Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/219

 teftimomes of Spanifh wrifers. 207

Next to thofe religions men, he ufhers in a fine company of gods and goddefies, in imagery, drefied like the others, the people paying them divine worfhip, this without doubt, is intended to fupport the popith faint- worfhip. Then he makes them fmg, and dance round the pafte, "and ufe feveral other ceremonies. And when the eyes are tired with viewing thofe wild circling?, he folemnly blefles, and confecrates thofe morfels of pafte, and thus makes them the real flefh and bones of the idol, which the people honour as gods. When he has ended his feaft of tranfubftan- tiation, he fets his facrificers to work, and orders them to kill and facrifice more men than at any other feftival, as he thinks proper to make this a greater carnival than any of the reft.

When he comes to finilh his bloody facrifices, he orders the young men and women into two rows, directly facing each other, to dance and fing by the drums, in praife of the feaft and the god; and he fets the oldeft and the greateft men to anfwer the fong, and dance around them, in a great circle. This with a little alteration, refembles the cuftom of the northern Indians. He fays, that all the inhabitants of the city and country came to this great feaft, that it was deemed facri- legious in any perfon to eat of the honeyed pafte,. on this great feftival- day, or to drink water, till the afternoon ; and that they earneftly advifed thofe, who had the ufe of reafon, to abftain from water till the after noon, and carefully concealed it from the children during the time of this ceremony. But, at the end of the feaft, he makes the priefts and ancients of the temple to break the image of pafte and confecrated rolls, into many pieces, and give thern to the people by the way of facrament, according to the ftrifteft rules of order, from the greateft and eldeft, to the youngeft and leaft, men, women and children: and he fays, they received it with bitter tears, great reverence, and a very awful fear, with other ftrong figns of devotion, faying at the fame time,- " they did not eat the flefti and bones of their God." He adds, that they who had fick people at home, demanded a piece of the faid pafte, and car ried and gave it to them, with the moll profound reverence and awful adoration ; that all who partook of this propitiating facrifice, were obliged to give a part of the feed of Maiz, of which the idol was made ; and then at the end of the folemnity, a prieft of high authority preached to 3 ^ e

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