Read Ebook: Rig Veda Americanus Sacred Songs of the Ancient Mexicans With a Gloss in Nahuatl by Brinton Daniel G Daniel Garrison Editor

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PREFACE Introduction

Glossary

Index

Xippe Totec, God of Silversmiths, in Full Costume, Frontispiece

INTRODUCTION.

As in a previous number of the Library of Aboriginal American Literature I have discussed in detail the character of the ancient Mexican poetry, I shall confine myself at present to the history of the present collection. We owe its preservation to the untiring industry of Father Bernardino de Sahagun, one of the earliest missionaries to Mexico, and the author of by far the most important work on the religion, manners and customs of the ancient Mexicans.

"It is an old trick of our enemy the Devil to try to conceal himself in order the better to compass his ends, in accordance with the words of the Gospel, 'He whose deeds are evil, shuns the light.' Also on earth this enemy of ours has provided himself with a dense wood and a ground, rough and filled with abysses, there to prepare his wiles and to escape pursuit, as do wild beasts and venomous serpents. This wood and these abysses are the songs which he has inspired for his service to be sung in his honor within the temples and outside of them; for they are so artfully composed that they say what they will, but disclose only what the Devil commands, not being rightly understood except by those to whom they are addressed. It is, in fact, well recognized that the cave, wood or abysses in which this cursed enemy hides himself, are these songs or chants which he himself composed, and which are sung to him without being understood except by those who are acquainted with this sort of language. The consequence is that they sing what they please, war or peace, praise to the Devil or contempt for Christ, and they cannot in the least be understood by other men."

Such is the history of this curious document, and with this brief introduction I submit it to those who will have the patience and skill to unravel its manifold difficulties.

RIG VEDA AMERICANA

This hymn may be compared to another, descriptive of the same divinity, preserved in Sahagun's MS. in Madrid. It is as follows, with my translation by its side.

Vitzilopuchtli Huitzilopochtli,

Can maceualli Only a subject,

Can tlacatl catca. Only a mortal was.

Naualli A magician,

Tetzauitl A terror,

Atlacacemelle A stirrer of strife,

Teixcuepani A deceiver,

Quiyocoyani in yaoyotl A maker of war,

Yautecani An arranger of battles,

Yautlatoani; A lord of battles;

Ca itechpa mitoaya And of him it was said

Tepan quitlaza That he hurled

In xiuhcoatl His flaming serpent,

Immamalhuaztli His fire stick;

Quitoznequi yaoyotl Which means war,

Teoatl tlachinolli. Blood and burning;

Auh iniquac ilhuiq'xtililoya And when his festival was celebrated,

Malmicouaya Captives were slain,

Tlaaltilmicoaya Washed slaves were slain,

Tealtilaya impochteca. The merchants washed them.

Auh inic mochichiuaya: And thus he was arrayed:

Xiuhtotonacoche catca With head-dress of green feathers,

Xiuhcoanauale Holding his serpent torch,

Xiuhtlalpile Girded with a belt,

Matacaxe Bracelets upon his arms,

Tzitzile Wearing turquoises,

Oyuvale. As a master of messengers.

When in Florence, in 1889, I had an accurate copy made of the Nahuatl text and all the figures of the first book of Sahagun's History. The colored figure of Huitzilopochtli is in accordance with the above description.

In other myths she is mentioned as also the mother of the Huitznahua, the enemies and the brothers of Huitzilopochtli, referred to in the second of this collection of chants.

The reference in v. 6 seems to be to one of the women who were sacrificed at the festival, as related by Sahagun .

In amimitl icuic yuh mitoa in ueli chichimeca cuic amo uel caquizti in quein quitoa in tonauatlatol ypa.

The brief Gloss to this Hymn states that it is of ancient Chichimec origin and that it cannot well be rendered in Nahuatl. Its language is exceedingly obscure, but it is evidently a dancing song.

The name of Ayopechcatl does not appear among the divinities named by Sahagun, Duran or the other authorities at my command. Her name indicates her function as the goddess of the child-bed and the neonatus, and the above hymn establishes her claim to a place in the Aztec pantheon.

The goddess Chicomecoatl, "seven guests," was the deity who presided over food and drink. Hence in the first verse she is referred to as Chicomolotl, "seven ears of corn," and is spoken of as a guide to Tlalocan, or the home of abundance.

The first verse is merely a series of lamentations. The second speaks of the sad effects of the pulque in ancient times.

As before stated , Macuilxochitl is another title of the flower-god Xochipilli.

The god Yacatecutli, whose name means "lord of travelers," or "the lord who guides," was the divinity of the merchants. Sahagun and Duran furnish us many particulars of his worship.

The hymn is extremely obscure, containing a number of archaic words, and my rendering is very doubtful. The writer of the Gloss is, I think, also at fault in his paraphrase. The general purpose of the hymn seems to be that of a death-song, chanted probably by the victims about to be sacrificed. They were given the sacred food to eat, as described by Duran, and then prepared themselves to undergo death, hoping to go to "the beautiful house," which the Gloss explains as Tlalocan, the Terrestrial Paradise.

GLOSSARY.

Cardinal points as symbols, Chalchiucihuatl, a name of the goddess Chicomecoatl, Chalmecatl, name of a deity, Chichimecs, an ancient tribe, Chicomecoatl, the goddess: hymn to, functions of, her names, Chicomolotl, a name of the goddess Chicomecoatl, Chicomoztoc, the "seven caves," Childbirth, goddess of, Chimalman, the goddess of, Chimalipan, the virgin-mother, Cholula or Chollolan, a place name, Cihuacoatl, the goddess: hymn to, functions of, Cinteotl or Centeotl, the god, his birthplace, his functions, Cipactonalli, a fabled personage, Clavigero, quoted, Coatepec, the sacred serpent mountain, Codex Ramir?z, the, Codex Telleriano-Remensis, the, Codex Vaticanus, the, Colhuacan: first King of, derivation of, reference to, Colors, symbolism of, Cuauhtitlan, the Annals of, Cuezaltzin, a name of the god of fire,

Dance: the jar, of the "four auroras," Death-song, a, Drum, use of the, Drum-beating, goddess of, Drunkenness, deities of, Duran, Diego, quoted,

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