EMPIRES CHILDREN: THE PEOPLE OF TZINTZUNTZAN FOSTER 



13 



and gold, wrapped in a cloth, and placed on a 

 wooden bed. The heir indicated 7 women and 

 more than 40 male retainers who were to die 

 with the king. The women included the guard- 

 ian of his lip plugs, the guardian of the tur- 

 quoise necklaces, his chambermaid, his cook, 

 and his cup bearer. Among the men were those 

 who guarded his cloths, his copper axes, his 

 shoes, one who carried his throne, a sunshade 

 carrier, a featherworker, and a bow-and-arrow 

 maker. At midnight in an impressive ceremony 

 the king was carried to the ydcatas where the 

 body was placed on a funeral pyre and burned. 

 Alligator bones and tortoise-shell rattles took 

 the place of tolling bells. The retainers were 

 first stupefied with alcoholic drinks, bludgeoned 

 to death, and then buried with all the jewels 

 which they wore. Next morning the bones of 

 the king and his melted ornaments were gather- 

 ed and put in a cloth with a turquoise mask on 

 top. At the ydcatas near the temple of Curica- 

 veri a large grave was dug and filled with jewels 

 and food. The remains of the king were gather- 

 ed in a large pot, placed on a wooden bed at 

 the bottom of the tomb, which was covered first 

 with planks and finally with earth. Then all who 

 had aided with the funerary ceremonies bathed 

 to avoid danger of contamination. For the 5 

 following days nobody ground corn, lit fires, or 

 went out of doors. 



Meanwhile the principal lords of the king- 

 dom assembled in the patio of the dead king to 

 go through the formality of selecting a new 

 king. This followed a traditional pattern: the 

 son-elect asked that his uncle, because of his 

 greater experience, be the new king. The uncle 

 replied that he was old, tired, and that the boy 

 should rule. After 5 days of dickering the youth 

 accepted, and asked the loyalty of all the lords. 



Five days later the head priest and nobles 

 entered the compound where the youth was liv- 

 ing. The priest put a garland of tiger skin on 

 his head, a tiger-skin quiver of arrows on his 

 back, bracelets of deerskin on his arms, and 

 deer hoofs around his ankles as insignia of his 

 rank. Then in a solemn procession the priests, 

 followed by the new king and the lords, filed out 

 to where the people were assembled. The head 

 priest introduced the new king and asked that 

 all of his subjects help and obey him. The lords, 

 to show that they had agreed to the new king. 



spoke in a similar vein, thus filling the entire 

 day. Finally tlie king accepted. Subsequently 

 preparations were made for war, neighbors were 

 attacked, and the war party returned with a 

 hundred or more prisoners to be sacrificed. With 

 this final act the new king was definitely es- 

 tablished. 



RELIGION 



Tarascan religion was polytheistic, and the 

 pantheon at the time of the arrival of the Span- 

 iards represented the accretions of many years. 

 The king was, as has been seen, the earthly re- 

 presentative and incarnation of the oldest god 

 of the Tarascan Chichimecs of Zacapu, Curica- 

 veri, the bloodthirsty and warlike "black god," 

 god of fire, represented by a flint lancehead. 

 The goddess Xaratanga was acquired when the 

 Chichimecs took possession of Tzintzuntzan, 

 and in time came to have about the same im- 

 portance as Curicaveri. A possible Aztec origin 

 for this goddess is shown by the haho, apparent- 

 ly a temascal or sweat bath, which was located 

 in or near her chief temple. Cueravahperi, the 

 mother creator, had her cult centered at Zina- 

 pecuaro, which, being somewhat removed from 

 the lake region, suggests that she was a later ad- 

 dition. 



Another god, whose position is not clear, is 

 Querenda angapeti. The importance of this 

 deity, whose temple was in Zacapu, is shov/n 

 by the fact that the king, followed by the lords, 

 made an annual trip from Tzintzuntzan, cross- 

 ing the lake in a canoe and continuing on foot 

 to pay homage. Kneeling, he kissed the hand 

 of the chief priest, and then left offerings of 

 first fruits, incense, petates, jewels, and flowers. 

 Seler believes that this god personifies the same 

 ideas as Curicaveri. All gods, according to the 

 same author, can be grouped in three categories: 

 gods of the sky, gods of the four cardinal points, 

 and the god of the infernal regions (Seler, 1908, 

 p. 133). Idols were of stone and wood, ap- 

 parently small and light in weight, since they 

 were carried around on many migrations. Tem- 

 ples, first of wood and later of stone, were built 

 on circular truncated stone pyramids, ydcatas, 

 and in each a perpetual fire was kept burning. 

 Thus, one of the basic religious duties of all 

 persons, including the king himself, was to cut 



