years,
months and days by which they predicted the fortunes of children at
birth, and assign them that which they call the Naguals. These
writings are known as Repertories or Calendars, and they are also
used to discover articles lost or stolen, and to effect cures of
diseases. Some have a wheel painted in them, like that of
Pythagoras, described by the Venerable Bede; others portray a lake
surrounded by the Naguals in the form of various animals. Some of
the Nagualist Masters claim as their patron and ruler Cuchulchan,
and they possessed a certain formula of prayer to him, written in
the Popoluca tongue (which was called Baha in their time of
heathenism), and which has been translated into Mexican.[17-[+]]

"Those who are selected to become the masters of these arts are
taught from early childhood how to draw and paint these characters,
and are obliged to learn by heart the formulas, and the names of
the ancient Nagualists, and whatever else is included in these
written documents, many of which we have held in our hands, and
have heard them explained by such masters whom we had imprisoned
for their guilt, and who had afterwards become converted and
acknowledged their sins."[17-[++]]

The Bishop made up his mind that extreme measures should be taken to
eradicate these survivals of the ancient paganism in his diocese, and he
therefore promulgated the following order in the year 1692:

"And because in the provinces of our diocese those Indians who are
Nagualists adore their _naguals_, and look upon them as gods, and
by their aid believe that they can foretell the future, discover
hidden treasures, and fulfill their dishonest desires: we,
therefore, prescribe and command that in every town an
ecclesiastical prison shall be constructed at the expense of the
church, and that it be provided with fetters and stocks (con
grillos y cepos), and we confer authority on every priest and
curate of a parish to imprison in these gaols whoever is guilty of
disrespect toward our Holy Faith, and we enjoin them to treat with
especial severity those who teach the doctrines of Nagualism (y con
rigor mayor a los dogmatizantes Nagualistas)."[18-*]

In spite of these injunctions it is evident that he failed to destroy
the seeds of what he esteemed this dangerous heresy in the parishes of