1891.] ^^ [Brinton. 



dead ; every seven days he put on the nature of a serpent, and then he 

 became truly a serpent ; every seven days he assumed the nature of an 

 eagle, and then he became truly an eagle ; then of a tiger and he became 

 truly a tiger ; then of coagulated blood, and he was nothing else than 

 coagulated blood."* 



It may be s.iid that such passages refer metaphorically to the 

 versatility of his cTiaracter, but even if this is so, the metaphors 

 are drawn from the universal belief in Nagualism which then 

 prevailed, and they do not expi-ess it too strongly. 



16. Among the Maya tribes of Yucatan and Guatemala we 

 have testimony to the continuance to this day of these beliefs. 

 Father Bartolome de Baeza, cura of Yaxcaba in the first half of 

 this centur}', reports that an old man, in his dying confession, 

 declared that by diabolical art he had transformed himse f into 

 an animal, doubtless his nagual ; and a young girl of some twelve 

 3'ears confessed that she had been transformed into a bird by 

 the witches, and in one of her nocturnal flights had rested on 

 the roof of the very house in which the good priest resided, 

 which was some two leagues from her home. He wisel}' sug- 

 gests that, perhaps, listening to some tale of sorcery, she had 

 had a vivid dream, in which she seemed to take this flight. It 

 is obvious, however, from his account, as well as from other 

 sources, that the belief of the transformation into lower animals 

 was and is one familiar to the superstitions of the Mayas. f The 

 natives still continue to propitiate the ancient gods of the har- 

 vest, at the beginning of the season assembling at a ceremon}^ 

 called by the Spaniards the misa miJj^era^ or " field mass," and 

 by themselves /^■'c^, " the stretching out of the hands." 



The German traveler. Dr. Scherzer, when he visited, in 18.54, 

 the remote hamlet of Istlavacan, in Guatemala, peopled by 

 Quiche Indians, discovered that they had preserved in this re- 

 spect the nsages of their ancestors almost wholl}^ unatfected by 

 the teachings of their various Christian curates. The" Master" 

 still assigned the naguals to the new- born infants, copal was 

 burned to their ancient gods in remote caves, and formulas of 



* Le Popol Vuh,ou Liirc Sacir iles Quichfs, p. 3l=i (E.i. Brasseiir, Paris, 1801). In Uie 

 Quiche myths, Gucuraatz is the analogue of Quetzalcoatl in Aztec legend. Both name 

 mean the same, "Feathered Serpent." 



t Bacza's article is printed in the Registio Yitcateco, Vol. i, p. 165, scq. 



PROG. AMER. PHILOS. SOC. XXXIII. 144. E. PRINTED FEB. 14, 1894. 



