ther from the Zapotecs, the Mixtecs, or the Mayan tribes,
beyond these.[38-[+]] The Cave God of the Aztecs is identical with the
Votan of the Tzentals of Chiapas, and with the U-q'ux Uleuh of the
Quiches of Guatemala, and probably with the Cozaana of the Zapotecs.

The rites of all of these were conducted in caverns, and there have been
preserved several interesting descriptions of the contents of these
sacred places. That relating to the "dark house of Votan" is given thus
in the work of the Bishop of Chiapas:

"Votan is the third hero who is named in the calendar, and some of
his descendants still reside in the town of Teopisca, where they
are known as Votans. He is sometimes referred to as Lord of the
Sacred Drum, and he is said to have seen the great wall (which must
have been the Tower of Babel), and to have divided this land among
the Indians, and given to each tribe its language.

"They say further that he once dwelt in Huehuetan, a town in the
province of Soconusco. Near there, at the place called Tlazoaloyan,
he constructed, by blowing with his breath, a dark house, and put
tapirs in the river, and in the house a great treasure, and left
all in charge of a noble lady, assisted by guardians (_tlapiane_)
to preserve. This treasure consisted of earthenware vases with
covers of the same material; a stone, on which were inscribed the
figures of the ancient native heroes as found in the calendar;
_chalchiuites_, which are green stones; and other superstitious
objects.

"All of these were taken from the cave, and publicly burned in the
plaza of Huehuetan on the occasion of our first diocesan visit
there in 1691, having been delivered to us by the lady in charge
and the guardians. All the Indians have great respect for this
Votan, and in some places they call him 'the Heart of the
Towns.'"[39-*]

The English priest, Thomas Gage, who was curate of a parish among the
Pokonchi Indians of Guatemala about 1630, relates his discovery of such
a cave, in which the idol was preserved, and gives this description of
it:

"We found the Idol standing upon a low stool covered with a linen
cloth. The substance of it was wood, black shining like jet, as if
it had been painted or smoked; the form was of a man's head unto
the shoulders, without either Beard or Mustachoes; his look was
grim, with a