1894.] •^' [Brinton. 



deny God and His Blessed Mother, and warn liitn to liave no fear, and 

 not to make the sign of the cross. He is told to embrace his Nagual ten- 

 derly, which, by some diabolical art, presents itself in an aflectionate 

 manner even though it be a ferocious beast, like a lion or a tiger. Tlius, 

 with infernal cunning they persuade him that this Nagual is an angel of 

 God, who will look after him and protect him in his after life. 



"To sucli diabolical masters the intelligentlndians apply, to learn from 

 these superstitious Calendars, dictated by the Devil, their own fortunes, 

 and the Naguals whicii will be assigned to their children, even before 

 they are baptized. In most of the Calendars, tiie seventh sign is the fig- 

 ure of a man and a snake, which they call Cuchulchan. The masters 

 have explained it as a snake with feathers which moves in the water. 

 This sign corresponds with Mexzichuaut, which means Cloudy Serpent, 

 or, of the clouds.* The people also consult them in order to work injury 

 on their enemies, taking the lives of many through such devilish artifices, 

 and committing unspeakable atrocities. 



" Worse even than these are those who wander about as phj^sicians or 

 liealers ; who are none such, but magicians, enchanters, and sorcerers, 

 who, while pretending to cure, kill whom they will. They apply their 

 medicines by blowing on the patient, and by the use of infernal words ; 

 learned by heart by those who cannot read or write ; and received in 

 writing from their masters by those acquainted with letters. The Master 

 never imparts this instruction to a single disciple, but always to three at 

 a time, so that in the practice of the art it may be difficult to decide whicjh 

 one exerts the magical power. Tiiey blow on feathers, or slicks, or 

 plants, and place them in the paths where they may be stepped on by 

 those they wish to injure, thus causing chills, fevers, ugly pustules and 

 other diseases ; or they introduce into the body by such arts toads, frogs, 

 snakes, centipedes, etc , causing great torments. And by these same 

 breathings and magic words they can burn down houses, destroy the 

 growing crops and induce sickness. No one of the three disciples is per- 

 mitted to practice any of these arts without previously informing the 

 other two, and also the Master, by whom the three have been taught. 



"We have learned by the confession of certain guilty parties how the 

 Master begins to instruct his disciple. First he tells him to abjure God, 

 the saints and the Virgin, not to invoke their names, and to have no fear 

 of them. He then conducts him to the wood, glen, cave or field where 

 the pact with the Devil is concluded, which they call 'the agreement' 

 or ' the word given ' (in Tzental quiz). In some provinces the disciple 

 is laid on an ant-hill, and the Master standing above him calls forth a 

 snake, colored with black, white and red, which is known as ' the ant- 

 mother ' (in Tzental zmczquiz).\ This comes acconipanied by the ants 



* Rather with the Quetzalcoatl of the Naliuas, and the Gucuinatz of the Quiches, 

 both of which names mean "Feathered Serpent." Mixcohuatl, the Cloud Serpent, in 

 Mexican mythology, referred to the Thunder-storm. 



t In his Tzental Vocabulary, Father Lara does not give this exact form ; but in the 

 neighboring dialect of the Cal£cliiqiiel Father Ximeues has qidkcho, to agree together, to 

 enter into an arrangement ; the prefix zmc is the Tzental word for " mother." 



