CHAPTER V—MEXICO: SOCIAL SYSTEM, WAR, TRADE AND JUSTICE
IT is difficult to say with certainty what was the social organization of the wandering tribes which, one after the other, found their way into the Mexican valley, but from indications we may gather that there were two centres of authority. No doubt the principal of these was religious; most of the tribes are mentioned as being under the guidance of their god, and it may be inferred that the priest possessed tremendous influence in directing the tribal policy. If the priest were a fighting-man also, he probably became the sole leader, and it is not unlikely that this was often the case. The fighting-priest was no rarity in Mexico, and in later times there was a special set of insignia for priests who distinguished themselves in battle. But normally, it may be concluded, the tribe was led in fight by the best and most experienced warrior, whose authority was probably exercised only during military operations. As amongst practically all nomadic peoples, the heads of families probably constituted a tribal council. The Toltec, upon the ruins of whose civilization the ruder Nahua tribes established themselves, were admittedly a people of higher culture than the immigrants; and they were living a settled life under the rule of "kings" in whom the priestly aspect predominated. As has been seen above, the Toltec themselves contained an immigrant Nahua element, which presumably had imposed itself upon the prior inhabitants, but, when the later-comers arrived, material prosperity had diminished their warlike propensities, and they were known as a
109
