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Show 270 BOOK VI. ~ SacT. XIV. Numbe r nud tl ilfcrcnr rau k s of the priclls. II I s T 0 R y 0 F M E X I C 0. · 1'1 · r. bl' e·l to provide were 1 <eWHC o 1g u for the temples. · There is rcnfon to belie c that that tratt of cou ntry, which went un~er the name uf 're~t! tllptm (land of the gods), was [o nam d from bemg among .thc J~o{kf-rr. w ns of.. t 11 e t em ples · There were belides great nu. mbers druly of fr .· c-o1rr. e n·n gs, [ t·o m tl1c devout uf every kind, of prov1fions and. fir(l frutts, which were prcfented in returning thanks for feafonablc r~111 ~nd other blclii ngs of heaven. Nc11r the temples were the gr~nanc s where all the grain and other provilio ns, necc!Etry for the m:u.nt _n ancc of the prieil:s, were kept; and the overplu_s wa~ annually dtflnbutcd to the poor, for whom aUo there were hofpttals m tl:e larger to :vt~ s . . The number of the prieil:s among the Me. Jeans corrc1poncl~d wnh the multitude of gods and temples ; nor W<1S the homa~e. wl:t h tl:ey paid to the deities thcmfclvcs much greater than the v~nerattan 111 wl~t ch they held their miniflers. We may fo~·m fome ~OnJeCture of the 1111- menfe number of priefls in the Mcxtcan emptre, from the number within the area of the great temple, which fome ancient hi il:orians tell us, amounted to five thouf<tnd. Nor will thitt calc ubtio:1 appear furprifing, when we confider that in that pbce there were four hundred priefi: con(ccratcd t~ the fcrvice of the. god T'c'l-catzoncatl alone . Ev.ery temple, in ciecd, had a con.fid<;rable number, fo that I ~1o.nld n ~ t tl:lllk it rnfh to affirm, th at there could not be 1 fs than a mdhon of pneil:s th r ughout the empire. Their number could not fail to be incrc,lfcd from the great refp -8: paid to the pricfi:hood, and the high opinion th ey conceived of the ofE e of [erving in the worfhip of. the gods. The O'rcat men even vied with one another in onfecrating their children for fome time to the fervice of the temples; while the inlcrior nobility employed th eirs in works without, fuch as c~1rrying wood, feeding and keeping up the fire of the fl:oves, and other things of that kind; :11l conlidering the honour of [erving in the worfhip of the gods as the grcateil: to which they could afpire. T here were fcvcr.tl different orders and degrees among the priefi:s. T he chief of all were the two high priefrs, to whom they gave the names of ~reotmflli (divine lord), and Hueiteopixqui (great pricil:). Th.lt eminen t di gnity was never conferred but upon fuch as were diftingui{ hed for their birth, their probity, and t,hcir great knowledge of every thing connected with the ce remonies of their relig.ion. The high- H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. high-prieil:s were the oracles whom the kings confulted in all the moil: important a:ff.'lirs of the fl:ate, and no war was ever undertaken without their approbation. It bdongcd to them to anoint the king after ,his eleCtion, and to open the breafi:, and tear out the hearts of the human viCtims, at the moil: folemn .litcrifi ce . T he high-prieO: in the king dom of Acolhuacan was, according to [orne hiflorians, always the fccond fon of the king. Among the Totonacas he was anointed with the claflic gum mixed with children's blood, and this they called the divine zmCJim ( z). Some authors f.'ly the ii.tmc of the high-pricfl: of Mexico. From what is .f:1id it appears, that the high-pricfi:s of fvfexico were the heads of their religion only among the Mexicans, and not witll refpeCl: to the other conquered na tions: thefc, even after being fubjccl ed to the crown of Mexico, fl:ill maintaiuing their prieil:hood indepen dent. The high-priefl:hood was conferred by cleClion; but we are i ~n orant whether the elettors were of the prieflly order, or the fame with thofe who chafe the political head of the empire. The high-priefl:s of Mexico were difi:inguifhed by n tuft of cotton which hung from their brea{l;; and at the principal feafl.s they were dre'ffed in fplendid habits, upon which were reprefented the infignia of the god whofe feafl: they celebrated. On folemn feftival s, the high-prieD: of the Mix:tecas was clotheci in a {hort coat, on which the principal .cvents of their mytho .. Jogy was reprcfcntcd; above that he had a furplice, and over all a large capuchin; on his head he wore plumes of gre n feathers, curioufly interwoven with fmall figures of their gods; at his 1l1otdder hung one tilffel of cotton, and another hung at his nrm. Next to this fup1·emc dignity of the pricL1:hood, the mofl: refpetl:able charge was that of theMexicoteo!Juatz in, which was collferred by thehighpriefi: s. The employment of this oflicer was to attend to the due obiervahce of the rites and ceremonie , and to watch over the conclutt of thofe prielts who had the charge of feminaries, and to puni(h them when guilty of a rnifdemeanor. In order to enable him to difchargc n11 the {k) Acoil:a confounds the divine Lln<'l ion of the high-pricfl with that of the king; hut it wna totally dificrent; the king did nor anuint hi111f(; lf with cl:d1ic g:um, but with n pan iculnr fol't of ink. 1 duties |
