Nagualism: Aztecs Folklore and Magic
Nagualism: Aztecs Folklore and MagicNagualism: Aztecs Folklore and MagicCopyright
Nagualism: Aztecs Folklore and Magic
Daniel G. Brinton
Nagualism: Aztecs Folklore and Magic
The words, anagual,nagualism, anagualist, have been current in
English prose for more than seventy years; they are found during
that time in a variety of books published in England and the United
States,4-*yet are not to be discovered
in any dictionary of the English language; nor hasNagualisma place in any of the
numerous encyclopædias or “Conversation Lexicons,” in English,
French, German or Spanish.This is not owing to
its lack of importance, since for two hundred years past, as I
shall show, it has been recognized as a cult, no less powerful than
mysterious, which united many and diverse tribes of Mexico and
Central America into organized opposition against the government
and the religion which had been introduced from Europe; whose
members had acquired and were bound together by strange faculties
and an occult learning, which placed them on a par with the famed
thaumaturgists and theodidacts of the Old World; and which
preserved even into our own days the thoughts and forms of a long
suppressed ritual.In several previous publications I have referred
briefly to this secret sodality and its aims,4-†and now believe it worth while to collect my
scattered notes and present all that I have found of value about
the origin, aims and significance of this Eleusinian Mystery of
America. I shall trace its geographical extension and endeavor to
discover what its secret influence really was and
is.2.The earliest
description I find of its particular rites is that which the
historian Herrera gives, as they prevailed in 1530, in the province
of Cerquin, in the mountainous parts of Honduras. It is as
follows:
“ The Devil was accustomed to deceive these natives by
appearing to them in the form of a lion, tiger, coyote, lizard,
snake, bird, or other animal. To these appearances they apply the
nameNaguales, which is as much
as to say, guardians or companions; and when such an animal dies,
so does the Indian to whom it was assigned. The way such an
alliance was formed was thus: The Indian repaired to some very
retired spot and there appealed to the streams, rocks and trees
around him, and weeping, implored for himself the favors they had
conferred on his ancestors. He then sacrificed a dog or a fowl, and
drew blood from his tongue, or his ears, or other parts of his
body, and turned to sleep. Either in his dreams or half awake, he
would see some one of those animals or birds above mentioned, who
would say to him, ‘On such a day go hunting and the first animal or
bird you see will be my form, and I shall remain your companion
andNagualfor all time.’ Thus
their friendship became so close that when one died so did the
other; and without such aNagualthe natives believe no one can become rich or
powerful.”5-*This province of Cerquin appears to have been peopled
by a tribe which belonged to the great Mayan stock, akin to those
which occupied most of the area of what is now Yucatan, Tabasco,
Chiapas and Guatemala.5-†I shall say
something later about the legendary enchantress whom their
traditions recalled as the teacher of their ancestors and the
founder of their nation. What I would now call attention to is the
fact that in none of the dialects of the specifically Mexican or
Aztecan stock of languages do we find the wordnagualin the sense in which it is
employed in the above extract, and this is strong evidence that the
origin of Nagualism is not to be sought in that
stock.3.We do find, however,
in the Nahuatl language, which is the proper name of the Aztecan, a
number of derivatives from the same root,na, among them this very word,Nahuatl, all of them containing the
idea “to know,” or “knowledge.” The early missionaries to New Spain
often speak of thenaualli(plural,nanahualtin),
masters of mystic knowledge, dealers in the black art, wizards or
sorcerers. They were not always evil-minded persons, though they
seem to have been generally feared. The earliest source of
information about them is Father Sahagun, who, in his invaluable
History, has the following paragraph:
“ Thenaualli, or
magician, is he who frightens men and sucks the blood of children
during the night. He is well skilled in the practice of this trade,
he knows all the arts of sorcery (nauallotl) and employs them with
cunning and ability; but for the benefit of men only, not for their
injury. Those who have recourse to such arts for evil intents
injure the bodies of their victims, cause them to lose their reason
and smother them. These are wicked men and necromancers.”6-*It is evident on examining the later works of the Roman
clergy in Mexico that the Church did not look with any such lenient
eye on the possibly harmless, or even beneficial, exercise of these
magical devices. We find a further explanation of what they were,
preserved in a work of instruction to confessors, published by
Father Juan Bautista, at Mexico, in the year 1600.
“ There are magicians who call themselvesteciuhtlazque,6-†and also by the termnanahualtin, who conjure the clouds when there is danger of hail, so
that the crops may not be injured. They can also make a stick look
like a serpent, a mat like a centipede, a piece of stone like a
scorpion, and similar deceptions. Others of thesenanahualtinwill transform themselves
to all appearances (segun la aparencia), into a tiger, a dog or a
weasel. Others again will take the form of an owl, a cock, or a
weasel; and when one is preparing to seize them, they will appear
now as a cock, now as an owl, and again as a weasel. These call
themselvesnanahualtin.”6-‡There is an evident attempt in this somewhat confused
statement to distinguish between an actual transformation, and one
which only appears such to the observer.In another work of similar character, published at Mexico a
few years later, the “Road to Heaven,” of Father Nicolas de Leon,
we find a series of questions which a confessor should put to any
of his flock suspected of these necromantic practices. They reveal
to us quite clearly what these occult practitioners were believed
to do. The passage reads as follows, the questions being put in the
mouth of the priest:
“ Art thou a soothsayer? Dost thou foretell events by reading
signs, or by interpreting dreams, or by water, making circles and
figures on its surface? Dost thou sweep and ornament with flower
garlands the places where idols are preserved? Dost thou know
certain words with which to conjure for success in hunting, or to
bring rain?
“ Dost thou suck the blood of others, or dost thou
wander about at night, calling upon the Demon to help thee? Hast
thou drunkpeyotl, or hast thou
given it to others to drink, in order to find out secrets, or to
discover where stolen or lost articles were? Dost thou know how to
speak to vipers in such words that they obey thee?”6-§4.This interesting
passage lets in considerable light on the claims and practices of
the nagualists. Not the least important item is that of their use
of the intoxicant,peyotl, a
decoction of which it appears played a prominent part in their
ceremonies. This is the native Nahuatl name of a certain plant,
having a white, tuberous root, which is the part employed. It is
mentioned as “pellote” or “peyote” in theFarmacopea Mexicanaas a popular
remedy, but its botanical name is not added. According to Paso y
Troncoso, it is one of the Compositæ, a species of the genusCacalia.7-*It is referred to in several passages by Father Sahagun, who
says that it grows in southern Mexico, and that the Aztecs derived
their knowledge of it from the older “Chichimecs.” It was used as
an intoxicant.
“ Those who eat or drink of thispeyotlsee visions, which are sometimes
frightful and sometimes ludicrous. The intoxication it causes lasts
several days. The Chichimecs believed that it gave them courage in
time of danger and diminished the pangs of hunger and
thirst.”7-†Its use was continued until a late date, and very probably
has not yet died out. Its composition and method of preparation are
given in a list of beverages prohibited by the Spanish authorities
in the year 1784, as follows:
“ Peyote: Made from a species of
vinagrilla, about the size of a billiard ball, which grows in dry
and sterile soil. The natives chew it, and throw it into a wooden
mortar, where it is left to ferment, some leaves of tobacco being
added to give it pungency. They consume it in this form, sometimes
with slices ofpeyoteitself, in
their most solemn festivities, although it dulls the intellect and
induces gloomy and hurtful visions (sombras muy funestas).”7-‡Thepeyotlwas not
the only herb prized as a means of casting the soul into the
condition of hypostatic union with divinity. We have abundant
evidence that long after the conquest the seeds of the plant called
in Nahuatl theololiuhquiwere
in high esteem for this purpose. In the Confessionary of Father
Bartholomé de Alva the priest is supposed to inquire and learn as
follows:
“ Question.Hast thou loved God
above all things? Hast thou loved any created thing, adoring it,
looking upon it as God, and worshiping it?
“ Answer.I have loved God with
all my heart; but sometimes I have believed in dreams, and also I
have believed in the sacred herbs, thepeyotl, and theololiuhqui; and in other such things
(onicneltocac in temictli, in xiuhtzintli, in
peyotl, in ololiuhqui, yhuan in occequitlamantli).”8-*The seeds of theololiuhquiappear to have been employed
externally. They were the efficient element in the mysterious
unguent known as “the divine remedy” (teopatli), about which we find some
information in the works of Father Augustin de Vetancurt, who lived
in Mexico in the middle of the seventeenth century. He
writes:
“ The pagan priests made use of an ointment composed of
insects, such as spiders, scorpions, centipedes and the like, which
the neophytes in the temples prepared. They burned these insects in
a basin, collected the ashes, and rubbed it up with green tobacco
leaves, living worms and insects, and the powdered seeds of a plant
calledololiuhqui, which has
the power of inducing visions, and the effect of which is to
destroy the reasoning powers. Under the influence of this ointment,
they conversed with the Devil, and he with them, practicing his
deceptions upon them. They also believed that it protected them, so
they had no fear of going into the woods at
night.
“ This was also employed by them as a remedy in various
diseases, and the soothing influence of the tobacco and theololiuhquiwas attributed by them to
divine agency. There are some in our own day who make use of this
ointment for sorcery, shutting themselves up, and losing their
reason under its influence; especially some old men and old women,
who are prepared to fall an easy prey to the Devil.”8-†The botanist Hernandez observes that another name for
this plant wascoaxihuitl,
“serpent plant,” and adds that its seeds contain a narcotic poison,
and that it is allied to the genusSolanum, of which the deadly
night-shade is a familiar species. He speaks of its use in the
sacred rites in these words:
“ Indorum sacrifici, cum videri volebant versari cum
superis, ac responsa accipere ab eis, ea vescebantur planta, ut
desiperent, milleque phantasmata et demonum observatium effigies
circumspectarent.”8-‡Of the two plants mentioned, theololiuhquiand thepeyotl, the former was considered the
more potent in spiritual virtues. “They hold it in as much
veneration as if it were God,” says a theologian of the seventeenth
century.9-*One who partook of these
herbs was calledpayni(from the
verbpay, to take medicine);
and more especiallytlachixqui,
a Seer, referring to the mystic “second sight,” hence a diviner or
prophet (from the verbtlachia,
to see).Tobacco also held a prominent, though less important,
place in these rites. It was employed in two forms, the one the
dried leaf,picietl, which for
sacred uses must be broken and rubbed up either seven or nine
times; and the green leaf mixed with lime, hence calledtenextlecietl(fromtenextli, lime).Allied in effect to these is an intoxicant in use in
southern Mexico and Yucatan, prepared from the bark of a tree
called by the Mayasbaal-che.
The whites speak of the drink aspitarilla. It is quite popular among
the natives, and they still attribute to it a sacred character,
calling ityax ha, the first
water, the primal fluid. They say that it was the first liquid
created by God, and when He returned to His heavenly home He left
this beverage and its production in charge of the gods of the
rains, the four Pah-Ahtuns.9-†5.Intoxication of some
kind was an essential part of many of these secret rites. It was
regarded as a method of throwing the individual out of himself and
into relation with the supernal powers. What the old historian,
Father Joseph de Acosta, tells us about the clairvoyants and
telepaths of the aborigines might well stand for a description of
their modern representatives:
“ Some of these sorcerers take any shape they choose, and fly
through the air with wonderful rapidity and for long distances.
They will tell what is taking place in remote localities long
before the news could possibly arrive. The Spaniards have known
them to report mutinies, battles, revolts and deaths, occurring two
hundred or three hundred leagues distant, on the very day they took
place, or the day after.
“ To practice this art the sorcerers, usually old
women, shut themselves in a house, and intoxicate themselves to the
degree of losing their reason. The next day they are ready to reply
to questions.”10-*Plants possessing similar powers to excite vivid
visions and distort the imagination, and, therefore, employed in
the magical rites, were thethiuimeezque, in Michoacan, and
thechacuaco, in lower
California.10-†6.In spite of all
effort, the various classes of wonder-workers continued to thrive
in Mexico. We find in a book of sermons published by the Jesuit
Father, Ignacio de Paredes, in the Nahuatl language, in 1757, that
he strenuously warns his hearers against invoking, consulting, or
calling upon “the devilish spell-binders, the nagualists, and those
who conjure with smoke.”10-‡They have not yet lost their power; we have evidence
enough that many children of a larger growth in that land still
listen with respect to the recitals of the mysterious faculties
attributed to thenanahualtin.
An observant German traveler, Carlos von Gagern, informs us that
they are widely believed to be able to cause sicknesses and other
ills, which must be counteracted by appropriate exorcisms, among
which the reading aloud certain passages of the Bible is deemed to
be one of the most potent.10-§The learned historian, Orozco y Berra, speaks of the
powers attributed at the present day to thenahualin Mexico among the lower
classes, in these words:
“ Thenahual