MAYA 84
established their headquarters at Chan-Santa-Cruz in the eastern part of the peninsula. In lS5;i it seemed as if a tonipiirary undorslanding had been reachetl, but next year liostilities In'fian again. Two exiieditions against the .Maya stronghold were repulsed, \'alladolid was besieged by the Indians, Vecax taken, and more than two tho\isand wliilcs nia.ssaered. In IS(>0 the Mexican Colonel .Acoroto, with ;(,()()() men, occupied Chan-Santa-Cruz, lint was hnally compelled to retire with the loss of 1,.5()(1 men killed, and to abandon his wounded — who were all luilcheretl — as well as his artillery and supplies and all but a few hundred stand of small arms. The Indians burned and ravaged in every direction, nineteen flourishing towns being en- tirely wiped out, and the population in three districts being recluced from 97,000 to 3.'), 000. The war of e.x- tennination eontinuetl, with savage atrocities, through 1864, when it gradually wore itself out, leaving the Indians still unsubdued and well supplied with arms and munitions of war from Belize. In 186S it broke out again in resistance to the Juarez government. In 1S71 a Mexican force again occupied C'han-Santa-Cruz, but retired without producing any permanent result. In 1901, after long preparation, a strong Mexican force invaded the territory- of the intlependent Maya both by land and sea, stormed Chan-Santa-Cruz and, after determineil resistance, drove the defenders into the swamps. The end is not yet, however, for, even in tliis year of 1910, Mexican troops are in the field to put down a serious rising in the northern part of the penin- sula.
II. In.stitutions, Arts, and Literature. — Under the ancient system, the Maya Government was an hereditary al.isolute monarchy, with a close union of the spiritual and temporal elements, the hereditary high priest, who was also king of the sacred city of Izamal, being consulted by the monarch on all impor- tant matters, besides having the care of ritual and ceremonials. On public occasions the king appeared dressed in flowing white robes, decorated with gold antl precious stones, wearing on his head a golden circlet decorated with the beautiful ijuetzal plumes reserved for royalty, and borne upon a canopied palan- quin. The provincial governors were nobles of the four royal families, and were supreme within their own governments. The rulers of towns and villages formed a lower order of nobiUty, not of royal I dood. The king usually acted on the advice of a council of lords and priests. The lords alone were mihtary commanders, and each lord and inferior official had for his support the produce of a certain portion of land which was cultivated in common by the people. They received no salarj% and each was responsible for the mainte- nance of the poorand helpless of hisdistrict. The lower priesthood was not hereditary, but was appointed through the high priest. There was also a female priesthood, or vestal order, whose head was a princess of royal blood. The plebeians were farmers, artisans, or merchants; they paid taxes and military service^ and each had liis interest in the common land as well as his individual portion, which descended in the fam- ily and could not be alienated. Slaves also existed, the slaves being chiefly prisoners of war and their chil- dren, the latter of whom could become freemen by putting a new piece of unoccupied ground under culti- vation. Society was organized upon the clan system, with descent in the male line, the chiefs being "rather custodians for the tribe than owners, and having no power to alienate the tribal lands. Game, fish, and the salt marshes were free to all, with a certain portion to the lords. Taxes were paid in kind through authorized collectors. On the death of the owner, the property was divided equally among his nearest male heirs.
The more important ea.ses were tried by a royal council presided over by the king, and lesser eases by the provincial rulers or local judges, according to their importance, usually with the assistance of a council and
MAYA
with an advocate for the defence. Crimes were pun-
ished with death — frequently by throwing over a
precipice — enslavement, fines, or, rarely, by imprison-
ment. The code was merciful, and even murder could
sometimes bo compounded by a fine. Children were
subject to parents until of an'age to marry, which for
boys was about twenty. The children of the coinnioii
people were trained only in the occupation of their
parents, but those of the nobility were highly ed\i-
cated, under the care of the priests, in writing, music,
history, war, and religion. The daughters of tioble.s
were strictly secluded, and the older boys in each vil-
lage lived and slept apart- in a public building. Birth-
day,s and other anniversaries were the occasions of
family feasts.
Marriage between persons of the same gens was for- bidden, and those who violated this law were regarded as outcasts. Marriage within certain other degrees of relationsliip — as with the sister of a dece:ised wife, or with a mother's sister — was also prohibited. Polyg- amy was unknown, but concubinage was permitted, and divorce was easy. Marriages were performed by the priests, with much ceremonial rejoicing, and pre- ceded by a solemn confession and a bai)tismal rite, known as the " rebirth ", without which there eoidd te no marriage. No one could marry out of his own rank or without the consent of the chief of the district. Religious ritual was elaborate and imposing, with fre- qiient festival occasions in honour of the gods of the winds, the rain, the cardinal points, the harvest, nl birth, death, and war, with special honours to tin deified national heroes Itzanma and Kukulean. Tin whole country was dotted with temples, usually greal stone-built pyramids, while cei-tain places — as the sacred city of Izamal antl the i.sla:id of C'ozumel — were places of pilgrimage. There was a special " feast of all the gods". The prevailing mildness of the Maya cull was in strong contrast to the bloody ritual "of the Aztec. Human sacrifice was forbidden by Kukulean, and crept in only in later years. It was never a fre- quent or prominent feature, excepting at Chichen- Itza, where it at least became customary, on occasion of some great national crisis, to sacrifice hundreds ol voluntary victims of their own race, frequently virgins, by drowning them in one of the subterranean rock wells or cenotes, after which the bodies were drawn out and buried.
The Maya farmer cultivated corn, beans, cacao, chile, maguey, bananas, and cotton, besides giving attention to bees, from which he obtained both honey and wa.x. Various fermented drinks were prepared from corn, maguey, and honey. They were much given to drunkenness, which was so common as hardly to be considered disgraceful. Chocolate was the favourite drink of the upper classes. Cacao beans, as well as pieces of copper, were a common medium of exchange. Very little meat was eaten, except at cere- monial feasts, although the Maya were expert hiniters and fishers. A small "barkless" dog was also eaten. The ordinary garment of men was a cotton breechclot h WTapped arotmd the middle, with sometimes a sleeve- less shirt, either white or dyed in colors. The women wore a skirt belted at the waist, and plaited their hair In long tresses. Sanclals were worn by both sexes. Tattooing and head-flattening were occasionally prac- , tised, and the face and body were alwaj's painted. The Maya, then as now, were noted for personal neat- ness and frequent use of both cold and hot baths. They were expert anrl determined warriors, using the bow and arrow, the dart with throwing-stick, the wooden sword edged with flints, the lanoe, sling, cop- per axe, shield of reeds, and protective armour of heavy quilted cotton. They understood military tactics and signalling with drum and whi.stle, and knew how to build barricades and dig trenches. Noble prisoners were usually sacrificed to the gods, while those of ordinary rank became slaves. Their object in war
