Chapter 8 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE CALLED VANQUEX AND ABOUT 



ITS IMMUNITY. 



The temple which these Indians had, called Vanquex, ordained 

 by their God Chinigchini:^ at the time of its formation, was built 

 at all the rancherias near the house of the chief, which house was 

 always the biggest and tallest one. Although the town or rancheria 

 was built without order or symmetry, since everyone placed his 

 house where was most convenient for him, nevertheless the house 

 of the chief got to be located at about the middle of the town, 

 and adjacent to the house they built the Vanquex in the following 

 shape : they made a circle about 3 or 4 yards in diameter, not round 

 but oval. Of this they took half of the circle, and in this half circle 

 they built a fence or stakework of brush or tule mats about 2 yards 

 or more high. At the other half circle they built another little 

 stakework of small sticks, which did not project from the ground 

 but 2 or 3 fingerwidths : inside this oval circle they had the figure 

 of their God Chinigchinix, on top of a framework, which consisted 

 of a bundle, in a coyote skin, of feathers, deer horns, mountain 

 lion's claws, and other small things of this sort ; the beaks and claws 

 of the hawk were not lacking there, especially those of a kind 

 called Panics, with the feathers of which they dressed the Chinig- 

 chinix [figure] and made the little skirt for dancing, but this 

 [little skirt] could not be worn by all, but only the chiefs and satraps 

 or wizards called Puplem. 



When the chief gave notice" by means of the crier of the general 

 expeditions for going to hunt game or for gathering seeds, the Puplem, 

 which means soothsayer, or he who knows all things, and for this 

 reason they are called wizards (Note: I consider them as priests, since all 

 the functions in which the people had to assemble at the temple were directed by 

 them; and the chief and crier were of their number and were the principal ones), 

 the said Puplem painted a figure on the ground inside the Vanquex, 

 very ridiculous and odd, like the one which we mentioned in con- 

 nection with the penance of the boys, and before leaving the rancheria 

 the crier announced to all the people that they should venerate it, 

 and all should go to worship it. 



Their manner of worshipping this evil painting was that when all 

 the people were assembled, all the men being armed with their 



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