The development of the dramatic art can be clearly traced in the American nations. When the Spaniards first explored the West Indian Islands they found the inhabitants much given to festivals which combined dancing with chanting, and the introduction of figures with peculiar costumes. The native name of these representations was adopted by the Spaniards, and applied to such performances elsewhere. The word is areytos, and is derived from the Arawack verb, aririn, to rehearse, recite.[83]

Such dramatic recitations were found among most of the tribes of North and South America, and have been frequently described by travelers. Often they were of a religious nature, having something to do with devotional exercises; but not seldom they were simply for amusement. Occasionally they were mere pantomimes, where the actors appeared in costume and masks, and went through some ludicrous scene. Thus, to quote one example out of many, Lieutenant Timberlake saw some among the Cherokees, about the middle of the last century, which he speaks of as "very diverting," where some of the actors dressed in the skins of wild animals, and the simulated contest between these pretended beasts and the men who hunted them, were the motives of the entertainment.[84]

From the solemn religious representations on the one hand and these diverting masquerades on the other, arose the two forms of tragedy and comedy, both of which were widely popular among the American aborigines.[85] The effete notion that they were either unimaginative or insusceptible to humor is, to be sure, still retained by a few writers, who are either ignorant or prejudiced; but it has been refuted so often that I need not stop to attack it. In fact, so many tribes were of a gay and frolicsome disposition, so much given to joking, to playing on words, and to noticing the humorous aspect of occurrences, that they have not unfrequently been charged by the whites best acquainted with them, the missionaries, with levity and a frivolous temperament.

Among the many losses which American ethnology has suffered, that of the text of the native dramas is one of the most regretable. Is is, however, not total. Two have been published which claim to be, and I think are, faithful renditions of the ancient texts as they were transmitted verbally, from one to another, in pre-Columbian times.

The most celebrated of these is the drama of Ollanta,[86] in the Qquichua language of Peru. No less than eight editions of this have been published, the last and best of which is that by the meritorious scholar, Senor Gavino Pacheco Zegarra. The internal evidence of the antiquity of this drama has been pronounced conclusive by all competent Qquichua students.[87]

The plot is varied and ingenious, and the characters agreeably contrasted. Ollanta is a warrior of low degree, who falls in love with Cusi Coyllur, daughter of the Inca, who returns his affection. The lovers have secret meetings, and Ollanta asks the sovereign to sanction their union. The proud ruler rejects the proposal with scorn, and the audacious warrior gathers his adherents and attacks the State, at first with success. But Cusi Coyllur is thrown into prison and her child, the fruit of her illicit love, is separated from her. The Inca dies, and under his successor Ollanta is defeated and brought, a prisoner, to the capital. Mindful, however, of his merits, the magnanimous victor pardons him, restores him to his honors, and returns to his arms Cusi Coyllur and her child. Minor characters are a facetious youth, who is constantly punning and joking; and the dignified figure of the High Priest of the Sun, who endeavors to dissuade the hero from his seemingly hopeless love.

The second drama to which I refer is that of Rabinal Achi, in the Kiche tongue of Guatemala. The text was obtained by the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, and edited with a French translation. The plot is less complete than that of the Ollanta, and the constant repetitions, while they constitute strong evidence of its antiquity and native origin, are tedious to a European reader.[88]

Rabinal-Achi is a warrior who takes captive a distinguished foe, Canek, and brings him before the ruler of Rabinal, King Hobtoh. The fate of the prisoner is immediate death and he knows it, but his audacity and bravery do not fail him. He boasts of his warlike exploits, and taunts his captors, like an Iroquois in his death song, and his enemies listen with respect. He even threatens the king, and has to be restrained from attacking him. As his end draws near, he asks to drink from the royal cup and eat from the royal dish; it is granted. Again, he asks to be clothed in the royal robe; it is brought and put about him. Once more he makes a request, and it is to kiss the virgin mouth of the daughter of the king, and dance a measure with her, "as the last sign of his death and his end." Even this is conceded, and one might think that it was his uttermost petition. But no; he asks one year's grace, wherein to bid adieu to his native mountains. The king hears this in silence, and Canek disappears; but returning in a moment, he scornfully inquires whether they supposed he had run away. He then, in a few strong words, bids a last farewell to his bow, his shield, his war-club and battle-axe, and is slain by the warriors of the king.

The love of dramatic performances was not crushed out in the natives by the Conquest. In fact, in the Spanish countries, it was turned to account and cultivated by the missionaries as a means of instructing their converts in religion, by "miracle plays" or autos sacramentales, as they are called. It was even permitted to the more intelligent natives to compose the text of plays. One such, manifestly, I think, the work of a native author, in the mixed Nahuatl-Spanish dialect of Nicaragua, I have prepared for publication. The original was found by Dr. Berendt in Masaya, and his copy, without note or translation, came into my hands.

The play is a light comedy, and is called "The Ballet of the Gueegueence or the Macho-Raton." The characters are a wily old rascal, Gueegueence, and his two sons, the one a chip of the old block, the other a bitter commentator on the family failings. They are brought before the Governor for entering his province without a permit; but by bragging and promises the foxy old man succeeds both in escaping punishment and in effecting a marriage between his scapegrace son and the Governor's daughter. The interest is not in the plot, which is trivial, but in the constant play on words, and in the humor, often highly Rabelaisian, of the anything but venerable parent.

The "Zacicoxol," or Drama of Cortes and Montezuma, written in Kiche, of which I have a copy, may possibly be the work of an Indian, but is probably largely that of one of the Spanish curas, and appears to have little in it of interest.

Another and peculiar form of dramatic recitation is what are called the Loas or Logas, of Central America. In these, a single individual appears in some quaint costume, in a little theatre erected for the purpose, and recites a burlesque poem, acting the different portions of it to the best of his ability. At present, most of these Logas are of a semi-religious character. The one I have is entitled "The Loga of the Child-God," Loga del nino Dios, and is written in Spanish intermingled with words from the Mangue or Chorotegan language. This tongue, spoken by a few persons in Nicaragua, is closely akin to the Chapanec of Chiapas, and was a sonorous and rich idiom. Those who spoke it were much given to scenic representations, as we learn from the historian Oviedo, who lived among them for nearly a year, about 1527. None of these remain, though as late as about 1820, one of great antiquity, believed to be an original native production, continued to be acted. Its title was La Ollita or El Canahuate, the former word meaning the peculiar musical instrument of that locality, the "whistling jar." The subject was a tale of love, and one of these primitive flutes was used as an accompaniment to the songs.