The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History. Hubert Howe Bancroft
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| Автор произведения | Hubert Howe Bancroft |
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![The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History - Hubert Howe Bancroft](/mrimg/pre213899.jpg "The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History - Hubert Howe Bancroft")
Many of the tribes had traditions through which they claim to have originally come from various directions to their ultimate settling-place in America. It will be readily seen that such traditions, even when genuine, are far too vague and uncertain to be of any value as evidence in any theory of origin. To each tribe its own little territory was the one important point in the universe; they had no conception of the real size of the world; most of them supposed that after a few days' journey the traveler could if he chose jump off the edge of the earth into nothingness. What their traditions referred to as a 'country in the far east,' would probably mean a prairie two hundred miles away in that direction. Nevertheless, as these traditions have been thought to support this or that theory, it will be well to briefly review them here.41
The tradition of the Toltecs regarding their travels before they reached Huehue Tlapallan has been the theme of much speculation, especially as connected with their descent from the Babel builders. Ixtlilxochitl writes of this tradition as follows: They say that the world was created in the year Ce Tecpatl, and this time until the deluge they call Atonatiuh, which means the age of the sun of water, because the world was destroyed by the deluge. It is found in the histories of the Toltecs that this age and first world, as they term it, lasted seven hundred and sixteen years; that man and all the earth were destroyed by great showers and by lightnings from heaven, so that nothing remained, and the most lofty mountains were covered up and submerged to the depth of caxtolmoletltli, or fifteen cubits;42 and here they add other fables of how men came to multiply again from the few who escaped the destruction in a toptlipetlacali; which word very nearly signifies a closed chest; and how, after multiplying, the men built a zacuali of great height, and by this is meant a very high tower, in which to take refuge when the world should be a second time destroyed. After this their tongue became confused, and, not understanding each other, they went to different parts of the world. The Toltecs, seven in number, with their wives, who understood each other's speech, after crossing great lands and seas, and undergoing many hardships, finally arrived in America, which they found to be a good land, and fit for habitation; and they say that they wandered one hundred and four years in different parts of the earth before they arrived at Huehue Tlapallan, which they did in the year Ce Tecpatl, five hundred and twenty years – or five ages – after the flood.43
The Quiché traditions speak of a country in the far east,44 to reach which immense tracts of land and water must be crossed. There, they say, they lived a quiet but uncivilized life, paying no tribute, and speaking a common language. There they worshiped no graven images, but observed with respect the rising sun and poured forth their invocations to the morning star. The principal names of the families and tribes at that time were, Tepeu, Oloman, Cohah, Quenech, and Ahau.45 Afterwards, continue the traditions, they left their primitive country under the leadership of certain chiefs, and finally after a long journey reached a place called Tula. Where this Tula was is uncertain, but Brasseur de Bourbourg places it on the 'other side of the sea,' and asserts that it was the region from which the wanderers came, from time to time, to the north-western coasts of America, and thence southwards to Anáhuac and Central America.46
The Yucatecs are said to have had a tradition that they came originally from the far east, passing through the sea, which God made dry for them.47 An Okanagan myth relates that they were descended from a white couple who had been sent adrift from an island in the eastern ocean, and who floated ashore on this land, which has grown larger since then. Their long exposure on the ocean bronzed them to the color of which their descendants now are.48 The Chilians assert that their ancestors came from the west. The Chepewyans have a tradition that they came from a distant land, where a bad people lived, and had to cross a large narrow lake, filled with islands, where ice and snow continually existed.49 The Algonquins preserve a tradition of a foreign origin and a sea voyage. For a long time they offered an annual thank-offering in honor of their happy arrival in America.50 According to Careri, the Olmec traditions relate that they came by sea from the east.51
The native traditions concerning the several culture-heroes of America have also been brought forward by a few writers to show that American civilization was exotic and not indigenous; but, though these traditions are far more worthy of serious consideration, and present a far more fascinating field for study than those which relate merely to the origin or travels of the people themselves, yet, strangely enough, they seem to have excited less comment and speculation than any of those far-fetched and trivial analogies with which all origin-theories abound.
Although bearing various names and appearing in different countries, the American culture-heroes all present the same general characteristics. They are all described as white, bearded men, generally clad in long robes; appearing suddenly and mysteriously upon the scene of their labors, they at once set about improving the people by instructing them in useful and ornamental arts, giving them laws, exhorting them to practice brotherly love and other Christian virtues, and introducing a milder and better form of religion; having accomplished their mission, they disappear as mysteriously and unexpectedly as they came; and finally, they are apotheosized and held in great reverence by a grateful posterity. In such guise or on such mission did Quetzalcoatl appear in Cholula, Votan in Chiapas, Wixepecocha in Oajaca, Zamná, and Cukulcan with his nineteen disciples, in Yucatan, Gucumatz in Guatemala,52 Viracocha in Peru,53 Sumé54 and Paye-Tome55 in Brazil, the mysterious apostle mentioned by Rosales, in Chili,56 and Bochica in Columbia.57 Peruvian legends speak of a nation of giants who came by sea, waged war with the natives, and erected splendid edifices, the ruins of many of which still remain.58 Besides these, there are numerous vague traditions of settlements or nations of white men, who lived apart from the other people of the country, and were possessed of an advanced civilization.
The most celebrated of these are Quetzalcoatl and Votan. The speculations which have been indulged in regarding the identity of these mysterious personages, are wild in the extreme. Thus Quetzalcoatl has been identified by some with St Thomas, by others with the Messiah. Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora59 and Luis Becerra Tanco,60 in support of their opinion that he was no other than the apostle, allege that the hero-god's proper name Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl closely resembles in sound and signification that of Thomas, surnamed Didymus; for to in the Mexican name, is an abbreviation of Thomas, to which pilcin, meaning 'son' or 'disciple,' is added; while the meaning of Quetzalcoatl is exactly the same as that of the Greek name Didymus, 'a twin,' being compounded of quetzalli a plume of green feathers, metaphorically signifying anything precious, and coatl, a serpent, metaphorically meaning one of two twins. Boturini tells us that he possessed certain historical memoranda concerning the preaching of the gospel in America by the 'glorious apostle' St Thomas. Another proof in his possession was a painting of a cross which he discovered near the hill of Tianguiztepetl, which cross was about a cubit in size and painted by the hands of angels a beautiful blue color, with various devices, among which were five white balls on an azure shield, 'without doubt emblems of the five precious wounds of our Savior;' and, what is more marvelous, although this relic had stood in an exposed position from the days of heathenism up to the
According to Ixtlilxochitl, the Toltec tradition relates that after the confusion of tongues the seven families who spoke the Toltec language set out for the New World, wandering one hundred and four years over large extents of land and water. Finally they arrived at Huehue Tlapallan in the year 'one flint,' five hundred and twenty years after the flood.
They had also, as we have seen in the third volume, a great many curious ideas as to the way in which man was created, and as in attempting to prove their theories many writers are apt to draw analogies in this particular, I give a brief résumé of the creation-myths here for the reader's convenience: The grossest conceptions of the mystery of the beginning of man are to be found among the rude savages of the north, who, however, as they are quite content, in many instances, to believe that their earliest progenitor was a dog or a coyote, seem entitled to some sympathy from the latest school of modern philosophy, though it is true that their process of development was rather abrupt, and that they did not require very many links in their chain of evolution. But as we advance farther south, the attempts to solve the problem grow less simple and the direct instrumentality of the gods is required for the formation of man. The Aleuts ascribe their origin to the intercourse of a dog and a bitch, or, according to another version, of a bitch and a certain old man who came from the north to visit his brute-bride. From them sprang two creatures, male and female, each half man, half fox; and from these two the human race is descended. Others of the Aleuts believe that their canine progenitor fell from heaven. The Tinneh also owe their origin to a dog; though they believe that all other living creatures were called into existence by an immense bird. The Thlinkeet account of the creation certainly does not admit of much caviling or dispute concerning its chronology, method, or general probability, since it merely states that men were "placed on the earth," though when, or how, or by whom, it does not presume to relate. According to the Tacully cosmogony, a musk-rat formed the dry land, which afterwards became peopled, though whether by the agency of that industrious rodent or not, is not stated. Darwinism is reversed by many of the Washington tribes, who hold that animals and even some vegetables are descended from man. The human essence from which the first Ahts were formed, was originally contained in the bodies of animals, who upon being suddenly stampeded from their dwellings left this mysterious matter behind them. Some of the Ahts contend, however, that they are the direct descendants of a shadowy personage named Quawteaht and a gigantic Thunder Bird. The Chinooks were created by a Coyote, who, however, did his work so badly and produced such imperfect specimens of humanity, that but for the beneficent intervention and assistance of a spirit called Ikánam the race must have ended as soon as it began. Some of the Washington tribes originated from the fragments of a huge beaver, which was slain and cut in pieces by four giants at the request of their sister who was pining away for some beaver-fat. The first Shasta was the result of a union between the daughter of the Great Spirit and a grizzly bear. The Cahrocs believe that Chareya, the Old Man Above, created the world, then the fishes and lower animals, and lastly man. The Potoyantes were slowly developed from Coyotes. The Big Man of the Mattoles created first the earth, bleak and naked, and placed but one man upon it; then, on a sudden, in the midst of a mighty whirlwind and thick darkness, he covered the desolate globe with all manner of life and verdure. One of the myths of Southern California attributes the creation of man and the world to two divine beings. The Los Angeles tribes believe their one god Quaoar brought forth the world from chaos, set it upon the shoulders of seven giants, peopled it with the lower forms of animal life, and finally crowned his work by creating a man and a woman out of earth. Still farther south, the Cochimís believe in a sole creator; the Pericúis call the maker of all things Niparaja, and say that the heavens are his dwelling-place; the Sinaloas pay reverence to Viriseva the mother of Vairubi, the first man. According to the Navajos, all mankind originally dwelt under the earth, in almost perpetual darkness, until they were released by the Moth-worm, who bored his way up to the surface. Through the hole thus made the people swarmed out on to the face of the earth, the Navajos taking the lead. Their first act was to manufacture the sun and the moon, and with the light came confusion of tongues. The Great Father and Mother of the Moquis created men in nine races from all manner of primeval forms. The Pima creator made man and woman from a lump of clay, which he kneaded with the sweat of his own body, and endowed with life by breathing upon it. The Great Spirit of the Pápagos made first the earth and all living things, and then men in great numbers from potter's clay. The Miztecs ascribe their origin to the act of the two mighty gods, the male Lion Snake and the female Tiger Snake, or of their sons, Wind of the Nine Snakes and Wind of the Nine Caves. The Tezcucan story is that the sun cast a dart into the earth at a certain spot in the land of Aculma. From this hole issued a man imperfectly formed, and after him a woman, from which pair mankind are descended. The Tlascaltecs asserted that the world was the effect of chance, while the heavens had always existed. The most common Mexican belief was, that the first human beings, a boy and a girl, were produced from the blood-besprinkled fragments of the bone procured from hades by the sixteen hundred fallen gods sprung from the flint-knife of which the goddess Citlalicue had been delivered. According to the Chimalpopoca manuscript the creator produced his work in successive epochs, man being made on the seventh day from dust or ashes. In Guatemala there was a belief that the parents of the human race were created out of the earth by the two younger sons of the divine Father and Mother. The Quiché creation was a very bungling affair. Three times and of three materials was man made before his makers were satisfied with their work. First of clay, but he lacked intelligence; next of wood, but he was shriveled and useless; finally of yellow and white maize, and then he proved to be a noble work. Four men were thus made, and afterwards four women.
'This nice agreement with the Mosaic account of the height which the waters of the Deluge attained above the summits of the highest mountains is certainly extraordinary; since we read in the twentieth verse of the seventh chapter of Genesis: "
'Un orient lointain,' says Brasseur de Bourbourg; but he must either mean what we call in English the Orient, the East, or contradict himself – which, by the way, he is very prone to do – because he afterwards asserts that Tula is the place 'on the other side of the sea,' from which the Quiché wanderers came to the north-west coast of America.
The reader will recollect that the story of each of these heroes has been told at length in vol. iii. of this work.
The legend of Viracocha, or Ticeviracocha, as he is sometimes called, and his successor, is, according to Herrera, as follows: 'Cuentan tambien los Indios, segun lo tienen por tradicion de sus antepassados, y parece por sus cantares, que en su antiguedad estuuieron mucho tiempo sin ver Sol, y que por los grandes votos, y plegarias que hazian â sus dioses, saliô el Sol de la laguna Titicaca, y de la Isla, que estâ en ella, que es en el Collao, y que pareciô luego por la parte de medio dia vn hõbre blanco de gran cuerpo, y de veneranda presencia, que era tan poderoso, que baxaua las sierras, crecia los valles, y sacaua fuentes de las piedras, al qual por su gran poder llamauan: Principio de todas las cosas criadas, y padre del Sol, porque dio ser a los hombres, y animales, y por su mano les vino notable beneficio, y que obrando estas marauillas, fue de largo hâzia el Norte, y de camino yua dando orden de vida â las gentes, hablando con mucho amor, amonestando que fuessen buenos, y se amassen vnos â otros, al qual hasta los vltimos tiempos de los Ingas llamauã Ticeuiracocha, y en el Collao Tuapaca, y en otras partes Arnauâ, y que le hizieron muchos Templos, y bultos en ellos â su semejança, â los quales sacrificauan. Dizen tambien, que passados algunos tiempos oyeron dezir â sus mayores, que pareciô otro hombre semejante al referido, que sanaua los enfermos, daua vista â los ciegos, y que en la prouincia de los Cañas, queriendo locamente apedrearle, lo vieron hincado de rodillas, alçadas las manos al Cielo, inuocando el diuino fauor, y que pareciô vn fuego del Cielo que los espantô tanto, que con grandes gritos, y clamores le pedian, que los librasse de aquel peligro, pues las venia aquel castigo por el pecado, que auian cometido, y que luego cessô el fuego, quedando abrasadas las piedras, y oy dia se ven quemadas, y tan liuianas, que aunque grandes se leuantan como corcho, y dizen, que desde alli se fue â la mar, y entrando en ella sobre su manto tendido nunca mas se vio, por lo qual le llamaron Viracocha, que quiere dezir espuma de la mar, nõbre que despues mudô signification, y que luego le hizieron vn Templo, en el pueblo de Cacha, y algunos Castellanos solo por su discurso han dicho, que este deuia de ser algun Apostol: pero los mas cuerdos lo tienen por vanidad, porque en todos estos Templos se sacrificaua al demonio, y hasta que los Castellanos entraron en los Reynos del Pirû, no fue oìdo, ni predicado el santo Euangelio, ni vista la Santissima señal de la Cruz.'
Sumé was a white man with a thick beard, who came across the ocean from the direction of the rising sun. He had power over the elements, and could command the tempest. At a word from him the trees of the densest forest receded from their places to make a path for him; the most ferocious animals crouched submissive at his feet; the treacherous surface of lake and river presented a solid footing to his tread. He taught the people agriculture, and the use of maize. The Caboclos, a Brazilian nation, refused to listen to his divine teachings, and even sought to kill him with their arrows, but he turned their own weapons against them. The persecuted apostle then retired to the banks of a river, and finally left the country entirely. The tradition adds that the prints of his feet are still to be seen on the rocks and in the sand of the coast.
Paye-Tome was another white apostle. His history so closely resembles that of Sumé that it is probable they are the same person.
'In former times, as they (the Chilians) had heard their fathers say, a wonderful man had come to that country, wearing a long beard, with shoes, and a mantle such as the Indians carry on their shoulders, who performed many miracles, cured the sick with water, caused it to rain, and their crops and grain to grow, kindled fire at a breath, and wrought other marvels, healing at once the sick, and giving sight to the blind,' and so on. 'Whence it may be inferred that this man was some apostle whose name they do not know.' Quoted from Rosales' inedited
Bochica, the great law-giver of the Muyscas, and son of the sun, a white man, bearded, and wearing long robes, appeared suddenly in the people's midst while they were disputing concerning the choice of a king. He advised them to appoint Huncahua, which they immediately did. He it was who invented the calendar and regulated the festivals. After living among the Muyscas for two thousand years, he vanished on a sudden near the town of Hunca.
In a work entitled