[2] The conquest of Nicaragua is described by Oviedo, Historia General de las Indias, Lib. XXIX, cap. XXI, and Herrera, Decadas de Indias, Dec. III, Lib. IV, and see Dec. IV, Lib. VIII, cap. X.

[3] "Nicaragua es lo mismo que Nica anahuac, aqui estan los Mexicanos Ò Anahuacos." Fray Francisco Vasquez, Cronica de la Provincia de Guatemala, Parte II, Lib. V, cap. I (Guatemala, 1716). The form Nicarao, adopted by Dr. Berendt, is certainly corrupt, as the termination of a proper name in ao is not found in correct Nahuatl. Squier's term Niquirans was adopted by him from a misreading of Oviedo, and has no authority whatever; so, also, his attempted discrimination between Chorotegans and Cholotecans, as both these are forms of the same word.

[4] "The hypothesis of a migration from Nicaragua and Cuscatlan to Anahuac is altogether more consonant with probabilities, and with traditions, than that which derives the Mexicans from the north."—E. G. Squier. Notes on Central America, p. 349. It is difficult to understand how Mr. Squier could make this statement in the face of the words of Herrera and so many other writers.

[5] "La Gente de esta tierra decia, que havia descendido de la Mexicana; su Trage, i Lengua, era casi, como el de Mexico."—Herrera, Decada III, Lib. V, Cap. XII. "DicÈn, que huvo en los tiempos antiguos, en Nueva EspaÑa una gran Seca, por lo qÚal se fueron por aquella Mar Austral À poblar À Nicaragua."—Id. Dec. III, Lib. IV, cap. VII. Torquemada, specifically quoting the traditions obtained from the oldest natives, states that the Nicaraguans came from Anahuac at no remote epoch.—Monarquia Indiana, Lib. III, cap. XL. See, also, Gomara, Hist. de las Indias, cap. 206.

[6] Prof. Buschmann, who obtained these names in a garbled form from Ternaux-Compans' translation of Oviedo, gave them up as insoluble, while recognizing their value as indicating the wanderings of the Nicaraguans. "UnglÜcklicherweise," he says, "sind jene zwei Namen von so ungÜnstigem Gehalte, das ich nichts aus ihnen hervorlocken kann."—Ueber die Aztekischen Ortsnamen, p. 768 (Berlin, 1852).

[7] The careless statement of the historian Herrera, that it was only the Chorotegans who had such books, can be corrected from his own volumes, and also from the explicit words of Oviedo and Gomara. Compare Herrera, Dec. III, Lib. IV, cap. VII, with Oviedo, Hist. de las Indias, Lib. XLII, cap. I, and Gomara, Hist. de las Indias, cap. 202.

[8] The word mÁnkeme is a derivative from [chi]imÁ, the head, whence the Chapanec d[chi]ÄmÄ, the ruler or head man, and mand[chi]ÄmÄ, master, chief, in which word ma is a possessive prefix, and n a particle, sometimes relative, sometimes euphonic, of exceedingly frequent use in this tongue. It may be compared to the Nahuatl in.

[9] This latter, or a portion of them, inhabiting a hilly country south of Masaya, were called Dirians, from the Mangue word diri=, a hill, a name which has improperly been extended to the whole tribe.

[10] The "compulsive" form of the verb choloa, to run away, is chololtia, to cause to run away, to drive out. No doubt the name of Cholula (Cholollan) in Mexico is of the same derivation, but it arose from a different, though similar, historical event.

[11] Torquemada appears to have been the first to make this guess; and it has recently been advocated by Dr. Valentini, The Olmecas and the Tultecas, p. 20 (Worcester, 1883), and was also sanctioned by Dr. Berendt.

[12] In a note to his translation of Oviedo's Nicaragua.

[13] The proper spelling is "Chapanec." It is not an Aztec word, but from the Mangue tongue, in which Chapa means the ara, or red macaw, their sacred bird. The name was derived from that of the lofty peak on which their principal town in Chiapas was situated—chapa niiu, the ara of fire.

[14] In Mr. Bancroft's Native Races of the Pacific States, Vol. V, p. 659.

[15] The contrary of this has been very positively stated by Dr. Valentini (ubi supra). The only evidence he brings forward is the word calachuni, for chieftain, applied by Gil Gonzalez to one of the rulers in Nicaragua. This is, no doubt, the Maya halach uinic, holy man, but Gonzalez wrote in 1522, and this word was adopted by the Spaniards in 1518, during Grijalva's expedition to Yucatan, as the accounts show, and was promiscuously applied, just as cacique, canoe, etc., from the Haytian dialect. A careful analysis of all the native words in Oviedo's account of Nicaragua does not show a single Maya affinity.

[16] The chief asked Gonzalez if, at the end of the world, the earth would be overturned, or would the sky fall? How large are the stars, why they move, and what keeps them in their courses? When, and how do the sun and moon change their brightness? Why is the night dark and the winter cold, since light and warmth are so much better? (Herrera, Decad. III, Lib. IV, cap. V.)

[17] The leading authorities on the antiquities of Nicaragua are E. G. Squier, Nicaragua, Its People, Scenery and Monuments, together with his numerous other works pertaining to Central America; and the reports of Dr. Earl Flint and Dr. J. F. Bransford, to the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Habel and Dr. Berendt also made numerous investigations, but their reports have not appeared in adequate detail.

[18] See his essay, Remarks on the Centres of Ancient American Civilization in Central America, and their Geographical Distribution, in the Bulletin of the American Geog. Soc. No. 2, 1876.

[19] Historia General de las Indias, Lib. XLII, cap. V.

[20] The older writers have left scant information about these idioms. Oviedo preserved thirty or forty Nahuatl words, most of which have been analyzed by Buschman; and Benzoni, in a brief passage, notes the identity of the Nicaraguan and Mexican. "Chiamano li Signori Tutruane, il pane tascal, and le galline totoli, and occomaia tanto vuol dire como aspetta un poco e al infirmita mococoua and al ballare mitote." La Historia del Mondo Nuovo, p. 103. It is said that a Doctrina was printed in the Mangue; but the only work on that tongue I know of is the Apuntamientos de la Lengua Mangue, by Don Juan Eligio de la Rocha (MS. Masaya, 1842) a fragment of which is in my possession.

Dr. S. Habel, who visited Nicaragua in 1865, in spite of the greatest efforts, was unable to find a single person speaking Nahuatl; they told him it was all forgotten.—ArchÆological and Ethnological Investigations in Central and South America, p. 24 (Washington, 1878).

[21] The superior position of the Nahuatl among the Nicaraguan languages was noted by Benzoni, in his visit to that country, as early as about 1550. He observes: "Parlano in Nicaragua quatro lenguaggi, pero la meglio È la Messicana, laquale si stende piu di mille e cinquecento miglia di paese and È la piu facile da imparare."—Istoria del Nuovo Mondo, p. 103 (Venetia, 1565).

[22] "Una mezcla de Castellano y Mexicano, que ni en uno ni en otro idioma se entiende."—Compendio del Arte de la Lengua Mexicana, pp. 93, 202.

[23] Speaking of the natives of Nicaragua and Honduras, Father Francisco Vasquez says: "Muchos de aquellos Indios por la comunicacion que tienen con gente ladina de las estancias vecinas alcanzan mucho de la lengua Castellana."—Historia de la Provincia de Guatemala. Parte II, Lib. V, Trat. I, Cap. 1 (Guatemala, 1716).

[24] This verse is from a song by Dr. Gollena, a highly appreciated poet of Guatemala, who has written, but I believe never published, some poems in the Nicaraguan dialect.

[25] Oviedo, Historia General de las Indias, Lib. XLII, cap. XI. Precisely this baile, or one altogether like it, is described by Diego Duran as common in Mexico in his day (about 1580). He writes: "Tambien usaban bailar al rededor de un volador alto vistiendose como pÁjaros y otras veces como monas volaban de lo alto de el dejandose venir por unas cuerdas que en la punta de este palo estan arolladas, desliÁndose poco À poco por un bastidor que tiene arriba," etc.—Historia de las Indias de Nueva EspaÑa. Tomo II, p. 232 (Mexico, 1880).

[26] Historia del Nuovo Mondo, fol. 103 (Venetia, 1565). Benzoni gives a wood cut exhibiting the dances, but it is not instructive. Another traveler, FranÇois Coreal, claimed to have visited Nicaragua about 1680, and also describes the native dances, but in words so similar to Benzoni that it is an evident plagiarism.—Relation des Voyages de FranÇois Coreal aux Indes Occidentales, Tome I, p. 88 (Amsterdam, 1722).

[27] Thomas Gage, A New Survey of the West Indies, p. 234 (4th Ed. London, 1699).

[28] Letter to the London AthÆneum, 1856, p. 1537. Oviedo also states that the songs sung at certain bailes were of an historical character, intended to recall the important incidents in personal and tribal history, "que les quedan en lugar de historia É memoria de las cosas pasadas."—Historia General de las Indias, Lib. XLII, cap. XI.

[29] "Hay santos À quienes se hace el voto, en caso de enfermedad Ú de desgracia de ir Á bailar ante su imagen, en tal pueblo, el dia de su fiesta, cuando le sacan procesionalmente."—Pablo Levy, Notas Geograficas y EconÓmicas sobre la Republica de Nicaragua, p. 281 (Paris, 1873).

[30] "Welligt blijkt de geesteloosheid dezer menschen nit niets zoo zeer als uit hunne dansen, een vermaak, hetwelk trouwens vrij zeldzaam onder hen is. Bij het eentoonige geluid van een paar fluiten, en het kloppen op een hol blok hout, draaijen mannen en vrouwen afzonderlijk, langzaam en bedaard, in alle rigtingen herom, en schijnen veeleer diepe treurigheid dan vreugde aan den dag te leggen."—J. Haefkens, Centraal Amerika, p. 407 (Dordrecht, 1832).

[31] Such dances are the "bailes usados en el populacho, y que estan muy lejos de brillar por su desencia," referred to by Don Pablo Levy, Notas, etc., sobre Nicaragua, p. 294.

[32] The word Loga is, I have no doubt, a corruption of the Spanish loa. The loas in Spain were at first rhymed prologues to the plays, but later took a more dramatic form and "differed little from the farces that followed them." See George Ticknor, History of Spanish Literature, vol. ii, pp. 527-529 (5th edition).

[33] "Mosote. Un casco Ô gorra de cabuya teÑida negra, con cola À trensa, usada en el baile de los Chinegritos."—Berendt, MSS.

[34] "Guaca. Montecillo de sepultura de los inhabitantes antiguos. Cueva; madriguera de animales. Hoyo subteraneo para madurar Ô guardar frutas y verduras."—Berendt, MSS.

[35] Nicaragua, Its People, Scenery and Monuments, Vol. I, p. 340.

[36] Narrative of Incidents on a Journey in Mexico, Guatemala and San Salvador, pp. 384-6 (London, 1858). The Smithsonian Institution contains a good specimen of the Marimba.

[37] Arthur Morelet, Voyage dans l'Amerique Centrale, Tome II, pp. 42, 43 (Paris, 1857).

[38] ArchÆological Researches in Nicaragua, p. 75 (Washington, 1881).

[39] The most satisfactory discussion of native music is that by Theodore Baker, Ueber die Musik der Nord Amerikanischen Wilden (Leipzig, 1882). Mr. Edwin A. Barber has also contributed some valuable articles on the subject.

[40] The American Naturalist, February, 1883.

[41] Voyage dans l'Amerique Centrale, Tom. II, p. 44.

[42] So little is understood about the system of the cofradias, and the point is one of so much importance in the study of the organization of Spanish ecclesiasticism in America, that it is worth while to explain it. They are created by the priest of a parish, in such number as he sees fit, and each bears the name of a saint or religious occurrence. Each should have, of male members, a major domo, a steward (prioste), and four or more appointees (diputados). They attend the priest, serve in the church, aid in the offices of religion, have a monthly mass, act as choristers, etc., at fixed periods. Of female members there should be the patroness (patrona or capitana), and the alguazila mayor, each of whom should have two special attendants, and there should be other members. Their duties are to sweep the church, deck it with flowers when necessary, and aid the male members in their duty. Each cofradia should have its strong box and financial resources, independently, and the major domo is expected to keep a book accounting for the funds. I have in my possession such a volume, in the Chapanec language, the Libro de Cuentas de la Cofradia del Rosario, 1796.

From ten to fifty cofradias were formerly attached to one church, but the modern curas complain that they can no longer be kept up. "Es verdad," exclaims the worthy presbyter Navarro, "que los Sres. Curas, mis antecessores, y yo, hemos procurado organizarlas de nuevo, pero es moralmente impossible."—Memoria de la Parroquia de Villa Nueva, p. 18. (Guatemala, 1868).

[43] See, for example, the Rabinal-Achi, ou le Drame-Ballet du Tun, in Kiche, published by the AbbÉ Brasseur de Bourbourg, and the translation of the song of the Uluas of Nicaragua given by Pablo Levy.—Notas sobre la Republica de Nicaragua, p. 307 (Paris, 1873).

[44] "Il y en a qui font les sourds, d'autres les aveugles. Ils rient, ils crient, et font en un mot toute sorte de singeries."—Voyages de FranÇois Coreal aux Indes Occidentales depuis 1666 jusqu'en 1697. Tom. I, p. 88 (Amsterdam, 1722). Borrowed, probably, from Benzoni, who says the same.

[45] "Habia un baile y canto de truhanes en el cual introducian un bobo que fingia entender al reves lo que su amo le mandaba, trastocandole las palabras."—P. F. Diego Duran, Historia de las Indias de la Nueva EspaÑa, Tomo II, p. 231 (Mexico, 1880).

[46] As Mr. George Ticknor very pointedly says, in speaking of the Spanish drama:—"Above all, it was necessary that it should be Spanish; and therefore, though its subject be Greek or Roman, Oriental or mythological, the characters represented were always Castilian, and Castilian after the fashion of the seventeenth century,—governed by Castilian notions of gallantry, and the Castilian point of honor."—History of Spanish Literature, vol II, p. 539 (5th edition).

[47] Speaking of the comedy, he says:—"Ihr wahrer allgemeiner Nutzen liegt in dem Lachen selbst, in der Uebung unserer FÄhigkeit das LÄcherliche zu bemerken; es unter allen BemÄntelungen der Leidenschaft und der Mode, es in allen Vermischungen mit noch schlimmern oder mit guten Eigenschaften, sogar in den Runzeln des feierlichen Ernstes, leicht und geschwind zu bemerken."—Hamburgische Dramaturgie, 29 StÜck.

[48] Tlatoani means, literally, "the speaker," from tlatoa, to speak, to ask, but it is translated by the Spanish lexicographers "gran seÑor." The chiefs were probably so called, from their right of speech in the assemblies. Benzoni gives something like this as the title of the Nicaraguan chiefs. "Chiamano li Signori Tutruane," which I suspect is a misprint for Tattruani.—Istoria del Mondo Nuovo, p. 103 (Venetia, 1565).

[49] Icazbalceta's discussion of the name may be found in his notes to the DiÁlogos de Francisco Cervantes Salazar, p. 181 (Mexico, 1875). Malinalli is the twelfth day of the Mexican month. According to Duran, the word means underbrush (matorral), and the prognostic was, that those born on that day should have an annual attack of sickness, like this underbrush, which dries up, or loses its leaves yearly.—Historia de la Nueva EspaÑa, Tomo II, p. 261 (Mexico, 1880).

[50] See the rare work of Fray Joan Baptista (often spelled Bautista). Advertencias para los Confessores de los Naturales, vols. 107, 108 (Mexico, en el Convento de Sanctiago Tlatilulco, aÑo 1600).