1878. Traces of Solar Worship in North America. 231 
p 3 
Among the Moqui tribe, to-day, traces of this form of worship 
still obtain. The religion of their forefathers seems to have de- 
generated into a mere custom, the origin of which has been long 
lost sight of in their obscure traditions. Thus, in the course of 
time, it seems probable, the worship of celestial orbs has given 
place to hero-worship; solar worship to anthropomorphism, and 
it is said that the Moquis have ultimately become imbued with 
the belief that it is a Messiah, in the form of one of their own an- 
cestors, that is, Montezuma, whom they are expecting to arrive 
from the east. The Moquis and the Pueblos and Zuñis are cog- 
nate tribes and doubtless remnants of the ancient Nahuatlac races; 
hence the similarity of their customs. 
As the faint streak of red lights up the low horizon, tall, dark 
figures appear on the parapets of the seven Moqui towns and re- 
main facing the dawn until the sun has appeared entirely to view. 
Then the muffled forms drop away slowly and sadly, one by one, 
for another morn has brought disappointment to the souls of 
many that have watched so eagerly and persistently for the com- 
ing of the great Montezuma. The routine of another Moqui day 
has commenced; all is bustle and life and the subdued hum of 
household occupation floats out drowsily on the sullen, sultry 
air and the sound of the hundred flour-mills (me¢ates) grinding 
steadily on every side, seems, as it issues from the doors and win- 
dows of the stone houses, to pause in mid-air like a droning bee. 
Then scores of busy figures repair with their water-vessels to the 
verge of the steep bluffs, and disappear in the crevices of the rocks 
below. 
Having presented these facts in support of the assumption that 
solar adoration entered, to some extent, into the religions of some 
of the American races, we may sum them up briefly as follows: 
1. Fetichism being the commonest form of idolatry, especially 
amongst the lower races of man, most tribes whose religion is 
polytheistic, venerate the sun. 
2. We can detect vestiges of sun-worship in the ruins of the 
Toltec and Aztec temples and pyramids and also in the statues 
which were placed within them. 
3. We can observe traces of it in the traditions and observances 
of savage and semi-civilized tribes at the present day. 
4. We notice indications of it in the hieroglyphics or picture- 
1 Motecuhzuma. 
