In Indian Mexico — Chapter XXV - Tzotzils and Tzendals, part 1

TZOTZILS AND TZENDALS

(1901) We started out over the hot and dusty road, passing here and there through cuts of the white earth, which is used by the women of Chiapa in their lacquer-work.

We soon reached the river, and, leaving our animals behind, to cool before swimming them across, embarked with a dozen other passengers, and all our baggage, in one of the great canoes, which we by no means filled.

Landing on the other side, with an hour to wait, we walked down stream, and took a fine bath in the fresh cold, clear, deep water.

Just below where we were bathing, some indians had exploded a dynamite cartridge, killing a quantity of fish, and the surface was immediately spotted with their white, upturned bellies.

A canoe-load of four men put out to gather the fish, as soon as the shot was fired.

Just as they reached the spot, and were leaning over the boat to catch them, the canoe overturned, and all the men were floundering in the water, up to their necks, and the canoe was rapidly drifting down the stream.

The fish they get here are quite large, and seem to be a kind of cat-fish.

Strolling back to our landing-place, we were interested in the lively scenes there being enacted.

Under little arbors of leafy boughs, women were washing clothing; crowds of children, of both sexes, were playing on the sand or splashing in the water; half-a-dozen great canoes were dragged up on the bank, and amid these a group of little brown fellows, from ten to fourteen years of age, were swimming; here and there, a man or woman squatted in the shallow water, dipped water over their bare bodies with _jícaras_.

Now and then the great ferry-boat, loaded with passengers and with animals swimming alongside, made its crossing.

Presently our seven animals were swum across, and, after a moment's drying, were repacked and saddled, and we were ready for our forward movement.

[Illustration: ZOQUE COMPADRES GREETING; TUXTLA GUTIERREZ] [Illustration: OUR FERRY-BOAT; CHIAPA] Chiapa was formerly the great town of the Chiapanecs, an Indian tribe to whom tradition assigns past splendor, but who, to-day, are represented in three villages, Chiapa, Suchiapa, and Acala.

They are much mixed with Spanish blood, and have largely forgotten their ancient language.

It is, however, from them, that the modern state, Chiapas, received its name.

Chiapa, itself, is a city of some size, situated on a terrace a little way from the river, with a ridge of hills rising behind it.

The _plaza_ is large, and in it stands a market-building.

Near by is a picturesque old gothic fountain, built of brick.

Market was almost over, but we were interested in seeing the quantities of pineapples and cacao beans there offered.

To lose no time waiting for dinner, we bought bread and one or two large pineapples, which we ate under the shade of the trees in the _plaza_.

The pineapples were delicious, being tender and exceedingly sweet; our _arriero_ refused to eat any of them, asserting that they were barely fit to eat, lacking sweetness, and being prickly to the taste.

The pineapples of Simojovel were to his liking; they are sugar-sweet, leaving no prickly sensation, and anyone can eat three whole ones at a sitting.

After luncheon, we looked about for examples of lacquer-work.

In one house, we found some small objects and wooden trays of indifferent workmanship.

An old crone, badly affected with _pinto_, the mother of the young woman artist, showed us the wares.

With her was the older sister of the lady-worker, who, after we had bought two of the trays, asked whence we came.

Upon our telling her that Manuel was a native of Cordoba, and that I had come from the United States, without a word of warning she raised her hands, turned her eyes upward, and gave vent to a torrent of shrill, impassioned, apostrophe to her absent, artistic sister: "_A dios, hermana mia_, Anastasia Torres, to think that your art-products should penetrate to those distant lands, to those remote portions of the world, to be the wonder and admiration of foreign eyes.

_A dios, hermana mia_, Anastasia Torres!"

This she repeated several times, in a voice high enough to be heard a block or two away.

Leaving her to continue her exclamations of joy and admiration over the fate of her sister's workmanship, we returned to the _plaza_, where, in a house near by, we found a considerable stock of better work, consisting of decorated bowls, cups, toy _jícaras_, gourd-rattles, etc. This brilliant work, characteristic of the town, is carried hundreds of miles into the States of Oaxaca, Tabasco, Vera Cruz, and into the Republic of Guatemala.

At two o'clock we hurried from the town in the midst of terrific heat.

As we rode out, over the dry and sandy road, we were impressed by the display of death; not only was there one cemetery, with its whitened walls and monuments, but at least three other burial places capped the little hillocks at the border of the town.

One, particularly attracted attention, as it resembled an ancient terraced pyramid, with a flight of steps up one side.

From the foothills, we struck up the flank of the great mountain mass itself.

Mounting higher and higher, a great panorama presented itself behind and below us, including the Chiapa valley, with the hills beyond it.

It was, however, merely extensive, and not particularly beautiful or picturesque.

As we followed the slope towards the crest, into the narrowing valley, the scene became bolder, until we were at the very edge of a mighty chasm, which yawned sheer at our side.

Following it, we saw the gorge suddenly shallow hundreds of feet by a vast precipice of limestone rock rising from its bottom.

Having passed this, we journeyed on up the cañon, lessened in grandeur, but still presenting pretty bits of scenery.

Up to this point, limestone had prevailed, but from here on, we passed over various formations--heavy beds of sand or clay, lying upon conglomerates and shales.

The road wound astonishingly, and at one point, coming out upon a hog's-back ridge, we found that we had actually made a loop, and stood directly above where we had been some time before.

Near sunset, we reached the summit, and looked down upon the little town of Ixtapa, upon a high _llano_ below, and seeming to be a half-hour's ride distant.

Descending on to the _llano_, we found it intersected by deep and narrow gorges; following along the level, narrow ridge, surrounded by ravines on every side, except the one from which we had approached, we presently descended, along its flank, the bank of the deepest of these _barrancas_.

The sun had set long before we reached the bottom, and through the darkness, we had to climb up over the steep dugway in the sandy clay to the village, which we reached at seven.

The little room supplied us for a sleeping-place was clean and neat, the floor was strewn with fresh and fragrant pine-needles, and the wooden beds were supplied with _petates_.

Leaving before eight, the following morning, we travelled through a beautiful cañon, with an abundant stream of whitish-blue water, tumbling in fine cascades among the rocks, and dashing now and then into deep pools of inky blackness.

Having passed through it, our bridle-trail plunged abruptly downward.

From it, we looked upon a neighboring slope, cut at three different levels, one above the other, for the cart-road.

Passing next through a small cañon of little beauty, but where the air was heavy with an odor like vanilla, coming from sheets of pale-purple or violet flowers, on trees of eight or ten feet in height, we reached San Sebastian, where we found our _carretero_, whom we supposed to have reached San Cristobal the day before.

Rating him soundly, and threatening dire consequences from his delay, we resumed our journey.

We were also worried over our _mozo_, who started from Chiapa at noon, the day before, with our photographic instruments, and whom we had not seen since, although there were several places where we would gladly have taken views.

From here, for a long distance, the road was a hard, steep climb, over limestone in great variety--solid limestone, tufaceous stuff, concretionary coatings, satin spar, and calcite crystals.

Having passed a small pueblo, or large _finca_, lying in a little plain below us, we looked down upon Zinacantan.

The descent was quickly made, and passing through the village, without stopping, we made a long, slow, ascent before catching sight of our destination, San Cristobal.

It made a fine appearance, lying on a little terrace at the base of hills, at the very end of the valley.

Its churches and public buildings are so situated as to make the most impression; on account of its length and narrowness, the town appears much larger than it really is.

We entered at one end, and then, practically, paralleled our trail through it to the centre, where we stopped at the Hotel Progreso, at 3:30 in the afternoon.

We went to the palace, and made arrangements so promptly that we could have begun work immediately, if the _carretero_ and _mozo_ had not been behind.

As it was, we waited until next day, and were warned by the _secretario_ at the _jefatura_ that there would not be enough light for work before nine o'clock.

In the evening, we called on Padre Sanchez, well known for his study of the native languages, and the works he had written regarding them.

He is a large man, well-built, of attractive appearance, and of genial manner.

He has been _cura_ in various indian towns among the Chamulas, and he loves the indians, and is regarded as a friend by them.

We were prepared for a cold night, and had it, though no heavy frost formed, as had done the night before.

In one day's journey, the traveller finds towns, in this neighborhood, with totally different climates.

Here woolen garments are necessary, and in towns like Chamula and Cancuc the indians find the heaviest ones comfortable.

Our rating of the _carretero_ had an effect both prompt and dire; when we left him, he hastened to hire carriers to bring in the more important part of our load; these, he insisted, should travel all night, and at eight o'clock we found them at the hotel.

In the darkness they had stumbled, and our loads had fallen.

Whole boxes of unused plates were wrecked, and, still worse, many of our choicest negatives were broken.

At nine o'clock the missing _mozo_ appeared with the instruments; it is customary for our carrier to keep up with the company, as we have frequent need of taking views upon the journey; this was almost the only instance, in the hundreds of leagues that we have travelled on horseback, over mountain roads, where our carrier had failed to keep alongside of the animals, or make the same time in journeying that we mounted travellers did.

[Illustration: THE JAIL; SAN CRISTOBAL] [Illustration: TZOTZIL MUSICIANS IN SAN CRISTOBAL JAIL] Though there had been an early mist, there was no lack of sunshine, even before seven.

Still, we did not go to the palace until nine o'clock, the hour set.

San Cristobal was formerly the capital of the state, and its public buildings are more pretentious than usual in _cabeceras_.

The place in which we did our work was a building of two stories, filling one side of the plaza.

We worked in the broad corridor of the second story, outside of the _secretario's_ office, from which our subjects, mostly indians who had come to pay school-taxes, were sent to us for measurement.

The market-place of San Cristobal is characteristically indian.

Not only do the two chief tribes which frequent it--Tzotzils and Tzendals--differ in dress, but even the different villages of each wear characteristic garments.

The Tzotzil of Chamula differs from his brother of Huixtan and San Bartolome; the Tzendal women of Tenejapa, Cancuc and San Andres may be quickly recognized by difference in dress.

Most interesting are the Tzotzils of Chamula.

Though looked upon by the _mestizos_ of San Cristobal as mere brutes and savages, they are notably industrious.

They weave heavy, woolen blankets and _chamaras_; they are skilled carpenters, making plain furniture of every kind; they are musicians, and manufacture quantities of harps, guitars, and violins; they braid straw, and make hats of palm; they are excellent leather-dressers, and give a black stain and polish to heavy leather, which is unequalled by the work of their white neighbors.

Men wear lower garments of cotton, and heavy black woolen over-garments, which are gathered at the waist with woolen girdles.

They wear broad-brimmed, low-crowned hats, of their own braiding, which they adorn with long, streaming, red and green ribbons.

Their sandals are supplied with heel-guards of black leather, the height of which indicates the wealth or consequence of the wearer.

These indians of Chamula have a love of liberty and desire for independence.

The most serious outbreak of recent times was theirs in 1868, when, under the influence of the young woman, Checheb, they attempted to restore the native government, the indian life, and the old-time religion.

Temples were erected to the ancient gods, whose inspired priestess the young woman claimed to be; but three hundred years of Christianity had accustomed them to the idea of a Christ crucified; an indian Christ was necessary, not one from the hated invading race; accordingly, a little indian lad, the nephew of the priestess, was crucified, to become a saviour for their race.

Their plans involved the killing of every white and _mestizo_ in all the country; in reality, more than one hundred men, women, and children, in the _fincas_ and little towns, were killed; San Cristobal, then the capital city, suffered a veritable panic, and it took the entire force of the whole state to restore order.

[Illustration: TZOTZILS; HUIXTAN] [Illustration: TZOTZIL WOMAN; CHAMULA] The Tzendals of Tenejapa are picturesque in the extreme.

Their dark skin, their long black hair, completely covering and concealing the ears, their coarse features, and the black and white striped _chamaras_ of wool--which they buy from the weavers of Chamula--form a striking combination.

They do but little weaving, their chief industry being the raising and selling of fruits.

Most of the men carry a little sack, netted from strong fibre, slung at one side.

Among other trifling possessions in it, is generally a little gourd filled with a green powder, which they call _mai_, or _pelico_.

It consists chiefly of tobacco, with a mixture of lime and chili, and is chewed, no doubt, for stimulating properties--to remove the weariness of the road, and "to strengthen the teeth," as some say.

When we had exhausted the stock of those who came to pay their taxes, it was suggested that we would find good subjects in the jail.

This occupied what was once a fine old convent, built around a large open court, and connected with the church, which, judging from its elaborately carved façade, must have been beautiful.

On presenting our credentials to the officials, an order was given, and all the pure-blood indians, one hundred at least, were lined up before us for inspection.

There were Tzotzils from Chamula, and Tzendals from Tenejapa, and among them many excellent faces, showing the pure types, finely developed.

Having made our inspection, and indicated those whom we should use, we looked about the prison.

The prisoners were housed in the old rooms of the monastery, each of which was large enough for six or eight persons.

In these rooms, each prisoner had his personal possessions--good clothing, tools, cherished articles, instruments of music.

Those who cared to do so, were permitted to work at such things as they could do, and the product of their labor was sold for their benefit.

Some braided palm into long strips, to make up into hats; others plaited straw into elaborate, decorative cords or bands for hats; some wove _pita_ into pouches; some dressed leather.

Almost all were busily employed.

Freedom of conversation and visiting was permitted, and there was no particular hardship in the matter of imprisonment, except the inability to go outside.

We were impressed with the fact that, in appearance and manner, few, if any, of these indian prisoners, particularly the Chamulas, showed any signs of criminal tendencies.

In fact, they were as clean, as frank, as docile, as intelligent, as any persons we might find in Mexico.

A little curious to know the charges on which they had been committed, we inquired, and discovered that some had fifteen or twenty points against them, among which were such trifling charges as murder, manslaughter, arson, rape, and highway robbery.

We thought best not to inquire too closely, but it is doubtful, whether any of the subjects here incarcerated under these long and dreadful lists of charges, are guilty of anything except insurrection--a final struggle for freedom.

[Illustration: POSITION OF REST; TZENDALS, TENEJAPA] [Illustration: TZOTZILS FROM HUIXTAN] There were various signs of the approach of Holy Week, and the landlady at our hotel, and her various helpers, were busy manufacturing incense for that occasion.

This was made in sticks, as thick as the thumb, and six or eight inches in length, of a black color.

Besides copal, leaves and other materials from various kinds of odorous plants were employed in its fabrication; the incense thus made is really fragrant, and it would be interesting to know whether it is, in part at least, of indian origin.

In three days we had completed our examination of the men, but not a woman had been produced for examination.

On the fourth day, we reiterated our demands to the authorities, and Don Murcio, the janitor or messenger, who had been put subject to our order, was almost frantic.

He declared that to secure the women we needed would tax every power of the government; that they refused to come; that his mere appearance in the market caused a scattering.

Finally, we told him, that if he would provide twenty-five Chamula women, we would get the Tzendals in their villages, as we passed through them.

Encouraged, by having one-half of our demand abated, he made another visit to the market.

Soon we heard excited voices, and a moment later Don Murcio came rushing up the stairs with both arms filled with black _chamaras_.

It is the custom of the indian women, when they come to market, and settle down with wares to sell, to fold their heavier garments and lay them on the ground beside them.

Don Murcio had gathered up the first of these he came to, and fled with them to the government palace, while the crowd of angry women, chasing along behind, expressed their feelings vigorously.

Putting the garments out of reach, the women were told by the officials, that each would receive back her property as soon as the strangers made their desired measurements.

While we were dealing with the first cluster, Don Murcio sallied forth, and returned once more with garments and women.

In this way, the work proceeded, until the final lot were in our hands.

Not to unnecessarily increase their terrors, we had refrained from photographing, until the final company had been secured.

We had told the officials of our plan, and as these later ones were measured, they were told that they must wait for their garments until the last one was measured, and until the gentleman had done some other work.

When all had been measured, it was explained to the six of seven in the group, that they were to go down into the _patio_, where a picture would be taken of the company.

That they might be properly prepared for the picture, their garments were returned.

Suspecting no treachery, Don Murcio led the way, and one of two police officers accompanied the forward part of the procession, while Louis brought up the rear, in expectation of making the portrait.

All went well until the first two or three had entered the _patio_, when the rest suddenly balked, and started to run out onto the street.

Hearing the confusion, I started down and caught one of the women as she neared the doorway, while Louis held another, and each of the police officers, and Don Murcio, seized a prisoner.

So violent, however, were the struggles, and so loud the outcries of the woman whom I held, that I released her, which was the unintended signal for each of the other guards to do the same, and our group vanished and all thought of gathering a second was given up in desperation.

[Illustration: TZOTZIL BROTHERS; CHAMULA]