imed, 'of their cannons and their forts;
for among the many to whom I have taught the arts of magic (el arte
de brujeria) there are fifteen chosen ones, marvelous experts, who
by their mystic power will enter the fortress, slay the sentinels,
and throw open the gates to our warriors. I shall take the leaves
of the sacred tree, and folding them into trumpets, I shall call to
the four winds of heaven, and a multitude of fighting men will
hasten to our aid.'"[31-*]
Saying this, he took a sheet of paper, held it up to show that it was
blank, folded it for a moment, and then spread it out covered with
writing! This deft trick convinced his simple-minded hearers of the
truth of his claims and they rushed to arms. He led them, clothed in the
robe of the Virgin and with her crown on his head. But neither their
enthusiasm nor their leader's art magic availed, and soon Jacinto and
his followers fell victims to the stake and the gallows. After their
death the dance of "the tiger," or of Chac-Mool--the "ghost dance" of
the Mayas--was prohibited; and the use of the sacred drum--the favorite
instrument of the native priests--was forbidden.[31-[+]]
In fact, wherever we have any full accounts of the revolts against the
Spanish domination during the three centuries of its existence in New
Spain, we can manifestly trace the guiding fingers of the powerful
though hidden hand of Nagualism. An earlier revolt of the Mayas in
Yucatan occurred in 1585. It was led by Andres Chi, a full-blood Indian,
and a descendant of the ancient royal house of the Cocomes. He also
announced himself as a priest of the ancient faith, a prophet and a
worker of miracles, sent to instruct his own people in a new religion
and to give them an independent political existence. Seized by the
Spaniards, he was charged with idolatry, sorcery and disturbing the
peace, and was ignominiously hanged.[32-*]
Not less definitely inspired by the same ideas was the Mixe Indian,
known as "Don Pascual," who led the revolt of the Tehuantepec tribes in
1661. He sent out his summons to the "thirteen governors of the Zapotecs
and Chontales" to come to his aid, and the insurrection threatened to
assume formidable proportions, prevented only by bringing to bear upon
the natives the whole power of the Roman Church through the Bishop of
Oaxaca, Cuevas Davalos.[32-[+]]
Nearly the same locality had been the scene of the revolt of the
Zapotecs in 155
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