted, especially in the Mije country, whither he went after passing through the Zapotec valley. The people there tried to kill him, and pursued him to the foot of Mount Cempoaltepec, where he miraculously disappeared, but re-appeared shortly afterwards on the summit of the mountain. His pursuers followed him, but he again vanished, and was seen no more in that country, though he afterward showed himself on the enchanted island of Monapostiac, near Tehuantepec.

THE PRIESTS OF ACHIUHTLA

As I have already remarked, nothing definite is known of the early history of the Miztecs and Zapotecs. All that has been preserved is some account of their spiritual rulers. Thus we are told that the kingdom of Tilantongo, which comprised upper Mizteca, was spiritually governed by the high-priest of Achiuhtla, who bore the title of Taysacaa, and whose power equaled, if it did not surpass, that of the king; while in Zapotecapan the Wiyatao, or sovereign pontiff, united in his person the supreme sacerdotal and secular power. The origin of the city of Yopaa, or Mitla, where the Wiyatao held his court, is doubtful, though, as we have seen, it has been attributed to the disciples of Quetzalcoatl, who came from Cholula.

It is a singular fact that we hear nothing of the early Miztec and Zapotec kings, save that there were such, until we find the latter subjecting the Huaves to their authority. These Huaves are said to have come originally from the south, from Nicaragua or Peru say some authors. The causes that led to their migration are unknown; but the story goes that after coasting northward, and attempting to disembark at several places, they finally effected a landing at Tehuantepec. Here they found the Mijes, the original possessors of the country; but these they drove out, or, as some say, mingled with them, and soon made themselves masters of the soil. They founded their first city at Arrianjianbaj, or Arriangui Umbah, but afterwards extended their possessions to the city of Jalapa, which they are said to have founded also.[848 - 'De allà de la Costa del Sur, mas cerca de la Eclyptica vezindad del Perù, y segun las circunstancias de su lengua, y trato de la Provincia ò Reyno de Nicarahua.' Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 396; Murguia, Estadist. Guajaca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. vii., p. 183; Orozco y Berra, Geografía, pp. 173-4. See also Mühlenpfordt, Mejico, tom. ii., pt i., p. 176. Guillemot relates that some Peruvian families fled northward along the Cordilleras. On the banks of the Sarrabia they resorted to the fire test to find out whether the gods wished them to settle there. A brand was placed in a hole, but as it was extinct in the morning, they knew they must go further. Four emissaries went in search of another place. Beneath a coapinol-tree, where now stands Huixicovi, the brand-proof answered the test, and so they settled there. The coapinol is still venerated. Fossey, Mexique, pp. 50-1; see also p. 467 (#Page_467).]

But the easy life they led in this beautiful and fertile region soon destroyed their ancient energy, and they subsequently fell an unresisting prey to the Zapotec kings.[849 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 196.] Of the Mijes very little is known. They are believed to have been the most ancient people of the Oajaca region, and Burgoa affirms that they possessed of old the greater part of Tehuantepec, Soconusco, and Zapotecapan. The Beni-Xonos, who lived between the Mijes and Zapotecs, are said to have once belonged to the former people, but their character seems to disprove this. They are described as a tribe of rich, shrewd traders, very miserly, great liars, "incorrigible and inveterate evil-doers" – the Jews of Oajaca, Brasseur calls them. They were among the first to submit to the Zapotec kings, in the hope of being allowed to retain their wealth.[850 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 312, 367-76.]

THE ZAPOTEC KINGS

It was to one of these Zapotec princes that the fortified city of Zaachilla Yoho, or Teotzapotlan, as it was called by the Mexicans, owed its origin. At the time when history first sheds its light on these regions, Teotzapotlan was the capital of Zapotecapan,[851 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 197.] and rivaled in power and extent of territory the Miztec kingdoms of Tututepec and Tilantongo. It seems that during the war with the Mexicans these three powers united against the common enemy, though at other times they appear to have quarreled considerably among themselves, by reason of the ambitious designs of the Zapotec monarchs, who, it is said, aimed at universal sovereignty.[852 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 39.]

Of the kingdom of Tututepec, which stretched for sixty leagues along the shore of the Pacific, nothing is known, except that its princes were among the richest in all Mexico, that its kings had many powerful vassals, and that its principal city, which was also called Tututepec, was very populous.[853 - Id.; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 181, 188.]

One of the earliest conquests of the Zapotec kings was that of the Mountain of the Sun, near the town of Macuilxuchil. There dwelt on this mountain a tribe of very fierce and blood-thirsty barbarians, who lived by plundering the surrounding nations. At length their depredations became so frequent, and were attended with such cruelty that it became evident that the country about the mountain would soon be abandoned by its inhabitants unless the robbers were annihilated. Accordingly, a large force of picked troops was sent against them under the command of two renowned warriors named Baali and Baaloo. The expedition was successful. After a desperate resistance the robbers were overpowered and slaughtered to a man. A fortress and temple were then erected on the summit of the mountain, and the charge of them given to Baali and Baaloo, as a reward for their valor. After their death these heroes received divine honors, and were buried at the foot of the mountain they had conquered. The veneration in which their memory was held increased with time; their tombs were visited by multitudes of pilgrims, and a city called Zeetopaa, which eventually became the principal seat of learning and religion, and the nucleus of civilization in these parts, soon rose upon the spot.[854 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 230, 245.]

DEATH OF CONDOY

The first Zapotec king of whom we have any definite information is Ozomatli, who, it is said in the Codex Chimalpopoca,[855 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., p. 45.] reigned in 1351. The next king, whose name or deeds are recorded, is Zaachilla, who, being master of all Zapotecapan, coveted the region lying east of the river Nexapa, and inhabited by the Chontales, Mijes, and Huaves. The Chontales were the most powerful of these nations, and against them Zaachilla proceeded first. He took from them the city of Nexapa, which he fortified and garrisoned with his own soldiers. To strengthen his position in the conquered territory he also built the fortresses of Quiechapa and Quiyecolani.[856 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 330; Murguia, Estadist. Guajaca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. vii., pp. 167, 201.] He next entered the country of the Mijes, took the town of Zoquitlan, and drove the inhabitants into the mountains. The Mijes were now confined between the Maya tribes of Chiapas and the Zapotecs. But, though in this difficult position, with a territory so small that it contained only one city of importance, namely Xaltepec, and numbering, says Herrera, only two thousand men, women, and children, the brave little nation seems to have gallantly maintained its independence for a number of years.[857 - Herrera, dec. iv., lib. ix., cap. vii.; Murguia, Estadist. Guajaca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. vii., p. 183; Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 280.] It was destined to be subjected at last, however, and in the hour of its greatest glory. Condoy, the last king of the Mijes, who is said to have made his first appearance from a cavern in the mountains, was a very brave and energetic prince. He waged war with the surrounding nations, and succeeded by his valor in increasing the extent of his dominions. The Zapotec and Miztec kings, jealous of these encroachments, formed an alliance against the Mije prince, while the tribes of Chiapas, from the same motives, attacked him at the same time on the other side of his dominions. In spite of all that the brave Condoy could do, his capital was taken and burned to the ground, and he and his followers, hotly pursued by the enemy, were forced to take refuge in the recesses of the mountains. Shortly after this Condoy disappeared and was seen no more. The Zapotecs claimed that their king slew him with his own hand, but the subjects of the Mije prince insisted that, tired of war and bloodshed, he had entered the cavern from which he had originally issued, and, attended by some of his warriors, had gone to far distant provinces.[858 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 302-3; Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 48-50.]

About the year 1456 occurred the war between Dzawindanda, king of Cohuaixtlahuacan or upper Miztecapan, with his allies the Tlascaltecs and Huexotzincas, and Montezuma I., with his allies of the valley of Anáhuac. The details of this war having been already given,[859 - See this volume, pp. 415-17 (#Page_415).] it remains only to repeat Burgoa's account of the supernatural powers of Dzawindanda. This prince, says the fable, when he wished to make war upon some neighboring nation, caused himself to be miraculously transported to the summit of a mountain inaccessible to ordinary mortals. Arrived there he prostrated himself upon a knoll, and besought the gods to favor his designs. Then he shook a bag which was suspended from his girdle, and immediately there issued from it a multitude of warriors, fully armed and equipped, who having formed in military order descended from the mountain in silence and marched at once to conquer the coveted territory.[860 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt i., fol. 150.] Dzawindanda's magical powers must have deserted him on the occasion above referred to, however, for, as we have seen, his armies were terribly defeated, his kingdom was made tributary to the domain of the victors, he himself was assassinated, and his widowed queen was carried captive to Mexico to gratify a passion which Montezuma had conceived for her.

In 1469 Axayacatl of Mexico swooped suddenly upon the cities of Tehuantepec and Guatulco, and took them; according to Brasseur he even carried his victorious arms into Soconusco.[861 - See this volume, p. 425 (#Page_425).] At this time Zaachilla III. was king of Zapotecapan. He was a warlike and ambitious prince, and succeeded in adding Jalapa and the valley of Nexapa to his kingdom, driving the Huave population into the less desirable region on the frontiers of Chiapas and Soconusco. During the later years of his reign Zaachilla, with the assistance of the Miztec king of Tilantongo, succeeded in regaining possession of Tehuantepec and the other places in that region which Axayacatl had garrisoned with Mexican troops. But this brought the Mexican king, Ahuitzotl, down upon him like a thunderbolt, and being deserted by his Miztec allies, Zaachilla's armies were quickly routed; he was forced to flee for his life to the mountains, and Tehuantepec once more became a Mexican possession.[862 - Brasseur, Hist., tom. iii., pp. 284-5, 338-40.]

Cociyoeza, who succeeded Zaachilla III. on the throne of Zapotecapan, was no less anxious than his predecessor to rid his kingdom of the Aztec garrisons, but being a very prudent, though brave, prince, he acted with greater deliberation and caution. Before proceeding to open hostilities he contracted a firm alliance with the neighboring nations; he then chose a favorable opportunity, when the prestige of the Mexican arms had been damaged by reverses, to declare war, massacre the Mexican merchants, and retake Tehuantepec and most of the other places occupied by Ahuitzotl's troops. The reader has been made acquainted with the details of this war, in the course of which the sacred city of Mitla, or Yopaa, was taken, and of the final treaty by which it was arranged that the Mexicans should keep Soconusco, and that Cociyoeza should wed a Mexican princess and remain in possession of Tehuantepec.[863 - See this volume pp. 443-7 (#Page_443).]

MONTEZUMA INVADES MIZTECAPAN

In 1506, Miztecapan was invaded by Montezuma's armies, and the cities of Tilantongo, Achiuhtla, and Tlachquiauhco were taken. In the same year the Miztecs made a determined effort to regain their independence, but, as has been seen, only succeeded in making their burdens heavier than before.[864 - Id., pp. 461-2 (#Page_461).] From this time until the coming of the Spaniards Miztecapan may be regarded as virtually subject to the Mexican empire.

By his marriage with the faithful Pelaxilla, Cociyoeza had a son named Cociyopu. It is related that during the feasts with which the birth of this prince was celebrated, fiery rays of light were seen to dart across the sky. Such ominous phenomena did not escape the notice of the soothsayers, and the downfall of the kingdom was predicted. When Cociyopu had reached the age of twenty-four years, his father conferred upon him the crown of Tehuantepec.[865 - Murguia, Estadist. Guajaca, in Soc. Mex. Geog., Boletin, tom. vii., p. 187.] It was at this time, says Brasseur, that the news of the conquests of the Spaniards reached Cociyoeza's court at Teotzapotlan.[866 - Hist., tom. iv., p. 539.] Upon this the nobles of Tehuantepec besought Cociyopu to inquire of the gods what the meaning of these things was, and if the ancient prophecies concerning the introduction of a new religion and the conquest of the country by a race of white men, were about to be fulfilled. Cociyopu did as they desired, and was told by the oracle that the time had come for the fulfillment of the prophecies. Then an embassy was sent to Coyuhuacan, where Cortés then was, with instructions to announce to the Spanish chief that according to the directions of their oracles the people of Zapotecapan and Tehuantepec acknowledged his right of sovereignty.[867 - Burgoa, Geog. Descrip. Oajaca, tom. ii., pt ii., fol. 367-76.]

THE PUEBLOS OF NEW MEXICO

In the subdivision of my present subject, given in an early chapter of this volume,[868 - See p. 158 (#Page_158).] I named as one of its divisions the Historical Traditions of the Wild Tribes of the North, to which topic I intended to devote a short chapter. On further research, however, I find that there is absolutely no material for such a chapter. Some of the wild tribes had vague traditions of how the world was created and peopled, generally by the agency of a bird or beast; others told wonderful tales of supernatural adventures of their fathers many moons ago; a few named the direction, north, south, east, or west, whence their fathers came. Such traditions have been given in those portions of this work relating to the subjects of Mythology and Origin. There is great confusion among the different versions of these traditions, and even if we knew in each case which was the authentic version, they would shed not a ray of light on general aboriginal history; the very most that could be hoped from them would be slight information respecting modern tribal history. All the speculations of modern travelers and writers on primitive history in the north have been founded, so far as they have had any foundation at all, on the material relics of antiquity, fully described in volume IV. of this work; on the traces of the Aztec tongue in the north, a subject fully disposed of in volume III.; and on the theory of the Spanish writers respecting a general migration from the north, duly considered in the present volume. Consequently all that could be said on the history of the northern tribes here would be but a repetition of what has already been said; a collection of a few valueless speculations resting on foundations already proven to be unsound; and a renewed argument against the theory of a migration from the north, a theory that has already received more attention than it deserves. It may be thought that the reported Montezuma-tradition of the Pueblos in New Mexico deserves some investigation; but besides the fact that all the force of evidence and probability indicates that the myth was an invention of white men, it is also true that if the worship of Montezuma and the hope of his coming from the east, were actually found among the Pueblos, this would only prove what is not at all improbable, that the fame of Montezuma I. and of the great Aztec power had reached this northern region. It has been seen that the Nahuas a few centuries after the beginning of our era were driven northward and established themselves in Anáhuac and the region immediately north-west of that valley, but that their possessions never extended farther north than Zacatecas. Yet it is altogether probable that they came more or less into contact with tribes further north, and it is best to attribute to this contact at this period the Nahua linguistic traces that have been pointed out in the north. The Pueblos, who in ancient times occupied the country as far south as northern Chihuahua, were not Aztecs, as is clearly proven by their language, their monuments, and their institutions. The very slight Nahua analogies that have been pointed out in their manners and customs, do not necessarily imply any connection whatever with the civilized peoples of the south; yet I regard it as not improbable that the Pueblo tribes were slightly influenced by Nahua contact at the period referred to; and not altogether impossible that the Nahua seed sown at this time fell into good ground in some wild people of the north, and thus originated Pueblo agriculture and later culture. In favor of any closer connection between these peoples, there is absolutely no evidence.

THE MOUND-BUILDERS

When we come to the Mound-Builders of the Mississippi Valley, the matter presents far greater difficulties. We know nothing of their language or manners and customs, since they have become locally extinct; but their material monuments, and their religious rites as indicated by those monuments, bear a very striking resemblance to those of the civilized nations of the south. I have already expressed an opinion that the Mound-Builders were in some way connected with the civilized nations; the nature of the connection is involved in difficulties, from which there is no escape save by conjecture. We have seen that the Aztec traces in the New Mexican region, and possibly the Pueblo culture, may be attributed to the migrating Nahua tribes after their overthrow in Central America; but there is little or no reason to attribute the establishment of the Mound-Builders of the eastern states to the same influence and the same epoch. The few Nahuas that were scattered in the north are not likely to have exerted so slight an influence in the Pueblo region, and so powerful a one on the Mississippi; besides, the Mississippi monuments bear marks of a much greater antiquity than can be attributed to the Pueblo buildings. Yet we have seen that it is much more reasonable to believe that the culture of the Mound-Builders was introduced by a colony or by teachers from the south, than to regard the Mississippi Valley as the original birth-place of American civilization. The Natchez of the gulf states are said to have been superior at the coming of Europeans to other aboriginal tribes of the eastern states, and presented some slight analogies in their institutions to what the Mound-Builders may be supposed to have been. It is also the opinion of several authorities entitled to considerable credit, that their language shows a very strong resemblance to those of the Maya family. Without attaching very great importance to the last argument, I am inclined to believe that the most plausible conjecture respecting the origin of the Mound-Builders, is that which makes them a colony of the ancient Mayas, who settled in the north during the continuance of the great Maya empire of Xibalba in Central America, several centuries before Christ. We have seen that the ancient Mayas, under the name of Quinames, probably occupied eastern Mexico at that epoch, and in later times we find the Huastecs in southern Tamaulipas speaking a Maya dialect. It is not at all unlikely that a colony of these people passed northward along the coast by land or water, and introduced their institutions in the Mississippi Valley, building up a power which became very flourishing as the centuries passed, but was at last forced to yield to the presence of environing barbarism. I offer this not as a theory which can be fully substantiated by facts, but simply as the most plausible conjecture on the matter which has occurred to me.

CHAPTER XI.

THE QUICHÉ-CAKCHIQUEL EMPIRE IN GUATEMALA

No Chronology in the South – Outline View – Authorities – Xbalanque at Utatlan – The Migration from Tulan – Balam-Quitzé and his Companions – Sacrifices to Tohil – the Quichés on Mt Hacavitz – The Tamub and Ilocab – First Victories – Qocavib Founds the Monarchy at Izmachi – the Toltec Theory – Imaginary Empire of the East – Different Versions of Primitive History – The Cakchiquel Migration – Juarros and Fuentes – Lists of Kings – Cakchiquels under Hacavitz – Reigns of Balam-Conache, Cotuha, and Iztayul, at Izmachi – War against the Ilocab – The Stolen Tribute – Gucumatz, Quiché Emperor at Utatlan – Changes in the Government – Reigns of Cotuha II., Tepepul, and Iztayul II. – Cakchiquel History – Conquests of Quicab I. – Revolt of the Achihab – Dismemberment of the Empire – Cakchiquel Conquests – Reigns of the last Guatemalan Kings – Appearance of the Spaniards under Alvarado in 1524.

PRELIMINARY VIEW

In the south we have no connected history except for two centuries immediately preceding the conquest, and no attempt at precise chronology even for that short period. The Quiché-Cakchiquel empire in Guatemala was, at the coming of the Spaniards, the most powerful and famous in North America, except that of the Aztecs in Anáhuac, with which it never came into direct conflict, although the fame of each was well known to the other, and commercial intercourse was carried on almost constantly. The southern empire, so far as may be learned from the slight evidence bearing on the subject, was about three centuries old in the sixteenth century, and the nearest approach to chronology in its annals is the regular succession of monarchs who occupied the throne, the achievements of each king given in what may be considered to be their chronologic order, and an apparent connection in a few cases with occurrences whose date is known from the Aztec records.

In a preceding volume of this work I have presented all that the authorities have preserved respecting the manners and customs of the Guatemalan peoples, and their condition at the coming of the Spaniards, including their system of government and the order of royal succession. In a chapter devoted to a general preliminary view of these nations,[869 - See vol. ii., p. 121, et seq.] I have already presented a brief outline of their history as follows: Guatemala and northern Honduras were found in possession of the Mames in the north-west, the Pokomams in the south-east, the Quichés in the interior, and the Cakchiquels in the south.[870 - See map in vol. ii.] The two latter were the most powerful, and ruled the country from their capitals of Utatlan and Tecpan Guatemala, where they resisted the Spaniards almost to the point of annihilation, retiring for the most part after defeat to live by the chase in the distant mountain gorges. Guatemalan history from the time of the Votanic empire down to an indefinite date not many centuries before the conquest, is a blank. It re-commences with the first traditions of the nations just mentioned. These traditions, as in the case of every American people, begin with the immigration of foreign tribes into the country, as the first in the series of events leading to the establishment of the Quiché-Cakchiquel empire. Assuming the Toltec dispersion from Anáhuac in the eleventh century as a well-authenticated fact, most writers have identified the Guatemalan nations, except perhaps the Mames, by some considered the descendants of the original inhabitants, with the migrating Toltecs who fled southward to found a new empire. I have already made known my scepticism respecting national American migrations in general, and the Toltec migration southward in particular, and there is nothing in the annals of Guatemala to modify the views previously expressed. The Quiché traditions are vague and without chronologic order, much less definite than those relating to the mythical Aztec wanderings. The sum and substance of the Quiché and Toltec identity is the traditional statement that the former people entered Guatemala at an unknown period in the past, while the latter left Anáhuac in the eleventh century. That the Toltecs should have migrated en masse southward, taken possession of Guatemala, established a mighty empire, and yet have abandoned their language for dialects of the original Maya tongue, is in the highest degree improbable. It is safer to suppose that the mass of the Quichés, and other nations of Guatemala, Chiapas, and Honduras, were descended directly from the Maya builders of Palenque, and from contemporary peoples, – that is, as has been shown in the chapter on pre-Toltec history in this volume, from the Maya peoples after they had been conquered by a new power and had become to a certain extent, so far as their institutions were concerned, Nahua nations. – Yet the differences between the Quiché-Cakchiquel structures and the older architectural remains of the Maya empire, indicate a new era of Maya culture, originated not improbably by the introduction of foreign elements. Moreover the apparent identity in name and teachings between the early civilizers of the Quiché tradition and the Nahua followers of Quetzalcoatl, together with reported resemblances between actual Quiché and Aztec institutions as observed by Europeans, indicate farther that the new element was engrafted on Maya civilization by contact with the Nahuas, a contact of which the presence of the exiled Toltec nobility may have been a prominent feature. After the overthrow of the original empire, we may suppose the people to have been subdivided during the course of centuries by civil wars and sectarian struggles into petty states, the glory of their former greatness vanished and partially forgotten, the spirit of progress dormant, to be roused again by the presence of the Nahua chiefs. These gathered and infused new life into the scattered remnants; they introduced some new institutions, and thus aided the ancient peoples to rebuild their empire on the old foundations, retaining the dialects of the original language. The preceding paragraphs, however, gave an exaggerated idea of the Toltec element in forming Quiché institutions, as has been shown by the investigations of the present volume, since, while the Nahua element in these institutions was very strong, yet the Nahua influence was exerted chiefly in pre-Toltec times while the two peoples were yet living together in Central America, rather than by the exiled Toltec nobles and priests.

AUTHORITIES ON GUATEMALAN HISTORY

The authorities for Quiché history are not numerous. They include the work of Juarros, which is chiefly founded on the manuscripts of Fuentes; the published Spanish and French translations of the Popol Vuh, or National Book, of which much has already been said; and a number of documents similar to the latter, written in Spanish letters, but in the various Quiché-Cakchiquel dialects, by native authors who wrote after the Conquest, of course, but relied upon the aboriginal records and traditions, never published and only known to the world through the writings of Brasseur de Bourbourg, who, in Maya as in many parts of Nahua history, is the chief and almost the only authority.