Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Archaeological and Ethnological Papers of the Peabody Museum, Vol. 1: A Penitential Rite of the Ancient Mexicans
It was not only the priesthood which subjected itself to a stern discipline which enforced prolonged fasts and excruciating self-torture, but the painful rite of drawing blood from one's body and ofiering it to the deity, commonly practised by all persons, young and old, was a feature of everyday life. Some time ago, whilst making a special study of the rituals of the Ancient Mexicans, I collected and translated, from the works of various writers, a number of passages relating to the native rite of drawing blood from the ear, the tongue, and other parts of the body. The fact that, in passages describing the rite of blood-sacrifice, the piercing or cutting of the helix of the ear is usually mentioned first, tends to show that a par ticular sanctity or significance was associated with this partie ular organ. The precedence accorded to this rite, which must not be confounded with the ceremonial of piercing the lobe of the ear for the purpose of wearing ear-ornaments, is par ticularly interesting in connection with Miss Alice Fletcher's recognition of the importance attached to the ceremonial piercing of the ear amongst the tribes of the Siouan group.
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