36 [68] TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



cardinal points).! Qiietzalcoatl's temple was divided into four 

 apartments : one towards the east, yellow with gold ; one toward 

 the west, blue with turquoise and jade ; one toward the south, 

 white with pearls and shells ; and one toward the north, red with 

 bloodstones. J The four rain-gods or Bacabs of the Maya religion 

 are called by Cogolludo " the gods of the winds." The south 

 (hobnil, or " belly") was yellow, the promising color of ripe 

 ears ; the east was red, the north white, the west black. § Among 

 the Tarascos^ the four attendant goddesses of the female deity 

 Cueravaperi were personifications of the rains from the four car- 

 dinal points. At the sacred dances of the people these attendants 

 were represented by four priests clad respectively in white, }el. 

 low. red, and black, to represent the four colors of the clouds. || 



From a communication of Prof. Max Miiller, Oxford, we gatlier 

 that the ancient Irish had likewise assigned colors to the four 

 cardinal points or to the winds ; the east wind is represented as 

 purple, the south as white, the north as black, the west as dun. 

 (Whitley Stokes, "Anecdota Oxoniensia.") This is very like the 

 distribution of colors among the four cardinal points which are 

 found in the Veda. In the Khandogya-Upanishad the east is 

 red (rohita), which is natural ; the south is white (sukla) ; the 

 west, dark (krishna, or dark blue) ; the north, very dark (paran 

 krishna).* 



We scarcely need to recall here to our readers the fact that 

 specific colors are ascribed to each of the three great gods of the 

 Hindu Trimurti, Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva ; and also to the 

 principal deities of the Egyptians. 



In his publication, Des couleurs considerees etc., Count H. 

 de Charencey has conscientiously gathered in tabular form all the 

 various American color symbols known to him which refer to the 

 four cardinal points ; those of the Maya, Guatemaltecs, Creeks, 

 and some Tinne tribes, with two systems of the Aztecs (p. 178). 

 They differ among each other almost in every particular, and also 

 from those just quoted from Dr. Brinton. 



t Brinton -'Amer. Hero-Myths," pp. 77, 78. 

 X Brinton, "Hero-Mytlis," p. 96, from Sahigun, ix. cli. 2g. 



§ Brinton, " Hero- Myths," pp. 152, 153; cf. de Landa, " Relacion," pp. 20S. 211. 

 [| Brinton, '-Hero-Myths," p. 3:9. 



* Th= letter is published in the London "Academy," Nov. 3, 1S83, and reprinted in "Am . 

 Antiquarian," vi. (i!!S4), p. 115. Cf. Dr. Brinton. " Folk-I-ore Journal," i. p. 2,6. 



