Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-10-28

distinct names and attributes In the State Of Chiapas
and the ruins of PeDque they called him Poron,
and he represented under the shape OF ball of FIRE
and feathers of srt of comet traversng the air.
This alluded perhaps the birth Of Huitzopschtli the
Mexican god Of war; fol every knows that his
became encente of him by receiving In her hand sort
Of feathered ball whchwas flying about her, and which
she secured in her upper while sweeping the Temple
of Coatepec The Indians Of the town Of Oxchuo In the
province to which belong the ruins Of Palenque
preserved during many years after the conquest pic
ture of Poxon They had located it. together with other
idols in the very church OF their parish on high cornice
above the altar in order to keep II from the eyes of the
Spanards, and to be able to worship it without being
moesed by the pastor 1t remained there till the year
1857, when it was discovered by Bishop Nunez de 10
Vega then visiting his diocese. He says himself that
he ordered the reluctant Indians to pull down all their
idols with their hands, spit upon these proofs of
their idolatry and afterwards to deliver them to flames
Among the secrets which were communicated by the
Master Nagualsts their disciples after the completion
of the initiation was the mysterious power which they
ercsed the who directly addicted to the
practice Of idolary With single word by glance, the
Master entering house. subdue the will
OF its dweers and more especially OF the women Over
powered by strange fascination, they felt themselves
seized with convulsive shaking of the whole body Sin
| such a tremendous way" says Torquewada, "that 1t
seemed though they possessed, and possessed
believe they really were" They themselves the
ground, often foaming like epepcs, and remained in
that state long pleased the master lie then made
them understand that they received the divine influence
ship Of the gods He added that he who felt nsensibe
of these wonderful effects unworthy of the benefits
of heaven As long as they remained in that strange
state he could obtain what he would of them, and they
consented to all his desires.
In considering these particulars cannot help
pairing them with the wonders Of modern mesmersm ind
spirrappng Some other Nagualistic rites call to mind
the obsceDes charged upon the OF the middle
ages in Europe Besides their familiar communications
with their Naguns the masters could at pleasure render
their persons invisible, transform themselves into the
shape Of the animal which they considered as their tute
lar genius and instantly be transferred to the remotet
places Whether incub suecubi, these demons also
took any form that pleased their mates in order to salts
| fy their sensuality
The denominations ascribed, whether truly falsely,
to the Nnguasts precisely that which ought to
render them formidable to the Spanish Government to
the church. 1t their organization and the blind obe
dience which bound them to their leaders. From the
earliest period of the Spanish domination the chiefs Of
the American idolatry finding themselves overwhelmed by
the rgor of the ecclesiastical and civil laws and under
standing that resistance useless resigned themselves
to their fate and humby submitted to the conditions that
the victor was pleased to impose upon them They re-
tired from the of their former grandeur but they
entertained the view of conspirng in the darkness
hoping that the day would come when they would be
| bled to revenge themselves on their enemies
In the emphatic, though vague language Of the con-
emporaneous authors the destruction Of the Mexican
detes the reader often trace the evidence Of
erous league between the priests Of the distinct religions
of Mexico of which Naguasm seems to have been the
expression. Thus the adherents of the most adverse
worshps seem to have agreed to form that sect which,
secret society has spread its network the king
doms of New Spain and Guatemala, from the Rio ella
down to the very borders Of South America During the
first years of the conquest the opinion prevailed among
the Indians that the Spanards not permanently to
settle in Mexico and that after short time they would
leave the country Their greedness in collecting the
treasures of the vanquished contributed not little to the
deuson and it with the hope Of more quickly get
ting rid of them that the natives many occasions
eagerly complied with their Unsuitable requirements as to
I avasta thaun ovnrkha Co., .l.kI
The leaders of the heather priesthood certain
y to be deluded by such imposition but they
aged its progress in order by the promise ready
verance to retain their people in the superstons Of
which they the ministers They afterwards showed
evidence of their policy in uniting by the bonds of
interest the adherents of their distinct doatrous
worships tappears certain moreover according to the
confession of the Spaniards themselves that il the
tves had been able agree among themselves and to
better their they would have succeeded
in their design Of ogorurning the Spanish
most OF the provinces The most authentic evidences in
reference to Naguasm place its principal seat in the
kingdom of Guatemall the town of Zamayague in the
province OF Auchctepec which, being inhabited by large
population chosen the most convenient for their
purposes There the Nagualist priesthood had
rated all their forces it the residence Of supreme
pont elected by the sectarians and whose influence
tended, the hand, the whole of Mexico and
the other the Central American provinces even
| beyond Nicaragua.
More than hundred Masters Nagualists called Zahor
in that province, composed his Under his imme
date command four eutenans Wears shared the adj
minstraton of the different countries submitted to his
obedience Other dignitaries of lower order and on
whom they bestowed title equivalent to that Of bishops
governed the provinces and inferior minister's Masters
Naguass Of the lowest degree attached to the pue
bios and villages of less consequence The single pro-
vince Of Nicaragua was presided by less than
twelve priests having the rank Of bishops according
the legal procedures which, at the beginning of the egh
teenth century, brought the whole affair before the royal
audience OF Guatemala. There neither town. q
village hacienda that was not presided over by
zshori Master Nagualist priest physician and
cerer acting the counterpart of the Catholic parish priest
ever ready to destroy the effect of his moral and docr
nal teachings and to anticipate much he could by
all sort Of diabolica rites, the sacraments Of life and
death.