The Mayas, the Sources of Their History Part 7

It is said that the deciphering of the American hieroglyphics is a rather desperate enterprise, because we have no Rosetta stone with a bilingual inscription. I humbly beg to differ from that opinion; at least as regards the inscriptions on the walls of the monuments of Mayapan. In the first instance, the same language, with but few alterations, that was used by the builders of these edifices is today commonly spoken by the inhabitants of Yucatan and Peten, and we have books, grammars and dictionaries compiled by the Franciscan friars in the first years of the conquest, translated in Spanish, French and English. We do not, therefore, require an American Rosetta stone to be discovered. Secondly, if it is undeniable that Bishop Landa consigned to the flames all the books of the Mayas that happened to fall into his hands, it is also true that by a singular freak he preserved us, in great part at least, the Maya alphabet in his work, "Las Cosas de Yucatan," discovered by Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg in the national library of Madrid. The Americanists owe much to the researches of the abbe. I consider his works as deserving a better reception than they have ever had from the scientific world at large. It is true that he is no respecter of Mosaic chronology,--and who can be in presence of the monuments of Central America? Reason commands, and we must submit to evidence and truth! I have carefully compared the characters of said ma.n.u.script with those engraved upon the stones in Chichen, which I photographed, and found them alike. Some on the frontispieces of the palaces and temples differ, it is true, but do not our ornamented capital letters from the small? Their deciphering may give a little more trouble.

The Mayas, besides using their alphabet, employed at the same time a kind of pictorial writing, something not unlike our _rebus_. They also would record domestic and public life-customs, religious wors.h.i.+p and ceremonies, funeral rites, court receptions, battles, etc., etc., just as we do in our paintings and engravings, portraying them with superior art and perfect knowledge of drawing and colors, which also had their accepted and acknowledged meaning.

These we have already partly deciphered, and now understand.

I have said it was my firm conviction that among the inhabitants of Peten--nay, perchance, also, of Chan-Santa-Cruz--some one may be found who is still possessed of the knowledge of reading the ancient _Pic-huun_. But the Indians are anything but communicative, and they are at all times unwilling to reveal to the white men whatever may have been imparted to them by their fathers. To keep these things a secret they consider a sacred duty. They even refuse to make known the medicinal properties of certain plants, while they are willing, provided they feel a liking for you, or are asked by a person whom they respect or love, to apply these plants, prepared by them, to heal the bite of a rattlesnake, tarantula, or any of the many venomous animals that abound in their forests.

During the many years that I have been among the Indians of all parts of America,--now with the civilized, now amidst those that inhabit the woods far away from the commerce of people,--strange to say, reciprocal sympathy and good feeling have always existed between us; they have invariably ceased to consider me a stranger.

This singular attractive feeling has often caused them to open their hearts; and to it I owe the knowledge of many curious facts and traditions that otherwise I should never have known. This unknown power did not fail me in Espita, a pretty little town in the eastern part of Yucatan, where I received from a very old Indian not only the intelligence that forty years ago men still existed who could read the ancient Maya writing, but also a clue to decipher the inscriptions on the buildings.

Conversing with some friends in Espita about the ancient remains to be found in that vicinity, they offered to show me one of the most interesting relics of olden times. A few days later they ushered into my presence a venerable old Indian. His hairs were gray, his eyes blue with age. The late curate of the place, Senor Dominguez, who departed this life at the respectable age of ninety, was wont to say that he had, since a child, and as long as he could remember, always known Mariano Chable, the same old man. They give him 150 years at least; yet he enjoys perfect health; still works at his trade (he is a potter); is in perfect possession of his mental faculties, and of an unerring memory. Having lost his wife, of about the same age as himself, but a short time before my interview with him, he complained of feeling lonely, and thought that as soon as the year of mourning was over he would take another wife to himself. It was a Sunday morning that we met for the first time. He had been to church, a.s.sisted at ma.s.s. There the recollection of his departed life-companion had a.s.sailed him and filled his old heart with sadness,--and he had called to his relief another acquaintance--rum--to help him to dispel his sorrow. Sundry draughts had made him quite talkative. He was in the right condition to open his bosom to a sympathizing friend,--so I was to him already. The libation I offered with him to the _manes_ of his regretted mate unsealed his lips. After a few desultory questions, with the object of testing his memory and intelligence, with great caution I began to inquire about the points I had more at heart--to wit, to gather all possible information and traditions upon the ruins of Chichen-Itza I was about to visit. The old man spoke only Maya; and my friend Cipriano Rivas, well versed in that language, was my interpreter, not being myself sufficiently proficient in it to hold a long conversation.

"Father," said I, "have you ever been in Chichen? Do you know anything about the big houses that are said to exist there?"

"I have never been in Chichen, and of my own knowledge know nothing of those big houses; but remember what the old men used to say about them when I was young."

"And what was that, pray. Will you tell me?"

"Oh yes! I had a friend in _Saci_ (Valladolid today),--he died forty years ago or so,--a very, very old man. His name was Manuel Alayon. He used to tell us all about these enchanted houses. He had a book that none but he could read, which contained many things about them. We used to gather at his house at night to listen to the reading of that book."

"Where is the book now, father?"

"Don't know. Alayon died. No one ever knew what became of the sacred book. Afterwards came the insurrection of the Indians, and the old friends also died."

"Do you remember what the book said?"

"Now, one of the things comes to my mind. It said that there was a very old house called the _Akab-sib_, and in that house a writing, which recited that _a day would come when the inhabitants of Saci would converse with those of Ho [Merida] by means of a cord, that would be stretched by people not belonging to the country_."

When I heard this, the idea occurred to me that the old fellow was quietly having his little bit of fun at my expense. In order to be sure of it I inquired:--

"What do you say, father? How can that be? Do you imagine how people forty leagues apart can converse by means of a cord?"

But when my interlocutor answered that he could not either know or imagine how that could be done, and particularly when my friends a.s.sured me that Chable had no idea of the electric telegraph, I then became convinced of his good faith, and began to ponder on the strange disclosure we had just listened to. The old man soon rose to take his departure, and I invited him to call again, when he had not been to church and consoled himself with his spiritual friend, in order that I might be able to take his portrait. He repeated his visit a few days later, as requested. I took his portrait, and asked him again about the monuments of Chichen. But, alas! that day his lips were sealed, or his memory failed, or his Indian secrecy had returned. He knew nothing of them; had never been there; did not remember what the old men said of the enchanted houses when he was young, except that the place had been enchanted for many, many years, and that it was not good to sleep near them, because the _Xlab-pak-yum_, the lord of the old walls, would be angry at the intrusion, and chastise the offender by disease and death within the year.

Some months later I arrived at Chichen. The revelation of the old man recurred vividly to my mind. I immediately went in quest of the building he had mentioned--the _Akab-sib_. [This name literally means--_Akab_, dark, mysterious; _sib_, to write. But we believe that anciently it was called _Alcab-sib_; that is, _Alcab_, to run in a hurry; _sib_, to write.] We had some trouble in finding it, concealed and confounded as it was among the tall trees of the forest, its roof supporting a dense thicket. We visited its eighteen rooms in search of the precious inscription, and at length discovered it on the lintel of an inner doorway in the room situated at the south end of the edifice. The dust of ages was thick upon it and so concealed the characters as to make them well-nigh invisible. With care I washed the slab, then with black crayon darkened its surface until the intaglio letters appeared in white on a dark background. (The photographs of this inscription can be seen at Mr. H. Dixon's.)

While thus employed Mrs. Le Plongeon stood by my side, studying the characters as they gradually appeared more and more distinct. To our astonishment we soon discovered the cord mentioned by Chable.

It started from the mouth of a face (which represents the people of Saci), situated near the right-hand upper corner of the slab, then runs through its whole length in a slanting direction and terminates at the ear of another head (the inhabitants of Ho). The inclined direction of the cord or line indicates the topographical position of the respective cities--Saci (Valladolid)--being more elevated above the level of the sea than Ho (Merida). But imagine now our amazement at noticing the strange fact that the mode of communication that Chable ignored was ... by means of electric currents! Yes, of electricity! This fact is plainly indicated by the four zigzag lines, representing the lightning, coming from the four cardinal points and converging toward a centre near the upper or starting station, and also by the solitary zigzag seen about the middle of the cord--following its direction--indicating a half-way station. Then the electric telegraph, that we consider _the discovery par excellence_ of the nineteenth century, was known of the ancient Itza sages 5000 or 10,000 years ago. Ah, _Nihil novum sub solem!_ And in that slab we have a clue to the deciphering of the Maya inscriptions,--an American Rosetta stone.

I will now say a few words of that language that has survived unaltered through the vicissitudes of the nations that spoke it thousands of years ago, and is yet the general tongue in Yucatan--the Maya. There can be no doubt that this is one of the most ancient languages on earth. It was used by a people that lived at least 6000 years ago, as proved by the Katuns, to record the history of their rulers, the dogmas of their religion, on the walls of their palaces, on the facades of their temples.

In a lecture delivered last year before the American Geographical Society of New York, Dr. C. H. Berendt has shown that the Maya was spoken, with its different dialects, by the inhabitants of Mayapan and Xibalba and the other nations of Central America south of Anahuac. He ought to be a good authority on the subject, having dedicated some years in Yucatan to its study.

The Maya, containing words from almost every language, ancient or modern, is well worth the attention of philologists. And since, as Professor Max Muller said, philology is the s.h.i.+ning light that is to illuminate the darkness of ethnology, besides the portraits of the bearded men discovered by me in Chichen, those of the princes and priests, and the beautiful statue of Chac-Mool, which serve to determine the different types, may be a guide to discover whence man and civilization came to America, if the American races can be proved not to be autochthonous. Notwithstanding a few guttural sounds, the Maya is soft, pliant, rich in diction and expression; even every shade of thought may be expressed.

Whence, then, are the Maya language and the Mayas? I should like to learn from the Americanists who are soon to congregate in Luxembourg.

AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON, M.D.

NOTE. The omission (as indicated) at the close of Dr. Le Plongeon's letter is a repet.i.tion of what he has previously stated in other communications, in regard to the many foreign words found in the Maya language, and that the Greek is there largely represented.

Then the question arises, who brought this language to Mayapan? He continues: "The customs, religion, architecture of this country, have nothing in common with those of Greece. Who carried the Maya to the country of Helen? Was it the Caras or Carians, who have left traces of their existence in many countries of America? They are the most ancient navigators known. They roved the seas long before the Phnicians. They landed on the North-East coasts of Africa, thence they entered the Mediterranean, where they became dreaded as pirates, and afterwards established themselves on the sh.o.r.es of Asia Minor. Whence came they? What was their origin? n.o.body knows.

They spoke a language unknown to the Greeks, who laughed at the way they p.r.o.nounced their own idiom. Were they emigrants from this Western continent? Was not the tunic of white linen, _that required no fastening_, used by the Ionian women, according to Herodotus, the same as the _uipil_ of the Maya females of to-day even, introduced by them among the inhabitants of some of the Mediterranean isles?"

The latest information about the statue exhumed at Chichen Itza must be discouraging to those solicitous for the careful conservation of this work of art. _La Revista de Merida_ of May 31, 1877, has this quotation from a Mexican newspaper:--

"A SHAMEFUL FACT."

"LA PATRIA _has the following paragraph copied from the_ EPOCA, _which ought to attract the attention of all interested. 'The notable statue of Chac-Mool, which was received in the capital of Yucatan with so great demonstrations of jubilee, and with unaccustomed pomp, has remained in our city since its arrival, some days ago, abandoned in a small square, afar off and dirty, where the small boys of the neighborhood amuse themselves by pelting it.

If Sr. Dn. Augustin del Rio had known the little value that would have been placed upon his gift, it is certain that he would have guarded there [at Yucatan] his king and his records, about which no one here concerns himself.'_"

How much of the above unfavorable criticism on the neglect of this archaeological treasure by the central government, is due to the political bias of the source of this information, cannot be determined.

We can, however, protest against any want of appreciation of a monument of past history in this manner lost to the State of Yucatan and to the discoverer, Dr. Le Plongeon, by the arbitrary exercise of official authority.

FOOTNOTES:

[58-*] Stephens' Travels in Yucatan, Vol. II., page 303.

[59-*] The hostile Indians (_sublivados_) so often spoken of by Dr. Le Plongeon in his communications, are a body of revolted natives, variously estimated at from 50,000 to 140,000. They are called Indians of _Chan-Santa-Cruz_, from the name of their chief town, in the south-eastern part of the peninsula. During political troubles in 1847, a formidable rising of Indians against the whites took place in Yucatan, which has not yet been subdued. Nearly every year the frontier towns and plantations bordering upon the territory of these rebels, suffer from their attacks; their inhabitants are slain and their property is destroyed. So formidable is this enemy that at one time their soldiers, said to be supplied with English arms, advanced to within 15 miles of the city of Merida. As matters stand to-day, about two-fifths of the territory of the state is in their power, and a large number of the best plantations in the peninsula are deserted.

A friend, Sr. Dn. Andres Aznar Perez, of Merida, a gentleman of large public spirit and much knowledge of this subject, informs the writer that "the princ.i.p.al Indian leaders in the revolution of 1847, were the cruel Cicilio Chi', and Jacinto Pat, the latter a.s.sa.s.sinated for his sympathy with the whites. Crecencio Poot (spoken of by Dr. Le Plongeon), is one of their later leaders. I am well convinced that the revolt of our Indians will never be brought to an end by force, as has been thus far pretended. I call this unfortunate race n.o.ble, and well it deserves the t.i.tle if we follow dispa.s.sionately the sufferings it has had to endure from the remote times of the conquest until the present, with habits so moderate, so frugal, so mild, that only the inhuman treatment of civil as well as religious authorities has been able to exasperate them. Theirs have been always the sufferings, the labors--never the enjoyments--that accompany enlightenment and healthy morality." An extended and unprejudiced account of this rebellion has just been published at Merida, called "_Historia de las Revoluciones de Yucatan_,"

by Sr. D. Serapio Baqueiro, in two volumes, which covers a period from 1840 to 1864. For years a constant military surveillance of the main avenues of approach from the eastern and south-eastern sections of the state has been maintained at a great expense to the government without affording adequate protection against periodical hostile incursions.

[63-*] This idea was better expressed by our learned a.s.sociate, Mr.

Haven, in Proceedings of this Society, No. 55, page 56, in commenting upon the works of Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg.

[74-*] See Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By L'Abbe Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864, page 327.

[89-*] Stephens' Travels in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan, vol.

I., page 158.

[89-] Id. vol. II., page 349.

[89-] Encyclopaedia Britannica. Boston, 1859: _Article_ Sculpture.

[90-*] Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, de Diego de Landa. By L. Abbe Bra.s.seur de Bourbourg. Paris, 1864, page 347.

[90-] Id. 197.

[90-] Id. 199.

[90---] Id. 183.