Mexican Archæology/Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII—THE MAYA: TRIBAL HISTORY
HAVING sketched the archæology of Mexico proper, explained as far as possible by what we know of the religion and customs of the early inhabitants, it now remains to consider the region to the south and east which was the scene of a distinct, but related, culture, that of the Maya. The area involved consists of Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche and Yucatan in Mexico, British Honduras, Guatemala and the northern portion of Honduras. The task is one of far greater difficulty, since the ruined remains scattered over the country give evidence of a higher culture than that which prevailed at the conquest; but of the people who evolved that culture we know nothing except by implication. The sites which show the greatest architectural and artistic development had been abandoned at any rate some considerable time before the coming of the Spaniards, and the early chroniclers were unable to record anything concerning them. In Yucatan alone were traditions preserved which could be brought into relation with the ancient buildings, and then only with the most modern of them, which bear evident traces of non-Maya influence. The area now under consideration is separated geographically from that which formed the subject of the preceding chapters by the Tehuantepec depression; to the east of the latter, the southern section, including the greater portion of Tabasco, Chiapas, Guatemala (except the extreme north), and Honduras, are part of a mountain system which extends, with interruptions, into South America, and may be considered a continuation of the Sierra Madre to the west and north. Campeche, Yucatan and the part of Guatemala excepted above, constitute a sort of annexe to the former, formed of limestone, low-lying, and of comparatively recent elevation from below the sea. Guatemala (including British Honduras) is an elevated plateau with its highest and steepest escarpment on the Pacific side, and sloping less abruptly and in irregular fashion towards the Atlantic. In the south is a volcanic system, giving rise to scenery of particular beauty, especially where it includes such highland lakes as that of Atitlan. The igneous range constitutes the main watershed, and consequently the only rivers of importance, the Usumacinta and Motagua, drain into the Atlantic, while in the low-lying region of Peten a number of lakes are found. In Honduras the mountain system decreases in elevation into hilly country, also with its principal slope towards the Atlantic, traversed in various directions by ridges branching off from the central plateau. The volcanic system extends from Guatemala along the Pacific coast. As in Mexico, climate corresponds with the degree of elevation, and in Guatemala the same three zones, tierra caliente, tierra templada and tierra fria, are found, with similar abrupt transitions from one to the other. In the lower country cacao vanilla, rubber, coconuts, bananas and palms grow freely, while the uplands are covered with oak and pine. The Atlantic side of Honduras produces a variety of valuable tropical timber, while the higher ground is on the whole more open than that of Guatemala, much of the vegetation being herbaceous and affording good grazing. The climate of Yucatan is purely tropical, and the rainfall is very heavy. Under such conditions, more favourable to vegetable than human existence, the country 1s thickly covered with forest which reappears as soon as cleared and renders exploration a matter of great difficulty, besides making the country very unhealthy from the point of view of the European. Indeed, the thick vegetation which clothes the river valleys and lower lying parts of the whole Maya area is the principal
| 1. | Aztec. | 16. | Kakchiquel. |
| 2. | Pipil. | 17. | Tzutuhil. |
| 3. | Chontal. | 18. | Uspantec. |
| 4. | Zotzil. | 19. | Kekchi. |
| 5. | Tzental. | 20. | Pokonchi. |
| 6. | Chol. | 21. | Pokomam. |
| 7. | Chanabal. | 22. | Chorti. |
| 8. | Chicomaltec. | 23. | Maya. |
| 10. | Cuje. | 24. | Zoque. |
| 11. | Jacaltec. | 25. | Tapachula. |
| 12. | Mam. | ||
| 13. | Ixil. | 1 and 2, Nahuatl; | |
| 14. | Aquacatec. | 3-23, Maya; 24 and | |
| 15. | Quiché. | 25 Zoquean) |
obstacle in the way of archaeological investigation, since not only does it render the ruins extremely difficult to locate, but it also contributes very seriously to their decay. The fauna is rich, and includes birds of brilliant plumage in great variety, jaguar, peccary, deer and alligator; the deer and the turkey being the most important from the economic point of view of the early native.
Practically the whole of the population of this area, with the exception.of an enclave of Nahua-speakers in southern Guatemala, spoke dialects of the language known as Maya in the broadest sense, to which the tongues of the Huaxtec and Totonac also belonged. The distribution of the various tribes is best seen from the accompanying map, after Thomas (Fig. 45), but it is hardly necessary to discuss them in detail, since their present positions cannot be taken necessarily as affording any indication of their positions in pre-Spanish times, and from only a very few have legends been collected which shed any light upon their former history. The dialect spoken in Yucatan is known as Maya in the narrower sense, and seems to bear a nearer relation to that which prevailed among the nations of the older culture, since the Yucatec at the conquest were using a script which corresponded closely with that found upon the monuments. Their dialect extends to the Rio de la Pasion and the western and southern Usumacinta, where it 1s spoken by the so-called Lacandons who have preserved certain of the ancient customs and beliefs. The Lacandons to the west speak the Chol dialect, though there are indications that both divisions of this people originally spoke Maya, that is to say the dialect of Yucatan. Besides the Yucatec, practically the only tribes of historical importance are grouped around lake Atitlan; the Quiché occupying the largest area to the north, south and west of the lake, extending from the Pacific to central Guatemala, the Kakchiquel to the west and south of the lake, also extending to the Pacific, and the Tzutuhil wedged in between them on the southern shore of Atitlan. South-east of the Kakchiquel are the Pipil, a Nahua-speaking tribe, and Nahua dialects are found in San Salvador and even further to the southeast, as far as Nicaragua and Panama, pointing to a stream of Nahua migration by an overland route. The Pipil themselves preserved a tradition that they had reached their present abode from Tuxtla. The Maya language as a whole exhibits certain points of similarity to that of the Mixtec and Zapotec, but its structure is more akin to that spoken on the islands of the Mexican Gulf and the northern coast of South America. A tradition existed in Yucatan that an early section of the inhabitants had come from the east, and the Maya of this neighbourhood were certainly good seamen, since large canoes with sails were met by the expedition of Columbus, so it is at least possible that a section of the early population were immigrants from the Antilles. But at present too little is known of the languages of Central America to admit of the formulation of definite theories based upon linguistic arguments, which constitute a class of evidence requiring extreme caution on the part of those who would make use of it.
The early history of the Maya tribes is by no means easy to extract from the traditions which have survived until the present day. The chief sources of information are as follows. The traditions relating to the Tutul-Xiu family, the centre of whose power at the time of the conquest lay at Mani in Yucatan, which were reduced to writing, under the name of the "Books of Chilan Balam" (Chilan Balam meaning Tiger-priest) in Spanish times. The legends of the Quiché, who in historical times occupied the plateau around Santa Cruz and Quetzaltanango, with their capital at Utatlan, contained in the Popol Vuh. The "Annals" of the Xahila family of the Kakchiquel tribe, whose chief city was Iximché near the modern Tecpan Guatemala. Finally the scattered traditions collected from the natives by such early writers as Landa and Cogolludo. The Yucatec traditions alone can be brought into any direct connection with the ruined sites of the early and architecturally more advanced Maya culture, but all of them agree in fixing Tulan as the starting-point of their respective migrations. Again the Books of Chilan Balam are the only traditions which are accompanied throughout by definite dates, according to a system which is explained later, and these dates can be correlated with our own time owing to the fact that each version fixes with great precision the death of a certain Ahpula, which occurred in 1536. Unfortunately the different versions do not agree as to the earlier dates, and in some cases extended time-periods appear to have been interpolated. I think however by careful comparison it is possible to reduce the discrepancies to a minimum, and I have therefore drawn up a scheme of chronology, based in the main on the version current at Mani, for which some degree of accuracy may, I think, be claimed. I do not pretend that these dates are more than tentative, but they will at least serve as a frame-work into which the main facts of Maya history may be fitted (Appendix III). The tradition current in Yucatan at the time of Landa was that the country had been peopled by two sets of immigrants, one from the east under a god or high-priest Itzamna, the other from the west under Kukulkan (the Maya equivalent of Quetzalcoatl), who later departed westward in the direction of Mexico. The first immigrants are said to have built Chichen Itza, and Kukulkan is related to have ruled there for a time, though afterwards his votaries built the city of Mayapan, where he reigned as a sort of overlord of the Yucatec. According to this author the Tutul-Xiu entered Yucatan from the south, and joined the Mayapan confederacy. To judge from their own legend the Tutul-Xiu left their original abode, Nonoual in Tulan Zuiva, about the year 41 8 a.d. (though it is possible that this event may have occurred earlier, viz. in 161, but I think the evidence is in favour of the later dating). Their leader was Holon Chantepeuh, and their first settlement was at Chacnouitan, and subsequently, under Ahmekat Tutul-Xiu, at Balcalar. Whilst there, they heard of Chichen Itza, and later removed to this site, about the year 496. The fact that they are stated to have heard of Chichen Itza while they were at Balcalar seems to prove that some settlement already existed at the former place, and one version of the tradition represents them as setting out in search of it. For over a century they resided at Chichen Itza, and then removed to Champoton, probably owing to difficulties with their neighbours, since it is stated that Chichen was "destroyed." Their stay at Champoton is estimated at about two centuries and a half, at the end of which period they wandered back to Chichen Itza and again established themselves there. Not long afterwards Uxmal was "founded" by one of the Xiu family, Ahzuitok Tutul-Xiu, about 989, and the famous "league" of Mayapan was formed. For some time, about two hundred years, a central government was maintained at Mayapan, the city associated so closely with Kukulkan, and no doubt the paramount chieftains were satisfied with little more than the bare recognition of suzerainty. But the centrifugal action so noticeable in the political history of the American peoples began to assert itself, the league split up and Mayapan fell. The exact circumstances which led to the downfall of the paramount city are obscure. The family of the Cocomes were the rulers of Mayapan at the time, and it would appear that | they had begun to exercise a closer control over their vassals. To support the harsher methods which they introduced they commenced to employ the services of mercenaries, "Mexicans," recruited in Tabasco and Xicalanco, and by their aid levied tribute upon the other members of the league to an extent which the latter were not prepared to suffer. The accounts of the Books of Chilan Balam are obscure, but they agree in the names of the personages who played the principal parts in the events which followed. Chac-Xib-Chac was the "Governor" of Chichen Itza, and it would appear that he conspired against the ruler of Mayapan, Hunac Ceel, who drove him out, according to the, no doubt, partisan account of the Xiu house, by "treachery." This treachery probably implies the employment of the foreign mercenaries mentioned above, since Hunac Ceel's agents are called the "seven men of Mayapan," and their names, which are recorded, are Nahua rather than Maya. Ulil, the ruler of Itzamal, also appears to have been implicated in the conspiracy against the ruling house. But whatever was the exact course of events, the net result was that Chichen Itza was depopulated about the year 1187; meanwhile the Nahua mercenaries had influenced the ethnography of the country by the introduction of the bow as a weapon. But the end was not yet, the people of Chichen Itza nursed their revenge, and about a century later instigated a general rising which resulted in the sack of Mayapan and the slaughter of the ruler and all his sons except one, who was at the time absent in the Uloa valley. The survivor on his return collected the remnants of the Cocomes and settled at Sotuta, the Xiu faction retiring to Mani. The Mexican mercenaries, who no doubt formed too formidable a section to be attacked directly, were allowed to form a settlement at Ahcanul, north-east of Campeche. Itzamal however survived; a noble of high rank, Ahchel, who had married the daughter of a high-priest of Mayapan, took up his residence at Tikoch near the coast, with his numerous sons. The family increased in numbers and importance, and later constituted a ruling house, known as the Chel, with its capital at Itzamal. Subsequent history relates various struggles between the Xiu, Cocomes and Chel, the Cocomes preventing the Chel from obtaining game and cereals from the interior, and the Chel refusing salt and fish to the Cocomes. But in spite of this the population at large was prosperous, and increased in numbers, until a severe hurricane wrought much damage throughout the land, chiefly by causing the thatched roofs of the houses to catch fire. This disaster was followed by a plague, and then a series of sanguinary wars, after which smallpox appeared. Finally the Xiu, wishing to perform certain ceremonies at their old home, Chichen Itza, asked for a passage through the territory of the Cocomes. This was granted, but the party was enticed into a building which was set on fire and the inmates were massacred. Meanwhile the Spaniards had appeared in the country, and native history had reached its close.
The history of the Quiché exhibits some connection with that of the Kakchiquel, and further displays certain points of resemblance with the early legends of the Mexicans. Though both the Quiché and Kakchiquel accounts give lists of kings who ruled over their respective tribes, yet they furnish no dates, and the lengths of the various reigns can only be conjectured. Quiché history, like the Mexican, begins in myth, with the final or historical creation. The creating-gods fashioned four men out of maize, Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah and Iqi-Balam. Of these the first three were the ancestors of the three Quiché divisions, the Cavek, Nihaib and Ahau-Quiché respectively. The fourth had no descendants, and therefore no place in the later history. We are told that besides these four individuals, the "Yaqui" or "sacrificers" (a name given in later times to the Mexicans) existed in numbers, and further the ancestors of various other tribes to the east (of the original Quiché home) were created, including the Tepeuh Oloman (probably the Olmec), the Tamub and Ilocab (the early inhabitants of the country later occupied by the Quiché), the seven tribes of Tecpan (perhaps the Pokomam and Pokonchi), the Kakchiquel, the Rabinal (later at Zamaneb), the Tziquinaha (of Atitlan), and others. The four Quiché ancestors however were too perfect to please the gods, being omniscient, so the latter dimmed their intellects, but, as some sort of compensation, provided them with wives. The sun as yet was not created, all the world was dark, and mankind had no knowledge of ritual. So they set out for Tulan Zuiva, where each tribe received its god under whose leadership it commenced its migration. Before the general separation however the need of fire was felt, and the Quiché god, Tohil, who was a thunder-god, provided his votaries with a constant supply, by striking it from his sandal. The other tribes begged fire from the Quiché, but they, on the advice of a messenger in bat-form from the underworld, Xibalba, demanded in return that the recipients should consent to be united with their god "beneath their girdles and beneath their armpits." This dark saying implied the gift of their hearts in sacrifice, and the other tribes, failing to understand the true import, fell into the trap, with the exception of the Kakchiquel, whose bat-god stole fire from the smoke without agreeing to the terms. The migrations then took place, many of the tribes going eastward, while the Quiché, together with the Kakchiquel, Tamub, Hocab, Rabinal and Tziquinaha, travelled to Guatemala, where on a mountain they assumed their tribal names and "awaited the dawn, looking for the morning star." The phrase recalls very distinctly the Mexican legend related on p. 10. Finally the morning star made its appearance, followed by the sun, to which incense brought from Tulan was offered, but the tribal gods, who had meanwhile expressed the wish to be secluded in sanctuaries apart from the settlements of men, were turned into stone. After this the four Quiché leaders withdrew themselves from association with their followers, but were occasionally seen, together with the gods, in the mountains and forests; human sacrifice, practised secretly, began to make its appearance, and strife with the other tribes arose. The operations of the hostile tribes seem to have been directed chiefly towards the capture of the Quiché gods, and after the failure of various stratagems, a direct attack was made upon the Quiché, now living in a palisaded settlement in the mountains, but was repulsed with great slaughter. The death of the original leaders next follows in the legend; they summon the people, sing the song with which they greeted the sun on its first rising and then disappear, leaving behind a bundle afterwards known as "veiled majesty." The song opens, "The king of the deer is ready; his sign appears in the sky," and the words suggest the stellar god of the Mexican hunting-tribes, Mixcoatl, with his two-headed deer, while the "medicine-bundle" is not unknown to Mexican mythology (see pp. 33 and 55).
The greater portion of the account given at present must of course be regarded as belonging to the region of myth, but at this point the narrative becomes more "historical" in nature. The Popol Vuh naturally exalts the Quiché at the expense of the other tribes, but it appears from other sources that they did actually exercise a certain, though variable, supremacy over their neighbours. Hitherto they had obviously been under a priestly domination, and the leaders of the migration wielded an authority arising from their association with the gods which they received at Tulan. But their sons had no such right to command, and so set out on a pilgrimage to the related tribes in the east, i.e. those who had taken a more easterly route, to obtain the insignia of temporal rule. On their return the Quiché began to expand, stone-built cities were constructed to be the centres of ceremonial and political life of the three tribal divisions, the government was organized, and though the Ilocab revolted against the growing Quiché power, they were subdued and the attempt only had the effect of inaugurating the public sacrifice of prisoners. It is interesting to note that one of their early kings, whose name Gukumatz is the equivalent of the Nahua Quetzalcoatl, is credited with the performance of many miraculous feats; but the first kings important from a historical point of view were Quicab and Cavizimah. Under them the Kakchiquel and Rabinal were conquered, colonies and garrisons were placed in subject towns and, on their own account, continued to extend the Quiché power by conquest, though many of the leaders broke away from the main stock and set up as independent chieftains. In this reign we first hear of prisoners of war being executed by the shooting sacrifice as practised by the Mexicans. Quicab appears to have been by far the most important of the Quiché rulers, but the power which he gained was not maintained even throughout his reign. For the events which commenced the decline of the Quiché domination we must go to the annals of the Kakchiquel, in which it is stated that two of Quicab's sons, who no doubt occupied the position of sub-chiefs, took advantage of certain discontent among his subjects to refuse the tribute due to their father and overlord. 'The sedition seems to have succeeded to the extent that Quicab's authority was considerably weakened, and it was followed by a more serious defection in the form of a revolt on the part of the Kakchiquel as related below. None of Quicab's successors wielded the power which he exercised in his most prosperous years, and at the time of the conquest the Kakchiquel, Tzutuhil and other tribes had regained their independence.
In the Kakchiquel annals we find again a list of kings, though five fewer than the corresponding list of Quiché chiefs, but dates are for the most part lacking, though the revolt of a subtribe in the reign of the sixth ruler can be fixed as the starting-point of the chronological system current at the discovery. Again we find Tulan mentioned as the point of departure, but the statement is made that there are four Tulans, one in the east, one in the west (whence the Kakchiquel themselves came), one at Xibalba (the underworld) and one "where god is." It is impossible not to see in this a reference to the four cardinal points, which, as has been pointed out, were of such ceremonial importance among the Mexicans. The names of the ancestors of the Xahila division of the Kakchiquel are given as Gagavitz and Zactecauh, and after the creation they brought tribute to Tulan together with the Zotzil, the other division, consisting of jade, silver, feather-work and carvings. All that they brought away with them were their arms, bows and shields, and throughout the early portion of the annals insistence is continually being made on the fact that the Kakchiquel were warriors of the hills. "Let your rounded shields be your riches, your bows, your bucklers . . . there in the hills shall you lift up your faces." Various other tribes are mentioned as starting from Tulan about the same time, including the Rabinal, Tzutuhil, and Tukuchi, the last becoming subject subsequently to the Kakchiquel. A number of place-names occur in the account of the migration, which do not admit of identification, and at one point the sea is said to have been crossed by means of a causeway of sand which miraculously made its appearance. Finally the travellers come to Tapcu Oloman, where they fought with those of Nonoualcat, who come against them in boats, a statement which must surely point to the Olmec and the region east of the Totonac (between the rivers Papaloapan and Usumacinta) known to the Mexicans as Nonoualco. Whilst here they made an attack upon Zuiva, but were defeated. At this point the wandering peoples, who included the Quiché, adopted tribal names, and they then retraced their footsteps over the route by which they had come, fighting with various tribes by the way, until apparently they turned south and arrived in Guatemala. During the journey Zactecauh fell into a ravine and was killed, but Gagavitz, whose influence hitherto seems to have been purely priestly, like that of other leaders of migration, was invested with the insignia of temporal power and became chief of the Xahila and Zotzil divisions. At this time the tribes were evidently in a neighbourhood which was the scene of considerable volcanic activity, and in one of their wars they captured the ruler of a hostile tribe, by name Tolgom ("Son of the Mud-that-Quivers"), and executed him with arrows. In commemoration of this episode an annual festival was instituted at which children were offered up in an arrow-sacrifice. 'The tribes then settled, dividing the land amongst themselves, and since Gagavitz remained with the Tzutuhil, the Kakchiquel were left without a chief, and a man named Baquahol succeeded in obtaining the power, apparently by purchase or bribery. Here again the Kakchiquel account is brought into relation with other migration legends, since it is stated that the "dawn" appeared. The actual words used are rather interesting, and they are quoted in full lateron. Though Baquahol had obtained the power, yet Gagavitz was not without descendants, and his two sons Cay Noh and Cay Batz took service with a chief named Tepeuh, "king of Kauke, to whom all paid tribute." It has been conjectured with some reason that this ruler is to be identified with the Quiché chief Iztayul, but in any case he appears to have been an overlord of the whole district, and sufficiently powerful to place Cay Noh and Cay Batz as rulers over the Kakchiquel. Cay Nohwas succeeded by his son Citan Quatu, but the son of the latter did not rule; in fact for the time the power appears to have been divided among a number of petty chieftains. However, the tribes were again united by Huntoh and Vukubatz, the former being the grandson of Citan Quatu, though the Kakchiquel had not yet attained complete independence, since they recognized the Quiché ruler, now Quicab, as their overlord. But freedom was in sight, and an opportunity was offered by the troubles which marred the final years of Quicab's reign. 'The actual excuse of the Kakchiquel revolt was slender enough, a woman selling bread had her wares seized by certain Quiché soldiers, and the Kakchiquel espoused her cause. Quicab appears to have failed to recognize the real nature of the movement, and neglected to take immediate steps to suppress it, with the result that the Kakchiquel were able to declare their independence and now appear as a rival power. Hostilities between the peoples continue, and finally the Kakchiquel under Cablahuh Tihax and Oxlahuh Tzii defeat the Quiché in a pitched battle, capturing their joint rulers Tepepul and Iztayul, who have meanwhile succeeded Quicab.[1] The description of the battle is given in part on p. 292. The power of the Kakchiquel now appears at its zenith, but their expansion aroused the jealousy of their neighbours. A revolt occurred of the Tukuchi subject tribe, which was however suppressed, and with such slaughter that the incident became a landmark in history. From this point in the annals the number of days which elapsed subsequent to the revolt is given, with the result that the revolt itself can be attributed almost with certainty to the year 1494. The rest of the history until the arrival of the Spaniards consists in accounts of fights with neighbours, which the annals usually characterize as the suppression of revolts. Two items of information however are of importance. Before the death of Oxlahuh Tzii, which occurred in 1509 or 1510, we read that certain "Yaqui" (i.e. Mexican traders) were put to death for siding with the revolted Akahal, while in 1511 messengers were received by Hunyg and Lahun Noh, then ruling, from Montecuzoma.
It is perhaps impossible in the present state of our knowledge to unravel the myths given above sufficiently to determine with accuracy the routes taken by the different tribes, but still the general trend of migrations may perhaps be gathered from them. The place-name Nonoual, which occurs both in the books of Chilan Balam and the annals of the Kakchiquel, is valuable as a fixed point, since it seems possible to determine the locality with reasonable certainty. The Kakchiquel obviously reached Nonoual from the west, and then retraced their steps before turning southward into Guatemala; thus they always regarded Nonoual as lying in the east. For the Tutul Xiu however it lay in the west, and this people had settled at Balcalarin southern Yucatan before they moved north to Chichen Itza. If we add to this the information found in the Kakchiquel annals that the inhabitants lived in boats, the conclusion seems inevitable that Nonoual lay somewhere on the coast between the lower reaches of the Papaloapan and of the Usumacinta. This agrees absolutely with the site of the region known to the Mexicans as Nonoualco, and the "sea" crossed by the Quiché and Kakchiquel before they arrived there may be one of the lagoons of the Papaloapan basin. The name of Tulan, the starting-point of the migrations, affords greater difficulties. Tulan is usually mentioned with the addition of the name Zuiva, and the Popol Vuh gives it a further title which means the "seven caverns," and so brings it into direct relation with the Chicomoztoc at which the various Nahua tribes foregathered before they descended upon the Mexican valley (see p. 14). For the Kakchiquel, Tulan was also the starting-point, but Zuiva lay beyond Nonoual, and evidently not far from it; and this agrees with the Books of Chilan Balam, since in the latter Nonoual pears to be a district of the realm known as Tulan Zuiva. A further point in confirmation of this may perhaps be extracted from the fact that certain tribes called Tepeu Oilman (Popol Vuh), or Tapcu Oloman (Kakchiquel annals), are associated with this particular region, while the inhabitants of the latter were known to the Mexicans as Olmec. Tulan, the starting-point therefore, cannot be identified with the Zuiva, or Tulan Zuiva near Nonoual, nor indeed is there any need that such an identification should be made. The original Tulan, wherever it lay, was regarded evidently as the home of a large number of peoples, and there is a tendency, visible all over the world, for migrating tribes to name their subsequent settlements after their original or legendary birthplace. Perhaps the best example of this propensity is presented by the number of Hawaikis scattered over the Pacific, Hawaiki being the name of the original starting-point of Polynesian migrations. That this Tulan Zuiva near Nonoual was an important kingdom in the youth of the Quiché and Kakchiquel peoples is obvious; the Kakchiquel admit defeat at the hands of its inhabitants, and though it is not expressly so stated, the account of the Popol Vuh seems to indicate that the insignia of temporal power were obtained from the ruler of this district, a chief named Nacxit. The name Nacxit is interesting, since Tezozomoc states that it was an appellation of Quetzalcoatl, and we have already observed the importance which the Mexican immigrants attached to Toltec blood as giving the possessor the right to reign, Tulan being closely associated with this god. That there were more Tulans than one seems evident from the Kakchiquel statement that there were four, although the number quoted appears to have a certain ceremonial reference to the points of the compass. That the Quiché and Kakchiquel had come in contact with the later Nahua immigrants into the Mexican valley seems evident both from certain points of similarity in their migration legends, and also from the highly important fact that they used the bow, a weapon which was unknown to the Tutul Xiu until a later date. From these considerations, and also from the evidence afforded by the short list of kings which the legends of these.tribes furnish, one feels inclined to regard the Tulan from which they started as the region ruled by the Toltec of the Mexican valley, and to conjecture that the Tulan Zuiva with which Nonoual was connected, was perhaps one of the now ruined sites in the Usumacinta basin. The association of the word Zuiva with the original Tulan in the Quiché account may be due to one of two causes. It may on the one hand be the result of confusion, or on the other it is possible that "Tulan" and "Zuiva" may be the same name but belong to different dialects. The question which Tulan gave the name to the other is more complex, and can only be decided after the date of these ruins has been discussed, but it may be mentioned that there is nothing inherently impossible in the suggestion that one of the Usumacinta sites may have been named Tulan, for we do not know the original names of any of them. The net result of a comparison of the migration legends which we possess is therefore as follows. The Quiché and Kakchiquel appear to have been closely connected throughout, and the Tutul Xiu show little trace of connection with either. The former two tribes seem to have been brought into contact with the later Nahua,while the Tutul Xiu were not, and the Tulan from which the Tutul Xiu migration started was not the Tulan which the Quiché and Kakchiquel regarded as their original home, though it is possible that the two were intimately connected. The first stage of Quiché and Kakchiquel migration seems to have been from west to east, through those districts which, from Tuxpan to Tabasco, were regarded as the daughter-states of the Mexican Tulan, and their route, or at any rate some portion of it, lay along the coast. After this they retraced their steps for a short distance, and then turned south and west into Guatemala, probably passing through south-western Vera Cruz, western Oaxaca, and Chiapas. Further consideration of this complicated question must be deferred until some account has been given of the religion, ethnography, and ruined sites of the Maya area.
- ↑ At this point the Kakchiquel annals prove a useful check upon the account given by the Popol Vuh. Tepepul and Iztayul, according to the latter, preceded Quicab, and Quicab was succeeded by 'Tepepul and Xtayub. It is evident that some duplication has taken place in the Quiché legend, that Tepepul and Iztayul are the same as Tepepul and Xtayub, and that they succeeded Quicab.