Vol. 5. The Pacific Monthly. APRIL, 1901 No. 5. The Prophet of the Mayax; A tale of Prehistoric Times on the Western Continent, by Charles Grissen. Editor's Note.-The Pacific Monthly begins the publication this month of a serial based upon historical research and dealing with events in South America at about the beginning of the Christian Era, when the country was in a high state of civilization. The serial will continue for a year or more. E Introduction. VERY age and crisis in the world's history seems to have produced leaders among men capable of coping with the problems and environments of their respective periods. Contemporary history is but a repetition of the past. Human nature, while pretentiously better, has not in the concrete materially changed. "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap,' may be applied not to individuals only, but to nations and peoples as well. Present conditions are but the fruitage of seeds. sown in the past. Causes trifling in themselves may change, or, rather, may become the means of changing the destiny of nations. Life is a drama, and every age furnishes actors, each in his respective role, necessary to the performance of the play. The scenes and actors presented in this tale, whilst belonging to remote ages, and to a people of whom nothing is now known save the crumbling ruins of their once populous cities, their temples and habitations, were human beings, endowed with the same propensities for good and evil as the people of the present day. To make the characters of ancient times think and speak in a modern language, is, in truth, but an expedient to which even the historian must resort in order to make history intelligible to his readers. The popular acceptation of the American Indian is usually the Red Man of the forest as found and described by the early pioneers from Plymouth to the Pacific -a Gypsy-like savage, a nomad of the plains and the forest, living in his wig wam. He built no cities, no temples, no pyramids, no great highways or canals, as did the aborigines of the southern latitudes, whose ruined cities suggest at once a character superior to, as it is distinct from, that of the Red Man of the forest. This tale is founded on a conclusion drawn by recent writers from all the old chroniclers of the traditions of prehistoric peoples in the Usumacinta regions (present Guatamala). Concerning these, Bancroft, in his Native Races of America, vol. 6, pp. 231-232, says: "The Nahua annals reach back chronologically, although not uninterruptedly, to about the sixth century of our era; the Maya record is somewhat less extensive in an unbroken line, but both extend more or less regularly and mythically to the beginning of the Christian Era, perhaps much farther. The Maya records painted on skins and paper, or inscribed on stone, are yet sealed books, respecting the nature of whose contents conjecture is vain, but from which the future may evolve revelations of the greatest importance. "The Quiche traditions point clearly (1) to the existence in ancient times of a great empire somewhere in Central America called Xibalba by its enemies; (2) to the growth of a rival neighboring power; (3) to a long struggle extending through several generations at least, and resulting in the downfall of the Xibalban kings, and a subsequent scattering and migration of the formerly victorious nation. The prevailing language was doubtless either the Maya, the Tzendal, or a mother tongue from which these as well as the Quiche and others of the same linguistic family have sprung. The struggle on the part of the Xibalbans seems to have been that of an old and effete monarchy against a young and progressive people. Whatever its cause, the result of the conquest was the overthrow of the votaric power, at a date which may be approximately fixed within a century before or after our era. From this time the ancient empire disappears from traditional history, and there is no conclusive evidence that the Xibalban kings or their descendants ever renewed the struggle." Thus, at autochthonic records and evidences seem to point to an epoch fraught with great events to the semi-civilized peoples of the Western world about the beginning of the Christian Era; while in the Eastern hemisphere the morning of a new era was breaking upon all mankind. The thread of these events, therefore, shall furnish the warp for this tale. The Review of Reviews for July, 1895, giving an account of Dr. Augustus le Plongeon's explorations in Central America, claimed that the eminent explorer had succeeded in "fully deciphering these hitherto incomprehensible hieroglyphics" of the Maya language," and observes: "The Maya language is one of the very oldest tongues known to us-quite as old as Sanskrit, if not still more ancient." And: "Scattered throughout these forests are the remains of large cities and of stupendous edifices-once upon a time the temples of the gods and the palaces of the kings, the walls of which are covered with inscriptions, bas-reliefs and sculp tures which surpass in harmony of design and excellence of execution those of Egypt and Babylon. The exquisite proportions of those colossal buildings, and the beauty of the mural decorations attest the high civilization of their builders, and inspires the spectator with feelings of admiration and amazement. From these and other premises he deduces the conclusion that the Egyptian and the Eastern nations acquired their cosmogonical conceptions from the Mayax. In the preparatory study for this tale the author examined and read a wide range of books of travel and exploration bearing upon the subject of American antiquities, of which Bancroft's "Native Races of America," being a compilation of nearly all that had ever been written on the subject, proved the most fruitful. The farther I pursued the subject the more enthusiastic I became. It was like a revelation, and the wonder to me was, why a more widespread interest had not been manifested in it by the American public. That there was at one time a means of communication between the Old World and the ancient Maya and Quiche nations seems to be the consensus of opinion among nearly all the writers on the subject, though it is now a mystery whether the ancient Egyptian civilization was derived from the Mayax or the latter from the former. Continued study and further discoveries may yet lift the veil. May not one of the Ten Lost Tribes, after the Assyrian captivity and dispersion, have reached the shores of this continent? The Phoenicians were skilled navigators, and truth is stranger than fiction. Again: The theory pointing to Asiatic origin and Shemitic character of the later conquering race pressing southward along the Pacific coast, finds support in the analogy of religious practices which, more than anything else, have been tenaciously adhered to by all peoples from time immemorial. In Jeremiah (xix, 5) we find the following: "They have built also the high place of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not nor spake it, neither came it into my mind." "It is worthy of note," says Bancroft, "that more than two hundred and fifty years after the death of Jeremiah, the Carthagenians, when their city was besieged by Agathocles, offered as burnt sacrifice to the planet Saturn, at the public expense, two hundred boys of the highest aristocracy; and, subsequently when they had obtained a victory, sacrificed the most beautiful captives in like manner." While, however, the gods of the Phoenicians were legion, no paintings, statues or other likenesses of deities are recorded as found in the ancient temples of Gades, Tyro, Samaria, Paphos, etc., showing that the abhorrence of all visible representations of the deity was common to all the nations of Shemitic origin in the early stages of their existence.-Bancroft's "Native Races," vol. 3. M. Violet-le-Duc, judging from the nature and degree of art displayed in the ruins, concludes that the civilized nations of America were of a mixed race. Turanian, or yellow, from the northwest, and Aryan, or white, from the northeast, the former being the larger and earlier element. Stucco work implies a predominance of Turanian blood in the artists. Traces of wooden structures in architecture belong rather to the white races. Therefore he believes Palenque was built during the continuance of the Empire of Xibalba, probably some centuries before Christ, by a people in whom yellow blood predominated, although with some Aryan intermixture, but that the Yucatan cities owe their foundation to the same people at a later epoch and under a much stronger influence of the white races. Mrs. Wait, an enthusiastic student of American antiquity, had this to say, in the columns of the Portland Oregonian, concerning the subject, July 9, 1899: "America is rich in these treasures, ant.d it is scarcely to our credit that we know so much more about the ancient myths, traditions, legends of the so-called Old World than we know of those of our own continent. America's ancient civilization was in no wise inferior to that of .ndia, Egypt or Norseland. The primitive American was a sensitive creature of high courage and delicate honor. His spirit never would endure slavery a tribute that cannot be brought to the ancient peoples of the Old World." "The Indian was not a morose, besotted, brutish creature," said she. "He had a clear code of honor. His chivalry was shown by his bravery, fasting, feats of daring, etc. He was chaste, honest, high-spirited, intelligent and loyal. We have studied the Indian from a prejudiced standpoint. We look down upon him because we have injured him, and it is a mean streak in our human nature that we aespise those whom we have treated unjustly. The Indian had a fine imagination,and he loved poetry. He did not invent or accept belief in the Great Spirit or the happy hunting ground after the coming of Columbus; he had been familiar with it for ages. The Indian had ideals and he was a philosopher. He taught brotherhood, had his secret societies and a socialist government." For the best evidences of ancient American civilization, Mrs. Wait, of course, goes to Mexico, Central America and Peru, where architecture, engineering and various crafts reached a state of high development. But these evidences, of one kind or another are scattered all the way from Alaska to Patagonia, and lead irresistibly to the conclusion that there was relationship between the tribes of the continent. What is regarded as indisputable testimony to the community of beliefs and practies back in the dim past is the mythological lore of the natives. That the ancient, peaceful and pastoral Maya race may have been the founders of the later Peruvian empire under the Incas. Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii, p. 79, says: "Tradition traces the migration of the Pipiles, a branch of the great Xibalban empire, after its destruction by the Nahua power, southward. Following the coast, they arrived at the Gulf of Conchagua. Here they were forced to halt, by the illness and subsequent death of their priest, who had hitherto been their guide. The old man, who seems in some way to have gained a knowledge of that region, gave them full information as to what they might expect of the surrounding nations, exhorted them to settle and live in peace. Accordingly they stayed permanently where they were, on the borders of Honduras, Salvador, and Nicaragua, bearing henceforth the name of Cholutecs." The character and virtues of these ancient argonauts are sustained by the testimony given of their descendants by the Spanish conquerors fifteen centuries later, "Who were struck with the general appearance of plenty and prosperity, and with the astonishing order with which everything throughout the country was regulated. No man, however humble, suffered from want of food or clothing. Famine, so common at that period in every other American nation, and in every country of civilized Europe, was an evil unknown in the dominions of the Incas. No better government in their opinion, could have been devised for the people. Contented and free from vice, their docile character would have well fitted them to receive the teachings of Christianity, had the love of conversion instead of the lust for gold animated the breast of their conqueror."-Prescott, Conquest Peru, p. 103. A few examples of the style of architecture of the Mayax and Quinche peoples as found by explorers and travelers, may serve to give the reader an idea as to the lofty conceptions of the builders: "The House of Turtles" concerning which there has been much speculation, Mr. Charney speaks of as being "Ninety-four feet long, thirty-four feet wide and about twenty feet high. The exterior walls below the cornice are plain. Instead the complicated sculpture of the other buildings, there appears a simple and elegant line of round columns standing close together and encircling the whole edifice. Each of these columns is composed of two or three pieces of stone one upon another. Above the upper cornice is a row of turtles, occurring at regular intervals, sculptured each on a square block which projects from the wall." Most wonderful of all are the ruins of the great palace of Zibalba (Palen que). The temple of the Sun; Temple of the Cross, and the temple of the Three Tablets. Charney describes the wonderful ruins of the temple of the Cross, as standing on a pyramid which measures one hundred and thirty-four feet on the slope, partly natural but faced with stone. The temple is fifty feet long, thirty-one feet wide, and about forty feet high. The two lateral piers were covered with hieroglyphics and the central one bore human figures all in stucco. The lower slope of the roof was also covered with stucco decorations, approaching the Greek models in justness of proportion and symetry. In one of the interior apartments was found the famous "Tablet of the Cross," fixed in the wall at the back of the enclosure and covering nearly its whole surface, six feet four inches high, ten feet eight inches wide and formed of three stones. The central stone and part of the western, bear the sculptural figures of two men, probably priests, clad in the robes and insignia of their office, making an offering to the cross, or to the bird perched on its summit. This tablet has been perhaps the most fruitful theme of antiquarian speculation in America. But all agree as to the excellence of the sculpture, equal to many that are carved on the ruined temples in Egypt.-Bancroft's "Native Races," vol. 4, pp. 333, 334. Speaking of the Guatemalan natives, Bancroft says: "The conquerors have left numerous records of large cities with splendid palaces and temples of stone, but these exist now only in their ruins. The masses had, doubtless, no better houses than those we see at present. Their huts are made of wooden posts and rafters supporting a thatched roof of straw or palm leaves, their sides being stockaded with canes, bamboo, or rush, so as to allow a free passage to the air Generally, they have but one room; two or three stones in the center of the hut compose the fireplace and the only egress for the smoke is through the door. The room is scantily furnished with a few mats, a hammock, and some earthen wear. -"Native Races," vol. 1, p. 692. One more point: Before the advent of the conquorers spoken of in this tale, the inhabitants did not offer human sacrifices at their religious festivals, as tradition and other evidences seems to concur that they had something in common with the Sun-worshipers of the East. But it was this gentle and spiritual people whom the conquerors and more fierce and warlike nations from the North, given to sanguinary religious practices, came to oppress, resulting in their dispersion and migration southward. Peruvians under the Incas, with their admirable social and political organizations approximating to Universal Brotherhood, and their refined religious ideas, it may not be mere postulacy to assume, were the last representatives of the ancient Maya and Quinche peoples, whose leader and prophet is the hero of this tale. At all events, the author believes that the new dispensation ushered in by the birth of the Christ must have been felt on the Western continent. Charles Grissen Chapter I. T Uxmal, the northern capital of AT was being held, with great pomp and splendor, such as the busy people of this rich and proud city have never before witnessed, a series of festivals. Ahtepal, the King, was entertaing the royal visitors from Xibalba. Chief among the princes that composed this embassy was the son and heir of the great Votan. He had come with a numerous train of followers and many costly gifts to pay his respects to this northern monarch and sue for the hand of his daughter, whose beauty and accomplishments had been lauded to the Votan by many a Mayapan merchant chancing to sojourn in Xibalba. The astute and diplomatic Votan had, however, more than one object in courting the favor of his powerful neighbor. It was by pursuing this policy that he obtained his allies and added province after province to his empire, holding with the sword, if necessary, his peaceful conquests. . Neither Ahtepal nor his predecessors were given to warfare, except when urged in defense of their rights and their territory. Sharing the characteristics of their people, they fostered the arts of peace, their highest ambition being the building up of great cities with magnificent palaces, temples and pyramids. (The height to which they attained in architecture is attested by the grand ruins still standing at Uxmal, located in the northwestern part of Yucatan, in latitude 20 deg. 27 min. 30 sec., one of the wonders of the world, and certainly the most imposing remains of aboriginal greatness.) Ever ready to form alliances with neighboring nations, thereby strengthening and enlarging his own power, it was part of the diplomacy of Ahtepal to cultivate an acquaintance with the princes of those nations; and the present festivities were inaugurated on a particularly grand scale, because the Votan represented the most powerful empire south of Mayapan. Besides, was not the first Votan a brother of Zamna, the founder of the Mayapan dynasty? Tradition said so. Why should not they again become closely linked together? Though there had been feuds and troubles over intermediate tribes along the boundary lines between the two empires, particularly with the fierce Otomis, might. not a settlement of these difficulties be reached amicably in the formation of a closer alliance? Ahtepal's councils said So. Therefore, what could be more auspicious than the marriage of one of the king's daughters with the son and heir of the great Votan? Although intermarriage of nobles with others than their own people was looked upon with disfavor, tradition and prejudice were laid aside in this instance and the chief priests and nobles consented to the forthcoming union. Ahtepal and his nobles. kept themselves well informed concerning the Votan's empire in the south and Xibalba's ever growing importance, rivaling their own proud city, Uxmal. |