CHAPTER XI

.

DRESS OF THE NAHUA NATIONS.

PROGRESS IN DRESS--DRESS OF THE PRE-AZTEC NATIONS--GARMENTS OF THE CHICHIMECS AND TOLTECS--INTRODUCTION OF COTTON--THE MAXTLI--THE TILMATLI--DRESS OF THE ACOLHUAS--ORIGIN OF THE TARASCAN COSTUME--DRESS OF THE ZAPOTECS AND TABASCANS--DRESS OF WOMEN--THE HUIPIL AND CUEITL--SANDALS--MANNER OF WEARING THE HAIR--PAINTING AND TATTOOING--ORNAMENTS USED BY THE NAHUAS--GORGEOUS DRESS OF THE NOBLES--DRESS OF THE ROYAL ATTENDANTS--NAMES OF THE VARIOUS MANTLES--THE ROYAL DIADEM--THE ROYAL WARDROBE--COSTLY DECORATIONS.

With but few exceptions the dress of all the civilized nations of Mexico appears to have been the same. The earliest people, the historians inform us, went entirely naked or covered only the lower portion of the body with the skins of wild animals. Afterwards, as by degrees civilization advanced, this scanty covering grew into a regular costume, though still, at first, made only of skins. From this we can note a farther advance to garments manufactured first out of tanned and prepared skins, later of maguey and palm-tree fibres, and lastly of cotton. From the latter no further progress was made, excepting in the various modes of ornamenting and enriching the garments with feather-work, painting, embroidery, gold-work, and jewelry. The common people were obliged to content themselves with plain clothing, but the dress of the richer classes, nobles, princes, and sovereigns, was of finer texture and richer ornamentation.[365]

The descriptions of the dresses of the nations which occupied the Valley of Mexico before the Aztecs vary according to different authors. While some describe them as gorgeously decked out in painted and embroidered garments of cotton and nequen, others say, that they went either wholly naked or were only partially covered with skins. Thus Sahagun and Brasseur de Bourbourg describe the Toltecs as dressed in undergarments and mantles on which blue scorpions were painted,[366] while the latter author in another place says that they went entirely naked.[367] Veytia goes even farther than Sahagun, affirming that they knew well how to manufacture clothing of cotton, that a great difference existed between the dress of the nobles and that of the plebeians, and that they even varied their clothing with the seasons. He describes them as wearing in summer a kind of breech-cloth or drawers and a square mantle tied across the breast and descending to the ankles, while in winter in addition to the above they clothed themselves in a kind of sack, which reached down as far as the thighs, without sleeves but with a hole for the head and two others for the arms.[368]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF THE AZTECS, TARASCOS, AND HUASTECS.]

The Chichimecs, generally mentioned as the successors of the Toltecs, are mostly described as going naked, or only partly dressed in skins.[369] This appears, however, only to relate to the people spoken of as wild Chichimecs; those who inhabited Tezcuco and others in that neighborhood as civilized as the Aztecs, dressed probably in a similar fashion to theirs; at least, as we shall presently see, this was the case with their sovereigns and nobles. All the Nahuas, with the exception of the Tarascos and Huastecs, made use of the breech-cloth, or maxtli.[370] This with the Mexicans in very early times is said to have been a kind of mat, woven of the roots of a plant which grew in the Lake of Mexico, and was called _amoxtli_.[371] Later, the fibre of the palm-tree and the maguey furnished the material for their clothing, and it was only during the reign of King Huitzilihuitl that cotton was introduced.[372]

The maxtli was about twenty-four feet long and nine inches wide, and was generally more or less ornamented at the ends with colored fringes and tassels, the latter sometimes nine inches long. The manner of wearing it was to pass the middle between the legs and to wind it about the hips, leaving the ends hanging one in front and the other at the back, as is done at this day by the Malays and other East Indian natives. It was at the ends usually that the greatest display of embroidery, fancy fringes, and tassels was made.[373]

[Sidenote: GARMENTS OF THE TARASCOS.]

As a further covering the men wore the _tilmatli_, or _ayatl_, a mantle, which was nothing more than a square piece of cloth about four feet long. If worn over both shoulders, the two upper ends were tied in a knot across the breast, but more frequently it was only thrown over one shoulder and knotted under one of the arms. Sometimes two or three of these mantles were worn at one time. This, however, was only done by the better classes. The older Spanish writers generally compare this mantle to the Moorish albornoz. It was usually colored or painted, frequently richly embroidered or ornamented with feathers and furs. The edges were scalloped or fringed with tufts of cotton and sometimes with gold. Rich people had, besides these, mantles made of rabbit or other skins, or of beautiful feathers, and others of fine cotton into which was woven rabbit-hair, which latter were used in cold weather.[374]

In only one instance garments with sleeves are mentioned. Ixtlilxochitl, in describing the dress of the Acolhuas, says that they wore a kind of long coat reaching to the heels with long sleeves.[375]

The dress of the Tarascos differed considerably from that of the other Nahua nations. This difference is said to have originated in ancient times, when they together with other tribes, as the legend relates, immigrated into Mexico. While on their wanderings being obliged to cross a river, and having no ropes with which to construct rafts, they used for this purpose their maxtlis and mantles. Not being able to procure other clothing immediately, they were under the necessity of putting on the _huipiles_, or chemises, of the women, leaving to the latter only their _naguas_, or petticoats. In commemoration of this event, they later adopted this as their national costume, discarding the maxtli and wearing the huipil and a mantle.[376] The tilmatli, or ayatl, was by the Tarascos called _tlanatzi_. It was worn over one shoulder and was knotted under the other arm. They frequently trimmed it with hare-skins and painted it gaudily. The young wore it considerably shorter than old people. The manufacture of feather garments seems to have been a specialty of the Tarascos.[377]

The Zapotecs chiefly dressed in skins, while others in Oajaca are said to have worn small jackets, and Cortés reports these people to have been better dressed than any he had previously seen.[378] In Tabasco but little covering was used, the greater part of the population going almost naked.[379]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF WOMEN.]

There was no difference in the dress of the women throughout Anáhuac. The huipil and _cueitl_ were the chief articles, and were universally used. Besides these, mantles of various shapes and materials were worn. The huipil was a kind of chemise, with either no sleeves at all or very short ones; it covered the upper part of the body to a little below the thighs. The lower part of the body was covered by the cueitl, a petticoat, reaching to about half-way between the knees and ankles, and often nicely embroidered and ornamented. Skins, _ixcotl_, or palm-fibre, nequen, and cotton were the materials used for these garments. Out of doors they frequently put on another over-dress similar to the huipil, only longer and with more ornamental fringes and tassels. Sometimes they wore two or three of these at the same time, one over the other, but in that case they were of different lengths, the longest one being worn underneath. A mantle similar in size and shape to that used by the men, white and painted in various designs on the outside, was also used by the females. To the upper edge of this, on that portion which was at the back of the neck, a capuchin, like that worn by the Dominican and other monks, was fastened, with which they covered their head.[380]

To protect their feet they used sandals, by the Aztecs called _cactli_, which were made of deer or other skins, and frequently also of nequen and cotton. The strings or straps used to fasten them were of the same material.[381] I do not find any description of the manner in which they were fastened, but in an old Mexican manuscript on maguey paper, in which some of the natives are painted in various colors, I find that the sandals were fastened in three places; first by a strap running across the foot immediately behind the toes, then another over the instep and running toward the heel, and lastly by a strap from the heel round the ankle.

[Sidenote: HAIR-DRESSING AND PAINTING.]

As a general thing Mexicans wore the hair long, and in many parts of the empire it was considered a disgrace to cut the hair of a free man or woman.[382] Unlike most of the American natives they wore moustaches, but in other parts of the body they eradicated all hair very carefully.[383] There were public barber-shops and baths in all the principal cities.[384] The Aztecs had various ways of dressing the hair, differing according to rank and office. Generally it was left hanging loose down the back. The women also frequently wore it in this way, but oftener had it done up or trimmed after various fashions; thus some wore it long on the temples and had the rest of the head shaved, others twisted it with dark cotton thread, others again had almost the whole head shaved. Among them it was also fashionable to dye the hair with a species of black clay, or with an herb called _xiuhquilitl_, the latter giving it a violet shade. Unmarried girls wore the hair always loose; they considered it as especially graceful to wear the hair low[385] on the forehead. The virgins who served in the temples had their hair cut short.[386]

The Otomís shaved the fore part of the heads of children, leaving only a tuft behind, which they called _piochtli_, while the men wore the hair cut short as far as the middle of the back of the head, but left it to grow long behind; and these long locks they called _piocheque_. Girls did not have their hair cut until after marriage, when it was worn in the same style as by the men.[387] The Tarascos, or as they were also called Quaochpanme, derived this last name from an old fashion of having their heads shaved, both men and women.[388] Later they wore the hair long, the common people simply letting it hang down the back, while the rich braided it with cotton threads of various colors.[389] The Miztecs wore the hair braided, and ornamented with many feathers.[390]

The Nahua women used paint freely to beautify their person, and among some nations they also tattooed. Among the Aztecs they painted their faces with a red, yellow, or black color, made, as Sahagun tells us, of burnt incense mixed with dye. They also dyed their feet black with the same mixture. Their teeth they cleaned and painted with cochineal; hands, neck, and breast were also painted.[391] Among the Tlascaltecs the men painted their faces with a dye made of the _xagua_ and _bixa_.[392] The Otomís tattooed their breasts and arms by making incisions with a knife and rubbing a blue powder therein. They also covered the body with a species of pitch called _teocahuitl_, and over this again they applied some other color. Their teeth they dyed black.[393]

The Nahuas, like all semi-barbarous people, had a passion for loading themselves with ornaments. Those worn by the kings, nobles, and rich persons, were of gold or silver, set with precious stones; those of the poorer classes were of copper, stone, or bone, set with imitations in crystal of the rarer jewels. These ornaments took the shape of bracelets, armlets, anklets, and rings for the nose, ears, and fingers. The lower lip was also pierced, and precious stones, or crystals, inserted. The richer classes used principally for this purpose the chalchiuite, which is generally designated as an emerald. There existed very stringent laws regarding the class of ornaments which the different classes of people were allowed to wear, and it was prohibited, on pain of death, for a subject to use the same dress or ornaments as the king. Duran relates that to certain very brave but low-born warriors permission was accorded to wear a cheap garland or crown on the head, but on no account might it be made of gold.[394] Gomara tells us that the claws and beaks of the eagle and also fish-bones were worn as ornaments in the ears, nose, and lips.[395]

The Otomís used ear-ornaments made of burned clay, nicely browned, and others of cane.[396] The Tarascos chiefly relied on feathers for their personal adornment.[397] Of the natives encountered by Cortés when he landed at Vera Cruz, Peter Martyr tells us that in the "hole of the lippes, they weare a broad plate within fastened to another on the outside of the lippe, and the iewell they hang thereat is as great as a siluer Caroline doller and as thicke as a mans finger."[398]

In Oajaca more ornaments were worn than in any other part of the country, owing, perhaps, as the Abbé Brasseur de Bourbourg remarks, to the plentiful supply of precious metals in that state.[399]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF THE NOBLES.]

The dress of the nobles and members of the royal household differed from that of the lower classes only in fineness of material and profusion of ornaments. The kings appear to have worn garments of the same shape as those of their subjects, but, in other respects, a

## particular style of dress was reserved for royalty, and he who

presumed to imitate it was put to death. On occasions, however, when the monarch wished to bestow a special mark of favor upon a brave soldier or distinguished statesman, he would graciously bestow upon him one of his garments, which, even though the recipient were a great noble, was received with joy, and the wearer respected as a man whom the king delighted to honor.[400] In Tlascala differences of rank among the nobles were easily recognized by the style of dress. The common people were strictly forbidden to wear cotton clothes with fringes or other trimmings, unless with special permission, granted in consideration of services rendered.[401]

The court laws of etiquette prescribed the dress to be worn by the royal attendants, who could only appear without sandals, barefooted, and in coarse mantles before the king, and even the apparel of the sovereign was in like manner fixed by custom, if not by law. The different kinds of tilmatlis, or mantles, had each its appropriate name, and varied in material as well as in ornament and color. The cotton mantles are described as being of exceeding fineness of texture, so much so that it required an expert to determine whether they were cotton or silk.[402] The mantle worn as every-day dress in the palace was white and blue and called the _xiuhtilmatli_.[403] There were many other kinds of mantles, of which the following are the principal: A yellowish, heavily fringed mantle, on which monstrous heads were painted, was called _coazayacaiotilmatli_; another, blue, ornamented with red shells, with three borders, one light, another dark blue, and a third of white feather-work, and fringed with the same kind of shells, was named _tecuciciotilmatli_; another, dark yellow, with alternate black and white circles painted on it, and a border representing eyes, was the _temalcacaiotilmatlitenisio_; a similar one, differing only in the figures and shape of the ornaments, was the _itzcayotilmatli_; a very gaudy one, worked in many colors, was the _umetechtecomaiotilmatli_; another, with a yellow ground, on which were butterflies made of feathers, and with scalloped edges, was called _papaloiotilmatlitenisio_; the _xaoalquauhiotilmatlitenisio_, was embroidered with designs representing the flower called _ecacazcatl_, and further ornamented with white feather-work and feather edges; the _ocelotentlapalliyiticycacocelotl_ was an imitation of a tiger-skin, also ornamented with an edge of white feathers; the _ixnextlacuilolli_ was worked in many colors, and had a sun painted on it.[404] Other mantles, differing mainly in their style of ornamentation, were the _coaxacayo_ and _tlacalhuaztilmatli_, the latter worn when the king went into his gardens or to the chase. In the same manner there are also various kinds of maxtlis mentioned, such as the _ynyaomaxaliuhqui_, _ytzahuazalmaxtlatl_ and _yacahualiuqui_.[405] In fact there appears to have been a different dress for every occasion. We are told, for instance, that when going to the temple the king wore a white mantle, another when going to preside at the court of justice, and here he again changed his dress, according as the case before the court was a civil or criminal suit.[406] The sandals of the kings were always richly ornamented with precious stones, and had golden soles.[407]

[Sidenote: DRESS OF THE KINGS.]

Whenever the sovereign appeared in public he wore the royal crown, called _copilli_, which was of solid gold, and is described by most writers as having been shaped like a bishop's mitre; but in the hieroglyphical paintings, in which the Mexican kings are represented, it is simply a golden band, wider in front than at the back, the front running up to a point; on some occasions it was ornamented with long feathers.[408] The following description of ornaments, worn by the Mexican kings and nobles, I extract from Sahagun:--

[Sidenote: ABORIGINAL DRESS.]

The _quetzalalpitoai_ consisted of two tassels of fine feathers garnished with gold, which they wore bound to the hair on the crown of the head, and hanging down to the temples. The _tlauhquecholtzontli_ was a handsome garment of feathers worn on the shoulders. On the arms they placed gold rings; on the wrists a thick black strap made soft with balsam, and upon it a large chalchiuite or other precious stone. They also had a _barbote_, or chin-piece, of chalchiuite or other precious stone, set in gold, inserted in the chin. These chin-ornaments were made long, of crystal, with some blue feathers in the centre, which made them look like sapphire. The lip had a hole bored in it, from which precious stones or gold crescents were suspended. The great lords likewise had holes in their nose, and placed therein very fine turquoises or other precious stones, one on each side of the nose. On their necks they wore strings of precious stones, or a medal suspended by a gold chain, with pearl pendants hanging from its edge, and a flat jewel in the centre of it. They used bracelets of mosaic work made with turquoises. On their legs they wore, from the knee down, greaves of very thin gold. They carried in the right hand a little golden flag with a tuft of gaudy feathers on the top. Upon their heads they wore a bird made of rich feathers, with its head and beak resting on the forehead, its tail toward the back of the head, its wings falling over the temples.[409]

FOOTNOTES:

[365] 'La gente pobre vestia de nequen, que es la tela que se haze del maguey, y los ricos vestian de algodon, con orlas labradas de pluma, y pelo de conejos.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. ii.

[366] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 112; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 283. 'Maxtli enrichi de broderies, et ... tunique d'une grande finesse.' _Id._, p. 350. 'En tiempo de calor con sus mantas y pañetes de algodon, y en tiempo de frio se ponian unos jaquetones sin mangas que los llevaban hasta las rodillas con sus mantas y pañetes.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 327.

[367] 'Nu suivant la coutume des indigènes qui travaillaient aux champs.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 348.

[368] 'Algodon, que sabian beneficiar y fabricar de él las ropas de que se vestian.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. ii., p. 43; _Id._, tom. i., p. 253.

[369] 'Su vestuario eran las pieles ... que las ablandaban y curaban para el efecto, trayendo en tiempo de frios el pelo adentro, y en tiempo de calores ... el pelo por la parte afuera.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 214; _Motolinia_, _Hist. Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 4; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 298; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. i., p. 133; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 38. 'Por lo frio de su clima vestian todos pieles de animales adobadas y curtidas, sin que perdiesen el pelo, las que acomodaban á manera de un sayo, que por detras les llegaba hasta las corvas, y por delante á medio muslo.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. ii., p. 5, tom. i., p. 25. 'S'habillaient ... de peaux de bêtes fauves, le poil en dehors durant l'été, vieillard en hiver.... Chez les classes aisées ... ces peaux étaient tannées ou maroquinées avec art; on y usait aussi des toiles de nequen, et quelquefois des cotonnades d'une grande finesse.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. ii., p. 186.

[370] 'Maxtlatl, bragas, o cosa semejante.' _Molina_, _Vocabulario_. The Tarascos 'n'adoptèrent jamais l'usage des caleçons.' _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 132. The maxtli is frequently spoken of as drawers or pantaloons. The Huastecs 'no traen maxtles con que cubrir sus vergüenzas.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 134.

[371] _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 84.

[372] 'Cominciarono in questo tempo a vestirsi di cotone, del quale erano innanzi affatto privi per la loro miseria, nè d'altro vestivansi, se non delle tele grosse di filo di maguei, o di palma salvatica.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. i., p. 181. 'Les Mexicains, les Tecpanèques et les autres tribus qui restèrent en arrière, conservèrent l'usage des étoffes de coton, de fil de palmier, de maguey ixchele, de poil de lapin et de lièvre, ainsi que des peaux d'animaux.' _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 132. 'Non aveano lana, nè seta comune, nè lino, nè canapa; ma supplivano alla lana col cotone, alla seta colla piuma, e col pelo del coniglio, e della lepre, ed al lino, ed alla canapa coll' _Icxotl_, o palma montana, col _Quetzalichtli_, col _Pati_, e con altre spezie di Maguei.... Il modo, che avevano di preparar questi materiali, era quello stesso, che hanno gli Europei nel lino, e nella canapa. Maceravano in acqua le foglie, e poi le nettavano, le mettevano al Sole, e le ammaccavano, finattantochè le mettevano in istato di poterle filare.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 207-8. Ycçotl, Palma Montana. 'Non videtur filendum, è folijs huius arboris fila parari, linteis, storisq. intexendis perquam accommoda, politiora, firmioraq. eis quæ ex Metl passim fieri consueuere, madentibus in primis aqua, mox protritis, ac lotis, iterumq. et iterum maceratis, et insolatis, donec apta reddantur, vt neri possint, et in usus accommodari materies est leuis, aclenta.' _Hernandez_, _Nova Plant._, p. 76.

[373] '_Maxtles_, c'est ainsi qu'on nomme en langue mexicaine des espèces _d'almaysales_ qui sont longues de quatre brasses, larges d'une palme et demie et terminées par des broderies de diverses couleurs, qui ont plus d'une palme et demie de haut.' _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 132. 'Cuoprono le loro parti vergogno se cosi di dietro come dinanzi, con certi sciugatoi molto galanti, che sono come gran fazzuoli che si legano il capo per viaggio, di diuersi colori, e orlati di varie foggie, e di colori similmente diuersi, con i suoi fiocchi, che nel cingersegli, viene l'un capo dauanti e l'altro di dietro.' _Relatione fatta par vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese_, in _Ramusio_, _Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 305. In Meztitlan, 'les uns et les autres couvraient leur nudités d'une longue bande d'étoffe, semblable à un almaizar, qui leur faisait plusieurs fois le tour du corps et passait ensuite entre les jambes, les extrémités retombant par-devant jusqu'aux genoux.' _Chaves_, _Rapport_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. 316. 'Los vestidos que traen (Totonacs) es como de almaizales muy pintados, y los hombres traen tapadas sus verguenzas.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 23. In Oajaca, 'Maxtles conque se cubrian sus vergüenzas.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 136, 123, 131. The Miztecs 'por çaraguelles trahian matzles; que los Castellanos dizen mastiles.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 223.

[374] 'Il Tilmatli era un mantello quadro, lungo quattro piedi in circa; due estremità d'esso annodavano sul petto, o sopra una spalla.... Gli Uomini solevano portar due, o tre mantelli.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 223, and plate, p. 224. 'I vestimenti loro son certi manti di bambagia come lenzuola, ma non cosi grande, lauoratori di gentili lauori di diuerse maniere, e con le lor franze e orletti, e di questi ciascun n 'ha duoi ò tre e se gli liga per dauanti al petto.' _Relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese_, in _Ramusio_, _Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 305; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 131. 'Todos traen albornoces encima de la otra ropa, aunque son diferenciados de los de Africa, porque tienen maneras; pero en la hechura y tela y los rapacejos son muy semejables.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 75, 23. 'Leur vêtement consistait anciennement dans deux ou trois manteaux d'une vare et demi en carré, noués, par en haut, le noeud se mettant pour les uns sur la poitrine, pour les autres à l'épaule gauche, et souvent par derrière.' _Chaves_, _Rapport_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. v., pp. 315-16. 'Ningun plebeyo vestia de algodon, con franja, ni guarnicion, ni ropa rozagante, sino senzilla, llana, corta, y sin ribete, y assi era conocido cada vno en el trage.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iv., p. 174. 'Otras hacian de pelo de Conejo, entretexido de hilo de Algodon ... con que se defendian del frio.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 488; _Diaz_, _Itinerario_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 298. The Totonacs; 'algunos con ropas de algodon, ricas a su costumbre. Los otros casi desnudos.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 39, 95; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 131. Huastecs 'andan bien vestidos: y sus ropas y mantas son muy pulidas y curiosas con lindas labores, porque en su tierra hacen las mantas que llaman _centzontilmatli, cenzonquaehtli_, que quiere dezir, mantas _de mil colores_: de allá se traen las mantas que tienen unas cabezas de monstruos pintadas, y las de remolinos de agua engeridas unas con otras, en las cuales y en otras muchas, se esmeraban las tejedoras.' _Id._, p. 134. 'Una manta cuadrada anudada sobre el pecho, hácia el hombro siniestro, que descendia hasta los tobillos; pero en tiempo de invierno cubrian mas el cuerpo con un sayo cerrado sin mangas, y con una sola abertura en la sumida para entrar la cabeza, y dos á los lados para los brazos, y con él se cubrian hasta los muslos.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 253; _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 360.

[375] 'Vestíanse, unas túnicas largas de pellejos curtidos hasta los carcañales, abiertas por delante y atadas con unas á manera de agugetas, y sus manos que llegaban hasta las muñecas, y las manos.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 341.

[376] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 132; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 57.

[377] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., pp. 130-1; _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., pp. 49-50; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix.

[378] 'El trage de ellos era de diversas maneras, unos traían mantas, otros como unas xaquetillas.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136. 'Era mas vestida que estotra que habemos visto.' _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 93. 'La mayor parte andauan en cueros.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv. The Miztecs 'vestian mantas blancas de algodon, texidas, pintadas, y matizadas con flores, rosas, y aves de diferentes colores: no trahian camisas.' _Id._, cap. xii.

[379] 'Andan casi desnudos.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 36.

[380] 'Traen camisas de medias mangas.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 317; _Relatione fatta per vn gentil'huomo del Signor Fernando Cortese_, in _Ramusio_, _Navigationi_, tom. iii., fol. 305; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 327; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 23. In Jalisco they had 'vn Huipilillo corto, que llaman Ixquemitl, ò teapxoloton.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 339. 'Una sopravvesta ... con maniche più lunghe.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 223; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. ii., p. 6, tom. i., pp. 253-4; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 283. In Michoacan 'no traían vipiles.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 138, 123; _Spiegazione delle Tavole del Codice Mexicano_ (Vaticano), in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. v., pp. 203-4; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.

[381] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 112, 123; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., pp. 336, 341; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vi., cap. xvii.; _Id._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. ix., xii.; _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., p. 50; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 259; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 317; _Chaves_, _Rapport_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. 316; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 223.

[382] 'Aveano a disonore l'esser tosati.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 224.

[383] _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 350. 'Ni bien baruados, porque se arrancan y vntan los pelos para que no nazcan.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 317. The Mistecs 'las barbas se arrancauan con tenazillas de oro.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.

[384] _Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 68, 104; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., p. 300.

[385] 'Hazen lo negro con tierra por gentileza y porque les mate los piojos. Las casadas se lo rodean a la cabeça con vn ñudo a la frente. Las virgines y por casar, lo traen suelto, y echado atras y adelante. Pelan se y vntan se todas para no tener pelo sino en la cabeça y cejas, y assi tienen por hermosura tener chica frente, y llena de cabello, y no tener colodrillo.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 317; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp. 309-10, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 113, 120, tom. xi., p. 309; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 224; _Chaves_, _Rapport_, in _Ternaux-Compans_, _Voy._, série ii., tom. v., p. 316. The Chichimecs wore it, 'largo hasta las espaldas, y por delante se lo cortan.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 335.

[386] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 224.

[387] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 124.

[388] 'Llámase tambien Quaochpanme, que quiere decir hombres de cabeza rapada ó raida, porque antiguamente estos tales no traían cabellos largos, antes se rapaban la cabeza así los hombres, como las mugeres.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 137; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 57.

[389] _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., p. 50.

[390] _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xiv.

[391] 'Se raiaban las Caras.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 255; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., p. 310.

[392] _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 75.

[393] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., pp. 124-6.

[394] _Duran_, _Hist. Indias_, MS., tom. i., cap. xxvi.

[395] _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 317; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. iii., cap. xii.; Clavigero, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 224, describes the ornaments, but in his accompanying plate fails to show any of them. _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix. pp. 79-80; _Purchas his Pilgrimes_, vol. iv., p. 1119.

[396] 'De barro cocido bien bruñidas, ó de caña.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 124.

[397] _Id._, p. 137. The Totonacs 'traian vnos grandes agujeros en los beços de abaxo, y en ellos vnas rodajas de piedras pintadillas de azul, y otros con vnas hojas de oro delgadas, y en las orejas muy grandes agujeros, y en ellos puestas otras rodajas de oro, y piedras.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 28; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 23.

[398] _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. vii.

[399] The Miztecs 'traen imán, axorcas muy anchas de oro, y sartales de piedra á las muñecas, y joyeles de éstas y de oro al cuello.' _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., lib. x., p. 136; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 30.

[400] 'Ninguna Persona (aunque fuesen sus propios Hijos) podia vestirlo, so pena de la vida.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 542; _Duran_, _Hist. Indias_, MS., tom. i., cap. xxvi.

[401] _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcviii., p. 198.

[402] 'Tan delgadas y bien texidas que necesitaban del tacto para diferenciarse de la seda.' _Solis_, _Hist. Conq. Mex._, tom. i., p. 132; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 507.

[403] _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 115-16; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 542.

[404] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. viii., pp 286-8.

[405] _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 57.

[406] 'Para salir de Palacio los Reies à visitar los Templos, se vestian de blanco; pero para entrar en los Consejos, y asistir en otros Actos publicos, se vestian de diferentes colores, conforme la ocasion.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 543. 'Les rois s'habillaient tantôt de blanc, tantôt d'étoffes d'un jaune obscur ornées de franges de mille couleurs.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 284, tom. iv., pp. 210-11. 'Mantas de á dos haces, labradas de plumas de papos de aves, tan suaves, que trayendo la mano por encima á pelo y á pospelo, no era mas que una marta cebellina muy bien adobada: hice pesar una dellas, no pesó mas de seis onzas.' _Zuazo_, _Carta_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 360. 'Vestidos de pelo de conejo y de algodon de mucha curiosidad, y estas eran vestiduras de Caciques y de gente muy principal' in Michoacan. _Beaumont_, _Crón. Mechoacan_, MS., pp. 49-50; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., pp. 336, 240, 265; _Id._, _Relaciones_, in _Id._, p. 336; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., p. 298. Description of Montezuma's dress when meeting Cortés, in _Solis_, _Hist. Conq. Mex._, tom. i., p. 369; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iii., p. 77; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. iii., p. 386; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. ii., p. 317. Representations of the dresses of the Mexican kings and nobles are also in the _Codex Mendoza_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. i.

[407] 'Traia calçados vnos como cotaras, que assi se dize lo que se calçan, las suelas de oro, y muy preciada pedreria encima en ellas.' _Bernal Diaz_, _Hist. Conq._, fol. 65. 'Portoit une chaussure de peau de chevreuil.' _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1824, tom. xxiv., p. 137. 'Çapatos de oro, que ellos llaman zagles, y son a la manera antigua de los Romanos, tenian gran pedreria de mucho valor, las suelas estauan prendidas con correas.' _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. vii., cap. v. 'Cotaras de cuero de tigres.' _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 79; _Solis_, _Hist. Conq. Mex._, tom. i., p. 369; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 525; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iv., pp. 210-11; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, p. 85; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. iii., p. 386; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 327; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. ii., pp. 73-4, 317.

[408] 'La corona de Rey, que tiene semejança a la corona de la Señoria de Venecia.' _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, p. 471. 'Unas tiaras de oro y pedrería.' _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 295. 'En la Cabeça vnos Plumajes ricos, que ataban tantos cabellos de la Corona, quanto toma el espacio de la Corona Clerical: estos Plumajes prendian y ataban con vna correa colorada, y de ella colgaban con sus pinjantes de Oro, que pendian à manera de chias de Mitra de Obispo.' _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 542-3. 'Era di varie materie giusta il piacere dei Re, or di lame sottili d'oro or tessuta di filo d'oro, e figurata con vaghe penne.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 115, tom. iii., p. 77. 'Before like a Myter, and behinde it was cut, so as it was not round, for the forepart was higher, and did rise like a point.' _Purchas his Pilgrimes_, tom. iv., p. 1062; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. iii., p. 386; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. ii., p. 317; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iv., p. 210.

[409] _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. vii., lib. ii., pp. 288-90; _Tezozomoc_, _Crónica Mex._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., pp. 57, 79; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Id._, p. 327; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. i., p. 525; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 259, tom. iii., p. 392; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcix., p. 178. Further mention of ornaments in the enumeration of presents given by Montezuma to Cortés in _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. iii., pp. 65, 80; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. ii., lib. v., cap. v.; _Oviedo_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. iii., pp. 279, 283, 285, 292, 298; _Solis_, _Hist. Conq. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 125, 132-3; _Purchas his Pilgrimes_, vol. iv., pp. 1118-9, 1124; _Cortés_, _Cartas_, pp. 69, 85; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iv., pp. 76, 84, 214, 263-4; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. ii., p. 83. Among the modern authors who have written upon the subject of dress may be mentioned: _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 326, 680-2, tom. ii., pp. 91, 224-5, with numerous cuts; _Bussierre_, _L'Empire Mex._, p. 145; _Chevalier_, _Mex., Ancien et Mod._, pp. 57-8; _Dillon_, _Hist. Mex._, p. 47; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., pp. 13-14, 22, 28, 189; _Monglave_, _Résumé_, p. 36; _Brownell's Ind. Races_, pp. 65, 79; _Baril_, _Mexique_, p. 209; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indígena_, p. 61.

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