Demons

Quod pacis osculum non prius offeratur nisi oratione praemissa propter inlusiones diabolicas. In ipsa autem salutatione omnis exhibeatur humilitas omnibus venientibus sive discedentibus hospitibus: inclinato capite vel prostrato omni corpore in terra Christus in eis adoretur qui et suscipitur.

The kiss of peace should not be given until they have prayed first, because of the tricks of the devil. In the greeting itself, show every kind of humility to all guests, whether they are coming or going. With head bowed, or with the whole body stretched out on the ground, worship Christ in them, for it is he who is received.

ἔνθα καὶ ἐμοὶ ἐπιδημεῖν τηνικαῦτα ξυνέβη. ἐγίνετο δὲ ὧδε. φάσματα δαιμόνων πολλοῖς ἐς πᾶσαν ἀνθρώπου ἰδέαν ὤφθη, ὅσοι τε αὐτοῖς παραπίπτοιεν, παίεσθαι ᾤοντο πρὸς τοῦ ἐντυχόντος ἀνδρὸς ὅπη παρατύχοι τοῦ σώματος, ἅμα τε τὸ φάσμα τοῦτο ἑώρων καὶ τῇ νόσῳ αὐτίκα ἡλίσκοντο.

and I happened to be living there at the time. This is how it came. Many people saw apparitions of demons in every kind of human shape. Those who met them believed that the man they had run into struck them, on whatever part of the body it happened to be. The moment they saw this apparition, they caught the disease.

ὕστερον δὲ οὐδὲ τοῖς φίλοις καλοῦσιν ἐπακούειν ἠξίουν, ἀλλὰ καθείρξαντες αὑτοὺς ἐν τοῖς δωματίοις, ὅτι δὴ οὐκ ἐπαΐοιεν προσεποιοῦντο, καίπερ ἀρασσομένων αὐτοῖς τῶν θυρῶν, δειμαίνοντες δηλονότι μὴ δαιμόνων τις ὁ καλῶν εἴη.

Later, they would not even answer when their friends called. They locked themselves in their rooms and pretended not to hear, even while their doors were being pounded, plainly afraid that whoever was calling might be one of the demons.

Apparebant enim in predicta civitate Demones in figura canis transformati, multa damna Messanensium corporibus inferentes; qui stupefacti nemo ausus erat a domo egredi.

For demons had been appearing in the city in the shape of dogs, doing great harm to people’s bodies. The people were so terrified that no one dared to leave the house.

Ad quam appropinquantes Virginem, omnes unanimiter in terris fixerunt devotissime genua, cum lacrimis, Dei & beate Virginis clamantes subsidium; & ingredientes in Ecclesiam supradictam, devotis orationibus, & Sacerdotali cantilena divina clamantes, miserere nostri Deus, quamdam ymaginem matris Dei sculpitam, ibidem antiquitus constitutam, propriis manibus appreenderunt. Quam in civitatem Messane elegerunt ingredi facere, propter cujus visionem & ingressionem putabant demonia a civitate eicere, & a tali mortalitate penitus liberari.

As they came near the Virgin’s church, they all knelt on the ground together, weeping and crying out for help from God and the blessed Virgin. They went into the church with devout prayers, chanting with the priests, “Have mercy on us, O God.” Then with their own hands they took up a carved image of the Mother of God that had stood there since ancient times. They decided to bring it into Messina. They believed that when the image was seen in the city and entered it, it would drive out the demons and free them from the mortality.

Pero la del zumo que mata es en las islas donde ha acaescido estar algun cacique ó principal indio, y otros muchos con él, y por su voluntad matarse muchos juntos; y después que el principal, por exhortacion del demonio, decia á todos los que se querian matar con él, las causas que le parescia para los atraer á su diabólico fin, tomaban sendos tragos del agua ó zumo de la yuca, y súbitamente morian todos, sin remedio alguno.

The kind whose juice kills grows on the islands. There it has happened that a cacique, or some other leading Indian, and many others with him, killed themselves together of their own will. The leader, urged on by the devil, would tell all those who wanted to die with him the reasons he thought would draw them to his devilish end. Then they would each take a swallow of the yuca water, or juice, and all of them died at once, beyond any help.

Usavan tambien esta gente de ciertos carateres o letras con las quales escrivian en sus libros sus cosas antiguas, y sus sciencias, y con ellas, y figuras, y algunas señales en las figuras entendian sus cosas, y las davan a entender y enseñavan. Hallamosles grande numero de libros destas sus letras, y porque no tenian cosa en que no uviesse supersticion y falsedades del demonio se les quemamos todos, lo qual a maravilla sentian, y les dava pena.

These people also used certain characters, or letters, with which they wrote down in their books their ancient history and their learning. With these letters, and with pictures and certain signs in the pictures, they understood their own affairs, explained them to others, and taught them. We found a great number of books in these letters of theirs. Because there was nothing in them that was free of superstition and the devil's lies, we burned them all. They grieved over this deeply, and it caused them great pain.

The rest by flight escaped among the rockes, saving two women, whereof the one being old and ougly, our men thought she had bin a divell or some witch, and therefore let her go: the other being yong, and combred with a sucking childe at hir backe, hiding herselfe behinde the rocks, was espied by one of oure men, who, supposing she had bin a man, shot through the heare of hir head, and pierced through the child's arme, whereupon she cried out, and was taken, and our surgeon, meaning to heale hir child's arme, applyed salves therunto. But, she not acquainted with such kinde of surgerie, plucked those salves away, and, by continuall licking with hir own tongue, not much unlike our dogges, healed uppe the child's arme.

The rest escaped by flight among the rocks, except two women. One of them was old and ugly, and our men thought she was a devil or some witch, and therefore let her go. The other was young, and burdened with a nursing child at her back. Hiding herself behind the rocks, she was spotted by one of our men, who, supposing she was a man, shot through the hair of her head and pierced the child's arm. At this she cried out, and was taken. Our surgeon, meaning to heal her child's arm, put salves on it. But she, not being used to such surgery, plucked the salves away, and by continual licking with her own tongue, not much unlike our dogs, healed up the child's arm.

Era costumbre entre estos naturales, que el que habia de ser sucesor i heredero del señorío o cacicazgo de su tio, a quien heredaba, habia de ayunar seis años, metido en una cueva que tenian dedicada i señalada para esto, i que en todo este tiempo no habia de tener parte con mujeres, ni comer carne, sal ni ají, i otras cosas que les vedaban; i entre ellas que, durante el ayuno, no habian de ver el sol; solo de noche tenian licencia para salir de la cueva, i ver la luna i estrellas, i recojerse ántes que el sol los viese; i cumplido de este ayuno i ceremonias se metian en posesion del cacicazgo o señorío, i la primera jornada que habian de hacer, era ir a la gran laguna de Guatavita a ofrecer i sacrificar al demonio, que tenian por su dios i señor.

Among these natives, the man who was to inherit his uncle's lordship, or chiefdom, had to fast for six years. He was shut in a cave set apart for this purpose. In all that time he could not be with women, or eat meat, salt, or chili peppers, or certain other forbidden things. Among the rules was that during the fast they must not see the sun. Only at night were they allowed to leave the cave and see the moon and stars, and they had to go back in before the sun could see them. When the fast and ceremonies were complete, they took possession of the chiefdom or lordship. The first journey they had to make was to the great lake of Guatavita, to make offerings and sacrifice to the devil, whom they held to be their god and lord.