SELER] ZAPOTEC PKIESTHOOD AND CEREMONIALS 277 



by the Avord iiacom, one the very honorable office of war chief, who 

 was chosen always for three years, the other the by no means honor- 

 able lifelong office of the man who cut open the breasts of the victims 

 of sacrifice. 



Just as there was in addition the lowest order with the Mexicans, 

 the i:)riest pupils, tlamacazton, " little j^riests ", who had to help 

 the adult priests and learn the temple service, the priests' duties, 

 and all priestly knowledge and traditions, so also did this class exist 

 with the Zapotecs. Among the Zapotecs these priest pupils were 

 called pixana, translated in Burgoa's work by " dedicados a los 

 dioses ". These were chosen, as Father Burgoa reports of the Zapo- 

 tecos Serranos and Cajonos,'^ from the younger sons of caciques and 

 people of rank, and were castrated when the}^ were boys. It can not 

 be ascertained from existing sources of information whether this cus- 

 tom was also practiced by the Zapotecs of the Valle de Oaxaca and in 

 Tehuantepec. Burgoa ^ also gives the name pixana to the boys aiding 

 in the Avork of the temple in Tehuantepec. 



As regards religious practices, these consisted with the Zapotecs, 

 as with the Mexicans and Miiya peoples, chiefly in the burning 

 of incense and in the offering of sacrificial gifts, small animals and 

 birds, but especially in the offering of blood, Avhich they drew 

 from their own bodies. The usual places for this bloodletting were 

 the tongue and the ear, and reports commonly state that they pierced 

 their tongues and ears for the jDurpose, Burgoa, however, particu- 

 larizes the place for the Zapotecs, namely, the veins under the 

 tongue and behind the ear." He reports another peculiarity which 

 is not known of other triljes, namely, that they did this piercing of 

 the flesh Avith a sharp bone or a stone knife, or with the pointed 

 nail of the forefinger, Avhicli they alloAved to groAV long for this pur- 

 pose.** The blood that trickled out was caught on blades of grass 

 or bright feathers, and Avas thus offered to the idols as a sacrifice. 



Among the Zapotecs, too, the most significant and important offer- 

 ing Avas human sacrifice, Avhich, as Father Burgoa expressly states,^ 

 Avas performed with special solemnity and elaborate ceremonies. 

 Modern scholars of note in the state of Oaxaca are noAV inclined to 

 deny that the Zapotecs performed human sacrifices, apparently from 

 a sentiment of patriotism. This is the case Avith the historian of 

 Oaxaca, Jose Antonio Gay, and the author of the useful Catalogo 

 Etimologico de Oaxaca, Manuel IVIartinez Gracida, to Avhom Ave OAve 

 also a description of Mitla. It is certain that neither the Zapotecs 



" Work cited, chap. 58. 

 " Work cited, cbap. 72. 

 •■■ Work cited, cliaps. .58, 64, 70. 

 " AA'ork cited, cliap. 70. 

 ~ « See above. 



