Mitla

“ The hunter returned early, and Mitla told him of her adventure. He decided at once that the man could not be relieved with safety before dark. In coming to this conclusion he felt, in his kindness of heart, that it was hard on the poor fellow to be left in such a trying position for so long a time, but, with the soldiers in the vicinity and liable to appear at any time, he must bear it if he would escape. ”

“ The tzin was upon them in an instant, and, sending an arrow into one and his javelin at another, they were quickly made to desist. His sword, which he carried more as a weapon of defense than to be used in the pursuit of game, was raised to strike, but before he could use it the villains drew off. He could not follow them; for when Mitla was released she staggered, and would have fallen to the ground had he not caught her in his arms, thus saving the miscreants from his deadly maquahuitl. Mitla had swooned, and he could only vent his indignation and wrath in words. ”

“ After admiration follows love, which in this case would indeed be serious. The folly of a mountain girl falling in love with a noble, and he a prince at that, should be apparent even to you, Oxie," Mitla answered, a little severely.
"Why folly, sister, if her love should be returned?" asked the infatuated maiden. This was too much for Mitla's philosophic mentality, and she concluded that a further discussion of the subject would only tend to strengthen the impressions made upon Oxie's inexperienced mind by the person of the young prince. ”

“ Mitla, though blamable from a prudential standpoint, has proven herself a heroine. Had not her hand, O Tezcot, the hand of your child, brought succor and release to Euetzin, he would to-day, if alive, be in the hands of Maxtla, awaiting the awful fate of a prisoner of war. It was her great love that saved to us a noble friend. Such devotion is worthy the reward it has won: Euetzin's plighted troth. They will wed, and the daughter of the wise hunter, the friend of the great Ixtlilchoatl, will become the happy wife of a noble, who will assuredly be among the exalted of the king's household. ”

“ Plan of Fortress near Mitla.
414
Dupaix claims to have found the quarries which furnished material for the Mitla structures, in a hill three-fourths of a league eastward from the ruins, called by the Zapotecs Aguilosoé, by the Spaniards Mirador. The stone is described as of such a nature that large blocks may be easily split off by means of wedges and levers, and many such blocks were scattered about the place; the removal of the stone to the site of the palaces, here as in the case of many other American ruins, must have been the chief difficulty overcome by the builders. ”

“ In order to make plain certain things which have come under our notice in the last two chapters, it will be necessary for us to go back to Tezcot's, and the hermit's cave, and note the doings of our mountain friends in the interim between the departure from there of Euetzin and Cacami and the holding of the tournament at Tlacopan.
Mitla became a changed girl. She had lived to learn that older hearts than Oxie's were liable to impressions that wound, and that to fall in love with a noble was, indeed, a serious matter for a mere mountain girl to do. ”

“ The next day, we were again at Mitla. It was a festival day, that of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. In the evening there were rockets, the band played, and a company of drummers and chirimiya blowers went through the town. Señor Quiero had fires of blazing pine knots at the door. When the procession passed we noted its elements. In front was the band of ten boys; men with curious standards mounted on poles followed. The first of these standards was a figure, in strips of white and pink tissue paper, of a long-legged, long-necked, long-billed bird, perhaps a heron ”

“ The influence of the two separate currents may be detected in the bastard calendar system no less than in the still undeciphered inscriptions. The principal ruins are those of Mitla, the burial city of the priests and kings of the ancient Zapotecs, which bear a quite distinct character, though presenting certain analogies with the Mexican. One of the chief structures is a step-pyramid, rising in three steps to a height of 130 ft., another is a pyramid of brick. ”

“ The ruins of Mitla resemble Palenque only in the long low narrow form of the buildings, since the low supporting mounds can hardly be said to resemble the lofty stone-faced pyramids of Chiapas. A stronger likeness may be discovered when they are compared with the structures of Yucatan; since in both cases we find long narrow windowless buildings, raised on low mounds, and enclosing a rectangular courtyard, walls of rubble, and facings of hewn stone. The contrasts are also strong, as seen in the mosaic grecques, the absence of sculpture, and the flat roofs, in some cases supported by columns ”

“ These ruins are remarkable among those of the country where they are found. All who have seen them speak much as Dupaix speaks of the perfection of the masonry, the admirable design and finish of the work, and the beauty of the decorations. Their beauty, says M. Charnay, can be matched only by the monuments of Greece and Rome in their best days. One fact presented by some of the edifices at Mitla has a certain degree of historical significance. There appears to be evidence that they were occupied at some period by people less advanced in civilization than their builders. ”

“ The ruins at Mitla are in two groups, each consisting of four buildings [Pg 438] fronting on a square like the plaza of modern times. There is a hall with six columns of stone in the centre, each column being about twelve feet high, and tapering towards the top like a slender sugar-loaf. It is supposed to have formed a central support for the roof that rested at its edges upon the walls, which are parallel to each other. The walls are built of rough stones laid with cement, and they seem to have been covered originally with stucco. ”

“ Bancroft’s work. It is cut upon the face of a granite block about three feet square, and is interesting because of the Chinese-like queue which hangs from the figure’s head. At Mitla the grecques and arabesques which cover the façades of the several edifices are not sculptured, except in cases where large stones serve as lintels over doorways. On them the running borders are sculptured in low-relief, while the remainder of the profuse ornamentation is of the nature of mosaic work, being built into the wall. ”

“ The proportions given above by Ixtlilxochitl, it will be noted, are strikingly irregular 448 (4111⁄2, 326) . Was this accident or design? Very likely the latter, based upon some superstitious or astrological motive. It is far from a solitary example. It recurs everywhere in the remarkable ruins of Mitla. “Careful attention,” says Mr. Louis H. Aymé, “has been paid to make the whole asymmetrical. * * * This asymmetry of Mitla is not accidental, I am certain, but made designedly. M. Desiré Charnay tells me he has observed the same thing at Palenque.” ”

“ The principal edifice is in the best preservation, and is nearly 130 feet in length. A stair formed in a pit leads to a subterraneous apartment of 88 feet in length and 26 feet in breadth. This gloomy apartment is covered with the same grecques which ornament the exterior walls of the edifice. But what distinguishes the ruins of Mitla from all the other remains of Mexican architecture is six porphyry columns, which are placed in the midst of a vast hall, and support the ceiling. These columns, almost the only ones found in the new continent, bear strong marks of the infancy of the art. ”

“ Ahura Mazda consequently has ordained that Mithra should watch from on high over the entire moving world. [136] The heat of Mithra it is, accordingly, that gives warmth and life to the plant world and bestows fertility upon this earth. Mithra, as a guardian genius in the celestial realm, superintends the vast expanse of the universe. Varuna has a thousand eyes, [137] and Mithra is constantly spoken of as having a thousand ears and ten thousand eyes. The brilliant sun is the lord of yonder heavens, who with his infinite rays of light pervades the whole world. ”

“ The sun god also illumined the world, and his rays penetrated every quarter: he saw all things, and read the thoughts of men; nothing could be concealed from Shamash. One of his names was Mitra, like the god who was linked with Varuna in the Indian Rigveda. These twin deities, Mitra and Varuna, measured out the span of human life. They were the source of all heavenly gifts: they regulated sun and moon, the winds and waters, and the seasons. ”

“ And as Dingane waved his hand over the assembled army a sound went up like the sullen roar of a sea-wave that curls and breaks. The King went on:
“My children! this is a time, not for talking, but for doing. I, your father, am here with you—I, your leader. Let the lion-cubs of Zulu fall on bravely under the eye of the lion. Lo! those who direct you are men to follow. Where is Umhlela? where is Silwane? where Nomapela and Untúswa?” And with each name a storm of applause rolled from the warriors. “Where they are, there follow. Lo! I see the enemy. Lo! there are they who come against us. ”

“ Mithra gives swift horses to those who do not deceive him; to the habitation in which he is satisfied he gives troops of cattle and men. The fire of Auramazda gives the straightest path to those who do not deceive Mithra. But if the lord of the house, the village, the canton, the land deceives him, then Mithra in anger destroys house and village, canton and land. Not all evil deeds, not all deception, are seen by Mithra, saith the wicked man. But Mithra sees all that is between heaven and earth. With ten thousand eyes he beholds the man who hates and deceives him. ”

“ MITRA, when speaking, stirreth men to labour: Mitra sustaineth both the earth and heaven. Mitra beholdeth men with eyes that close not. To Mitra bring, with holy oil, oblation. 2. Foremost be he who brings thee food, O Mitra, who strives to keep thy sacred Law, Aditya. He whom thou helpest ne'er is slain or conquered, on him, from near or far, falls no affliction. 3. joying in sacred food and free from sickness, with knees bent lowly on the earth's broad surface, Following closely the Aditya's statute, may we remain in Mitra's gracious favour. ”

“ In the evening Umzilikazi sent for me. I found him alone in his hut, and as I sat opposite him it seemed as though I were once more the inceku and shield-bearer, and that the dread ordeal which had terminated in the winning of my head-ring and the King’s Assegai had been all a dream.
“What think you, Untúswa?” said the King at first. “Is it for good or for ill that we leave Ekupumuleni, ‘The Place of Rest,’ and depart for this new land?”
“It is for good, Great Great One. The land is better one than this. There is more room in it for a new nation to become mighty and rich.” ”

“ Umzilikazi rose, and, advancing with majestic step, stood, and with head slightly bent, gazed downward into the bowl. All the people held their breath for awe.
“I see a face,” he said. “Yes; it is the face of a man having a ring on. Hither, Mcumbete! Look with me. Whose is the face?”
The old induna, his brow clouded with anxiety, advanced to the side of the King.
“Hau!” he cried, with a start of amazement. “It is indeed a face, Great Great One. It is the face of Ncwelo.”
A deep murmur of awe went up from all who heard. Ncwelo, though a chief of some influence, was not an induna. ”

“ Any one of them has only to send in enough cattle and you are his. Now look at me. I am young. It may be half a lifetime before the King allows me to tunga. Wherefore, when I think of you I feel heavy, Nangeza, for this is not the first time I have looked upon you.’
“‘I know that, son of Ntelani,’ she answered, looking shy. Then all of a sudden she came and sat down beside me. ‘Listen, Untúswa,’ she said, throwing an arm round my neck. ‘You are but an umfane, but I have loved you for some time unknown to you, for you are so strong and brave. And are you not the King’s chief runner? ”

“ Fire, wind, water, and earth are the four steeds that drive the chariot of the Supreme God. The Sun goes his daily round in his chariot. The moon drives in a cart drawn by white bulls. Verethraghna is likened to a bellicose and destructive boar, one of the forms in which he manifests himself in the Avestan texts. The exploits and achievements of other Yazatas are ascribed to Mithra. As God is unknowable and unapproachable, Mithra acts as the Mediator between God and mankind. ”

“ As the sun arises above Hara berezaiti so may I obtain my desires over the evil Angromainyu. With uplifted arms, Mithra, the lord of wide pastures, conveys us to immortality. With sacrifice named by name, with becoming speech, O strong Mithra, will I make offerings to thee with libations. Listen, O Mithra, to our sacrifice. Come to our sacrifice; come to our libations. Carry them away to the place of meeting (chinvat) ; deposit them in Garonmana. Thou, O Mithra, art the saviour and helper of lands and men. ”

“ Let us not anger Varuna, nor Vayu, nor him, the dearest Friend of mortals, Mitra. 5. Stretch forth your arms and let our lives be lengthened: with fatness dew the pastures of our cattle. Ye Youthful, make us famed among the people: hear, Mitra-Varuna, these mine invocations. 6. Now Mitra, Varuna, Aryaman vouchsafe us freedom and room, for us and for our children. May we find paths all fair and good to travel. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings. ”