SCULPTURES OF SANTA LUCIA COZUMAHUALPA. 553 



tations; and this latter we know certainl,y stands for smoko. hroath. 

 speech, or song. Whether or not in the present case any ditlercntia- 

 tion of signiiication is attached to the different shapes of the curve, 

 the number of binodes, or the differences between the persons or 

 things to which the sign is attached can not be decided at the outset. 

 Not so clear is a shape which, starting from the front of the tliick, 

 stiff girdle of the priest, runs upward to a point and mounts in waves 

 toward the divinity. It looks like the appearances of flames which, 

 for example, surround the disk of the sun, and are, no doubt, meant 

 for flames, although these latter are much smaller. It can hardly be 

 fluttering ribbons ornamenting the girdle. Yet what a mounting 

 flame should signify in this position, plainly connected with the stiff 

 girdle, is more than we can guess at the outset. We further And 

 occasional simple disks which in Nahuatlan representations are 

 undou])tedly numerals, each disk being a unit. Along with these, or 

 alone, there are also larger disks, some of them with high rims, bearing 

 various devices. These recall the way in which, in Nahuatlan repre- 

 sentations generally, days or periods of time, as well as names, are 

 sometimes presented, although in the details the resemblance ceases. 

 In the costume of the priests the following details are noticeable: 

 Most of the body is bare; for excepting the rich and varied ornaments 

 for head, eai's, and neck the common breech clout of all old American 

 peoples is his principal article of clothing. It is in the form of a long 

 band going around the waist and between the legs, and forming a 

 girdle. The ends hang down before and behind, and have tassels, or 

 fringes. In addition to this, the priest wears a broad girdle whose 

 contour surpasses the line of the body, and is obviously of stiff 

 material, probably wood, since it appears to be carved. Hanging 

 from the girdle there is also a sort of skirt, sloping away in front on 

 both sides, where it has laces and fringes, and closed behind. There 

 are many like this in the Codex Vindobonensis. As a leg oi'nament, 

 we find below the right knee a galloon, or thong, with sonicthing 

 hanging from it, or else a multiple rope of pearls; and both wrists 

 seem to be adorned with strings of pearls. L'pon the feet thei-e are 

 sandals: frequently only the left foot has a sandal, while the right is 

 bare. One hand of the priest is uniformly covered with something 

 like the head of a man or of a beast. Seler takes this for a mMsk, not 

 for a real head: and certainly the style of representation is in favor 

 of this interpretation, for it is entirely unlike the realistic heads which 

 the high priest and his assistants in fig. I carry in their arn»s. The 

 latter must be the heads cut off of the sacrificed men. Wh.'ther these 

 masks are also to be regarded as offerings is d(»ul)tful, although the 

 arm which carries one of them is usually raised toward the divinity, 

 and seems to hold out something to him. But why should th(^ sa.-i-iHce 

 itself be shown in lli(> one case and in the other only its mask^ It 



