Page:Mexican Archæology.djvu/332

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272
MEXICAN ARCHÆOLOGY

In later Yucatan, pilgrimages were made from all parts of the country to important shrines, and we are told that the temple at Cozumel was one of the most celebrated at the conquest. Pilgrims were wont to stop to offer incense at deserted temples, and Cogolludo mentions the fact that he found recent offerings of copal in a temple at Uxmal. The present-day Lacandons also offer incense at the ruins, in the belief that they are haunted by the ghosts of their forefathers. Divination formed an important part of a priest's duties, and it was principally for this purpose that the tonalamatl was employed in Yucatan. Thus at the birth of a child its horoscope was cast to determine its future profession. The Kakchiquel too practised divination, not only by means of the tonalamatl, but also with maize-grains, as the Mexicans. They also used blocks of polished obsidian for scrying, one of which was enshrined in a particularly celebrated temple, whither state messengers were sent to consult it on 1mportant occasions. Obsidian was supposed to have been produced in Xibalba at the creation, to be the "sustainer" of mankind, probably as the source from which the will of heaven could be ascertained. Maize was also employed for divination in Yucatan, and omens were taken from dreams and the voices of birds. Various minor superstitions were found, of which a few have been recorded. Thus if a man on a journey stumbled over a stone, many of which were placed at the commencement of a road, he made an offering of a green branch to it, and rubbed his knees with a pebble to prevent fatigue. If a traveller feared he might be late in arriving at his destination, he placed a stone in a tree to stay the course of the sun, or plucked out hairs from his eyebrows and blew them towards the heavens. In eclipses, dogs were pinched to make them howl, and a noise was made by striking the doors or furniture of the huts. An eclipse of the moon was supposed to be-