COMMERCE OF THE MAYA— BLOM 427 



They guard them anfl hold them in the same price and esteem as the Chris- 

 tians hold gold or coin ; because these almonds are regarded as such by them, 

 as they can buy all things with them. In the way that in said Province of 

 Nicaragua a rabbit is worth 10 of these almonds, and for the price of 4 almonds 

 they give 8 of that excellent fruit which they call " munoncapot " (the chicotl- 

 zapotl, or Achras zapota L.), and a slave costs 100 almonds, more or less, 

 according to his condition and the agreement between the seller and buyer. 

 And because they in that country have women who give their bodies for a 

 price, just as the public women among the Christians, and who live from this 

 (and such women are called guatepol, which is the same as to say prostitute), 

 he who wants them for his lustful use give them for a run 8 or 10 almonds, 

 according to how he and she agree. I want to say, therefore, that there is 

 nothing among these people, where this money circulates, which cannot be 

 bought or sold in the same way in which good doubloons, or ducats of two, 

 circulate among Christians. 



And even in that almond money one finds falsifications, in order that one 

 may cheat the other and mix fake pieces among a quantity of the good ones. 

 These false pieces are made by removing the bark or skin which some of the 

 beans have, just like our almonds, and filling them with earth or something 

 similar, and they clo.se the hole with such skill that one cannot see it. 

 In order to beware of this falsification, he who receives the almonds must 

 revise them one by one when he counts them, and place his first finger or 

 the next one against his thumb, pressing each almond, because even though 

 a false one is well filled it can be felt by the touch to be different from the real 

 ones. 



From these almonds the rulers and the rich make a certain drink * * * 

 which they hold in high esteem ; and it is only the great and those who can 

 afford it who use it, because the common people can neither afford nor think 

 of pleasing their palate with this drink ; because it would be nothing less than 

 to make themselves poor and drink money or throw it somewhere where it 

 would be lost. But the lords calachunis' and principal men use it, because 

 they can afford it, and tribute is paid in this form of money or almonds, and 

 they furthermore harvest it tliemselves and inherit it. 



This is a definite explanation, backed by innumerable other state- 

 ments less elaborate but to the same effect. 



The King of Spain sent out a questionnaire to all those of the 

 Conquerors who had received land grants in payment of their services. 

 In 1579 and 1581 the so-called encomenderos of Mcrida and Vallado- 

 lid answered these, and question 33 relates to trade. Practically 

 every one of these answers speaks of cacao brought from Tabasco 

 and Honduras as money. 



Money, i. e., Spanish coin, was scarce in the New World, and we 

 have definite statements to the effect that both Cortes, conqueror 

 of New Spain, and Montejo, conqueror of Yucatan, were forced to 

 pay their troops in cacao beans. Oviedo, as quoted above, shows us 

 that you could buy a rabbit or a prostitute for 10 beans, and that a 

 slave would cost 100 beans in Nicaragua, where this form of money 

 was scarce, because it was a great distance from its source of produc- 



* Calachuni. This word is found in many records. Bernal Diaz gives it as a war cry 

 during the " Mala Pelea " in Campeche. Cardenas uses it, as well as Oviedo. 



