210 



HISTORY OF MEXICO. 



fwered. In general the mufic began with a grave tone, 

 and the fingers in a low voice. The longer the dance 

 continued, the more cheerful tone was founded by the 

 mufic, the fingers raifed their voices, their movements 

 became fwi fter, and the fubjeft of their fong more joy- 

 ful. In the fpace between the different lines of dancers, 

 fome buffoons danced, who counterfeited the drefs of 

 other nations, or difguifed themfelves like wild beafts 

 and other animals, exciting the mirth of the people with 

 their buffooneries. When one fet of dancers was wea- 

 ried, another was introduced, and thus they continued 

 the dance for fix, and fometimes eight hours. 



This was the form of their ordinary dance ; tiut they 

 had others that were very different, in which they repre- 

 fented either fome myftery of their religion, fome event 

 of hiftory or war, the chace, or agriculture. 



Not only the lords, the priefls, and the youth of the 

 colleges danced, but likewife the kings in the temple in 

 performance of their devotion, or for their amufement 

 in the palaces; but on fuch occafions they had always 

 a diftincl place for themfelves in refpect. to their cha- 

 racter. 



Among others there was one extremely curious dance 

 which is ftill kept up by the people of Yucatan. They 

 fixed in the earth a tree, or ftrong poft, fifteen or twenty 

 feet high, from the top of which, according to the num- 

 ber of dancers, they fufpended twenty or more fmall 

 cords, all long and of different colours. When each 

 dancer had taken hold of the end of his cord, they all 

 began to dance to the found of mufical infixuments, crofT- 

 ing each other with great dexterity until they formed a 

 beautiful net-work of the cords round the tree, on which 

 the colours appeared chequered in admirable order. 



Whenever 



