UNKNOWN MEXICO.*

THESE volumes represent a considerable portion of the life-work of the author, who is a Norwegian by blood and a zoologist by profession. It was when Mr. Lumholtz was on a -visit to, London in 1887 that the idea of an expedition to the less-known regions of Mexico occurred to him, but it was not till nine years later that he was able to begin the series of researches, extending in all to 1898, of which he gives a record in two substantial volumes. These were mainly in the district now known as the States of Chihuahua and Durango, in the Mexican Republic, and they are of ethnological and biological importance chiefly, as allowing us to understand the life as it is now led of the aboriginal Mexican tribes, such as the Tarascos and Tarahumaras, which occupy aims that are not. large at the best, and are being yearly more and more restricted. Mr. Lumholtz strikes one rather as a good all- round observer than as a specialist or as a precisian ; he writes as White of Selborne might have done could he have been induced to desert his parish and become the leader of an exploring expedition. Already it has been noted by competent critics that as an ethnologist and linguist he is shaky. Thus he says of "Tepic," a town in which he spent a short time : "The meaning of the word Tepic has not yet been definitely settled." Perhaps it is Nahuatl; "Teti" = stone and " pic " =hard. It has been pointed out with unquestionable authority that there is no mystery here at all, that " pia " is not an adjective and that "Tepic" should be spelt " Tepee, " which means "at the mountain," and is a very appropriate description of a place

* Unknown Mexico. By Carl Lumholtz. 2 vols. London : Macmillan and Co. [Oa]

which, as Mr. Lumholtz states, "is beautifully situated on a large plain almost at the foot of the picturesque extinct volcano Sangangney." But if the book is read in the spirit in which the bulk of it is written, it will undoubtedly be found informing as well as entertaining,—perhaps, indeed, more valuable than it would have been had the author given less scope to fancy and caprice and stuck more austerely to his strictly scientific text. He tells how he got along with, and made friends among. the natives during the three years in which he travelled alone :—

"Soon I found that my best companions were the so-called civilised Indians, or even Indians in their aboriginal state, who not only helped me by their mere presence to win the confidence of their tribesmen, but also served me as subjects of observation. As before, I stopped for months with a tribe, discharging all alien attendants, and roughing it with the Indians. In this way I spent in all a year and a half among the Tarahumaras, and ten months among the Cores and Huichols. At first the natives per- sistently opposed me; they are very distrustful of the white man, and no wonder, since he has left them little yet to lose. But I managed to make my entry and gradually to gain their con- fidence and friendship, mainly through my ability to sing their native songs, and by always treating them justly."

All through this book suggests the amateur in the strict, and perhaps true, sense of the man who loves his subject, and in this case his half-savage kindred.

Mr. Lumholtz's experiences among the Tarahumaras or cave-dwellers of the Sierra Madre, to whom he paid a special visit in 1898 in the company of his friend Dr. A. Hadlicka, are among the most interesting and valuable from the scientific or ethnological standpoint which he has to record. Most of the Tarahumaras live permanently in the highlands, but a great many of them move for the winter down into the lower lands on account of the warmer temperature, and if they have no house they live wherever they find a convenient shelter, preferably a cave, although for want of better accom- modation they content themselves with a rock shelter, or even a spreading tree. The cave-dwelling is thus described :—

" In front of the entrance to the cave there is generally a wall of stone or of stone and mud raised to the height of a man's chest, as a protection against wind and weather, wild beasts, &c. The cave is fitted up just like the houses, with grinding stone, earthen jars and bowls, baskets, gourds, &c. The fire is always in the middle, without hearth or chimney, and the jars in which the food is cooked rest on three stones. A portion of the ground is levelled and made smooth for the family to sleep on. As often as not there are skins spread out on the floor. Sometimes the floor space is extended by an artificial terrace in front of the cave. In a few cases the floor is plastered with adobe, and I have seen a cave

in which the sides, too, were dressed in the same way The largest inhabited cave I have seen was nearly a hundred feet in width, and from twenty to forty feet in depth. If caves are at all deep, the Indians live near the mouth. They never excavate caves, nor do they live in dugouts."

In spite—or is it because 9—of their simple life, the Tarahumaras are athletes. In particular, they are "the greatest runners in the world, not in regard to speed, but in endurance." It is rather melancholy to read that "the Tarahumara in his native condition is many times better off mentally, morally, and economically than his so-called civilised brother," who, however, "will not let him alone as long as he has anything worth taking away." Mr. Lumholtz is not at all a believer in the advantage to the Mexican aborigines of the blessings of civilisation. Speaking of another tribe, he says :— "Taking it all in all, the advantages the Indian derives from the advent of the white man are doubtful. The Huichol's standard of life has not, on the whole, been raised. The few who are well off and could afford better things have no better than the others; they eat their tortillas and beans and sleep on the floor, as they always did, and know no better. On the other hand, the disadvantages are very manifest. Since the acquisition of domestic animals the people have begun to realise that there are rich and poor in this world, and those who own little are filled with envy of their more opulent relatives. In order to attend to a number of animals, it is necessary to employ helpers; and thus the foundations are laid for social distinctions which not so long ago were entirely unknown among them. Their lesson in modern sociology will be taught them still more severely when once their land is divided up. Yet thus far they have strenuously resisted all attempts of the Mexican Government in this direction."

Mr. Lumholtes volumes are especially rich in descriptions of the social and other customs among the tribes he visited. Here is Tarahumara, courtship :— "The custom of the country requires the girl to do all the eourtang. She is just as bashful as the young swain whom she wishes to fascinate, but she has to take the initiative in love affairs. The young people meet only at the feasts, and after she has gotten mildly under the influence of the native beer that is liberally consumed by all, she tries to attract his attention by dancing before him in a clumsy way up and down on the same spot. But so bashful is she that she persistently keeps her back turned towards him. She may also sit down near him and pull his blanket and sing to him in a gentle low voice a simple love- song such as 'Beautiful man to be sure.' If occasion requires, the parents of the girl may say to the parents of the boy, 'Our daughter wants to marry your son.' Then they send the girl to the boy's home that the young people may become acquainted. For two or three days perhaps they do not speak to each other,. but finally she playfully begins to throw pebbles at him. If he does not return them, she understands that he does not care for her. If he throws them back at her, she knows that she has won him. She lets her blanket drop, and runs off into the woods, and he is not long in following her."

Plant-worship occupies a prominent position in the life of the Tarahumaras. The hikuli plant—a species of cactus —is the supreme object of their adoration ; it has its experts ; it is both man and God, perhaps because it makes men be as gods after a very old fashion :— " The plant, when taken, exhilarates the human system and allays all feeling of hunger and thirst. It also produces colour- visions. When fresh, it has a nauseating, slightly sour taste, but it is wonderfully refreshing when one has been exposed to great fatigue. Not only does it do away with all exhaustion, but one actually feels pushed on, as I can testify from personal experience. In this respect, it resembles the Peruvian coca; but unlike the latter it leaves a certain depression, as well as a headache. Although an Indian feels as if drunk after eating a quantity of hikuli and the trees dance before his eyes, he maintains the balance of his body even better than under normal conditions, and lie will walk along the edge of precipices without becoming dizzy. At their nocturnal feasts, when drinking heavily of both tesvino and hikuli many persons may be seen to weep and laugh alter- nately. Another marked effect of the plant is to take away temporarily all sexual desire."

The great functionary in a tribe is the "shaman," or wise- man, who is both doctor and priest, heals bodies and souls, and is a master of sorcery. The ascent to the position of " shaman " is free and open :— "Anybody who has a natural gift for it may become a shaman. Such a gift will be evidenced from his early youth by his being more interested in the ceremonies and paying more at- tention to the singing than ordinary boys do. The feasts where they acquire their knowledge of the gods and their doings by listening to the songs of the shaman, are the only schools the attend. I have heard children no older than five or six years. sing very well indeed temple songs, caught as the street boys in our cities catch popular airs. In addition a young man may, of course, ask an older shaman for information, but there is no regular system of teaching."

Mr. Lumholtz does not attempt much in the way of morali- sation; he is too much bent on describing his observations and impressions with fulness and simplicity. When he does- go beyoild his depth he is not notable for originality, as when

he tells us that" civilised mankind is already beginning to have a social and aesthetic solidarity. The calamity of Martinique, the fall of the Campanile in Venice, affects the whole world." Yet it is rather interesting, if not indeed sociologically valuable, to find him saying a heartily good word for Latin.

civilisation :—

" I cannot help thinking that as long as Mexico was to be made subject to European Powers it was well for her to fall among- members of a Latin race rather than those of Germanic or Teu- tonic descent. For the Spanish character and temperament resemble in a degree those of the Indians ; the Spaniards are more easy-going,' and better accustomed to the warmer climate and the habits of life it creates The Spaniards did not shrink from mixing with the conquered, and in the course of time innumerable grades of crossings created a new type. The Mexican of to-day is very different from his Spanish cousin, even more so than American and British. He has little prejudice against 'colour,' and if the darker types desire to be looked upon as 'whites,' it is because it flatters them to be considered members of the dominant class, not because they are despised on account of their darker complexion. Even pure-bred Indians- have risen to prominence in Mexico as governors, generals, and clergymen. Honest, lion-hearted Benito ,Tuarez, who guided the Republic through its most severe crisis, was a pure-bred Zapotee Indian. Among the authors of aboriginal blood I will only mention that charming litt6rateur and critic, Don Manuel Altamerano. The Indian's influence upon the Mexican nation and its destiny has been, and always will be, profound. Mexico undoubtedly benefits by the inoculation of aboriginal strength and blood. The Indian has impregnated the newcomers with his religious fervour and has made them more devout Catholics than the Spaniards are, though he has also taught them many pagan superstitions, especially in regard to sorcery. Into the character of the people have been infused a certain honesty of mind and

devotion to duty. The Indian mode of living and cooking is adhered to throughout the land, though the architecture of the dwellings, when not Indian, is Moro-Iberian. To the literature of Spanish America the native mind had brought its peculiar originality and its inclination towards the unsophisticated fact."