The descendants of the Mayas are of medium size, with good limbs, large faces and mouth, the upper lip slightly arched, and a marked tendency to stoutness; the nose is somewhat flat, eyes sleepy-looking and hair black and glossy, which rarely turns gray; complexion of a copper color, and in some instances yellowish. Naturally strong, the Maya or Yucatec can carry heavy loads long distances, and perform a great deal of hard labor without showing signs of fatigue. An old Spanish writer mentions that they were generally bow-legged, and many of them squint-eyed. The same author says they had good faces, were not very dark, did not wear a beard, and were long-lived. The women are plump, and generally speaking not ugly.932
DRESS IN OAJACA AND YUCATAN.
Very scanty was the dress of the dwellers on Tehuantepec isthmus. In Oajaca and Chiapas, the men wore a piece of deer or other skin fastened round the waist, and hanging down in front, and the women wore aprons of maguey-fibre. Montanus in describing the Mijes says they were quite naked, but that some wore round the waist a white deer-skin dressed with human hearts. The Lacandones, when going to war, wore on their shoulders the skin of a tiger, lion, or deer. The Quelenes wrapped round their head a colored cloth, in the manner of a turban, or garland of flowers. At present, the usual dress of the Zapotecs is a pair of wide Mexican drawers, and short jacket of cotton, with a broad-brimmed hat, made of felt or straw—yet the Huaves and many of the poorer class, still wear nothing but a breech-cloth. The costume of the women is simple, and not without elegance. That of the Miztecs, Zapotecs, and others dwelling in the city of Tehuantepec is a skirt made of cotton—sometimes of wool—that reaches nearly to the ankles, prettily and often elaborately worked in various designs and colors. The upper part of the body is covered with a kind of chemisette, with short sleeves called the huipil, of fine texture, and adorned with lace and gold or silk threads. On the head is a white cotton covering, made like a narrow sack or sleeve, which is drawn on and hangs down over the back. In Tabasco, the dress of the men differs little from that of the people of Tehuantepec; the Tabascan women wear a cotton petticoat or a few yards of calico wrapped round the waist, and reaching below the knees. Over the petticoat they wear a frock with sleeves to the wrist, leaving the bosom and neck exposed. Children and boys go naked; indeed, whenever clothing to any extent is found in this region, we may be sure that the foreign trader is at the bottom of it.933
Both sexes usually wear the hair long, parting it in the middle, and either permit it to hang in loose tresses over the shoulders, or, binding it with gay colored ribbons, loop it up on the back of the head, where it is fastened with a large comb. On festive occasions they interweave flowers with the hair, and also mingle with it a species of shining beetle, called cucullo, which emits a phosphorescent light, and produces a very pretty effect. Among the Zoques who reside at San Miguel and Santa María Chimalapa, the males shave the crown of the head, a custom of possible monkish origin peculiar to themselves. Feather tufts and skins of green birds were formerly much used for ornaments; they had also necklaces made of pieces of gold joined together, and amber beads. Nose and ears were pierced, and pieces of stone or amber or gold rings or a bit of carved wood inserted. Montanus describes a kind of snake called ibobaca, which he says the inhabitants of Chiapas wore round the neck.934 They also painted and stained the face. When Fernandez de Córdova explored the northern coast of Yucatan, he found the people clad in cotton garments, and at the present day this forms the principal material from which their clothing is made. Men now wear a cotton shirt or blouse, usually without sleeves, and wide drawers; round the waist is tied a white or colored sash; for protection from the sun, a straw hat is worn, or perhaps a piece of colored calico, and their sandals are made from deer-skin. Instead of drawers, they used to wear a broad cotton band passed round the loins, the ends of which were arranged to hang one in front and the other behind; a cloak or mantle of cotton called zugen was thrown over the shoulders. Colonel Galindo mentions that they used the bark of the India-rubber tree for making garments, and Cogolludo says that when the Spaniards arrived at Aké, in the year 1527, the army of natives were in a state of nudity, with only their privy parts covered, and the whole body besmeared with clay of different colors. The women display considerable taste in the style of their garments; over a petticoat, which reaches to their ankles, and prettily bordered at the bottom, they have a dress with sleeves down to the elbow; the skirt is open at the sides, and does not fall as low as the petticoat, so that the border of the latter may be seen, the bosom of the dress is open, and on each side of the breast and round the neck it is embroidered with coarse silk, as in Tehuantepec; the huipil (Aztec, vipilli) is also worn. In country places women wear the petticoat alone, using the overskirt or huipil only on special occasions. When out of doors, they cover the head and part of the face with a piece of cotton cloth.935 All permit the hair to attain to its full length; the men plait theirs and wind it round the head, leaving a short end to hang down behind, while that of the women hangs in dark masses over their shoulders, or is neatly bound up behind and decorated with flowers or feathers. Herrera states that it was customary to scorch the faces of young children to prevent the growth of their beards, and the men allowed the hair to grow down over the eyebrows, making their heads and foreheads flat on purpose. They pierced nose and ears, ornamenting them with rings set with pearls and bits of amber, and wore collars and bracelets of gold. Some among them filed their teeth. They painted the face and all exposed parts of the body in many colors, using white or yellow with black and red, covering themselves from the waist upward with a variety of designs and figures. When going to battle paint was much used, in order to render their appearance more formidable; men tattooed on the chest, and the women mixed liquid amber with their pigments, which, when rubbed over the body, emitted a perfume.936
ZAPOTEC BUILDINGS.
The better class of Zapotecs of the present day build their houses in a substantial manner of adobes; the common people construct a more simple dwelling with branches arranged in a double row, and the space between filled in with earth; they also make them of wattled cane-work plastered with clay. Such dwellings are cool and proof against the frequent earthquakes that occur in their territory. Roofs are thatched with palmetto-leaves without opening, nor are there any windows in the walls. The interior is divided into several compartments, according to size and necessity.937 The Mijes thatch their houses with bundles of coarse straw. The Chinantecs, Chochos, and Chontales originally built no houses, but sought out the most shady forests, where they dwelt, or they located themselves in ravines and rocky parts, living in caverns or holes under the rocks; the Tzendales of Chiapas had many towns and painted their houses; the Ahualulcos lived together in communities, and had commodious, well-built houses of interwoven cane, plastered on the inside with mud, the roof thatched with palmetto.938
PREPARATION OF FOOD.
From the earliest times of which we have any record, the natives of Oajaca and the isthmus of Tehuantepec cultivated corn and vegetables, and likewise followed the chase; those who dwelt on the borders of the sea or lakes applied themselves to fishing. The Zapotecs now raise wheat, and build mills. It is asserted by an old Spanish chronicler that this nation exceeded all others in eating and drinking. As early as 1690, they gathered crops of maguey, maize, Spanish peas, chile, potatoes, and pumpkins, and bred swine and poultry. Of late they cultivate