Page:The Native Races of the Pacific States, volume 2.djvu/225

 original accounts are rather confused on this point, so that it is difficult to separate with accuracy those who entered with the intention of becoming permanent priests from those who were merely temporary scholars.

The ordinary dress of the Mexican priests differed little from that of other citizens; the only distinctive feature being a black cotton mantle, which they wore in the manner of a veil thrown back upon the head. Those, however, who professed a more austere life, such as the Quaquaquiltin and Tlamacazqui before mentioned, wore long black robes; many among them never cut their hair, but allowed it to grow as long as it would; it was twisted with thick cotton cords, and bedaubed with unctuous matter, the whole forming a weighty mass, as inconvenient to carry as it was disgusting to look at. The high-priest usually wore, as a badge of his rank, a kind of fringe which hung down over his breast, called Xicolli; on feast-days he was clothed in a long robe, over which he wore a sort of chasuble or cope, which varied in color, shape, and ornamentation, according to the sacrifices he made and the divinity to which he offered them.[110]

Among the Miztecs and Zapotecs the priests had as much or even more influence than among the Mexicans. In briefly reviewing the sacerdotal system of these nations, let us once more take M. Brasseur de Bourbourg for our guide.

The kingdom of Tilantongo, which comprised upper Miztecapan, was spiritually governed by the high-priest of Achiuhtla; he had the title of Taysacaa,[111]