BOI-RKK.] SACRED MEAL. oil 



figure avec celle que 1 ou ote, en accompagnant cette ablution de plu- 

 sieurs ceremonies superstitieuses.&quot; 



The tribes seen on the Rio Colorado in 1540 by Alarcon &quot; carry also 

 certaine little long bagges about an hand broa.de tyed to their left urine, 

 which serve them also instead of brasers for their bowes, full of the 

 powder of a certaine herbe, whereof they make a certaine beverage. 2 

 We are at a loss to know what this powder was, unless hoddentin. The 

 Indians came down to receive the son of the sun, as Alarcon led them to 

 believe him to be, in full gala attire, and no doubt neglected nothing 

 that would add to their safety. 



&quot; 11s mirent dans leur bouche du iiia is et d autres semeiices, et les 

 lancerent vers inoi en disant que c etait hi maniere dont ils faisaient les 

 sacrifices an soleil.&quot; 3 



Kohl speaks of seeing inside the medicine wigwam, during the great 

 medicine ceremonies of the Ojibwa, &quot;a snow-white powder.&quot; 4 In an 

 address delivered by Dr. W. J. Hoffman before the Anthropological 

 Society of Washington, D. ( ., May 2, 1888, upon the symbolism of the 

 Mule , Jes sakkid, and Wabeno of the Ojibwa of Minnesota, he stated 

 in reply to a question from me that he had not been able to find any of 

 the &quot;snow- white powder&quot; alluded to by Kohl in Kitchi-gaini. 5 



In Yucatan, when children were baptized, one of the ceremonies 

 was that the chac, or priest in charge, should give the youngster a 

 pinch of corn meal, which the boy threw in the fire. These chacs were 

 priests of the god who presided over baptism and over hunting.&quot; 



At the coronation of their kings the Aztecs had a sacred unction, 

 and a holy water, drawn from a sacred spring, and &quot;about his neck is 

 tied a small gourd, containing a certain powder, which is esteemed a 

 strong preservative against disease, sorcery, and treason.&quot; 



&quot;At the entrance to one of the narrow defiles of the Cordilleras 

 . . . a large mass of rock with small cavities upon its surface, into 

 which the Indians, when about to enter the pass, generally deposit a 

 few glass beads, a handful of meal, or some other propitiatory offering to 

 the genius supposed to preside over the spot and rule the storm.&quot; 



Again, &quot;on receiving a plate of broth, an Indian, before eating, spills 

 a little upon the ground ; he scatters broadcast a few pinches of the 

 meal that is given him, and pours out a libation before raising the 

 wine cup to his lips, as acts of thanksgiving for the blessings he 

 receives.&quot;&quot; 



When Capt. John Smith was captured by the Pamunkey tribe of Vir- 



1 Montesinos, pp. 161, 162, in Ternaux-C ompans, vol. 17. Memoires sur 1 aneien Perou. 



2 Relation of the voyage of Don Fernando Alareon, in Haklnyt Voyages, vol. :f, p. 508. 



J Alarcon in Ternanx-Compans. Voy.. vol. 9, p. :{30. See also in Haklnyt Voyages, vol. :t. p. 51ii. 

 Kitchi-gami. London, 1860, p. 51. 



6 See also on the subject Aeosta, Hist. Xatnrelle des Indes, lib. 5. cap. lit. p. 241. 

 6 Landa, Cosas de Yucatan. Paris, 1864, page 148. 



7 Bancroft, Native Races, vol. 2. p. 145. See also C lavigero, Hist, of Mexico, Philadelphia, 1817, vol. 

 2, p. 128. 



8 Smith. Araucanians, 1855, pp. 274-275. 



