Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 1.djvu/747

Rh TRADITIONAL HISTORY. J predecessors, of the Olmeques. The first mentioned people erected the pyramids of the Teotihuocan, or the City of the Gods, near Mexico. These tribes spoke a language quite distinct from the Nahuatl. The Totonacs placed the cradle of their race at Chicomoztoc, which was said to be far to the north ; but the Othomis seem to have been in posses sion of the land from time immemorial. According to the traditions of the Quiches and other nations of North America, they originally came from Tulan. They allude to several places of this name. One was in the region of the setting sun and beyond the sea; and another, from which the Quiches came, was also in the direction of the setting sun and was apparently situated in California. In the descriptions given of the migrations from the more distant Tulan, which seem to have occurred at frequent intervals, each migration consisting of a moderate number of people, the difficulties and hardships are prominently noticed. They pointedly allude to the intense cold, to the long dark night, and to the sterility of the country, which allusions seem to point to travels in Arctic regions. The travellers were reduced to such extremities as to be obliged to suck juicy woods in order to sustain life. The name Chichimecs, which means suckers of maguey, given to the invading hordes from the north, may have some connection with this traditional fact. Chicomoztoc has been identified by some with the extensive ruins near the Rio Gila, in California. The history of these early nations is somewhat obscure, but it may be gathered from the preserved records that the worship of the sun and the practice of human sacrifice had nearly or wholly superseded the earlier and purer religions. Towards the end of the 7th century we first hear of the Chichimecs invading Mexico from the north. This name is a general one given to all invading hordes from the north, and is similar to that of barbarians applied to the people who invaded the Roman empire. The first invasion was by the Chichimecs-Culhuas, headed by Mixcohuatl Mazatzm. They commenced their inarch, or rather progress, from Chicomoztoc about G35, and reached the valley of Mexico about 40 years after. After many years fighting the Toltec empire was established in about 686 ; and from this period we enter upon more detailed and trustworthy historical ground. At first the government of the Toltecs was republican and theocratical, but it soon became monarchical, and Naithyotzin was elected the first king. The most illustrious of his successors was Topiltzin Ceacatl Quetzalcohuatl, during whose reign the Toltec empire arrived at its most flourishing condition. According to tradition, the Toltecs were taller and of larger build than the existing Indians, were great runners, and were as white as Europeans. They carried many of the arts to a high state of perfection, such as weaving, building, jewelling, and making ornaments with the feathers of birds. There were astrologers and poets, sorcerers and philosophers and orators. They were well acquainted with the medical properties of plants, and were in the habit of recording in books their observations on dis eases. Quetzalcohuatl s reign was for the most part one of prolonged peace, but this peace was disturbed by the religious party who advocated human sacrifice, a practice which he used every effort to abolish. The rebellion becoming very formidable, Quetzalcohuatl left the country with a few chosen attendants, and founded a new Toltec empire on the plain of Huitzilapan, which corresponds with the one on which La Puebla now stands. This occurred in 895. The town of La Puebla stands on the site of the old Huitzilapan, and at the time of QuetzalcohuatFs arrival it was said that the pyramids of Cholullan had existed from time immemorial, and had been built by the giants. According to this legend, the country was inhabited by giants, all but seven of whom were either destroyed by a AMERICA 705 great inundation or turned into fishes. These seven took refuge in a cave, and when the waters abated, one of them, named Xelhua, went to Cholullan, and built the famous pyramid to commemorate his escape. Quetzalcohuatl built a temple here, which he dedicated to the &quot; creator of light,&quot; and around this temple sprang up Cholullan, or the &quot; town of the exile.&quot; His disciples carried the Toltec civilisation into Oaxaca. After having reigned at Cholullan about ten years, during which period his subjects enjoyed all the blessings of peace, he was attacked by enemies again. Huemac had ascended the throne which he had vacated, and being jealous of Quetzalcohuatl s power and prosperity, he suddenly resolved to march with his army against Cholullan. In order that the town might be spared the horrors of a siege, Quetzalcohuatl informed his priests of his intention to leave the place and to visit other countries. Accordingly he proceeded to the mouth of the Coatzocualco river, then entered a boat with four companions, and nothing more was heard of him. Huemac finding his enemy had escaped, wreaked his vengeance on Cholullan, and took up his residence there with a view to subjxigating the surrounding districts. He also re-established the practice of human sacrifice. During Huemac s absence from his kingdom of Tulan, Nauhyotl was elected king in his stead. A battle took place between the rivals, which resulted in the defeat and subsequent death of Huemac and the establishment of Nauhyotl s power. His reign lasted for fifteen years, and as he was one of Quetzalcohuatl s disciples, he governed according to similar principles, so that the reign was a prosperous one. His death occurred in 945. After this a series of disasters broke over the country, and these, with constant civil war, weakened the power of the empire in Anahuac. This soon became known to other nations, and led to the Chichimecs-Teotenancas leaving their homes in Texas and New Mexico to make an irruption upon the valley of Mexico. Tliis occurred between 1041 and 1047. The internal discord continued, and the disorder was increased by the uprising of the sect of Ixcuinames, the devotees of which practised the most abominable rites. In the midst of this corruption another horde of barbarians, the Teo-Chichimecs, poured down from the north, and took possession of the country. The Toltec power rapidly declined, and the last king of the empire was Huemac Atecpanecatl, who after his dethronement lived for some years at Chapultepec, and died there in 1070. According to the Guatemalan traditions, four individuals of the Tutul-Xius, a nation speaking a Nahuatl language, left their country of Tulapan, to the west of Zuyna, in A.D. 1 74, and arrived the same year at Chacnouitan, which seems to be the name for some place in Yucatan. In 258 another migration of Tutul-Xius occurred, the new colony being established in the province of Zyan-Caan, which is believed to be the district around Chetumal Bay. About the end of the 10th century, it is stated that a venerable personage arrived in Yucatan, called Cukulcan, who retrieved the falling fortunes of the Tutul-Xius. According to the Able Brasseur do Bourbourg, this personage was no other than the. Ceacatl Quetzalcohuatl whose departure from the Coatzocoalco river has already been mentioned. After reigning here ten years, he voluntarily abdicated the throne and left the country. According to a Mexican legend he went to Tlapallan, and died there. His successor trans ferred the capital of the Tutul-Xius from Mayapan to Uxmal, a town which seems to have been founded some centuries before, but which first rose to importance at this period, or near the end of the 10th century. Numerous temples and public buildings were erected, the ruins of which are now so abundantly met with in Yucatan. Artificial ponds or zonotes were constructed ; and the number and magnitude of these indicate a large number of I. 89