Читать книгу The Historical Child - Oscar Chrisman - Страница 17

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Feasts were of common occurrence and were given by people of all ranks of society. Each man vied with the other in giving banquets and it often happened that the host ruined himself financially by his hospitality, as it was the custom to distribute costly presents among the guests, and some went so far as to have sold themselves into slavery to raise funds to give at least one big feast that would make a name for them and thus be kept in the memory of their fellow-men. One form of entertainment at these feasts was the use of jesters, similar to the court-fools of European medieval times, who made jokes at the expense of the guests, imitated people of different nations in dress and manners, mimicked old women and well-known eccentric individuals, and the like.

"At the royal feasts given when the great vassals came to the capital to render homage to their sovereign, the people flocked in from the provinces in great numbers to see the sights, which consisted of theatrical representations, gladiatorial combats, fights between wild beasts, athletic sports, musical performances, and poetical recitations in honor of kings, gods, and heroes. The nobles, in addition to this, partook daily of banquets at the palace, and were presented by the monarch with costly gifts."15

There were people who gave gymnastic performances and who performed acrobatic feats such as of the present day and with equal or even greater skill. There were running races, swimming matches, wrestling matches, contests in shooting with bow and arrow and in throwing the dart, and soldiers fought with wild beasts in enclosed places. Gambling greatly prevailed, property of all kinds was put up as stakes and even a man might jeopardize his own personal liberty on a game of chance. Dice was the most general gambling game.

Dancing was one of the leading amusements of the ancient Mexicans. It formed an important part in their religious ceremonies and much time was given by the priests in instructing the youth in this art. Drums and other musical instruments were used in the dancing and they were accompanied by chants and other music of the dancers. In some of the dances each sex danced apart, while in others they danced together. Sometimes they danced in threes, two men and a woman, or two women and a man, while again they danced in pairs, with their arms round one another's waist or neck. There was one dance which somewhat resembled the old English May-pole dance, in which ribbons were wound and unwound about a pole. In some of their great public dances thousands participated. These occurred in an open place, the musicians being placed in the center, about them was formed a circle of the nobles and elderly people, next came a circle of middle-aged persons, and then the young people formed a great circle around them all. Each person was to keep his own place on the circle while all circled about the musicians. The inner circle moved with slow and sedate steps, the middle circle moved more rapidly, and the outer circle of young people twirled rapidly about with many fantastic figures. With drums beating and other musical instruments going and all the dancers chanting, with arms, feet, heads, and bodies all moving in perfect accord, leaders directing, this dancing must have made a great spectacle to the onlookers.

There were not a great variety of musical instruments. They had drums, rattles, gongs, trumpets, and whistles. There were bands of musicians and choirs, each temple having had a choir composed of singers of different ages, among whom were boys of four to eight years of age. There were contests in music and prizes were given to the successful competitors. There were a large number of popular songs or ballads, which were well known to all classes of the people. The drama existed among them. The plays were given on a terrace in the market-place or on a porch of a temple. The players usually wore wooden masks or were disguised as animals. The play generally was given in the form of a burlesque and ended with the animal players giving exhibits of the actions of the animals they represented.

"The national game of the Nahuas was the tlachtli, which strongly resembled in many points our game of football, and was quite as lively and full of scuffle. It was common among all the nations whose cult was similar to the Toltec, and was under special divine protection, though what original religious significance it had is not clear. Indeed, for that matter, nearly every game enjoyed divine patronage, and Ometochtli, 'two rabbits,' the god of games, according to Duran, was generally invoked by athletes as well as by gamblers, in conjunction with some special god. Instruments of play, and natural objects were also conjured to grant good luck to the applicant. As an instance of the popularity of the game of tlachtli, it may be mentioned that a certain number of towns contributed annually sixteen thousand balls in taxes, that each town of any size had a special playground devoted to the game, and that kings kept professionals to play before them, occasionally challenging each other to a game besides. The ground in which it was played, called the tlachco, was an alley, one hundred feet long and half as wide, except at each end where there were rectangular nooks, which doubtless served as resting places for the players. The whole was enclosed by smooth whitewashed walls, from nine to twelve feet high on the sides, and somewhat lower at the ends, with battlements and turrets, and decreasing in thickness toward the top. At midnight, previous to the day fixed for the game, which was always fixed favorably by the augurs, the priests with much ceremony placed two idols—one representing the god of play, the other the god of the tlachtli—upon the side walls, blessed the edifice, and consecrated the game by throwing the ball four times round the ground, muttering the while a formula. The owner of the tlachco, usually the lord of the place, also performed certain ceremonies and presented offerings, before opening the game. The balls, called ullamaloni, were of solid India-rubber, three to four inches in diameter. The players were simply attired in the maxtli, or breech-clout, and sometimes wore a skin to protect the parts coming in contact with the ball, and gloves; they played in parties, usually two or three on each side. The rule was to hit the ball only with knee, elbow, shoulder, or buttock, as agreed upon, the latter was however the favorite way, and to touch the wall of the opposite side with the ball, or to send it over, either of which counted a point. He who struck the ball with his hand or foot, or with any part of his body not previously agreed upon, lost a point; to settle such matters without dispute a priest acted as referee. On each side-wall, equidistant from the ends, was a large stone, carved with images of idols, pierced through the center with a hole large enough to just admit the passage of the ball; the player who by chance or skill drove the ball through one of these openings not only won the game for his side, but was entitled to the cloaks of all present, and the haste with which the spectators scrambled off in order to save their garments is said to have been the most amusing part of the entertainment. A feat so difficult was, of course, rarely accomplished, save by chance, and the successful player was made as much of as a prize-winner at the Olympic games, nor did he omit to present thank-offerings to the god of the game for the good fortune vouchsafed him."16