In Search of the Seven Grottoes of the Aztec PART THREE

There is another little gem I found in a very old document which caught my eye, and although it may not seem significant to most readers, there are some who will see it.

In the Indian Revolt of 1680, The Spanish were trying to learn the cause of the revolt, many Natives were taken in to give testimony and the following is an excerpt of one of those testimonies. Although it really has nothing to do with the topic, let’s see if some you can see the little jewel found in this small portion of a document written in 1682, and translated into English in the late 1800’s. (Keep in mind it is the Spanish writing the document) (In the case of this document, an Estufa means a below ground furnace or oven)

Excerpt from: 

“Revolt of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico and Otermin’s 

Attempt to Reconquest(1680-1682)”.

Some time thereafter they [the conspirators] sent from the pueblo of Los Taos through the pueblos of the custodia two deerskins with some pictures on them signifying conspiracy after their manner, in order to convoke the people to a new rebellion, and the said deerskins passed to the province of Moqui, where they refused to accept them. The pact which they had been forming ceased for the time being, but they always kept in their hearts the desire to carry it out, so as to live as they are living to-day. Finally, in the past years, at the summons of an Indian named Popé who is said to have communication with the devil, it happened that in an estufa of the pueblo of Los Taos there appeared to the said Popé three figures of Indians who never came out of the estufa. They gave the said Popé to understand that they were going underground to the lake of Copala. He saw these figures emit fire from all the extremities of their bodies, and that one of them was called Caudi, another Tilini, and the other Tleume; and these three beings spoke to the said Popé, who was in hiding from the secretary, Francisco Xavier, who wished to punish him as a sorcerer. They told him to make a cord of maguey fiber and tie some knots in it which would signify the number of days that they must wait before the rebellion. He said that the cord was passed through all the pueblos of the kingdom so that the ones which agreed to it [the rebellion] might untie one knot in sign of obedience, and by the other knots they would know the days which were lacking; and this was to be done on pain of death to those who refused to agree to it. As a sign of agreement and notice of having concurred in the treason and perfidy they were to send up smoke signals to that effect in each one of the pueblos singly. The said cord was taken from pueblo to pueblo by the swiftest youths under the penalty of death if they revealed the secret. Everything being thus arranged, two days before the time set for its execution, because his lordship had learned of it and had imprisoned two Indian accomplices from the pueblo of Tesuque, it was carried out prematurely that night, because it seemed to them that they were now discovered; and they killed religious, Spaniards, women, and children.

According to the Aztec record the Aztec left, were expelled, or forced to depart from their ancestral home land Aztlan, it is not said as to why, however it is expressed that it was in humility. SEE: (The Colorado Plateau Uplift) From this I can only surmise the humility was with respect to, knowing they had not abided by the laws of their God, the results of which could have been war, famine or similar. From this place of the Heron, they went south to what is referred to as Seven Caves, that the Seven Families who left Aztlan went to inhabit, one family to each of the seven caves. It is said that six of the families stayed in the caves for near 200 years, those who called themselves specifically the Aztec stayed for about 300 years and were the last of the seven families to leave the caves and travel south. The people in their record that they encountered and fought with in Mexico were the former families who had left the caves 100 years prior, these six families were known by other names. The Aztec family left the cave they inhabited  in about 1000 to 1100 AD.

The Caves that the seven families went to after they left their homeland of Aztlan, had been known to them for many hundreds of years. The caverns were in fact underground cities built by a previous culture near 2000 years previous, it is said about two specific underground cities in the caverns, that they are capable of housing 50,000 people. The reasons the caves were built can only be speculated but I could say the reasons why we as a society might go underground today, and the first thing that comes to mind is religious freedoms. These seven caves along with a possible three or more others were abandoned prior to 600 BC. The people who lived in these caves had what seems to be a similar if not a precursor to what is now known as Hinduism and even the later, Buddhism. It would seem they held in high regard the same entity which has evolved to a deity, Buddha or Vishnu. Those things which are found or have been found in the caves, suggest a pre Buddhist people but more so suggests the early form of Hinduism, in fact I would suggest looking to the caves of Ajanta to see the workings of the very same people.

There is a story among some Utes, a story about a large ancient underground city. The location of this cave had become unknown to them with just retained descriptions of where it was and how to find it as the woman last given charge of it had passed away. This information was shared with a friend in recent years, this friend is quite sane, level headed with common sense and a well balanced degree of skepticism. If he told me the sky was purple, I wouldn’t bother looking as he is a honest as the day is long. A Ute friend of his and son of the old woman had shared with him all the details that he was able to remember from his mother. My friend felt he knew where to find it and for whatever reasons he chose to believe the story I do not know as I would have thought he would have brushed it aside as a fairy tale.

Not many years ago searching the area explained to him, my friend found a tunnel as he was told he would, a tunnel which the entrance is difficult to find in that you could be standing next to it and not know it was a tunnel, the reasons I will withhold. When he started entering the tunnel he was to his ankles in water, and after following the tunnel for about 100 feet he was to his armpits in water, there in front of him was a very large stone double door. He explained the doors were of the height of 9 feet and clearly made with great skill. It was all he could do to not open the doors for if it were not for a simple fact, there is no doubt he would have found a way, however, he noticed that above the water level in which he was standing and to the top cracks of the doors, water was leaking out, a clear indication of what would happen if the doors were to open. Plans are being made to further investigate.

This particular location is clearly marked on the old Latin Maps and is possably one of the 7 cities of Cibola which by the way is properly pronounced as Ce-bo-la (Ce as in Cenote or Celebrate) not See-bo-la, this is NOT a Spanish word and was first written as Ceuola or Cevola.

Conclusion...