Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 10.djvu/121

 MAZATEC

93

MAZATEC

property and dignities to Mazarin's prot^g^s, the Bar- berini. Following iifi his poliey nt' Imllyiiig the pope, Mazarin sent two lln is lo ihr Xrapolitan coast to seize the Spanish jinaidinx nraiest (o (he papal fron- tiers. Apart from this, he had no Italian policy, properly speaking, and his demonstrations in Italy had no other object than to compel Spain to keep her troops there, and to bring the pope to a complaisant attitude towards France and towards Mazarin 's own relations. The elevation of his brother Michael Maz- arin to the cardinalate (October, 1647) was one of his diplomatic victories.

Though not interested in questions of theology, Mazarin detesteil the Jansenists for the part taken by some of them — disavowed, however, by Antoine Arnaukl — in the Fronde, and for their support of Car- dinal de Retz (q. v.). A declaration of the king in July, 1053, and an assembly of bishops in May, 1655, over which Mazarin presided, gave executive force to the decrees of Innocent X against Jansenism. The order condemning Pascal's " Provinciales " to be burnt, the order for the dismissal of pupils, novices, and postulants from the two convents of Port-Royal, the formula prepared by the Assembly of the Clergy against the "Augustinus" (1661), which formula all ecclesiastics had to sign — all these must be regarded as episodes of Mazarin's anti-Jansenist policy. On his deathbed he warned the king "not to tolerate the Jansenist sect, not even their name".

Having little by little become "as powerful as God the Father when the world began", enjoying the revenues of twenty-seven abbacies, always ready to enrich himself by whatever means, and possessing a fortune equivalent to about $40,000,000 in twentieth- century American money, Mazarin, towards the end of his life, multiplied in Paris the manifestations of his wealth. He organized a free lottery, at his own ex- pense, with prizes amounting to more than a million francs, collected in his own palace more wontlerful things than the king's palace contained, had no objec- tion to ])rcsiiling at touniaments, exhilMtions of horse- manship, and liallrts, and patronized the earliest efforts of the comic poet Molii're. The young Louis XIV entertained a profound affection for him and, what is more, fell in love with the cardinal's two nieces, Olympe Mancini and Marie Mancini, one after the other. Mazarin sent Marie away, to prevent the king from entertaining the idea of marrying her. But if, for reasons of state, he refused to become the uncle of the King of France, it seems that there were moments when he dreamed of the tiara: the Abb(5 Choisy asserts that Mazarin died " in the vision of being made pope ". One reminiscence at least of the old political ideas of Christian Europe is to be found in his will: he left the pope a fund (600,000 livres) to prosecute the war against the Turks. The cardinal, who throughout his life had given Imt little thought to the interests of Christianity, seems to have sought pardon by remem- bering them on his deathlied. The same will directed the foundation of the College of the P'our Nations, for the free education of sixty children from those prov- inces which he had united to France. To this college he bequeathed the library now known as the Biblio- theque Mazarine. Mazarin's nieces made princely marriages: Anne Marie Martinozzi became the Prin- cesse de Conti; Laura Martinozzi, the Duchesse de Modene; Laure Mancini died in 1657, Duche.sse de Mercceur; Olympe Mancini became Comtesse de Sois- sons; Hortense Mancini, Marquise de la Meilleraie and Duchesse de Mazarin; Marie Mancini, Countess Co- lonna ; Marie Anne Mancini, Duchesse de Bouillon. All these women, and particularly the last four, had sin- gularly stormy careers.

Cherdel and d'Avenel, ed9., Lettres du Cardinal Mazarin pendant son minislcre (9 vols., Paris, 1872-1906); Ravenel. ed., Lettres de Mazarin i la reine, hrites durant sa retraite hors de France en 1651 el 16BZ (Paris, 1836): Codsin, ed.. Camets de Mazarin in Journal des Savants (1855); Moreau, Bihliographie

des Mazarinades (3 vols., Paris. 1849-51); Idem, Clwix de Mazarinades (2 vols., Paris, 1852-53); Labidie, Nouveau sup- plement h la bihliographie des Mazarinades (Paris, 1904); Che- RUEL, Hist, de France pendant la minorite de Louis XIV (4 vols Paris. 1879-80); Idem, Hist, de France sous le ministire de Mazarin (1651-1661) (3 vols., Paris, 1883); Perkins, France under Mazarin (2 vols., New York. 1886); Hassall, Mazarin (London. 1903); Bovge,\ht, Hist, des guerrea et des negociationa qui pr, ,-r,t,r,nl U- traite de Westphalie (Paris, 1727); Idem, Hist. dulr.i.:^ .1, 11, ';./"i/ic(2 vols., Paris, 1744); CocHlN.Lesfiffhses cali'!'^ !/ .h' cardinal Mazarin et Cromwell, in Revue (lea

Q'l' \ :'l : Of; (July, 1904): RENKB,Lesni!cesde Maza-

nn'l'ui. I .i; i'ii.\7iTELAVZE, Les demiers jours de Mazarin in Corr.'.yniniluni (10 July. 10 August, 1881); Cousin, Mine de Hautefort (5th ed., Paris, 1886), 393-404; LoisELEnR, Pro- blhnea Mstorigucs (Paris. 1867); Colquhocn-Grant, Queen and Cardinal (London, 1906). GEORGES GoYAU.

Mazatec Indians. — An important Mexican tribe of Zapotecaii linguistic stock, occupying the mountain region of north-east Oaxaca, chiefly in the districts of Cuicatlan and Teotitlan, and estimated to number from 18,000 to 20,000 souls. Their chief town, Huan- tla, with its dependent villages, has a population of about 7,000. Their popular name " Mazateca" is that given them by the Aztec and is said to mean " Lortls of the Deer"; they call themselves A-u, with nasal pro- nunciation (Bauer). Although closely related to their neighbours, the formerly highly cultured Zapotec and Mixtec, the Mazatec were of ruder habit, as became a race of mountaineers. Like the Zapotec also they maintained their independence against the powerful Aztec empire, with which they maintained almost con- stant defensive war. The principal portion of the present state of Oaxaca was brought under Spanish dominion by Cortes in 1521. In 15.35 it was estal> lished as a diocese, with Father Juan Lopez de Barate of the Dominicans, as its first bishop, through whose influence the conversion of the natives was intrusted to missionaries of that order, by whom it was success- fully accomplished in spite of the extreme devotion of the Indians to theirancient rites, even to secreting their sacred images beneath the very altar in order that they might unsuspected do reverence to the one while appearing to venerate the other. In 1575 the Jesuits reinforced the Dominicans. Even to-tlay, while out- wardly conforming to all the rules of the Church and manifesting the greatest deference and affection toward the resident priests, the Mazatec retain most of their ancient beliefs and many of their ceremonies. By tolerance of the Mexican Government they main- tained their tribal autonomy under their hereditary chiefs up to 1857, as also a professional keeper of their sacred traditions, the la.st of whom, a descendant of their ancient kings, diefl in 1869.

Their native cult, still kept up to a large extent in combination with the newer rites, was an animal wor- ship, the snake, panther, alligator, and eagle Ijcing most venerated. The soul after death went to the "kingdom of animals", where for a long time it wan- dered about, being assisted or attacked by the animals there, according as the dead person had been kind or cruel to them in life. At one point in the journey the soul was assisted across a wide stream by a black dog. It seems to have been held that the soul was finally re- incarnated in an animal. Hence in many villages black dogs are still kept in almost every family and buried in the grave with the owner. The ancient sow- ing and harvest rites also are still kept up, with invo- cation of the animal gods and spirits of the mountain, and burial of curious sacred bundles in the fields. Marriages and baptisms are solemnized in regular church form by the priest, but the baptism is followed later by a house festival, of which a principal feature is the washing of the godfather's hands in order to cleanse him of the sin which has come upon him from holding the infant in his arms during the baptism. The occupations of the Mazatec are farming and the simpler trades. The women are expert weavers of cotton. The houses are light huts daubed with clay and thatched with palm leaves. Men and women are