CHAPTER 8

OF THE FUNERAL RITES THAT THE MEXICANS AND OTHER NATIONS USED

Having recounted what many of the nations of Peru did with their dead, in this respect I must now make special mention of the Mexicans, whose funeral rites were extremely solemn and full of absurdities. It was the office of the priests and other religious in Mexico (who had very strange customs, as will be described later) to bury the dead and perform their obsequies. And the places where they buried them were in fields and in the courtyards of their own houses. Others were carried to the places of sacrifice in the hills, and others were burned and their ashes buried in the temples; and all of them were buried with all the clothing and jewels and precious stones they possessed. And when bodies were burned they put the ashes into jars and placed in the jars their jewels and gems and ornaments, no matter how rich. They chanted the funeral offices like responses and lifted the bodies of the dead many times, performing elaborate ceremonies. They ate and drank during these funerals, and if the dead were persons of quality clothing was given to all those who had come to the burial. When someone died they laid him in a room until all his friends and acquaintances arrived from all around, and these brought the dead man gifts and greeted him as though he were alive; and if he was a king or the lord of some town they offered slaves to be killed so as to serve him in the other world. They also killed his priest or chaplain, for all the nobles had a priest to perform ceremonies within the house, and they killed him so that he could minister to the dead man. They killed the chamberlain, the butler, the dwarfs and hunchbacks (for they made great use of such persons), and those among his brothers who had served him most, for it was a mark of greatness among the nobles to be served by their brothers and the others I have mentioned. Last, they killed everyone in his household so that they could go and establish one in the other world. And, lest they suffer poverty there, they buried great wealth in gold, silver, precious stones, richly embroidered curtains, gold bracelets, and other rich pieces; and if the dead man was burned they did the same with all the people and ornaments that were given to him for the other world. They took all those ashes and buried them with great solemnity; the ceremonies lasted for ten days, during which plaintive and mournful chants were sung.

The priests dispatched the dead with different ceremonies, as they themselves had requested, and these were so numerous that they can hardly be counted. Captains and nobles had their insignias and trophies placed upon them, according to their exploits and the valor they had demonstrated in war and governance, for they had their special devices and weapons for this purpose. All of these objects and tokens were carried before the corpse to the place where it was to be buried or burned, accompanied by a procession in which the priests and temple dignitaries walked with different tokens, some swinging censers and others singing, and still others playing on woeful flutes and drums, which greatly increased the weeping of vassals and relatives. The priest who was conducting the office was arrayed in the insignias of the idol whom the dead man had represented, for all the nobles represented idols and enjoyed their reputations, which caused them to be greatly esteemed and honored. These insignias that I mention were usually carried by members of the orders of chivalry; and, if the body was to be burned, after they had taken it to the place where the ashes were to be produced, they surrounded it and everything pertaining to it with candlewood, as I have said, and set fire to it, constantly feeding the flame with resinous woods until all had been reduced to ashes. Then a priest came out dressed in the accoutrements of the devil, with mouths painted on all the joints and many eyes made of mirrors. He carried a large stick with which he stirred all those ashes very vigorously and boldly, presenting such a savage spectacle that it struck horror into all present. And sometimes this same priest wore other different costumes, according to the dead man's rank. This digression concerning the dead and mortuary rites has been made in connection with idolatry of the dead; now we must return to our chief aim and finish this subject.