CUSTOMS AND SUPERSTITIONS OF THE MAYAS. 669 



which they said was to feed the souls of the animals they had 

 eaten during life, so that these might not harm them. 



They bred a species of dog, quite hairless, called tzom, consid- 

 ered a great delicacy. They killed them by choking them in a 

 pit, and this seems to have weighed heavily on their conscience, 

 for they were particularly careful to provide deceased relations 

 with food to pacify the slaughtered tzoms. 



Being constant and careful observers of Nature, and seeing the 

 remarkable works of many creatures, they attribute intelligence 

 to small insects, such as the ants and bees. In some parts of Eng- 

 land it is supposed that bees will not remain on the premises after 

 there is a death in the house of their owner, unless an intimation 

 of the fact be conveyed to them. Therefore some go and tell the 

 bees ; others tie a piece of crape to a stick, and set it in front of 

 the hives. 



The Indians in question would not tie crape near their hives, 

 for they themselves never use any kind of mourning, retaining 

 always their white garments. They suspend from the hives 

 gourds filled with a beverage made from corn, in order that the 

 bees may not go away, but produce abundant honey and keep 

 sickness from the home. The hives are not like those in use 

 among us, but simply pieces of trunk hollowed out, wooden walls 

 being fitted into the ends and covered with mud so that the name 



YUCATAN VILLAGE. 



of the owner may be stamped on it with white ashes. A small 

 hole is left in the middle of each end for the passage of the bees. 

 If the hives are not cleaned from time to time, the bees desert 

 them. In order to do this, the operator removes the end walls, 

 cleans the interior thoroughly, and rubs it with a little honey and 

 an aromatic plant that is much liked by the bees. Unlike our 

 bees, these are quite harmless, black and small, though they mani- 



