Yucatan Before and After the Conquest: XXVII. Kind of Confessions Among the Indians. Abstinences and Superstitions. Diversity and Abundance of Idols. Duties of the Priests
SEC. XXVII. KIND OF CONFESSIONS AMONG THE INDIANS. ABSTINENCES AND SUPERSTITIONS. DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF IDOLS. DUTIES OF THE PRIESTS.
The Yucatecans naturally knew when they had done wrong, and they believed that death, disease and torments would come on them because of evildoing and sin, and thus they had the custom of confessing to their priests when such was the case. In this way, when for sickness or other cause they found themselves in danger of death, they made confession of their sin; if they neglected it, their near relatives or friends reminded them of it; thus they publicly confessed their sins to the priest if he was at hand; or if not, then to their parents, women to their husbands, and the men to their wives.
The sins of which they commonly accused themselves were theft, homicide, of the flesh, and false testimony; in this way they considered themselves in
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The Yucatecans had a great number of temples, sumptuous in their style; besides these temples in common the chiefs, priests and principal men also had their oratories and idols in their houses for their private offerings and prayers. They held Cozumel and the well at Chichén Itzá in as great veneration as we have in our pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome; they visited them to offer gifts, especially at Cozumel, as we do at our holy places; and when they did
46:* The figure in the text, from the Madrid codex, shows the North Star god (so called) in the usual habiliments of Ekchuah, the headbands, corded hamper and pouch, on his travels, also bearing a flint-tipped spear. Ekchuah is the recognized god of the merchants, the
beyom or 'traveling man.' He is in nearly every case shown with his body painted black, as well as his glyph here in the margin. As such he occurs seventeen times in the Madrid codex, devoted to daily or mundane affairs, and only once in the Dresden.
