528 MEDICINE-MEN OF THE APACHE. 



with certain feathers, and ;i gem of chalchihuitl in the middle of 

 them.&quot; 



The third festival of Tlaloc was celebrated in the sixth month, which 

 would about correspond to our (ith of June. 2 Hut there was another 

 festival in honor of the Tlaloc, which seems very hard to understand. 

 A full description is given by Bancroft. :l To celebrate this it was incum 

 bent upon the priests to cut and carry to the temples bundles of the 

 tule, which were woven into a sacred mat, after which there was a cere 

 monial procession to a tule swamp in which all bathed. 



The Ax-tecs, like the Apache, had myths showing that they sprang 

 originally from^a reed swamp, Thrre was an A /tec god, Napatecutli, 

 who was the god of the tule and of the mat-makers. 4 This rush was 

 also strewn as part of several of their religious ceremonies. 



Fosbrooke 5 has this to say about certain ceremoniesin connection with 

 the churches in Europe: &quot;At certain seasons the Choir was strewed with 

 hay, at others with sand. On Easter sabbath with ivy-leaves; at other 

 times with rushes.&quot; He shows that hay was used at Christmas and 

 the vigil of All Saints, at Pentecost, Athel wold s Day, Assumption of 

 the Blessed Virgin, and Ascension, etc. 



The Mexican .populace played a game closely resembling our &quot;blind 

 man s buff&quot; in their seventeenth month, which was called Tititl and 

 corresponded to the winter solstice. In this game, called &quot; nechichiqua- 

 vilo,&quot; men and boys ran through the streets hitting every one whom 

 they met with small bags or nets (&quot; taleguillas 6 redecillas&quot;) h lled with 

 tule powder or fine paper (&quot;llcnas de nor de las espadanas 6 de algunos 

 papeles rotos&quot;).&quot; 



The same thing is narrated by other early Spanish writers upon 

 Mexico. 



In the myths of Guatemala it is related that there were several dis 

 tinct generations of men. The first were made of wood, without heart 

 or brains, with worm-eaten feet and hands. The second generation 

 was an improvement upon this, and the women are represented as made 

 of tule. &quot; Las mugeres fueron hechas de cora/on de espadafia.&quot; 7 



Picart, enumerating the tree gods of the Romans, says that they had 

 deified &quot;les Eoseaux pour les Eivieres.&quot; 8 



GENERAL USE OF THE POWDER AMONG INDIANS. 



This very general dissemination among the Indians of the American 

 continent of the sacred use of the powder of the tule, of images, idols, 

 or sacrificial cakes made of such prehistoric foods, certainly suggests 



1 Clavigero, History of Mexico, Philadelphia, 1X17. vol. 2. i&amp;gt;. 101. 



2 &quot;They strewed the temple in a curious way with rushes. &quot; Ibid., p. 78. 

 Native Races, vol. 3, pp. 334-343. 



* Sahajrun, in Kinj;sborouyli, vol. 7. p. Ifi. 

 &quot;British Monachism, London, 1817, p. 289. 

 e Kinyshoroujih, vol. 7, p. 83, from Sahapm. 

 7 Ximt iiez, (Juatemala, Translated by SHier/er, p. 13. 

 Ceremonies et Continues, etc., vol. 1, p. 27. 



