The admiral attributed the ease with which he had discomfited so vast a multitude, with only 200 ill armed and half-sick men, to the interposition of Providence and the good fortune of their Catholic majesties. And it pleased the Divine Majesty, not only to enable him to reduce the whole country under authority, but to end such a scarcity of provisions, and such violent diseases among the natives, that they were reduced to a third of the number which they had been when first discovered: Thus making it evident that such miraculous victories, and the subduing of nations, are the gift of Providence, and not the effect of our power or good conduct, or of the want of courage in the natives; for though our men were superior to them, yet their numbers might have compensated for any advantage we had over them in arms and discipline54.
The people of the island being reduced to subjection, and conversing more freely with our men, many particulars and secrets respecting their religion were discovered, and many circumstances of the nature of the country: Particularly that it contained mines of copper, azure, and amber, and that it produced ebony, cedar, frankincense, and other rich gums, and spice of several kinds, but wild, and which might be brought to perfection by cultivation; as cinnamon of a good colour but bitter, ginger, long pepper, abundance of mulberry trees for making silk which bear leaves all the year, and many other useful trees and plants not known in our parts. I shall here insert an account of the religion of these people as written by the admiral, which is followed by a more particular memorial on the same subject, written at his desire by an Anchorite who understood the language of the natives.
"I could discover neither idolatry among those people nor any other sect, though every one of their kings, who are very numerous both in Hispaniola and the other islands and continent, has a house apart from the town, in which there are nothing but some carved wooden images which they call cemis55, and every thing that is done in these houses is expressly for the service of these images, the people repairing to these houses to pray and to perform certain ceremonies, as we do to our churches. In these houses they have a handsome round table made like a dish, on which there is some powder which they lay on the head of the cemi, with certain ceremonies; and then by means of a tube which has two branches which they apply to their nostrils, they snuff up this powder, using certain words which none of our people understand. This powder puts them beside themselves as if they were intoxicated. They also give each of these images a name, which I believe to be derived from the names of their fathers and grandfathers; for all have more than one image, and some of them above ten, all in memory of their forefathers. I have heard them commend one of these images as superior to others, and have observed them to shew more devotion and respect to one than to another, as we do in our processions in time of need, and the people and their caciques boast among one another of having the best cemis. When they go to their cemis they shun the Christians, and will not allow them to go into the houses where they are kept; and if they suspect any of our people will come, they take away their cemis into the woods and hide them, for fear we should take them away; and, what stems most ridiculous, they are in use to steal the cemis from one another. It happened once that some Christians rushed into one of these houses, when presently the cemi began to cry out; by which it appeared to be artificially made hollow, having a tube connected with it leading into a dark corner of the house, where a man was concealed under a covering of boughs and leaves, who spoke through the cemi according as he was ordered by the cacique. The Spaniards, therefore, suspecting how the trick was performed, kicked down the cemi and discovered the concealed invention; and the cacique earnestly entreated them not to betray the secret to his subjects and the other Indians, as he kept them in obedience by that policy. This may be said to have some resemblance to idolatry, especially among those who are ignorant of the fraud practised by the caciques, since they believe that it is the cemi that speaks, and all are imposed upon by the deceit, except the cacique and the person who combines with him to abuse their credulity, by which means he draws what tribute he pleases from his people."
"Most of the caciques have three stones also, to which they and their people shew great devotion. One of these they say helps the growth of all sorts of grain, the second causes women to be delivered without pain, and the third procures rain or fair weather, according as they stand in need of either. I sent three of these stones to your highnesses by Antonio de Torres, and I have three more to carry along with myself. When these Indians die, their obsequies are performed in several manners, but their way of burying their caciques is this. They open and dry him at a great fire, that he may be preserved whole. Of others they preserve only the head. Others they bury in a grot or den, and lay a calabash of water and some bread on his head. Others they burn in their houses, having first strangled them when at the last gasp, and this is done to caciques. Others are carried out of the house in a hammock, laying bread and water at their head, and they never return any more to see after them. Some when dangerously ill are carried to the cacique, who gives orders whether they are to be strangled or not, and their orders are instantly obeyed. I have taken pains to inquire whether they know or believe what becomes of them after death, and I particularly questioned Caunabo, who was the chief cacique in all Hispaniola, a man well up in years, experienced, and of a most piercing wit and much knowledge. He and the rest answered, that they go after death to a certain vale, which every great cacique supposes to be in his own country, and where they affirm they rejoin their relations and ancestors, that they eat, have women, and give themselves up to all manner of pleasures and pastimes. These things will appear more at large in the following extended account which I ordered to be drawn up by one father Roman, who understood their language, and set down all their ceremonies and antiquities: But these are so filled with absurdities and fable, that it is hardly possible to make any thing out of them, except that the natives have some ideas of the immortality of the soul and of a future state."
I, Father Roman, a poor anchorite of the order of St Jerome, by command of the most illustrious lord admiral, viceroy and governor-general of the islands and continent of the Indies, do here relate all that I could hear and learn concerning the religious opinions and idolatry of the Indians, and of the ceremonies they employ in the worship of their gods.
Every one observes some particular superstitious ceremonies in worshipping their idols, which they name cemis. They believe that there is an immortal being, invisible like Heaven, who had a mother, but no beginning, whom they call Atabei, Jermaoguacar, Apito, and Zuimaco; which are all several names of the Deity. They also pretend to know whence they came at the first, to give an account of the origin of the sun and moon, of the production of the sea, and what becomes of themselves after death. They likewise affirm that the dead appear to them upon the roads when any person goes alone, but that when many are together they do not appear. All these things they derive from the tradition of their ancestors, for they can neither write nor read, and are unable to reckon beyond ten.
1. In a province of the island named Caanan, there is a mountain called Carita, where there are two caves named Cacibagiagua and Amaiauva, out of the former of which most of the original inhabitants came. While in those caverns, they watched by night, and one Marocael having the watch, he came one day too late to the door and was taken away by the sun, and he was changed into a stone near the door. Others going to fish were taken away by the sun and changed into trees called jobi, or mirabolans.
2. One named Guagugiana ordered another person named Giadruvava to gather for him the herb digo, wherewith they cleanse their bodies when they wash themselves. Giadruvava was taken away by the sun and changed to a bird called giahuba bagiaci, which sings in the morning and resembles a nightingale.
3. Guagugiana, angry at the delay, enticed all the women to accompany him, leaving their husbands and children.
54
It is a singularly perverted devotion that praises the Almighty for success in murder, rapine, and injustice; and doubtless a devout Spaniard of those days would sing Te Deum for the comfortable exhibition of an
55
It is surely possible that a good Catholic, accustomed to the worship of images, might not see idolatry in the ceremonies of the Hispaniolans; but the sentiment seems darkly expressed. –E.
56
This prolix, diffuse, uninteresting, and confused disquisition, on the superstitious beliefs and ceremonies of the original natives of Haiti or Hispaniola, is so inexplicably and inexpressibly unintelligible and absurd, partly because the original translator was unable to render the miserable sense or nonsense of the author into English, but chiefly owing to the innate stupidity and gross ignorance of the poor anchorite, that the present editor was much inclined to have expunged the whole as unsatisfactory and uninteresting: But it seemed incumbent to give the whole of this most important voyage to the public. The Editor however, has used the freedom to compress the scrambling detail of the original of this section into a smaller compass; to omit the uselessly prolix titles of its subdivisions; and, where possible, to make the intended meaning somewhat intelligible; always carefully retaining every material circumstance. It was formerly divided into chapters like a regular treatise, and these are here marked by corresponding figures. The author repeatedly acknowledges that his account is very imperfect, which he attributes to the confused and contradictory reports of the natives, and allows that he may even have set down the information he collected in wrong order, and may have omitted many circumstances for want of paper at the time of collecting materials. –E.