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Show HIS T 0 R ·Y 0 F M E X I C 0. BOOK VII. of reed called icpalli (p ). No houfe wanted the met/at/, or comalli. '-Y'"-..J The metlatl was the ftone in which they ground their maize, and the cacao, as is reprefented in our figure of their mode of making bread. This inftrument is ftill extremely common in aU New Spain, and over the greateil: part of America. The Europeans have alfo adopted it, and in Italy and elfewhere the chocolate-makers ufe it to grind the cacao. The comalli was, and ftill is, being as much ufed as the met/at/_. a round and rather hollow pan, which is about an inch, thick and about fifteen in diameter. The drinking veifds of the Mexicans were made of a fruit fimilar to gourds, which grow, in hot countries, on trees ~f a: middling fize. Some of them are large and perfeCl:ly round, which they call Xica//i(q), and others fmall er and cylindrical, which they give the name of Tecomatl. · Both thefe fruits are folid and heavy: t?eir rind is hard, woody, and of a dark green colour, and the feeds are like thofe of gourds. The xicalli is about eight inches in diameter; the t~comatl is not fo long, and about four fingers in thicknefs. Each fruit when divided in the middle made two equal vefiels; they cut out all th~ feed, and gave them a :arniih with a particular mineral earth, of a pleafing fmell, and of dlffe~ent ~olours, particularly a fine recl. At prefent they are frequently gtlt w1th filver and gold. The Mexicans made ufc of no candlefticks, nor wax, nor tallow cand~es, nor of oil to make light; for although ,they had many kiiJilds · ?f 011, t~ey nev~r employed it otherwife than in medicine, in paintmg, and 111 varm01es; ancl although they extrac;l:ed a great quantity of wax from the honey-combs, they either did nQt know, or were not at the pains. t? make lights .with it. In maritime countries thc:ty made u[e of !hmmg beetles for that purpofe; but in general they employed torches of ocotl, which, although they made a fi~e light, and yielded ( P) The Spaniards corrupt the word into Equipalu. ( '1). The Spaniards of Mexico called rhe Xi calli Xi car a. The Spaniards of Europe adopt· ~1 thiS word to figni:y .the little cup for taking chocolate, and thence came the Italian Cbicche,·a. . omarc .ma.kes mentiOn. of .th~ tree Xicalh, under the name of Calcbaffier d' Amerique, and fays, :h~t m ~ew Spatn, It 1s known under the names of Choynr Cujetc :md HY,<1'floro · but tlus ts a. mt!h• ke • Tl1 c name .ru..rw·l ucro (not H ygucro) was that w'h t· ch the ' Indw· n s "o' f the' l!land of H1fp·a ni.o l•a g.·1 vc tot1 u ·s tree; t h c' Sp a111· n1·' con<J.ucrors made ufe of ·It formerly, but no ufc wa.s made of tt aftcriV".. r d s ·m N ew Sp .·u · n. N one o f' t 11 e other trees were ever heard of by us 111 thofe colmtrica. an .. H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C O. a~ agreeable odour, fmoked and foiled their habitations with foot. One of the European cuftom~ which they chiefly prized upon..the arrival of the Spaniards, was that of candles; but thofe people had certainly little occa~on for candles, as they devoted all~ the hours of the night to repofe, after employing all thofe of the day in bufinefs and toil. The men laboured at their different profeffions, and the women baked, wove, <tmbroidered, prepared victuals, and cleaned their houfes. All daily made orifons to their gods, and burned copal in honour of them, and therefore no houfe, however poor the polfelfor, wanted idols or cenfers. The method which the Mexicans and other nations praCl:ifed to kindle fire, was the fame which the ancient fhepherds of Europe employed (r), by the friCl:ion of two pieces of wood. The Mexicans generally Hfed the achiote, which is the roucou of the French. Boturini affirms, that they ftruck fire alfo from flint. After a few hours of labour in the morning they took their breakfail:, which was moft commonly atol/i, or gruel of maize, and their dinner after mid-day; but among all the hill:orians of Mexico, we have found no mention of their fupper. They ate little, but they drank frequently, either of the wine of the maguei, or maize, or of chia, Qr ftJme other drink of the cacao, and fometimes plain water. After dining, the lords ufed to compofe themfclves to Jleep with the fmoke of tobacco (s). This plant was greatly in ufe among the Mexicans. They make various plafters with it, and took it not only in fmoke at the mouth, but alfo in fnuff at the nofe. In order to fmoke it, they put the leaves with the gum of liquid amber, and other hot, warm, and odorous herbs, into a little pipe of wood, or reed, or [orne ( 1·) Ctllitlrc ·morus1 launtJ ; lmlcrre, ' & OJJIIUJ c.t· quib11J ig11iarin ji1111t, Explol'atortml hoc rifu 1 i11 cajlris P njlnrrt11UJIIC rrptrit; quo11iam ad c.wutimdum ignn11 11011 flmpcr lapidis ljl occa}o. '1/:rritttr trgo Zig ~tum lig~to, ig~trmqur concipit alfrilu1 e.t·tipitllfl! materia aridi fomitis, frmgi1 vrl.folinrllm fa cilime coll{'rptum . Plinius II ill. Nat. lib. :Xvi. c. 40. The f:unc thing is obfcrved in the fecond book of the Qyefriones Naturales of Seneca, and alfo in other ~ n cicn t writers. (s) <J'nbaco is a name taken from the Hnitilu language. The Mexican3 had two fpecies of •tobacco, very different in the fize of the plant and the leaves, in the figure of the flower :md the colour of thr. feed. The fmallcfi, which is the common one, was ca lled by thtm Pici(tl, :md the la1:.gefl !J!.!."r.11jctl. This ·lafl becomes as high as a modcr~te tree. Its flower is not divided into five parts like that of the Picictl, bu~ only cut. into fix or feven angles. :rhefc ·plants vary much according to clime, 110t only 11\ the qual11y of the tob ~,cco, but nlfo 1.11 t.hc li1.e of the k <wcs and other circumQances, on which accouut feveral authors have rmdtlplretl the fpccics. 8 other 439 BOOK Vll. '----v--1 S r;: CT. LXIX. The ufe of tobacco. ·. ·- |