1S91.] ^^ [Brinton. 



Clones Dioecesanas del Obispado de C/a'a^pa," comprising discus- 

 sions of the articles of religion and a series of pastoral letters. 

 The subject of Nagualism is referred to in many passages, and 

 the ninth Pastoral Letter is devoted to it. As this book is one 

 of extreme rarit}', I shall make rather lengthy extracts from it, 

 taking the liberty of condensing the scholastic prolixity of the 

 author, and omitting his professional admonitions to the wicked. 



He begins his references to it in several passages of his Intro- 

 duction or Preambulo^m which he makes some interesting state- 

 ments as to the use to which the natives put their newly-acquired 

 knowledge of writing, while at the same time they had evidently 

 not forgotten the ancient method of recording ideas invented by 

 their ancestors. 



The Bishop writes : 



"The Indians of New Spain retain all the errors of their tune of heath- 

 enism preserved in certain writings in their own languages, explaining 

 by abbreviated characters and by figures painted in a secret cypher* the 

 places, provinces and names of theirearly rulers, the animals, stars and 

 elements which Ihey worshiped, the cerem(;nies and sacrifices which 

 they observed, and the years, months and days by wbich they predicted 

 the fortunes of children at birth, and assign them that which they cull 

 the Niiguals. These writings are known as Repertories or Calendars, 

 and they are also used to discover articles lost or stolen, and to ctFect 

 cures of diseases. Some have a wheel painted in them, like that of Pyth- 

 agoras, described by the Venei-able Bede ; others portray a lake sur- 

 rounded by the Naguals in the form of various animals. Some of the 

 Nagualist Masters claim as their patron and ruler Cuchulchan, and they 

 possessed a certain formula of prayer to him, written in the Popoluca 

 tongue (which was called Baha in their time of heathenism), and which 

 has been translated into IMexican.f 



" Tliose who are selected to become the masters of these arts ai-e taught 

 from early childhood how to draw and paint these characters, and are 

 obliged to learn by heart the formulas, and tlie names of the ancient 

 Nagualists, and whatever else is included in these written documents, 

 many of which we have held in our hands, and have heard them ex- 

 plained by such masters whom we had imprisoned for their guilt, and 

 who had afterwards become converted and acknowledged their snis.":j: 



* So I understand the phrase, " fignras piiitadas con zifras eiiigmaticas." 

 + Popolura was a term applied to various lansuitges. I suspect the one here referred 

 to was the Mixe. See an article by me, entitled " Chontales and Popolneas ; a Study in 

 Mexican Ethnography," in the Compte Saidu of the Eighth Session of the Congress of 

 Americanists, p. 5r>6, seq. 

 I Condit. Diocesan, p. 19. 



PROC. AMER. PHIL08. SOC. XXXIII. 144. D. PRINTED FEB. 13, 1894. 



