Page:Our Neighbor-Mexico.djvu/477

Rh rank. In his new Roman Catholic religion he finds baptism and confession; a great host of saints to adore—saints for every circumstance or ill of life; he finds images better made, and of richer material than the old ones; he again employs fruits, and flowers, and incense; worships another goddess as 'Mother of God,' and 'Queen of Heaven,' and 'Our Lady.' He is also taught to believe that not a mere fellow-being is sacrificed, but his Creator Himself—as the Romanists declare, in real and actual sacrifice, thousands of times every day; and, as of old, the Indian still dances and performs pantomimes in his religious festivals. Where, then, is the difference?

"As a proof of some of my assertions, I will mention a few facts. In the large town of 'Yinacautepec,' distant about two leagues from Toluca, I visited the annual feast on various occasions. It draws an immense number of spectators from all parts, and for several days bull-fights, and cock-fights, and religious processions hold sway. The procession is a very gorgeous affair, and issues from the church. Banners, and wax-candles, and images in great number; music by the band, and rockets whizzing; but the greatest feature of all consists of a number of Indians dressed in grotesque attires, with skins of animals, bulls' horns, cows' tails, and some with their heads helmeted with the entire skin of game-cocks—altogether forming a wildly fantastic mob, shouting and dancing around their priests and saints like so many imps from the lower regions. The famous church of 'La Villa de Guadalupe,' near the city of Mexico, is built on the site of an old Aztec temple, and the Roman Catholic priests adopted their usual plan of removing the old and replacing it with the new one, and by means of a pretended apparition have made 'Our Lady of Guadalupe' become the patron saint of Mexico.

"The far-famed convent of 'El Señor de Chalma,' about fourteen leagues to the south of Toluca, is another instance. It is the favorite shrine of all the Indian tribes of the land. Formerly, before the convent was built, the place was occupied by an Aztec idol, located in a cave. This idol existed long after Roman Catholic churches had been built in neighboring towns; and the Indians, when they wished to have a child baptized, would first carry the infant to be blessed by their Aztec god, and from there would go to the Romish church and complete the ceremony. To make the most of this propensity, the Catholics, in their usual fashion, stole the idol from the cave and placed there the present 'Lord of Chalma,' which is a crucifix, the Saviour being painted copper-color. This apparition gave rise to a convent being built; and all the year round the Indians, whole families, and whole towns, make pilgrimages from all parts of the land to the said convent. The sales of candles and the Popish requisites are enormous. A shop is attached to the convent, where the poor Indians buy their candles, which they carry to the priests, who remit them by a back-door to the shop again, where they are sold and sold again many times over. But here, also,