Page:The History of the American Indians.djvu/95

 The ornaments of their high-prieft, 83

of fin, the Sagan clothes him with a white ephod, which is a waiftcoat without fleeves. When he enters on that folemn duty, a beloved attendant fpreads a white-dreft buck-fkin on the white feat, which ftands clofe to the fuppofed holieft, and then puts fome white beads on it, that are given him by the people. Then the Archi-magus wraps around his fhoulders a con- fecrated fldn'of the fame fort, which reaching acrofs under his arms, he ties behind his back, with two knots on the legs, in the form of a figure of eight. Another cuftom he obferves on this folemn occafion, is, inftead of going barefoot, he wears a new pair of buck-lkin white maccafenes made by himfelf, and ititched with the finews of the fame animal *. The upper leather acrofs the toes, he paints, for the fpace of three inches, with a few ftreaks of red not with vermilion, for that is their continual war- emblem, but with a certain red root, its leaves and ftalk refembling the ipecacuanha, which is their fixed red fymbol of holy things. Thefe fhoes he never wears, but in the time of the fuppofed paffbver ; for at the end of it, they are laid up in the beloved place, or holieft, where much of the like fort, quietly accompanies an heap of old, broken earthen ware, conch-fhells, and other confecrated things.

The Mofaic ceremonial inftitutions, are acknowledged by our beft writers, to reprefent the Meffiah, under various types and fhadows ; in like manner, the religious cuftoms of the American Indians, feem to typify the fame ; according to the early divine promife, that the feed of the woman mould bruife the head of the ferpent ; and that it mould bruife his heel. The Levitical high-prieft wore ^.breaft-plate^ which they called Hofecbim, and on it the Urim and Tbummim^ fignifying lights and perfections ; for they are the plurals of T)N, Awora, (which inverted makes Erowa) and mxn, fhorahy

EC vetus indulget fenibus clemcnta porcis.
 * Obfervant ubi fefta mero pede fabbata reges,

JUVENAL, Sat. vi.

When the high-prieft entered into the holieft, on the day of expiation, he clothed himfelf in white ; and, when he finifhed that day's fervice, he laid afide thofe clothes and left them in the tabernacle. Lev. xvi. 23.

When the Egyptian priefts went to worfhip in their temples, they wore ftipes of white parchment. HERODOTUS, Lib. ii. Cap. v.

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