This work explores the intellectual history and natural religions of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, examining how primitive societies formed their earliest concepts of soul, deity, origin, and destiny. The author argues against the notion that natural religions are mere fables or diabolical traps, presenting them instead as unaided human attempts to define the infinite through struggle and observation.
The text investigates the primary linguistic subdivisions of the red race, highlighting the polysynthetic structure of their languages, which facilitates concrete perceptions of the senses while remaining unfriendly to abstract ideas. It details various native modes of recording thought, including picture writing, ideographic signs in Aztec manuscripts, phonetic systems among the Mayas, and tactile records like the quipu and wampum.
A central focus of the analysis is the pervasive sanctity of the number four, which is shown to derive from the universal veneration of the cardinal points and the four winds. These winds are identified as the ancestors of the human race and the bringers of fertilizing rains, leading directly to the widespread use of the cross as a symbol of life and health.
The study delves deeply into the symbolism of the bird and the serpent, connecting them to atmospheric phenomena such as clouds, winds, and lightning. Water and fire worship are examined through their roles in primitive life, purification rites, and creation myths, culminating in an analysis of the supreme culture heroes, such as Michabo, Ioskeha, Viracocha, and Quetzalcoatl, who personify the light, the dawn, and the atmospheric forces of nature.
