The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) - Mirrors

§ 1. The Corn-mother in America. 207already given of the custom of killing the god, both periodicallyand occasionally. The Mother of the Maize was allowed, as arule, to live through a year, that being the period during whichher strength might reasonably be supposed to last unimpaired;but on any symptom of her strength failing she was put to death,and a fresh and vigorous Mother of the Maize took her place,lest the maize which depended on her for its existence shouldlanguish and decay.Hardly less clearly does the same train of thought come out Customs of thein the harvest customs formerly observed by the Zapotecs ofMexico. At harvest the priests, attended by the nobles andpeople, went in procession to the maize fields, where they pickedout the largest and finest sheaf. This they took with greatceremony to the town or village, and placed it in the templeupon an altar adorned with wild flowers. After sacrificing to theharvest god, the priests carefully wrapped up the sheaf in finelinen and kept it till seed-time. Then the priests and nobles metpintadas, que llaman Micsazara, o Mantayzara, o Caullazara, y otros quellaman Piruazara, que son otras maçorcas en que van subiendo los granosno derechos sino haziendo caracol. Estas Micsazara, o Piruazara, ponensupersticiosamente en los montones de maiz, y en las Piruas (que son dondeguardan el maiz) paraque se las guarde, y el dia de las exhibiciones se juntatanto de estas maçorcas, que tienen bien que comer las mulas. La mismasupersticion tienen con las que llaman Axomamas, que son quando salenalgunas papas juntas, y las guardan para tener buena cosecha de papas.”The exhibiciones here referred to are the occasions when the Indians broughtlast, the writer tells us, were the principal Zaramamas, and were revered bythe natives as Mothers of the Maize. Similarly, when two potatoes were foundgrowing together the Indians called them Potato-mothers (Axomamas) and keptthem in order to get a good crop of potatoes. As Arriaga's work is rare, itmay be well to give his account of the Maize-mothers, Coca-mothers, andPotato-mothers in his own words. He says (p. 16): “Zaramamas, son de tresmaneras, y son las que se quentan entre las cosas halladas en los pueblos. Laprimera es una como muñeca hecha de cañas de maiz, vestida como mugercon su anaco, y llicilla, y sus topos de plata, y entienden, que como madretiene virtud de engendrar, y parir mucho maiz. A este modo tienen tambienCocamamas para augmento de la coca. Otras son de piedra labradas comochoclos, o mazorcas de maiz, con sus granos relevados, y de estas suelenancient Mexicans atthe maize-harvest.