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Title: The Annals of the Cakchiquels

Author: Daniel G. Brinton

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Language: English

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Transcriber's Note:

A number of typographical errors and inconsistencies have been maintained
in this version of this book. Typographical errors have been marked with
a [TN-#], which refers to a description in the complete list found at the
end of the text. A list of words that have been inconsistently spelled or
hyphenated is found at the end of the present text.

The following codes are used for characters that are not present in the
character set used for this version of the book.

  [)a] a with breve
  [=a] a with macron
  [c]  quatrillo, resembles a 4 with a tail
  [c,] quatrillo with comma
  [t]  tresillo, resembles a reversed 3
  [tz] resembles a tz drawn together




                       LIBRARY
                         OF
                 ABORIGINAL AMERICAN
                     LITERATURE.


                       No. VI.


                      EDITED BY
                    D. G. BRINTON




                BRINTON'S LIBRARY OF
          ABORIGINAL AMERICAN LITERATURE.
                     NUMBER VI.


                     THE ANNALS
                       OF THE
                    CAKCHIQUELS.

  THE ORIGINAL TEXT, WITH A TRANSLATION, NOTES AND
                    INTRODUCTION.

                         BY

                  DANIEL G. BRINTON


                  1885, Philadelphia




PREFACE.


Both for its historical and linguistic merits, the document which is
presented in this volume is one of the most important in aboriginal
American Literature. Written by a native who had grown to adult years
before the whites penetrated to his ancestral home, himself a member of
the ruling family of one of the most civilized nations of the continent
and intimately acquainted with its traditions, his work displays the
language in its pure original form, and also preserves the tribal
history and a part of the mythology, as they were current before they
were in the least affected by European influences.

The translation I offer is directly from the original text, and I am
responsible for its errors; but I wish to acknowledge my constant
obligations to the manuscript version of the late Abbe Brasseur (de
Bourbourg), the distinguished Americanist. Without the assistance
obtained from it, I should not have attempted the task; and though I
differ frequently from his renderings, this is no more than he himself
would have done, as in his later years he spoke of his version as in
many passages faulty.

For the grammar of the language, I have depended on the anonymous grammar
which I edited for the American Philosophical Society in 1884, copies of
which, reprinted separately, can be obtained by any one who wishes to
study the tongue thoroughly. For the significance of the words, my usual
authorities are the lexicon of Varea, an anonymous dictionary of the 17th
century, and the large and excellent Spanish-Cakchiquel work of Coto, all
of which are in the library of the American Philosophical Society. They
are all in MS., but the vocabulary I add may be supplemented with that of
Ximenes, printed by the Abbe Brasseur, at Paris, in 1862, and between
them most of the radicals will be found.

As my object in all the volumes of this series is to furnish materials
for study, rather than to offer finished studies themselves, I have
steadily resisted the strong temptation to expand the notes and
introductory matter. They have been limited to what seemed essentially
necessary to defining the nature of the work, discussing its date and
authorship, and introducing the people to whom it refers.




CONTENTS.


                                                                  PAGE
  PREFACE,                                                           v

  INTRODUCTION,                                                      9
    ETHNOLOGIC POSITION OF THE CAKCHIQUELS,                          9
    CULTURE OF THE CAKCHIQUELS,                                     13
    THE CAPITAL CITY OF THE CAKCHIQUELS,                            21
    COMPUTATION OF TIME,                                            28
    PERSONAL AND FAMILY NAMES,                                      32
    TRIBAL SUBDIVISIONS,                                            33
    TERMS OF AFFINITY AND SALUTATION,                               34
    TITLES AND SOCIAL CASTES,                                       35
    RELIGIOUS NOTIONS,                                              39
    THE CAKCHIQUEL LANGUAGE,                                        48
    THE ANNALS OF XAHILA,                                           53
    SYNOPSIS OF THE ANNALS,                                         60
    REMARKS ON THE PRINTED TEXT,                                    62

  THE ANNALS OF THE CAKCHIQUELS, by a Member of the Xahila
     Family,                                                    66-194

  NOTES,                                                       195-200
  VOCABULARY,                                                      209
  INDEX OF PROPER NAMES,                                           229




    THE ANNALS
        OF
  THE CAKCHIQUELS.

INTRODUCTION.


_Ethnologic Position of the Cakchiquels._

The Cakchiquels, whose traditions and early history are given in the
present work from the pen of one of their own authors, were a nation of
somewhat advanced culture, who occupied a portion of the area of the
present State of Guatemala. Their territory is a table land about six
thousand feet above the sea, seamed with numerous deep ravines, and
supporting lofty mountains and active volcanoes. Though but fifteen
degrees from the equator, its elevation assures it a temperate climate,
while its soil is usually fertile and well watered.

They were one of a group of four closely related nations, adjacent in
territory and speaking dialects so nearly alike as to be mutually
intelligible. The remaining three were the Quiches, the Tzutuhils and
the Akahals, who dwelt respectively to the west, the south and the east
of the Cakchiquels.

These dialects are well marked members of the Maya linguistic stock, and
differ from that language, as it is spoken in its purity in Yucatan,
more in phonetic modifications than in grammatical structure or lexical
roots. Such, however, is the fixedness of this linguistic family in its
peculiarities, that a most competent student of the Cakchiquel has named
the period of two thousand years as the shortest required to explain the
difference between this tongue and the Maya.[10-1]

About the same length of time was that assigned since the arrival of
this nation in Guatemala, by the local historian, Francisco Antonio de
Fuentes y Guzman, who wrote in the seventeenth century, from an
examination of their most ancient traditions, written and verbal.[10-2]
Indeed, none of these affined tribes claimed to be autochthonous. All
pointed to some distant land as the home of their ancestors, and
religiously preserved the legends, more or less mythical, of their early
wanderings until they had reached their present seats. How strong the
mythical element in them is, becomes evident when we find in them the
story of the first four brothers as their four primitive rulers and
leaders, a myth which I have elsewhere shown prevailed extensively over
the American continent, and is distinctly traceable to the adoration of
the four cardinal points, and the winds from them.[10-3]

These four brothers were noble youths, born of one mother, who sallied
forth from Tulan, the golden city of the sun, and divided between them
all the land from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to the confines of
Nicaragua, in other words, all the known world.[11-1]

The occurrence of the Aztec name of the City of Light, Tulan (properly,
Tonatlan), in these accounts, as they were rehearsed by the early
converted natives, naturally misled historians to adopt the notion that
these divine culture heroes were "Toltecs," and even in the modern
writings of the Abbe Brasseur (de Bourbourg), of M. Desire Charnay, and
others, this unreal people continue to be set forth as the civilizers of
Central America.

No supposition could have less support. The whole alleged story of the
Toltecs is merely an euhemerized myth, and they are as pure creations of
the fancy as the giants and fairies of mediaeval romance. They have no
business in the pages of sober history.

The same blending of their most ancient legends with those borrowed from
the Aztecs, recurs in the records of the pure Mayas of Yucatan. I have
shown this, and explained it at considerable length in the first volume
of this series, to which I will refer the reader who would examine the
question in detail.[11-2]

There is a slight admixture of Aztec words in Cakchiquel. The names of
one or two of their months, of certain objects of barter, and of a few
social institutions, are evidently loan-words from that tongue. There
are also some proper names, both personal and geographical, which are
clearly of Nahuatl derivation. But, putting all these together, they
form but a very small fraction of the language, not more than we can
readily understand they would necessarily have borrowed from a nation
with whom, as was the case with the Aztecs, they were in constant
commercial communication for centuries.[12-1] The Pipils, their
immediate neighbors to the South, cultivating the hot and fertile slope
which descends from the central plateau to the Pacific Ocean, were an
Aztec race of pure blood, speaking a dialect of Nahuatl, very little
different from that heard in the schools of classic Tezcuco.[12-2] But
the grammatical structure and stem-words of the Cakchiquel remained
absolutely uninfluenced by this association.

Later, when the Spanish occupation had brought with it thousands of
Nahuatl speaking followers, who supplied the interpreters for the
conquerers, Nahuatl names became much more abundant, and were adopted by
the natives in addressing the Spaniards. Thus the four nations, whom I
have mentioned as the original possessors of the land, are, in the
documents of the time, generally spoken of by such foreign titles. The
Cakchiquels were referred to as _Tecpan Quauhtemallan_, the Quiches as
_Tecpan Utlatlan_, the Tzutuhils as _Tecpan Atitlan_, and the Akahals as
_Tecpan Tezolotlan_. In these names, all of them pure Nahuatl, the word
_Tecpan_ means the royal residence or capital; _Quauhtemallan_
(Guatemala), "the place of the wood-pile;" _Utlatlan_, "the place of the
giant cane;" _Atitlan_, "the place by the water;" _Tezolotlan_, "the
place of the narrow stone," or "narrowed by stones."[13-1]

These fanciful names, derived from some trivial local characteristic,
were not at all translations of the native tribal names. For in their
own dialects, Quiche, [c]iche, means "many trees;" Tuztuhil, [c,]utuhil,
"the flowery spot;" Akahal, "the honey-comb;" and Cakchiquel, a species
of tree.


_Culture of the Cakchiquels._

These four nations were on the same plane of culture, and this by no
means a low one. They were agriculturists, cultivating for food beans,
peppers, and especially maize. To the latter, indeed, they are charged
with being fanatically devoted. "If one looks closely at these
Indians," complains an old author, "he will find that everything they do
and say has something to do with maize. A little more, and they would
make a god of it. There is so much conjuring and fussing about their
corn fields, that for them they will forget wives and children and any
other pleasure, as if the only end and aim of life was to secure a crop
of corn."[14-1]

In their days of heathenism, all the labors of the field were directed
by the observance of superstitious rites. For instance, the men, who
always did a large share of the field work, refrained from approaching
their wives for some days before planting the seed. Before weeding the
patch, incense was burned at each of the four corners of the field, to
the four gods of the winds and rains; and the first fruits were
consecrated to holy uses.[14-2] Their fields were large and extremely
productive.[14-3] In this connection it is worth noting, in passing,
that precisely Guatemala is the habitat of the _Euchlaena luxurians_,
the wild grass from which, in the opinion of botanists, the Zea Mais is
a variety developed by cultivation.

Cotton was largely cultivated, and the early writers speak with
admiration of the skill with which the native women spun and wove it
into graceful garments.[15-1] As in Yucatan, bees were domesticated for
their wax and honey, and a large variety of dye-stuffs, resins for
incense, and wild fruits, were collected from the native forests.

Like the Mayas and Aztecs, they were a race of builders, skillful masons
and stone-cutters, erecting large edifices, pyramids, temples, and
defensive works, with solid walls of stone laid in a firm mortar.[15-2]
The sites of these cities were generally the summits of almost
inaccessible crags, or on some narrow plain, protected on all sides by
the steep and deep ravines--_barrancas_, as the Spaniards call
them--which intersect the plateau in all directions, often plunging down
to a depth of thousands of feet. So located and so constructed, it is no
wonder that Captain Alvarado speaks of them as "thoroughly built and
marvelously strong."[15-3]

In the construction of their buildings and the measurements of their
land, these nations had developed quite an accurate series of lineal
measures, taking as their unit certain average lengths of the human
body, especially the upper extremity. In a study of this subject,
published during the present year, I have set forth their various terms
employed in this branch of knowledge, and compared their system with
that in use among the Mayas and the Aztecs.[16-1] It would appear that
the Cakchiquels did not borrow from their neighbors, but developed
independently the system of mensuration in vogue among them. This bears
out what is asserted in the _Annals_ of Xahila, that their
"day-breaking," or culture, was of spontaneous growth.

The art of picture writing was familiar to all these peoples. It was
employed to preserve their national history, to arrange their calendar,
and, doubtless, in the ordinary affairs of life.[16-2] But I am not
aware that any example or description of it has been preserved, which
would enable us to decide the highly important question, whether their
system was derived from that of the Mexicans or that of the Mayas,
between which, as the antiquary need not be informed, there existed an
almost radical difference.

The word for "to write," is _[c,]ibah_, which means, in its primary
sense, "to paint;" _ah[c,]ib_, is "the scribe," and was employed to
designate the class of literati in the ancient dominion. Painted or
written records were called _[c,]ibanic_.

They had a literature beyond their history and calendars. It consisted
of chants or poems, called _bix_, set orations and dramas.[17-1] They
were said or sung in connection with their ceremonial dances. These
performances were of the utmost importance in their tribal life. They
were associated with the solemn mysteries of their religion, and were in
memory of some of the critical events in their real or mythical history.
This will be obvious from the references to them in the pages of their
_Annals_.

These chants and dances were accompanied by the monotonous beating of
the native drum, _tun_, by the shrill sound of reed flutes, _xul_, by
the tinkling of small metal bells, _[c]alakan_, which they attached to
their feet, and by rattles of small gourds or jars containing pebbles,
known as _zoch_. Other musical instruments mentioned, are the _chanal_,
the whistle (_pito_, _Dicc. Anon._), and _tzuy_, the marimba, or
something like it.

These nations were warlike, and were well provided with offensive and
defensive weapons. The Spanish writers speak of them as skilled archers,
rude antagonists, but not poisoning their weapons.[17-2] Besides the bow
and arrow, _[c]ha_, they used a lance, _achcayupil_,[18-1] and
especially the blow-pipe, _pub_, a potent weapon in the hands of an
expert, the knowledge of which was widely extended over tropical
America. Their arrow points were of stone, especially obsidian, bone and
metal. Other weapons were the wooden war club, _[c]haibalche_; the
sling, _ica[t]_; the hand-axe, _i[t]ah_, etc.

For defense, they carried a species of buckler, _pocob_, and a round
shield called _cetecic chee_, "the circular wood." Over the body they
wore a heavy, quilted cotton doublet, the _xakpota_, which was an
efficient protection.

They may all be said to have been in the "stone age," as the weapons and
utensils were mostly of stone. The obsidian, which was easily obtained
in that country, offered an admirable resource for the manufacture of
knives, arrow heads, awls, and the like. It was called _chay abah_, and,
as we shall see on a later page, was surrounded with sacred
associations.

The most esteemed precious stones were the _[c]ual_, translated
"diamond," and the _xit_, which was the impure jade or green stone, so
much the favorite with the nations of Mexico and Central America. It is
frequently mentioned in the _Annals_ of Xahila, among the articles of
greatest value.

Engraving both on stone and wood, was a prized art. The word to express
it was _[c]otoh_, and engraved articles are referred to as _[c]otonic_.

Although stone and wood were the principal materials on which they
depended for their manufactures, they were well acquainted with several
metals. Gold and silver were classed under the general name _puvak_, and
distinguished as white and yellow; iron and copper were both known as
_[c]hi[c]h_, and distinguished also by their color. The metals formed an
important element of their riches, and are constantly referred to as
part of the tribute paid to the rulers. They were worked into ornaments,
and employed in a variety of decorative manners.

The form of government of the four nations of whom I am speaking
approached that of a limited monarchy. There was a head chief, who may
as well be called a king, deriving his position and power through his
birth, whose authority was checked by a council of the most influential
of his subjects. The details of this general scheme were not the same at
all periods, nor in all the states; but its outlines differed little.

Among the Cakchiquels, who interest us at present, the regal power was
equally divided between two families, the Zotzils and the Xahils; not
that there were two kings at the same time, as some have supposed, but
that the throne was occupied by a member of these families alternately,
the head of the other being meanwhile heir-apparent.[19-1] These chiefs
were called the Ahpo-Zotzil and the Ahpo-Xahil; and their eldest sons
were entitled Ahpop-[c]amahay and Galel Xahil, respectively, terms which
will shortly be explained.

The ceremonial distinction established between the ruler and those
nearest him in rank, was indicated by the number of canopies under which
they sat. The ruler himself was shaded by three, of graded sizes, the
uppermost being the largest. The heir-apparent was privileged to support
two, and the third from the king but one. These canopies were
elaborately worked in the beautiful feathers of the _quetzal_, and other
brilliant birds, and bore the name of _muh_, literally "shade" or
"shadow," but which metaphorically came to mean royal dignity or state,
and also protection, guardianship.[20-1]

The seat or throne on which he sat was called _tem_, _[c]hacat_, and
_[t]alibal_, and these words are frequently employed to designate the
Supreme Power.

The ceremonies connected with the installation of a king or head chief,
are described in an interesting passage of the _Annals_, Sec. 41: "He
was bathed by the attendants in a large painted vessel; he was clad in
flowing robes; a sacred girdle or fillet was tied upon him; he was
painted with the holy colors, was anointed, and jewels were placed upon
his person." Such considerable solemnities point to the fact that these
people were on a much higher plane of social life than one where the
possession of the leadership was merely an act of grasping by the
strongest arm.

Of the four nations, the Quiches were the most numerous and powerful. At
times they exercised a sovereignty over the others, and levied tribute
from them. But at the period of Alvarado's conquest, all four were
independent States, engaged in constant hostilities against each other.

There is no means of forming an accurate estimate of their number. All
early accounts agree that their territory was thickly populated, with
numerous towns and cities.[21-1] The contingent sent to Alvarado by the
Cakchiquel king, to aid in the destruction of Quiche, was four thousand
warriors in one body, according to Alvarado's own statement, though
Xahila puts it at four hundred. There are various reasons for believing
that the native population was denser at the Conquest than at present;
and now the total aboriginal population of the State of Guatemala, of
pure or nearly pure blood, is about half a million souls.


_The Capital City of the Cakchiquels._

The capital city of the Cakchiquels is referred to by Xahila as "Iximche
on the Ratzamut." It was situated on the lofty plateau, almost on a
line connecting Gumarcaah, the capital of the Quiches, with the modern
city of Guatemala, about twelve leagues from the latter and eight from
the former. Its name, _Iximche_, is that of a kind of tree (_che_=tree)
called by the Spanish inhabitants _ramon_, apparently a species of
_Brosimium_. _Ratzamut_, literally "the beak of the wild pigeon," was
the name given to the small and almost inaccessible plain, surrounded on
all sides by deep ravines, on which Iximche was situated. Doubtless, it
was derived from some fancied resemblance of the outline of the plain to
the beak of this bird.

The capital was also called simply _tinamit_, the city (not _Patinamit_,
as writers usually give it, as _pa_ is not an article but a preposition,
in or at); and by the Aztec allies of the conqueror Alvarado,
_Quauhtemallan_, "place of the wood-pile," for some reason unknown to
us.[22-1] The latter designation was afterwards extended to the
province, and under the corrupt form _Guatemala_ is now the accepted
name of the State and its modern capital.

The famous captain, Pedro de Alvarado was the first European to visit
Iximche. He entered it on April 13th, 1524 (old style). In his letter
describing the occurrence, however, he says little or nothing about the
size or appearance of the buildings.[22-2]

Scarcely more satisfactory are the few words devoted to it by Captain
Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who spent a night there the same year. He
observes that "its buildings and residences were fine and rich, as might
be expected of chiefs who ruled all the neighboring provinces."[23-1]

When the revolt of the Cakchiquels took place, soon afterwards, Iximche
was deserted, and was never again fully inhabited. The Spaniards ordered
the natives to settle in other localities, the fortifications of their
capital were demolished, and many of the stones carried away, to
construct churches and houses in other localities.

The next account we have of it dates from the year 1695, when the
historian and antiquary, Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzman, wrote a
detailed description of its ruins from personal inspection. The account
of this enthusiastic author is the only one which supplies any
approximate notion of what the city must have been in its flourishing
period, and I therefore translate it, almost entire, from the recently
published edition of his voluminous work, the _Recordacion
Florida_.[23-2] His chapter will throw light on several otherwise
obscure passages in Xahila's narrative.

"_Tecpan goathemala_ was a city of the ancient inhabitants, populous,
wonderful and impregnable, from the character of its position, situated
in this valley (of Chimaltenango), on an elevated and cool site. It lies
eight leagues in a straight line from New Guatemala. Around this
ancient and dismantled town, now falling into utmost decay, extends a
deep ravine, like a moat, plunging straight down to a depth of more than
a hundred fathoms. This ravine, or moat, is three squares in width from
one battlement or bank to the other, and they say that a good part of it
was a work of hands, for the security and defense of the city. There is
no other entrance than a very narrow causeway, which cuts the ravine at
a point a little north of west. The whole area of the space where are
these ancient ruins measures three miles from north to south and two
from east to west, and its complete circumference is nine miles. In the
heart and centre of this area was prominently erected that great city of
_Tecpan goathemala_.

"The whole surface of the soil in this ancient city seems to have been
artificially prepared, by means of a cement or mortar, laid by hand, to
a depth of three-fourths of a yard. Close to the brink of the ravine
there are the sumptuous ruins of a magnificent and stately edifice, in
length a hundred measured paces, and in width the same, thus forming a
perfect square, all of stone and mortar, the stone accurately cut with
great skill, polished and nicely adjusted. In front of this building is
a great square plaza, of much dignity and beauty; and on its northern
side one can still recognize and admire the ruins of a palace which,
even in its broken vestiges, reveals a real magnificence. This royal
edifice also has in front of it some squares as large and spacious in
their splendor as that which has already been mentioned. Surrounding
this remarkable structure, are a vast number of foundations, which,
according to tradition, and by what is obvious by examination, were the
houses and dwellings of nobles and of the great number of _ahaguaes_,
besides those who gave their constant attention to the king. In this
quarter or ward of the nobility, there are several wide and capacious
streets, which, as the foundations indicate, ran from east to west.

"Through the middle of the site of the city, from north to south, runs a
trench a fathom and a half in depth, and its battlements of stones laid
in mortar rise more than half a fathom in height. This trench divided
the city into two parts, leaving the residences of the chiefs and nobles
on the eastern side; those of the common people to the west. The
principal street runs from the entrance of the city to the chief square
of the Temple, which is near the Palace; and from this main street
others run east and west, north and south, branching off from the main
street, having many dwellings upon them well arranged and located, and
displaying the high cultivation of the ancient rulers.

"Another broad street runs close to the main street, from the trench
mentioned, toward the east, for about a quarter of a league, ending at a
small hill which overlooks the town, on whose summit is a circular wall,
not unlike the curb of a well, about a full fathom in height. The floor
within is paved with cement, as the city streets. In the centre is
placed a socle or pedestal of a glittering substance, like glass, but of
what composition is not known.

"This circular structure was the tribunal or consistory of the
Cakchiquel Indians, where not only was public hearing given to causes,
but also the sentences were carried out. Seated around this wall, the
judges heard the pleas and pronounced sentences, in both civil and
criminal causes. After this public decision, however, there remained an
appeal for its revocation or confirmation. Three messengers were chosen
as deputies of the judges, and these went forth from the tribunal to a
deep ravine, north of the Palace, to a small but neatly fitted up chapel
or temple, where was located the oracle of the demon. This was a black
and semi-transparent stone, of a finer grade than that called _chay_
(obsidian). In its transparency, the demon revealed to them what should
be their final decision. If it was that the sentence should be
confirmed, the accused was immediately executed on the central pedestal
mentioned, which also served as a place of torture. If, on the other
hand, nothing could be seen in the transparency of the stone, the
accused was forthwith discharged. This oracle was also consulted in all
their military undertakings; and war was declared or not, as it seemed
to dictate, as is stated both by Spaniards and the oldest natives. But
in the early days of our occupation, when these facts came to the
knowledge of the Reverend Bishop Don Francisco Marroquin, of glorious
memory, he gave orders that this stone should be artistically squared,
and he consecrated it and used it as an altar stone, and at this day it
is so employed on the grand altar of the convent of _San Francisco de
Tecpan goathemala_, and it is considered a jewel of unusual beauty and
value. The size of the stone is a full half yard in each direction.

"The principal gate of this stronghold or citadel was upon the causeway
mentioned; and they say it was closed with two doors set in the solid
wall, the external one opening outward, the internal one inward, and
both were of the stone called _chay_. Thus, one of these doors backed up
against the other, as we sometimes see double doors in our prisons.
They were always guarded with double guards, one within, the other
without, and these guards were changed every seven days. In the open
country, on the other side of the ravine, there were a number of mounds,
about a quarter of a league apart, extending for a considerable
distance. On these, lookouts were constantly stationed, to give notice
of the invasions of the Quiches or of the Sotojil king."

The site of Iximche was visited in 1840 by the eminent American
traveler, John L. Stephens. He states that its position, the steep and
profound barranca, and the plain, "warrant the description given of it
by Fuentes." A century and a half had, however, almost erased the
vestiges of human life. "The ground was covered with mounds of ruins. In
one place we saw the foundations of two houses, one of them about one
hundred and fifty feet long by fifty feet broad."

Mr. Stephens was also fortunate enough to see and examine the mysterious
divining stone, preserved in the church of Tecpan Guatemala. But a great
disappointment awaited him. "This oracular slab is a piece of common
slate, fourteen inches by ten, and about as thick as those used by boys
at school, without characters of any kind upon it."[27-1]

A few years after Mr. Stephens' visit, the government of Guatemala
appointed a commission to survey and examine these ruins. They completed
their labors successfully, but I have been unable to learn that the
results were published, although they were written out and placed in the
governmental archives.[28-1]


_Computation of Time._

I propose, in a future work, to discuss the methods of reckoning time in
use in Central America; but a brief explanation of that adopted by the
Cakchiquels is essential to a comprehension of their _Annals_.

The Cakchiquels were probably acquainted with the length of the year as
365 days; there is even some evidence that they allowed an intercalary
day every four years, by beginning the reckoning of the year one day
earlier.

The beginning of their year is stated, by most authorities, to have been
on the day corresponding to our January 31st or February 1st, old style
(February 11th or 12th, new style).

The year was not divided into lunar months, as was the case with the
hunting tribes, but in a manner similar to the highly artificial and
complicated system that prevailed among the Mayas and Mexicans. This
allotted to the solar year twenty months of eighteen days each, leaving
a remainder of five days, which the Mexicans called _nemontemi_,
insufficient; the Mayas _n yail kin_, days of pain or of peril, and the
Cakchiquels _[tz]api [t]ih_, days of evil or days at fault; and which
were not included in the count of the months.[28-2]

Dates, however, were not assigned by a simple reference to days of the
month, but by days of the week; these weeks being of thirteen days each,
and including every day of the year. The week days were not named, but
numbered only.

As will be noted in the _Annals_, more importance was attached to the
day on which an occurrence took place than to the year. This is common
with untrained minds. Every citizen of the United States knows that
George Washington was born on the 22d of February; but it would puzzle a
large portion of them to be asked the year of his birth.

  _Names of the Cakchiquel Months._

     _Name._                _Signification._
   1. Tacaxepual,            Corn planting
   2. Nabey tumuzuz,         First of winged ants.
   3. Rucan tumuzuz,         Second of winged ants.
   4. Cibix,                 Smoky, or clouds.
   5. Uchum,                 Re-planting
   6. Nabey mam,             First grandson.
   7. Rucab mam,             Second grandson.
   8. Li[t]in[t]a,           Soft to the hand.
   9. Nabey to[t],           First cacao harvest.
  10. Rucab to[t],           Second cacao harvest[TN-1]
  11. Nabey pach,            First incubation.
  12. Rucab pach,            Second incubation.
  13. Tziquin [t]ih,         Bird days.
  14. Cakan,                 Red clouds.
  15. Ibota,                 Mat rolling.
  16. Katic,                 Drying up.
  17. Itzcal [t]ih,          Bad road days.
  18. Pariche,               In the woods.

To appreciate the bearing of these names, one must remember that this is
a rural calendar, in which the months were designated with reference to
farming and household incidents. Thus, the "winged ants" referred to,
are a species that appear in March and April, shortly before the first
of the rainy season; the fourth month is cloudy or misty, from the
frequent rains; the first and second grandsons refer probably to the
"suckers," which must be plucked from the growing corn; in the eighth
month the earth is moist, and must be kept, by tillage, "soft to the
hand;" the others have obvious rural allusions, down to the last, when
the natives went "in the woods" to gather fuel. The names appear to be
all in the Cakchiquel dialect, except the first, _Tacaxepual_, the
resemblance of which to the name of the second Mexican month,
_Tlacaxipehualiztli_, is too striking to be a coincidence, and perhaps
the seventeenth, _Itzcal_, which is very like the eighteenth of the
Mexican calendar, _Izcalli_; but if borrowed from the latter, two
Cakchiquel words, of similar sound but different meaning, have been
substituted for the original by the familiar linguistic principle of
_otosis_ or paronomasia.

  _Names of the Cakchiquel Days._

     _Name._                   _Name._
   1. Imox,                 11. Batz,
   2. I[t],                 12. Ee,
   3. A[t]bal,              13. Ah,
   4. Kat,                  14. Yiz,
   5. Can,                  15. Tziquin,
   6. Camey,                16. Ahmac,
   7. Queh,                 17. Noh,
   8. Kanel,                18. Tihax,
   9. Toh,                  19. Caok,
  10. Tzii,                 20. Hunahpu,[TN-2]

The calendars in use were of two different kinds, the one called _[c]hol
[t]ih_, literally "the valuer or appraiser of days," which was employed
exclusively for astrological and divining purposes, to decide on which
were lucky and unlucky days; and _may [t]ih_, "the revolution or
recurrence of days," which was for chronological purposes.[31-1]

It will be noticed that in Xahila's _Annals_, every year ends on a day
_Ah_, and that each such closing day is numerically three less than the
day _Ah_ terminating the preceding year. There are also obvious
inconsistencies in his identification of native dates with the Christian
calendar; but these, and the numerous difficult questions they suggest,
would take me too far afield to enter upon in the present introductory
paragraphs. The object of this volume is rather to furnish material for
study than to undertake the study itself.

The brief description of their reckoning of time, given by Sanchez y
Leon, may be quoted: "They divided the year into 18 months, and each
month into 20 days; but they counted only by nights, which they
mentioned as dawns (alboradas); the movements of the sun in the ecliptic
governed their calendar; they began their year forty days before ours;
they celebrated annually three great feasts, like Easters, at which
periods both sexes assembled together at night, and indulged in
drunkenness and wantonness."[31-2]

I think in this extract the author should have said that they began
their year 40 days later than ours, as this would bring his statement
more into conformity with other writers.


_Personal and Family Names._

Among the Cakchiquels, each person bore two names; the first his
individual name, the second that of his family or _chinamitl_. This word
is pure Nahuatl, and means a place enclosed by a fence,[32-1] and
corresponds, therefore, to the Latin _herctum_, and the Saxon _ton_. As
adopted by the Cakchiquels, it meant a household or family of one
lineage and bearing one name, all of whom were really or theoretically
descended from one ancestral household. To all such was applied the term
_aca_, related or affined;[32-2] and marriage within the chinamitl was
not permitted. When a man of one chinamitl married into another, every
male in the latter became his brother-in-law, _baluc_, or son-in-law,
_hi_.[32-3]

Each _chinamitl_ was presided over by a recognized leader, the "head of
the house," whose title was _ah[c,]alam_, "the keeper of the
tablets,"[32-4] probably the painted records on which the genealogy of
the family and the duties of its members were inscribed.

The division of the early tribes into these numerous families was not
ancient, dating, according to tradition, from about a century and a half
before the Conquest.[32-5]

The family name was sometimes derived from a locality, sometimes from a
peculiarity, and at others from astrological motives.[33-1]

The personal name was always that of the day of birth, this being
adopted for astrological reasons. There was a fixed opinion that the
temperament and fortunes of the individual were controlled by the
supposed character of his birthday, and its name and number were
therefore prefixed to his family name. This explains the frequent
occurrence in the Cakchiquel _Annals_ of such strange appellatives as
_Belehe Queh_, nine deer; _Cay Batz_, two monkey, etc.; these being, in
fact, the days of the year on which the bearers were born. They should
be read, "the 9th Queh," "the 2d Batz," etc.


_Tribal Subdivisions._

The _chinamitl_ appears to have been the sub-gens. Besides it, there are
other words frequently recurring in the _Annals_ referring to divisions
of the community, _hay_, home or household; _[c]hob_, sept or division;
and _ama[t]_ tribe or city.

The first of these, _hay_, appears to be a general term applied to a
community, without necessarily implying relationship. An Indian, asked
where he is from, will answer _in ah-hay vae_, "I am of this place,"
referring to his village. Yet it is evident that in early times, all of
one village were considered to be related. The word _hay_,
moroever,[TN-3] does not signify a house as an edifice. In that sense
the proper term is _ochoch_.

The frequent references by Xahila to the seven tribes, or rather the
seven cities, _vuk ama[t]_, and the thirteen divisions or provinces,
_oxlahuh [c]hob_, are not explained in the course of the narrative.
These numbers retained sacred associations, as they were adopted later
to assign the days of worship of their divinity (see Sec. 44). Brasseur
is of opinion that the thirteen divisions refer to the Pokomams,[34-1]
but that such a subdivision obtained among the Cakchiquels as well, is
evident from many parts of their _Annals_. The same division also
prevailed, from remote times, among the Quiches,[34-2] and hence was
probably in use among all these tribes. It may have had some
superstitious connection with the thirteen days of their week. The
_[c]hob_ may be regarded as the original gens of the tribe, and the
similarity of this word to the radical syllable of the Nahuatl
_calp-ulli_, may not be accidental. I have elsewhere spoken of the
singular frequency with which we hear of seven ancestors, cities, caves,
etc., in the most ancient legends of the American race.[34-3]


_Terms of Affinity and Salutation._

In the Cakchiquel grammar which I edited, I have given a tolerably full
list of the terms of consanguinity and affinity in the tongue (pp. 28,
29). But it is essential to the correct understanding of the text in
this volume, to recognize the fact that many such terms in Cakchiquel
are, in the majority of cases, terms of salutation only, and do not
express actual relationship.

Examples of this are the words _tata_, father, used by women to all
adult males; and _tee_, mother, employed by both sexes in addressing
adult women. In Xahila's writings, we constantly find the words _nimal_,
elder brother, and _cha[t]_, younger brother, inserted merely as
friendly epithets. The term _mama_, grandfather, almost always means
simply "ancestor," or, indeed, any member of an anterior generation
beyond the first degree. This word must not be confounded with _mam_ (an
error occurring repeatedly in Brasseur's writings), as the latter means
"grandchild;" and according to Father Coto, it may be applied by a
grandparent of either sex to a grandchild of either sex.


_Titles and Social Castes._

There are a number of terms of frequent recurrence in Xahila's text,
expressing the different offices in the government, rank in social life
and castes of the population, which offer peculiar difficulty to the
translator, because we have no corresponding expressions in European
tongues; while to retain them in the version, renders it less
intelligible, and even somewhat repulsive to the reader. I have thought
it best, generally, to give these terms an approximate English rendering
in my translation, while in the present section I submit them to a
critical examination.

The ordinary term for chief or ruler, in both the Cakchiquel and Maya
dialects, is _ahau_. Probably this is a compound of _ah_, a common
prefix in these tongues, originally signifying _person_, and hence, when
attached to a verb, conveying the notion of one accustomed to exercise
the action indicated; to a noun of place, a resident there; and to a
common noun, a worker in or owner of the article; and _u_, a collar,
especially an ornamental collar, here intended as a badge of authority.
_Ahau_ is, therefore, "the wearer of the collar;" and by this
distinction equivalent to chief, ruler, captain, lord, king, or emperor,
by all which words it is rendered in the lexicons. It is not a special
title, but a general term.

Scarcely less frequent is the term _ahpop_. This is a compound of the
same prefix _ah_, with the word _pop_, which means a mat. To sit upon
such a mat was a privilege of nobility, and of such dignitaries as were
entitled to be present at the national council; _ahpop_, therefore, may
be considered as equivalent to the German title _Rath_, counsellor, and
appears to have been used much in the same conventional manner. In the
Cakchiquel lexicons, _popoh_ is "to hold a council;" _popol_, a council;
_popoltzih_, "to speak in council," etc. All these are derived from the
word _pop_, mat; from the mats on which the councillors sat during their
deliberations.

Personages of the highest rank, of the "blood royal," combined these
titles. They were _ahau ahpop_, "lords of the council." Uniting the
latter title to the family names of the ruling house, the chief ruler
was known as _Ahpo' Zotzil_, and the second in rank and heir-apparent,
as _Ahpo' Xahil_. The oldest son of the former bore the title
_Ahpop-[c]amahay_, which is translated by the best authorities
"messenger of the council," and ordinarily was applied to an official
who communicated the decisions of the councils of one village to that
of another.[37-1] Another title, mentioned by Xahila, is _ahpop-achi_,
the last word means man, _vir_.

A third article, which distinguished the higher classes, was the seat or
stool on which they sat during solemn ceremonies. This was called
_[t]aalibal_, an instrumental noun from the verb _[t]al_, to be visible
or prominent, persons so seated being elevated above, and thus
distinguished from others, from this the verbal form, _[t]alel_, was
derived, meaning "he who is prominent," etc., or, more freely,
"illustrious," "distinguished."[37-2] The title _ahpop [t]alel_ meant,
therefore, originally "he who is entitled to a mat and a stool," that
is, in the council chamber of his town.

Another official connected with the council was the orator appointed to
bring before it the business of the day. His title was _ah uchan_, from
_ucheex_, to speak, and it is translated by Spanish writers, the
"rhetorician, orator."[37-3] A similar personage, the _ah tzih vinak_,
"the man of words,"[37-4] was in attendance on the king, and,
apparently, was the official mouth-piece of the royal will. Still a
third, known as the _lol-may_, which apparently means "silence-breaker,"
was, according to the dictionaries, "an envoy dispatched by the rulers
to transact business or to collect tributes."[38-1]

Very nearly or quite the same organization prevailed in the courts of
Quiche and Atitlan. The chiefs of the latter province forwarded, in
1571, a petition to Philip II, in which they gave some interesting
particulars of their former government. They say: "The supreme ruler was
called _Atziquinihai_, and the chiefs who shared the authority with him,
_Amac Tzutuhil_. These latter were sovereigns, and acknowledged no
superiors.... The sovereign, or king, did not recognize any authority
above himself. The persons or officers who attended at his court were
called _Lolmay_, _Atzivinac_, _Galel_, _Ah-uchan_. They were factors,
auditors and treasurers. Our titles correspond to yours."[38-2]

The name here applied to the ruler of the Tzutuhils, _Atziquinahay_,
recurs in Xahila's _Annals_. It was his family name, and in its proper
form, _Ah [c,]iquin-i-hay_, means "he who is a member of the bird
family;"[38-3] the bird being the totemic symbol of the ruling house.

While the nobles were distinguished by titles such as these, the mass of
the people were divided into well defined classes or castes. The
warriors were called _ah-labal_, from _labal_, war; and they were
distinguished from the general male population, who were known as
_achi_, men, _viri_. These were independent freemen, engaged in peaceful
avocations, but, of course, ready to take up arms on occasion. They were
broadly distinguished from the tributaries, called _ah-patan_; the
latter word meaning tax or tribute; and still more sharply from the
slaves, known as _vinakitz_, "mean men," or by the still more
significant word _mun_, hungry (Guzman, _Compendio_). The less
cultivated tribes speaking other tongues, adjoining the Cakchiquels,
were promiscuously stigmatized with the name _chicop_, brutes or beasts.

A well developed system of tribute seems to have prevailed, and it is
often referred to by Xahila. The articles delivered to the collectors
were gold, silver, plain and worked, feathers, cacao, engraved stones,
and what appear as singular, garlands (_[c]ubul_) and songs, painted
apparently on skins or paper.


_Religious Notions._

The deities worshiped by these nations, the meaning and origin of their
titles, and the myths connected with them, have been the subject of an
examination by me in an earlier work.[39-1] Here, therefore, it will be
needless to repeat what I have there said, further than to add a few
remarks explanatory of the Cakchiquel religion in particular.

According to the _Popol Vuh_, "the chief god of the Cakchiquels was
_Chamalcan_, and his image was a bat."[40-1] Brasseur endeavored to
trace this to a Nahuatl etymology,[40-2] but there is little doubt it
refers, as do so many of the Cakchiquel proper names, to their calendar.
_Can_ is the fifth day of their week, and its sign was a serpent;[40-3]
_chamal_ is a slightly abbreviated form of _chaomal_, which the lexicons
translate "beauty" and "fruitfulness," connected with _chaomar_, to
yield abundantly. He was the serpent god of fruitfulness, and by this
type suggests relations to the lightning and the showers. The bat,
_Zotz_, was the totem of the Zotzils, the ruling family of the
Cakchiquels; and from the extract quoted, they seem to have set it up as
the image of Chamalcan.

The generic term for their divinities, employed by Xahila, and also
frequently in the _Popol Vuh_, is _[c]abuyl_, which I have elsewhere
derived from the Maya _chab_, to create, to form. It is closely allied
to the epithets applied in both works to the Deity, _[c,]akol_, the
maker, especially he who makes something from earth or clay; _bitol_,
the former, or fashioner; _[c]aholom_, the begetter of sons; _alom_, the
bearer of children; these latter words intimating the bi-sexual nature
of the principal divinity, as we also find in the Aztec mythology and
elsewhere. The name _[c]axto[c]_, the liar, from the verb
_[c]axto[c]oh_, to lie, also frequently used by Xahila with reference to
the chief god of his nation in its heathendom, may possibly have arisen
after their conversion to Christianity; but from the coincidence that
the Algonkin tribes constantly applied such seemingly opprobrious terms
to their principal deity, it may have arisen from a similar cycle of
myths as did theirs.[41-1]

There are references in Xahila's _Annals_ to the Quiche deities,
Exbalanquen, Cabrakan, Hunahpu, and Tohil, but they do not seem to have
occupied any prominent place in Cakchiquel mythology. Several minor gods
are named, as _Belehe Toh_, nine Toh, and _Hun Tihax_, one Tihax; these
appellations are taken from the calendar.

Father Pantaleon de Guzman furnishes the names of various inferior
deities, which serve to throw light on the Cakchiquel religion. Four of
these appear to be gods of diseases, _Ahal puh_, _Ahal te[t]ob_, _Ahal
xic_, and _Ahal [t]anya_; at least three of these second words are also
the designations of maladies, and _ahal_ is probably a mistake of the
copyist for _ahau_, lord. As the gods of the abode of the dead, he names
_Tatan bak_ and _Tatan holom_, Father Bones and Father Skull.

Another series of appellations which Guzman gives as of Cakchiquel gods,
show distinctly the influence of Nahuatl doctrines. There are _Mictan
ahauh_, lord of Mictlan, this being the name of the abode of darkness,
in Aztec mythology; _Caueztan ahauh_, probably _Coatlan_, lord of the
abode of serpents; _Tzitzimil_, the _tzitzimime_ of the Aztecs; and
_Colele_, probably _colotl_, the scorpion, or _tecolotl_, the owl,
which latter, under the name _tucur_, is also mentioned by Xahila.[42-1]

Father Coto refers to some of their deities of the woods and streams.
One of these, the Man of the Woods, is famous throughout Yucatan and
most of Central America. The Spaniards call him _Salonge_, the Mayas
_Che Vinic_, and the Cakchiquels _ru vinakil chee_; both these latter
meaning "the woods man." What gives this phantom especial interest in
this connection is, that Father Coto identifies the woodsman with the
_Zaki[c]oxol_, the white fire maker, encountered by the Cakchiquels in
Xahila's narrative (Sec. 21).[42-2] I have narrated the curious
folk-lore about the woodsman in another publication, and need not repeat
it here.[42-3] His second name, the White Fire Maker, perhaps refers to
the "light wood" or phosphorescence about damp and decaying trees.

To the water-sprites, the Undines of their native streams, they gave the
name _xulu_, water-flies, or _ru vinakil ya_, the water people.

As their household gods, they formed little idols of the ashes from the
funeral pyres of their great men, kneading them with clay. To these they
gave the name _vinak_, men or beings (Coto).

Representations of these divinities were carved in wood and stone, and
the words _chee abah_, "wood and stone," usually mean, when they appear
together in Xahila's narrative, "idols or images in wood and stone."

The Stone God, indeed, is a prominent figure in their mythology, as it
was in their daily life. This was the sacred _Chay Abah_, the Obsidian
Stone, which was the oracle of their nation, and which revealed the will
of the gods on all important civil and military questions. To this day,
their relatives, the Mayas of Yucatan, attach implicit faith to the
revelations of the _zaztun_, the divining stone kept by their sorcerers,
and if it decrees the death of any one, they will despatch him with
their machetes, without the slightest hesitation.[43-1] The belief was
cherished by the rulers and priests, as they alone possessed the power
to gaze on the polished surface of the sacred block of obsidian, and
read thereupon the invisible decrees of divinity. (See above, p. 25).

As the stone came from the earth, it was said to have been derived from
the under world, from _Xibalbay_, literally the unseen or invisible
place, the populous realm in Quiche myth, visited and conquered by their
culture hero, Xbalanque. Hence in Cakchiquel tale, the Chay Abah
represented the principle of life, as well as the source of
knowledge.[43-2]

The Cakchiquel _Annals_ do not pretend to deal with mythology, but from
various references and fragments inserted as history, it is plain that
they shared the same sacred legends as the Quiches, which were, in all
probability, under slightly different forms, the common property of the
Maya race. They all indicate loans from the Aztec mythology. In the
Cakchiquel _Annals_, as in the _Popol Vuh_ and the _Maya Chronicles_, we
hear of the city of the sun god, _Tulan_ or _Tonatlan_, as the place of
their origin, of the land _Zuiva_ and of the _Nonoalcos_, names
belonging to the oldest cycles of myths in the religion of the Aztecs.
In the first volume of this series I have discussed their appearance in
the legends of Central America,[44-1] and need not refer to them here
more than to say that those who have founded on these names theories of
the derivation of the Maya tribes or their ruling families from the
Toltecs, a purely imaginary people, have perpetrated the common error of
mistaking myth for history. It is this error that renders valueless much
that the Abbe Brasseur, M. Charnay and others of the French school, have
written on this subject.

Xahila gives an interesting description of some of their ancient rites
(Sec. 44). Their sacred days were the 7th and 13th of each week. White
resin was burned as incense, and green branches with the bark of
evergreen trees were brought to the temple, and burned before the idol,
together with a small animal, which he calls a cat, "as the image of
night;" but our domestic cat was unknown to them, and what animal was
originally meant by the word _mez_, I do not know.

He mentions that the priests and nobles drew blood with the spines of
the gourd tree and maguey, and elsewhere (Sec. 37) refers to the
sacrifice of infants at a certain festival. The word for the sacrificial
letting of blood was _[c,]ohb_, which, by some of the missionaries, was
claimed as the root of the word _[c]abuil_, deity.

Human sacrifice was undoubtedly frequent, although the reverse has been
asserted by various historians.[45-1] Father Varea gives some curious
particulars. The victim was immolated by fire, the proper word being
_[c]atoh_, to burn, and then cut in pieces and eaten. When it was, as
usual, a male captive, the genital organs were given to one of the old
women who were prophetesses, to be eaten by her, as a reward for her
supplications for their future success in battle.[45-2] The cutting in
pieces of Tol[c]om, in the narrative of Xahila, has reference to such a
festival.

Sanchez y Leon states that the most usual sacrifice was a child. The
heart was taken out, and the blood was sprinkled toward the four
cardinal points as an act of adoration to the four winds, copal being
burned at the same time, as an incense.[45-3]

A leading feature in their ceremonial worship was the sacred dance, or,
as the Spanish writers call it, _el baile_. The native name for it is
_xahoh_, and it is repeatedly referred to in the _Annals_. The legendary
origin of some of these dances, indeed, constitute a marked feature in
its narratives. They are mentioned by the missionaries as the favorite
pastime of the Indians; and as it was impossible to do away with them
altogether, they contented themselves with suppressing their most
objectionable features, drunkenness and debauchery, and changed them, at
least in name, from ceremonies in honor of some heathen god, to some
saint in the Roman calendar. In some of these, vast numbers of
assistants took part, as is mentioned by Xahila (Sec. 32).

Magic and divination held a very important place in Cakchiquel
superstition, as the numerous words bearing upon them testify. The form
of belief common to them and their neighbors, has received the name
_Nagualism_, from the Maya root _na_, meaning to use the senses. I have
traced its derivation and extension elsewhere,[46-1] and in this
connection will only observe that the narrative of Xahila, in repeated
passages, proves how deeply it was rooted in the Cakchiquel mind. The
expression _ru puz ru naval_, should generally be rendered "his magic
power, his sorcery," though it has a number of allied significations.
_Naval_ as a noun means magician, _naval chee_, _naval abah_, the spirit
of the tree, of the stone, or the divinity embodied in the idols of
these substances.

Another root from which a series of such words were derived, was _hal_,
to change. The power of changing or metamorphosing themselves into
tigers, serpents, birds, globes of fire, etc., was claimed by the
sorcerers, and is several times mentioned in the following texts. Hence
the sorcerer was called _haleb_, the power he possessed to effect such
transformations _halibal_, the change effected _halibeh_, etc.

Their remarkable subjection to these superstitions is illustrated by the
word _lab_, which means both to divine the future and to make war,
because, says Ximenez, "they practiced divination in order to decide
whether they should make war or not."[47-1]

These auguries were derived frequently from the flight and call of birds
(as in the _Annals_, Secs. 13, 14, etc.), but also from other sources.
The diviner who foretold by grains of maize, bore the title _malol
ixim_, the anointer or consecrator of maize (_Dicc. Anon_[TN-4]).

The priesthood was represented by two high priests, elected for life by
the ruler and council. The one who had especial custody of religious
affairs wore a flowing robe, a circlet or diadem on his head ornamented
with feathers, and carried in his hand a rod, or wand. On solemn
occasions he publicly sacrificed blood from his ears, tongue, and
genital organ.

His associate was the custodian and interpreter of the sacred books,
their calendars and myths, and decided on lucky and unlucky days, omens
and prognostics.

In addition to these, there were certain old men, of austere life, who
dwelt in the temples, and wore their hair in plaited strands around
their heads (_trenzado en circulo_), who were consulted on ordinary
occasions as diviners.[47-2]

The funeral rites of the Cakchiquels have been related at considerable
length by Fuentes, from original documents in the Pokoman[TN-5]
dialect.[48-1] The body was laid in state for two days, after which it
was placed in a large jar and interred, a mound being erected over the
remains. On the mound a statue of the deceased was placed, and the spot
was regarded as sacred. Father Coto gives somewhat the same account,
adding that these mounds were constructed either of stone or of the
adjacent soil, and were called _cakhay_ or _cubucak_.[48-2] He
positively asserts that human sacrifices accompanied the interments of
chiefs, which is denied by Fuentes, except among the Quiches. These
companions for the deceased chief on his journey to the land of souls,
were burned on his funeral pyre. A large store of charcoal was buried
with the corpse, as that was supposed to be an article of which he would
have special use on his way. Sanchez y Leon mentions that the high
priest was buried in his house, clothed and seated upon his chair. The
funeral ceremonies, in his case, lasted fifteen days.[48-3]


_The Cakchiquel Language._

The Cakchiquel tongue was reduced to writing by the Spanish
missionaries, and therefore, in this work, as in all the MSS, the
following letters are used with their Spanish values,--a, b, c, ch, c,
e, i, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, t, y.

The following are not employed:--

d, f, g, j, s, n, z.

The following are introduced, but with sounds differing from the
Spanish:--

_h._ This is always a decided rough breathing or forcible expiration,
like the Spanish j, or the strong English h; except when it follows c or
[c], when it is pronounced as in the Spanish, _cha_, _che_, etc.

_k._ This has never the sound of c, but is a rough palatal, the mouth
being opened, and the tongue placed midway, between the upper and lower
walls of the oral cavity, while the sound is forcibly expelled.

_v._ This letter, whether as a consonant (_v_) or a vowel (_u_), is
pronounced separately, except when it is doubled, as in _vuh_ (_uuh_),
book or paper, when the double vowel is very closely akin to the English
_w_.

_x._ In Cakchiquel and its associated dialects, this letter represents
the sound of _sh_ in the English words _she_, _shove_, etc.

Besides the above, there are five sounds occurring in the Cakchiquel,
Quiche and Tzutuhil, for which five special characters were invented, or
rather adopted, by the early missionary Francisco de la Parra, who died
in Guatemala, in 1560. They are the following:--

  [c,]   [c,]h   [c]   [t]   [tz]

The origin and phonetic value of these, as given by the grammarian
Torresano, are as follows:[49-1]--

[t] This is called the _tresillo_, from its shape, it being an old form
of the figure three, reversed, thus, [Illustration: Reversed 3]. It is
the only true guttural in the language, being pronounced forcibly from
the throat, with a trilling sound (_castaneteando_).

[c] From its shape this is called the _cuatrillo_, Parra having adopted
for it an old form of the figure 4. It is a trilled palatal, between a
hard _c_ and _k_.

[c,] The name applied to this is, the _cuatrillo con coma_, or the 4
with a comma. It is pronounced somewhat like the _c_ with the cedilla,
c, only more quickly and with greater force--_ds_ or _dz_.

[tz] This resembles the "4 with a comma," but is described as softer,
the tongue being brought into contact with the teeth, exactly as _tz_ in
German.

[c,]h A compound sound produced by combining the cuatrillo with a
forcible aspirate, is represented by this sign.

Naturally, no description in words can convey a correct notion of these
sounds. To learn them, one must hear them spoken by those to the
manner-born.

Dr. Otto Stoll, who recently made a careful study of the Cakchiquel when
in Guatemala, says of Parra's characters:--

"The four new signs added to the European alphabet, by some of the old
writers on Cakchiquel (Parra, Flores), viz: [t], [c], [c,], [c]h, are
but phonetic modifications of four corresponding signs of the common
alphabet. So we get four pairs of sounds, namely:--

   c and [c];
   k and [t]
  ch and [c]h
  tz and [c,]

forming two series of consonants, the former of which represents the
common letters, and the latter their respective "cut letters," which may
be described as being pronounced with a shorter and more explosive sound
than the corresponding common letter, and separated by a short pause
from the preceding or following vowel."[51-1]

The late Dr. Berendt illustrated the phonetic value of such "cut"
letters, by the example of two English words where the same letter
terminates one word and begins the next, and each is clearly but rapidly
pronounced, thus, the [t] is pronounced like two gutteral[TN-6] _ks_ in
"brea_k_ _k_ettle;" the [c] like the two _cs_ in "magic candle,"[TN-7]
etc.

There would appear to have been other "cut" letters in the old dialects
of Cakchiquel, as in Guzman we find the _pp_ and _thth_, as in the Maya,
but later writers dropped them.

I may dispense with a discussion of the literature of the Cakchiquel
language, having treated that subject so lately as last year, in the
introduction to the _Grammar of the Cakchiquel_, which I then translated
and edited for the American Philosophical Society. As will be seen by
reference to that work, it is quite extensive, and much of it has been
preserved. I have examined seven dictionaries of the tongue, all quite
comprehensive; manuscript copies of all are in the United States. None
of these, however, has been published; and we must look forward to the
dictionary now preparing by Dr. Stoll, of Zurich, as probably the first
to see the light.

The Maya race, in nearly all its branches, showed its intellectual
superiority by the eagerness with which it turned to literary pursuits,
as soon as some of its members had learned the alphabet. I have brought
forward some striking testimony to this in Yucatan,[52-1] and there is
even more in Central America. The old historians frequently refer to the
histories of their own nations, written out by members of the Quiche,
Cakchiquel, Pokomam and Tzendal tribes. Vasquez, Fuentes and Juarros
quote them frequently, and with respect. They were composed in the
aboriginal tongues, for the benefit of their fellow townsmen, and as
they were never printed, most of them became lost, much to the regret of
antiquaries.

Of those preserved, the _Popol Vuh_ or National Book of the Quiches, and
the _Annals_ of the Cakchiquels, the latter published for the first time
in this volume, are the most important known.

The former, the "Sacred Book" of the Quiches, a document of the highest
merits, and which will certainly increase in importance as it is
studied, was printed at Paris in 1861, with a translation into French by
the Abbe Brasseur (de Bourbourg). He made use only of the types of the
Latin alphabet; and both in this respect and in the fidelity of his
translation, he has left much to be desired in the presentation of the
work.

The recent publication of the _Grammar_ also relieves me from the
necessity of saying much about the structure of the Cakchiquel language.
Those who wish to acquaint themselves with it, and follow the
translation given in this volume by comparing the original text, will
need to procure all the information contained in the _Grammar_. It will
be sufficient to say here that the tongue is one built up with admirable
regularity on radicals of one or two syllables. The perfection and
logical sequence of its verbal forms have excited the wonder and
applause of some of the most eminent linguists, and are considered by
them to testify to remarkable native powers of mind.[53-1]


_The Annals of Xahila._

The MS. from which I print the _Annals of the Cakchiquels_, is a folio
of 48 leaves, closely written on both sides in a very clear and regular
hand, with indigo ink. It is incomplete, the last page closing in the
middle of a sentence.

What is known of the history of this manuscript, is told us by Don Juan
Gavarrete, who, for many years, was almost the only native of Guatemala
interested in the early history of his country. He tells us in his
introduction to his translation of it, soon to be mentioned, that in
1844 he was commissioned to arrange the archives of the Convent of San
Francisco of Guatemala, by order of the Archbishop Don Francisco Garcia
Pelaez. Among the MSS. of the archives he found these sheets, written
entirely in Cakchiquel, except a few marginal glosses in Spanish, in a
later hand, and in ordinary ink. The document was submitted to several
persons acquainted with the Cakchiquel language, who gave a general
statement of its contents, but not a literal and complete
translation.[54-1]

When, in 1855, the Abbe Brasseur (de Bourbourg) visited Guatemala, Senor
Gavarrete showed him this MS., and the Abbe borrowed it for the purpose
of making a full version, doubtless availing himself of the partial
translations previously furnished. His version completed, he left a copy
of it with Senor Gavarrete, and brought the original with him to
Europe.[54-2] It remained in his possession until his death at Nice,
when, along with the rest of the Abbe's library, it passed into the
hands of M. Alphonse Pinart. This eminent ethnologist learning my desire
to include it in the present series of publications, was obliging enough
to offer me the opportunity of studying it.

Previous to its discovery in Guatemala, in 1844, we have no record of it
whatsoever, and must turn to the document itself for information.

The title given it by Brasseur, and adopted by Gavarrete, _Memorial de
Tecpan Atitlan_, was purely factitious, and, moreover, is misleading. It
was, indeed, written at the town of Tzolola or Atitlan, on the lake of
that name, the chief city of the Tzutuhils; but its authors were
Cakchiquels; its chief theme is the history of their tribe, and it is
only by the accident of their removal to Atitlan, years after the
Conquest, that its composition occurred there. I have, therefore,
adopted for it, or at least that portion of it which I print, the much
more appropriate name, _The Annals of the Cakchiquels_.

I say "for that portion of it," because I print but 48 out of the 96
pages of the original. These contain, however, all that is of general
interest; all that pertains to the ancient history of the nation. The
remainder is made up of an uninteresting record of village and family
incidents, and of a catalogue of births, baptisms and marriages. The
beginning of the text as printed in this volume, starts abruptly in the
MS. after seventeen pages of such trivialities, and has no separate
title or heading.

The caption of the first page of the MS. explains the purpose of this
miscellaneous collection of family documents. That caption is

  [Illustration: Cross]

  VAE MEMORIA CHIRE [C]HAOH.

  THIS IS THE RECORD FOR THE PROCESS.

The word _memoria_ is the Spanish for a record, memoir or brief, and the
Cakchiquel _[c]haoh_, originally contention, revolt, was, after the
Conquest, the technical term for a legal process or lawsuit. These
papers, therefore, form part of the record in one of those interminable
legal cases in which the Spanish law delighted. The plaintiffs in the
case seem to have been the Xahila family, who brought the action to
recover some of their ancient possessions or privileges, as one of the
two ruling families of the Cakchiquel nation; and in order to establish
this point, they filed in their plea the full history of their tribe and
genealogy of their family, so far as was known to them by tradition or
written record. It belongs to the class of legal instruments, called in
Spanish law _Titulos_, family titles. A number of such, setting forth
the descent and rights of the native princes in Central America, are in
existence, as the _Titulo de Totonicapan_, etc.

The date of the present rescript is not accurately fixed. As it includes
the years 1619-20, it must have been later than those dates. From the
character of the paper and writing, I should place it somewhere between
1620 and 1650.

In his _Advertencia_ to his translation of it, Senor Gavarrete asserts
that the document is in the handwriting of one of the native authors.
This is not my opinion. It is in the small, regular, perfectly legible
hand of a professional scribe, a notarial clerk, no doubt, thoroughly at
home in the Cakchiquel language, and trained in the phonetic characters,
introduced with such success by Father Parra, as I have already
mentioned. The centre lines and catch-words are in large, clear letters,
so as to attract the eye of the barrister, as

  VAE MEMORIA CHIRE VINAK CHIJ.

  THIS IS THE STATEMENT OF THE TORTS.

or,

  VAE MEMORIA [T]ANAVINAKIL.

  THIS IS A RECORD OF THE WITNESSES.

The document is made up of the depositions and statements of a number of
members of the Xahila family, but that around which the chief interest
centres, and that which alone is printed in this volume, is the history
of his nation as written out by one of them who had already reached
adult years, at the epoch of the first arrival of the Spaniards, in
1524. Unfortunately, his simple-hearted modesty led him to make few
personal allusions, and we can glean little information about his own
history. The writer first names himself, in the year 1582, where he
speaks of "me, Francisco Ernantez Arana."[57-1] The greater part of the
manuscript, however, was composed many years before this. Its author
says that his grandfather, the king Hun Yg, and his father, Balam, both
died in 1521, and his own marriage took place in 1522. As it was the
custom of his nation to marry young, he was probably, at the time, not
over 15 years of age.[57-2]

That Francisco Ernantez was not the author of the first part of the
document seems evident. Under the year 1560 occurs the following
entry:--

"Twenty days before the Feast of the Nativity my mother died; soon
after, my late father was carried off (xchaptah) while they were burying
my mother; my father took medicine but once before we buried him. The
pest continued to rage for seven days after Easter; my mother, my
father, my brother and my sister died this year."

It could not, of course, be the son of Balam, who died in 1521, who
wrote this.

Under 1563 the writer mentions:--

"At this time my second son Raphael was born, at the close of the fourth
year of the fourth cycle after the revolt."

The last entry which contains the characteristic words _ixnu[c]ahol_,
"you my children," occurs in the year 1559, and is the last given in my
translation. My belief is that the document I give was written by the
father of Francisco Ernantez Xahila. The latter continued it from 1560
to 1583, when it was taken up by Francisco Diaz, and later by other
members of the Xahila family.

The Abbe Brasseur was of the opinion that these _Annals_ carry the
record of the nation back to the beginning of the eleventh century, at
least. A close examination of the account shows that this is not the
case. Gagavitz, the earliest ruler of the nation, can easily be traced
as the ancestor in the eighth remove, of the author. The genealogy is as
follows:--

1. Gagavitz, "he who came from Tulan."

2. His son, Cay Noh, who succeeded him.

3. Citan Qatu, son of Cay Noh, who also ruled.

4. His son, Citan Tihax Cablah, who does not seem to have enjoyed the
leadership. It was regained by

5. His son, Vukubatz, by the aid of the Quiche king, Quikab.[TN-8]

6. Oxlahuh Tzii, eldest son of Vukubatz, died A. D., 1509.

7. Succeeded by his eldest son, Hun Yg, who died, together with his
eldest son Balam, the father of the author, in the year 1521.

Allowing to these seven who outlived their parents an average survival
of twenty years, we are carried back to about the year 1380, as that on
which the migration, headed by Gagavitz, began its wanderings, little
more, therefore, than the length of two lives as protracted as that of
the author himself. This result is that generally obtained by a careful
scrutiny of American traditions. They very rarely are so far-reaching as
has usually been supposed. Anything spoken of as more than three or four
generations distant, may safely be assumed as belonging to myth, and not
to history.

It was the expressed intention of the Abbe Brasseur to edit the original
text with his translation, but this he did not live to accomplish. He
incorporated numerous extracts from it in his _Histoire des Nations
Civilisees du Mexique et de l'Amerique Centrale_, and added a few
paragraphs in the original at the end of the first volume of that work;
but these did not give much idea of the document as a whole.

When, with the aid of the previous partial translations and the
assistance of some intelligent natives, he had completed a version into
French, of that portion composed by the first two writers he gave a copy
of it to Don Juan Gavarrete. This antiquary translated it into Spanish,
and published it serially, in the _Boletin de la Sociedad Economica de
Guatemala_, beginning with No. 29, September, 1873, and continuing to
No. 43. Copies of this publication are, however, so scarce that I have
been unable to learn of a complete file, even in Guatemala. The
dissolution of the Sociedad Economica by order of the late President
Barrios, scattered the copies in its own archives.


_Synopsis of the Annals of Xahila._

The work opens with a statement that the writer intends to record the
ancient traditions of his tribe, as handed down from their early heroes,
Gagavitz and Zactecauh. He begins with a brief genealogical table of the
four sub-tribes of the Cakchiquels (Secs. 1-3), and then relates their
notions of the creation of man at one of the mythical cities of Tulan,
in the distant west (4, 5). Having been subjected to onerous burdens in
Tulan, they determine to leave it, and are advised to go by their
oracles (6-14).

They cross the sea, proceeding toward the east, and arrive at a land
inhabited by the Nonoualcats, an Aztec people (15-17). Their first
action is formally to choose Gagavitz and Zactecauh as their joint
rulers (18-19), and under their leadership they proceed to attack the
Nonoualcats. After a severe conflict the Cakchiquels are defeated, and
are obliged to seek safety in further wanderings. At length they reach
localities in Guatemala (20). At this point an episode is introduced of
their encounter with the spirit of the forests, Zakiqoxol (21, 22).

They meet with various nations, some speaking a totally different
language; others, as the Mams and Pokomams, dialects of their own. With
the last mentioned they have serious conflicts (23-29). During one of
their journeys, Zactecauh is killed by falling down a ravine (30). An
episode here relates the traditional origin of one of their festivals,
that in honor of Gagxanul, "the uncoverer of the fire" (31, 32).

Their first arrival at Lake Atitlan is noted (33), and the war that they
waged with the Ikomags (34). Here an episode describes the traditional
origin of the festival of Tolgom (35-37). A peaceful division of the
lake with the Tzutuhils is effected, and marriages take place between
the tribes (38).

The Cakchiquels, Quiches and Akahals now settle permanently in their
towns, and develop their civilization (39, 40). They meet with numerous
hardships, as well as internal dissensions, the chief Baqahol at one
time obtaining the leadership. They succeed in establishing, however,
family life and a fixed religious worship, though in almost constant war
with their neighbors (41-46).

Gagavitz, "he who came from Tulan," dies, and is followed by Cay Noh and
Cay Batz (47). These acknowledge the supremacy of Tepeuh, the king of
the Quiches, and are sent out by him to collect tribute from the various
tribes. They are seduced and robbed by the Tzutuhils, and conceal
themselves in a cave, out of fear of Tepeuh. He forgives them, however,
and they continue in power until their death (49-59).

After this, a period of strife follows, and the names of four successive
rulers are mentioned, but none of the occurrences of their reigns
(60-66).

The narrative is resumed when Qikab, king of the Quiches, orders the
Cakchiquels to settle at the town of Chiavar. He appoints, as their
rulers, the warriors Huntoh and Vukubatz. A revolt agains[TN-9] Qikab,
headed by his two sons, results in his defeat and death (67-81). During
this revolt, a contest between the Cakchiquels takes place, the close of
which finds the latter established in their final stronghold, the famous
fortress of "Iximche on the Ratzamut" (82-85).

At the death of Huntoh and Vukubatz, they are succeeded by Lahuh Ah and
Oxlahuh Tzii, who carry on various wars, and especially defeat the
Quiches in a general engagement, which is vividly described (86-93).
They also conquer the Akahals, killing their king Ichal, and the
Tzutuhils, with their king Caoke (94-98).

During their reign, a sanguinary insurrection occurred in Iximche, of
such importance that the author adopts its date as the era from which to
reckon all subsequent events (99-104). This date corresponded to the
year 1496, A. D.(?)

The following years are marked by a series of unimportant wars, the
outbreak of a destructive pestilence, and finally, in 1524, twenty-eight
years after the Insurrection, by the arrival of the Spanish forces under
Alvarado (105-144).

The later pages are taken up with an account of the struggles between
the natives and the whites, until the latter had finally established
their supremacy.


_Remarks on the Printed Text._

In printing the MS. of Xahila, I have encountered certain difficulties
which have been only partially surmounted. As the Cakchiquel, though a
written, is not a printed tongue, there has no rule been established as
to the separation of verbs and their pronominal subjects, of nouns and
their possessive pronouns, of the elements of compound particles, of
tense and mode signs, etc. In the MSS. the utmost laxity prevails in
these respects, and they seem not to have been settled points in the
orthography of the tongue. The frequent elisions and euphonic
alterations observable in these compounds, prove that to the native mind
they bore the value of a single word, as we are aware they did from a
study of the structure of this class of languages. I have, therefore,
felt myself free to exercise in the printed page nearly the same freedom
which I find in the MS. At first, this will prove somewhat puzzling to
the student of the original, but in a little while he will come to
recognize the radical from its augment without difficulty.

Another trouble has been the punctuation. In the original this consists
principally of dashes and commas, often quite capriciously distributed.
Here also, I have been lax in reducing the text to the requirements of
modern standards, and have left much latitude to the reader to arrange
it for himself.

Capital letters are not often used in the original to distinguish proper
names, and as the text has been set up from a close copy of the first
text, some irregularities in this respect also must be anticipated.

The paragraphs numbered in the text are distinctly marked in the
original, but are not numbered there. The numerals have been added for
convenience of reference.


FOOTNOTES:

[10-1] Dr. Otto Stoll, _Zur Ethnographie der Republik Guatemala_, p. 157
(Zurich, 1884), on the phonetic laws which have controlled the
divergence of the two tongues, Cakchiquel and Maya. See the same writer
in his "Supplementary Remarks on a Grammar of the Cakchiquel Language,"
translated by Dr. D. G. Brinton, in _Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society_, for 1885.

[10-2] _Recordacion Florida, Discurso Historial, Natural, Material,
Militar y Politico del Reino de Goathemala._ Lib. II, Chap. I.

[10-3] _Myths of the New World_, p. 181; _American Hero-Myths_, pp. 44,
73, 80, 162, etc.

[11-1] "Cuatro generosos mancebos, nobles hermanos," says Fuentes y
Guzman, _Recordacion Florida_, Lib. I, Cap. II. The story of the four
brothers who settled Guatemala is repeated by Torquemada, _Monarchia
Indiana_, Lib. XI, Cap. XVII, and other writers.

[11-2] _The Maya Chronicles_, 109-122 (Library of Aboriginal American
Literature, Vol. I). For the evidence of the wholly mythical character
of the Toltecs, and of their "King," Quetzalcoatl, see my _American
Hero-Myths_, Chapter III. (Philadelphia, 1882).

Sanchez y Leon, quoting apparently some ancient Cakchiquel refrain,
gives as the former name of their royal race, _ru tzutuh Tulan_, the
Flower of Tulan, which wondrous city he would place in Western Asia.
_Apuntamientos de la Historia de Guatemala_, p. 2.

[12-1] Herrera observes of the natives of Guatemala, that the Nahuatl
tongue was understood among them, though not in use between themselves.
"Corre entre ellos la lengua Mexicana, aunque la tienen particular."
_Historia de las Indias Occidentales_, Dec. IV, Lib. VIII, Cap. VIII.

[12-2] I have in my possession the only grammar of this dialect probably
ever written: _Arte de la Lengua Vulgar Mexicana de Guatemala_, MS., in
a handwriting of the eighteenth century, without name of author.

[13-1] The four names are given in this form in the _Requete de
Plusieurs Chefs Indiens d' Atitlan a Philippe II_, 1571, in
Ternaux-Compans, _Recueil des Pieces relatives a la Conquete du
Mexique_, p. 419. The spelling of the last is there _Tecocitlan_. For
their analysis, see Prof. Baschmann,[TN-10] _Ueber die Aztekischen
Ortsnamen_, p. 719.

[14-1] "Si bien se advierte, todo cuanto hacian y decian, era en orden
al maiz, que poco falto para tenerlo por Dios, y era, y es, tanto el
encanto y embelezo que tienen con las milpas que por ellas olvidan hijos
y muger y otro cualquiera deleite, como si fuera la milpa su ultimo fin
y bienaventuranza." _Chronica de la S. Provincia del Santissimo Nombre
de Jesus de Guattemala_, Cap. VII. MS. of the seventeenth century,
generally known as the _Cronica Franciscana_.

[14-2] See Francisco Ximenez, _Las Historias del Origen de los Indios de
esta Provincia de Guatemala_, p. 191. (Ed. Scherzer, London and Vienna,
1857).

[14-3] Their first conqueror, the truculent Captain Pedro de Alvarado,
speaks of the _muy grandes tierras de panes_, the immense corn fields he
saw on all sides. _Relacion hecha per Pedro de Alvarado a Hernando
Cortez_, in the _Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles_, Tom. XXII, p. 459.

[15-1] "Hay mucho algodon, e son las mugeres buenas hilanderas e hacen
gentiles telas dello." Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdes, _Historia
General y Natural de las Indias_, Par. III, Lib. III, Cap. IV. "De la
fertilidad de la tierra e gobernacion de Guatimala."

[15-2] "Son muy dados a edificar, y en lo que hoy vemos erigido de los
antiguos, reconocemos ser maquinas soberbias." Fuentes y Guzman,
_Recordacion Florida_, Lib. II, Cap. I.

[15-3] "Esta ciudad es bien obrada y fuerte a maravilla." _Relacion de
Pedro de Alvarado_, in _Bib. de Autores Espanoles_, Tom. XXII, p. 459.
So Herrera wrote from his authorities: "En Utlatan (_i. e._, the city of
Gumarcaah, capital of the Quiches), havia muchos, i mui grandes templos
de sus dioses, de maravillosos edificios." _Historia de las Indias
Occidentales_, Dec. III, Lib. IV, Cap. XIX.

[16-1] _The Lineal Measures of the Semi-Civilized Nations of Mexico and
Central America_, by D. G. Brinton, in _Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society_, and separately.

[16-2] "En la Provincia de Utlatan, junto a Guatemala, se averiguo _por
las Pinturas, que los Naturales tenian de sus antiguedades, demas de
ochocientos anos_, etc." Herrera, _Historia de las Indias Occidentales_,
Dec. III, Lib. IV, Cap. XVIII.

[17-1] "Son amigos de hacer colloquios y decir coplas en sus bailes."
Thomas Coto, _Vocabulario de la Lengua Cakchiquel_. MS. sub voce,
_Poesia_.

[17-2] "Son flecheros y no tienen hierba." Oviedo, _Historia General de
Indias_, Par. III, Lib. III, Cap. IV.

[18-1] This word is doubtful, as I do not find it in the dictionaries,
and judge of its meaning from its derivation and context. See the
Vocabulary. Sanchez y Leon speaks of the "very long lances pointed with
flint," used by these people. _Apuntamientos de la Historia de
Guatemala_, p. 27.

[19-1] The statement of Gavarrete, in his notes to Sanchez y Leon,
_Historia de Guatemala_, p. 3, that the Xahils and Zotzils were two
branches of the ruling family, the one residing at Iximche, the other at
Solola, rests on a misapprehension, as will be seen from the _Annals_
published in this volume.

[20-1] It is interesting in this connection to observe how widespread
was the symbolic significance of the canopy, or sun shade, as a mark of
dignity. The student of Shakspeare will recall the lines in his 125th
sonnet--

    "Were it aught to me I bore the canopy,
     With my extern the outward honouring;"

while the ethnologist may consult Richard Andree's suggestive essay,
_Der Schirm als Wuerdezeichen_, in his _Ethnographische Parallelen und
Vergleiche_, p. 250 (Stuttgart, 1878).

[21-1] Alvarado writes "La tierra es muy poblada de pueblos muy recios."
_Relacion_, etc., ubi supra, p. 459. The following extract is quoted
from Las Casas, _Historia Apologetica_, MS., by Mr. Squier, in his notes
to Palacio:--

"En el Reyno de Guatemala, en la parte que va por la Sierra, estaban
ciudades de caba muy grandes, con maravillosos edificios de cal y canto,
de los cuales yo vi muchos; y otros pueblos sin numero de aquellas
sierras."

Sanchez y Leon states that there were, in all, thirty independent native
states in the former confines of Guatemala. _Historia de Guatemala_, p.
1.

[22-1] On the derivation of Guatemala, see Buschmann, _Ueber die
Aztekischen Ortsnamen_, p. 719. That this is probably a translation of
the Cakchiquel _Molomic chee_, which has the same meaning, and is a
place-name mentioned in the _Annals_, I shall show on a later page.

[22-2] See the _Otra Relacion hecha por Pedro de Albarado a Hernando
Cortes_, printed in the _Bibliotheca de Autores Espanoles_, Tom. XXII,
p. 460.

[23-1] Bernal Diaz, _Historia Verdadera de la Conquista de la Nueva
Espana_, Cap. CXCIII.

[23-2] _Historia de Guatemala, o Recordacion Florida_, Lib. XV, Cap. V.
The _Recordacion_ was first printed at Madrid, 1882-83, edited by Don
Justo Zaragoza, as one of the numbers of the _Biblioteca de los
Americanistas_.

[27-1] _Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan_,
Vol. II, Chap. IX. I am inclined to believe that the original stone,
evidently supposed to be of great value, had been stolen, and this piece
of slate substituted. It was sewed up in a bag, which makes the
supposition probable, as it offered facility to conceal the theft.

[28-1] They are referred to by the Archbishop Garcia Pelaez, in these
words: "Los planos y vistas tomadas por el comisionado y el informe que
las acompana, muestran vestijios de adoratorios, fortificaciones y
trazas de edificios, calles y plazas ajustadas a dimensiones y con
elecion de materias en su estructura."--_Memorias para la Historia del
Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala_. Por Don Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez,
Tom. I, p. 15, (Guatemala, 1851).

[28-2] The names applied to these intercalary days are analyzed
differently by various authorities. For the etymology given of
_nemontemi_, I have followed M. Remi Simeon, in his notes to Dr.
Jourdanet's translation of Sahagun's _Historia de Nueva Espana_; the
Cakchiquel _[tz]api_ is undoubtedly from _[tz]ap_, fault, evil, crime.

[31-1] _May_ is allied to the verb _meho_, to go somewhere and return
again. Hence _may_ came to mean a cycle of years, months or days.

[31-2] _Apuntamientos de la Historia de Guatemala_, p. 28.

[32-1] "_Chinamitl_, seto o cerca de canas," from _chinantia_, to build
a fence, to enclose.--Molina, _Vocabulario de la Lengua Mexicana_.

[32-2] Torresano, in his _Arte de la Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS., gives this
word as _ca_, which indicates its probable derivation from the verb
_cae_, to join together, to unite, "those united by a common tie."

[32-3] Coto, _Vocabulario de la Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS., sub voce,
_Cunado_.

[32-4] Coto, u. s., s. v. _Alguacil_. The word _[c,]alam_ is now applied
to the canvas or tablets on which are painted the saints in the
churches. It also means a box or chest.--_Dicc. Cakchiquel Anon._

[32-5] See Brasseur, _Hist. du Mexique et l' Am. Cent._, Tom. II, pp.
489-90.

[33-1] "Tienen tambien renombres de sus chinamitales o parcialidades que
tambien son de signos vel nombres senalados, como Xahila, etc."--Coto,
_Vocabulario_, MS., s. v. _Renombre_.

[34-1] _Hist. du Mexique_, Tom. II, p. 84.

[34-2] Their names are given in the _Titulos de la Casa de Ixcuin
Nehaib_, p. 3. They are called "pueblos principales, cabezas de
calpules." The Nahuatl word, _calpulli_, here used, meant the kinsfolk
actual and adopted, settled together. They were the gentes of the tribe.
See Ad. F. Bandelier, _On the Social Organization and Mode of Government
of the Ancient Mexicans_, for a full explanation of their nature and
powers.

[34-3] _The Lenape and their Legends_, p. 139.

[37-1] Father Coto, in his MS., _Vocabulario Cakchiquel_, gives the
rendering "mandadero," and states that one was elected each year by the
principals of each _chinamitl_, to convey messages. He adds: "Usan mucho
de este nombre en el Pueblo Atitlan."

[37-2] Compare my edition of the _Cakchiquel Grammar_, p. 58. Brasseur
translates this title erroneously, "decorated with a bracelet."--_Hist.
des Nations Civilisees_, etc., Tome. II, p. 515.

[37-3] "El retorico, platico." Pantaleon de Guzman gives the fuller
form, _naol ah uchan_, which means "he who knows, the master of
speech."--_Compendio de Nombres en Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS.

[37-4] Usually written by ellipsis, _atzih vinak_. Brasseur translates
it "distributor of presents," but it appears to be from _tzih_, word,
speech. The vocabularies are, as usual, very unsatisfactory. "_Atzijh
vinak_, Principal deste nombre."--_Dicc. Cakchiquel Anon._

[38-1] _Dicc. Cakchiquel Anon_,[TN-11] MS., sub voce.

[38-2] _Requete de Plusieurs Chefs Indiens d'Atitlan a Philippe II_, in
Ternaux-Compans, _Recueil de Pieces relatives a la Conquete du Mexique_,
p. 418.

[38-3] Not "of the bird's nest," "ceux du nid de l'oiseau," as Brasseur
translates it (_Hist. du Mexique_, Tome. II, p. 89), nor "casa de la
aguila," house of the eagle, as it is rendered by Fuentes y Guzman,
_Recordacion Florida_, Tom. I, p. 21. _[c,]iquin_ is the generic term
for bird.

[39-1] _The Names of the Gods in the Kiche Myths of Central America_, in
the _Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society_, 1881.

[40-1] "Chamalcan u bi qui gabauil Cakchequeleb, xa Zotz u
vachibal."--_Popol Vuh_, p. 224.

[40-2] _Hist. des Nations Civ. du Mexique_, Tom. II, p. 173.

[40-3] "El quinto _Cam_, esto es; amarillo, pero su significado es
culebra."--Ximenez, _Las Historias del Origen de los Indios de
Guatemala_, p. 215. There are two errors in this extract. The name is
not _Cam_, but _Can_, and it does not mean yellow, which is _[t]an_.

[41-1] I have suggested an explanation of this strange term to apply to
the highest and most beneficent of their divinities, in a short article
in the _American Antiquarian_, 1885, "The Chief God of the Algonkins in
his Character as a Cheat and a Liar."

[42-1] Pantaleon de Guzman, _Compendio de Nombres en Lengua Cakchiquel_,
MS. On the role of the Tzitzimime in Aztec mythology see my _American
Hero-Myths_, p. 78.

[42-2] "Al duende que anda en los montes llaman _ru vinakil chee_ vel
_caki[c]oxol_."--Coto, _Vocabulario_, MS., s. v. Monte. _Zak_, white;
_[c]ox_, to make fire. Brasseur's translation, "Le blanc abime de feu,"
is indefensible.

[42-3] See a paper entitled "The Folk Lore of Yucatan," contributed by
me to the _Folk-Lore Journal_, Vol. I, 1883.

[43-1] For an interesting note on the _zaztun_, see Apolinar Garcia y
Garcia, _Historia de la Guerra de Castas en Yucatan_, p. XXIV (folio,
Merida, 1865).

[43-2] For the derivation of Xibalbay, and for the myths referred to in
the text, see my article, before referred to, _The Names of the Gods in
the Kiche Myths_, pp. 27, 28.

[44-1] _The Maya Chronicles_, pp. 110, 111. Vol. I of the _Library of
Aboriginal American Literature_.

[45-1] Brasseur, Juarros, Fuentes y Guzman, etc.

[45-2] Thomas Coto, _Vocabulario de la Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS., 1651.
Sub voce, _Sacrificar hombres_, quoting Varea.

[45-3] "Sacandole el corazon y asperjando, con la sangre de la victima a
los cuatro vientos cardinales."--_Apuntamientos de la Historia de
Guatemala_, p. 26.

[46-1] _The Names of the Gods in the Kiche Myths_, pp. 21, 22.

[47-1] "_Labah_, agorar y guerrear, porque agoraban si la hacian o
no."--Ximenez, _Vocabulario de las Tres Lenguas_, sub voce.

[47-2] These particulars are from the work of Jose Sanchez y Leon,
_Apuntamientos de la Historia de Guatemala_, pp. 26, 27.

[48-1] _Recordacion Florida_, Lib. IX, Cap. VII.

[48-2] _Vocabulario de la Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS. (1651).

[48-3] _Apuntamientos de la Historia de Guatemala_, p. 27.

[49-1] Fr. Estevan Torresano, _Arte de la Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS., in my
possession.

[51-1] _Supplementary Remarks to the Grammar of the Cakchiquel Language,
edited by D. G. Brinton.--Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Society_, 1885.

[52-1] See _The Maya Chronicles_, p. 67, and note.

[53-1] "Die bewundernswuerdige Feinheit und consequente Logik in der
Ausbildung des Maya Zeitwortes setzt eine Kultur voraus, die sicherlich
weit ueber die Zeitraeume hinaus zurueckreicht, welche man bis jetzt
geneight war, der Amerikanischen Civilization zuzuschreiben."--Otto
Stoll, _Zur Ethnographie der Republik Guatemala_, s. 148 (Zurich, 1884).
Compare the remarks of Wilhelm von Humboldt on the Maya conjugation, in
his essay on the American verb, as published in my _Philosophic Grammar
of the American Languages, as set forth by Wilhelm von Humboldt_, pp.
35-39 (Philada., 1885).

[54-1] Gavarrete's words are, "Paso por manos de muchos personas
versadas en los idiomas indigenos sin que pudiese obtenerse una
traduccion integra y exacta de su testo, habiendo sido bastante, sin
embargo, lo que de su sentido pudo percibirse, para venir en
conocimiento de su grande importancia historica."--_Boletin de la
Sociedad Economica_.

[54-2] The Abbe says that Gavarrete gave him the original (_Bibliotheque
Mexico-Guatemalienne_, p. 14). But that gentleman does not take to
himself credit for such liberality. He writes "El testo original quedo
sin embargo en su poder," etc. Ubi supra.

[57-1] As the slight aspirate, the Spanish _h_, does not exist in the
Cakchiquel alphabet, nor yet the letter _d_,the[TN-12] baptismal name
"Hernandez," takes the form "Ernantez."

[57-2] "Se casan muy ninos," says Sanchez y Leon, speaking of the
natives.--_Apuntamientos de la Historia de Guatemala_, p. 24.




THE ANNALS

OF

THE CAKCHIQUELS.

BY

A MEMBER OF THE XAHILA FAMILY.




[Cross]

1. VAE XTINU[c,]IBAH HALAL QUITZIH HE NABEY

Ka tata ka mama, heri xeboco vinak oher mahaniok ti la[t]abex vae huyu
ta[t]ah; [c]a ruyon ok umul [c,]iquin [c]oh, que cha, ha ok ki
xquila[t]abeh huyu ta[t]ah he [c]a ka tata ka mama, yx nu[c]ahol, pa
Tulan.

     [Cross]

     1. Here I am going to write a few of the sayings of our earliest
     fathers and ancestors, those who begot men of old, before the hills
     and plains here were inhabited; then only rabbits and birds were
     here, they say, when they took possession of the hills and plains,
     they, our fathers and ancestors from Tulan, oh my children.

2. Xtinu[c,]ibah [c]a quitzih ri ki he nabey ka tata ka mama
[t]a[t]avitz rubi, Cactecauh ru bi hunchic, he [c]oh quitzih que cha
[c]a [c]haka palouh xoh pevi, pa Tulan ru bi huyu, xoh alax xoh
[c]aholax vi pe ruma ka tee, ka tata, yxka[c]ahol, quecha ri oher tata
mama, [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh qui bi, ri ki xepe pa Tulan he cay chi
achij heri xoh boco, oh Xahila.

     2. And I shall write the sayings of our earliest fathers and
     ancestors, Gagavitz the name of one, Zactecauh the name of the
     other; and these are the sayings they spake as we came from the
     other side of the sea, from the land of Tulan, where we were
     brought forth and begotten by our mothers and our fathers, oh my
     children, as said of old the fathers, the ancestors, Gagavitz and
     Zactecauh by name, the two heroes who came from Tulan and begot us,
     the Xahila.

3. Va[c]a quibi ru hay ru chinamitee [t]eka[c]uch, Ba[c]ahola,
Cibakihay. 1. [c]atun [c]hutiah qui bi xeboco Ba[c]ahola. 1. Tzanat
[t]u[t]uchom quibi xeboco [t]eka[c]uchij; Daqui ahauh [c]hahom ahauh
xeboco Cibakihayi, xaoh cahi chi chinamit ok xohpe pa Tulan, ri oh
Cakchiquel vinak, yxka[c]ahol, quecha.--[c]a x[c]amar [c]a vave ri
Caveki Totomay Xurcah qui bi xeboco.--Xavi [c]a x[c]amar vave ri
Ahquehayi, Loch, Xet, quibi, xeboco;--xavi [c]a x[c]am ri ahPak, Telom,
[c]oxahil, [c]obakil quibi xeboco; quere navipe ri Ikoma[t]i, xavi [c]a
x[c]amar; he[c]a cah [c]hob ri [c]a xe[c]amar vave he ama[t].

     3. These are the names of the houses and clans of Gekaquch,
     Bagahola and Cibakihay. 1. Qatun and Qhutiah by name, begat
     Bagahola. 2. Tzanat and Guguchom by name, begat those of Gekaquch.
     3. The chief Daqui and the chief Ghahom begat those of Cibakihay.
     Thus we were four clans when we came from Tulan, we, the Cakchiquel
     people, as we are told, oh my children. Those of Cavek, Totomay and
     Xurcah by name, also married and begat; also those of Quehay, Loch
     and Xet by name, married and begat; those of Pak, Telom, Qoxahil
     and Qobakil by name, also married and begat; and also those of
     Ykomag married; and these four divisions which thus married are the
     tribes so-called.

4. He [c]a [c]oh quitzih ri [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh xe re [c]aki ru xe
quitzih vae quecha [c]ari [t]a[t]avitz Cactecauh: Cahi xpe vi vinak pa
Tulan; chi relebal [t]ih, hun Tullan: hun chi [c]a chi Xibalbay, hun
[c]a chu kahibal [t]ih chi ri [c]a xoh pevi chukahibal [t]ih, hun chi vi
[c]a chi [c]abovil. Quere[c]a cahi vi Tullan ri yxka[c]ahol, quecha; chu
kahibal [c]a [t]ih xoh pa vi Tullan, [c]ha[c]a palouh; [c]a[c]o viri
Tullan chiri[c]a xohalax vi ul xoh [c]aholax vipe ruma ruma ka tee ka
tata quecha.

     4. These are the sayings of Gagavitz and Zactecauh, and these are
     the very words which Gagavitz and Zactecauh spoke: "Four men came
     from Tulan; at the sunrise is one Tullan, and one is at Xibalbay,
     and one is at the sunset; and we came from this one at the sunset;
     and one is where is God. Therefore there are four Tulans, they say,
     oh our sons; from the sunsetting we came, from Tullan, from beyond
     the sea; and it was at Tullan that arriving we were brought forth,
     coming we were produced, by our mothers and our fathers, as they
     say.

5. Tan [c]a talax ri chay abah, ruma raxa Xibalbay [t]ana Xibalbay,
tan[c]ati [c,]ak vinak ruma [c,]akol bitol; tzukul richin ri chay abah
ok x[c,]ak ri vinak pan pokon [c]a xutzin vinak, xtiho chee, xtiho [c]a
xaki ruyon uleuh xrah oc; mani [c]a x[c]hao, mani xbiyin, mani [c]a ru
quiquel ru tiohil xux, quecha e nabey ka tata ka mama, yxnu[c]ahol; mani
[c]a xcanay rixoc, [c]arunah [c]a xcanay rixoc: xae chay chi chicop
etamayon [c]o vi ri echa pam Paxil ru bi huyu [c]ovi hari chicop Utiuh,
Koch qui bi. Xa[c]a pa rachak xcanay vi, tok xcamicax [c]a ri chicop
utiuh xpo[c]hel chupam ri yxim tan [c]a tibe canox yo[t]bal richin ruma
chicop tiuh tiuh rubi, [c]a chupam palouh xpe vi ruma tiuh tiuh ru
quiquel tixli cumatz xoc xyo[t]bex richin ri yxim: x[c,]akbex richin ru
tiohil vinak ruma [c,]akol bitol [c]a ha ki etamayom ri [c,]akol bitol
alom [c]aholom he xe [c,]ako vinak [c,]ak que cha xutzin [c]a vinak
[c,]ak, oxlahuh achij, cahlahuh [c]a ixok xux; x[c]ohe ruvi, [c]ate [c]a
ok xe[c]hao xebiyin, x[c]ohe qui quiquel qui tiohil. Xe[c]ulu[c]u xin
[c]a he [c]a cay ri xhayil hun xux. Quere[c]a xla[t]o vi vinak ri quecha
oher vinak, yxka[c]ahol; xemealan xe[c]aholan [c]a ri he nabey vinak.
Quere[c]a ru banic vinak rij, quere navipe rubanic chay abah ri [c,]apal
[c]a ruchi ri Tullan, xoh pe vi xahun chi co[c,] [c,]apibal ru chij ri
Tullan xoh alax vi ul xoh [c]aholax vipe, xya vipe ri kikan chi [t]ekum
chi a[t]a, yx ka[c]ahol; xecha can ri [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh,
yxnu[c]ahol, xa[c]a mani xquimeztah ru tzihoxic. He [c]iyaley chi e ka
mama; [c]oh quitzih oher takchibal [c]a quichin vae.

     5. "And now is brought forth the Obsidian Stone by the precious
     Xibalbay, the glorious Xibalbay, and man is made by the Maker, the
     Creator; the Obsidian Stone was his sustainer, when man was made in
     misery, and when man was formed; he was fed with wood, he was fed
     with leaves; he wished only the earth; he could not speak, he could
     not walk; he had no blood, he had no flesh; so say our fathers, our
     ancestors, oh you my sons. Nothing was found to feed him; at length
     something was found to feed him. Two brutes knew that there was
     food in the place called Paxil, where these brutes were, the Coyote
     and the Crow by name. Even in the refuse of maize it was found,
     when the brute Coyote was killed as he was separating his maize,
     and was searching for bread to knead, (killed) by the brute Tiuh
     Tiuh by name; and the blood of the serpent and the tapir was
     brought from within the sea by means of Tiuh Tiuh, with which the
     maize was to be kneaded; the flesh of man was formed of it by the
     Maker, the Creator; and well did they, the Maker and the Creator,
     know him who was born, him who was begotten; they made man as he
     was made, they formed man as they made him, so they tell. There
     were thirteen men, fourteen women; they talked, they walked, they
     had blood, they had flesh. They married, and one had two wives.
     Therefore the race copulated, this race of old, as they tell, oh
     our sons. They brought forth daughters, they brought forth sons,
     those first men. Thus men were made, and thus the Obsidian Stone
     was made, for the enclosure of Tullan; thus we came to where the
     Zotzils were at the gates of Tullan; arriving we were born, coming
     we were produced, coming we gave the tribute, in the darkness, in
     the night, oh our sons." Thus spoke Gagavitz and Zactecauh, oh my
     sons, and what they said has not been forgotten. They are our great
     ancestors; these are the words with which they encouraged us of
     old.

6. Tok xoh pixabax [c]a pe ruma ka tee ka tata oxlahu [c]hob [c]a
vukama[t] oxlahu [c]hob [c]a ahlabal ok xohpe pa Tullan chi [t]ekum chi
a[t]a ok xya pe ri kikan, tok xu[c]am rikan vuk ama[t] ahlabal, xoh
chole na chu xocou [c]a Tullan x[c]ohe viri vuk ama[t]: chiriki[t]a [c]a
Tullan x[c]ohe viri xcholevi ahlabal. Nabey na xu[c]am rikan vuk ama[t],
[c]ate [c]a xu[c]am chic rikan ahlabal. Xa[c]a ruyon xit puak
[t]u[t]uraxon [c]ubul chactit ru[c]in [c]a [c,]ibanic [c]otonic, qui
yanic xul, bix, [c]hol [t]ih, may [t]ih, pek cacouh, xa ruyon [t]inomal
xrikah pe pa Tullan a[c]a ri ahlabal xa ruyon [c]ha pocob xa cetecic
chee xa [t]iom ah rikan ok xpe pa Tulla.

     6. Then we were ordered to come by our mothers and fathers, we the
     thirteen divisions and the seven tribes, the thirteen divisions of
     warriors; and we came to Tulan in the darkness and the night, and
     coming gave our tribute; they took tribute from the warriors of the
     seven tribes; they were drawn up in order on the left of Tulan
     where were the people of the seven tribes; on the right-hand of
     Tulan were arranged the warriors. First the tribute was taken from
     the seven tribes, next the tribute was taken from the warriors. But
     it was only jade and silver, and green feathers worked and sewed
     together, together with articles painted and articles sculptured,
     and for gifts, flutes, songs, astrological calendars and reckoning
     calendars, fine and common cacao; only such riches were paid in
     Tulan, and the only riches the warriors bore from Tulan were their
     bows, their bucklers and their rounded shields.

7. Tok xpixa [c]a ka tee ka tata xcha: [c]a ohix [c]a, yxnu[c]ahol,
yxnumeal, ree yvikan ree [c]a y tzukuh y[t]ohee; xucheex [c]ari chay
abah: ohix [c]a ti vi la y huyubal y ta[t]ahal [c]a chila [c]a [c]haka
palouh [c]oh vi y huyubal y ta[t]ahal, yxnu[c]ahol, [c]a chila [c]a tica
vi ruvach. Ree yvikan mixuyael, y [t]inomal y vahauarem, xeucheex [c]a
ri oxlahu [c]hob vukama[t], oxlahu [c]hob ahlabal, ok xyape ri mi[c]hbal
quichin ri chee abah, xqui kahpe pa Tullan Xibalbay [c]a xyaope ri chee
abah, chikichin que cha ri he nabey ka tata ka mama, ri [t]a[t]avitz
Cactecauh: he ki xe ykan pe, he navipe ki [c]o quitzih.

     7. Then to our mothers and fathers it was commanded and said: "You,
     my sons, you, my daughters, these are your burdens which you shall
     sustain and maintain." So spoke the Obsidian Stone. "There are your
     hills and plains; there, beyond the ocean, are your hills and
     plains, oh you my sons, there it is that you shall lift up your
     faces. These are the burdens which I shall give you, your riches,
     your majesty;" thus it was said to the thirteen divisions, the
     seven tribes, to the thirteen divisions of warriors, and then was
     given them the wood and stone which deceive; as they descended from
     Tulan and Xibalbay, were given to them the wood and stone (idols),
     as related those our first fathers and ancestors Gagavitz and
     Zactecauh. These, in truth, were their burdens, and these were
     their very words.

8. Vuk ama[t] [c]a nabey xpeul pa Tullan, que cha, [c]a xambey xohpe oh
ahlabal ru [c]amom chi [c]a rikan ronohel vuk ama[t] ahlabal tok xhak
[c]a ru chi Tullan.

     8. They say that the seven tribes arrived first at Tulan, and we
     the warriors followed, having taken up the tributes of all the
     seven tribes when the gate of Tulan was opened.

9. Ha [c]a [c,]utuhile ri nabey vuk ama[t] ok xpe pa Tulan xe[c]iz nape
ri vuk ama[t] [c]ate[c]a ok xoh pe oh ahlabal, que cha.--Xcha [c]a pe ri
ka tee ka tata, ok xoh pixabax pe: ohix [c]a, yx numeal, yx nu[c]ahol,
xtinyael y [t]inomal yvahauarem, xtinyael y [t]a[t]al, y tepeval, yxmuh,
yx[c]a[t]alibal; harumari xti vikah ree, cetecic chee, [t]iomah [c]haa,
pocob, [c]u[c]um, cahcab. Vueta [c]a mixivikah xit, puak, [t]u[t] raxom,
vueta [c]a xtivikah [c,]ibanic, [c]otonic, [c]hol [t]ih, may [t]ih, xul,
bix, bix ye[t]etah rumal, xavi[c]a yvichin ree mixrikah vuk ama[t] chila
ti [c]am vi; yx quixi chi nan, yx quix cao ruvach; mani cahauarem mix
nuyael, ha[c]ari xtivikah; kitzih nim ru[t]ih; mani quix ye[t]etah vi;
ha[c]a quix nimar vi, ree cetecic chee [t]iomah, mani quix var, quix
[c]hacatah vi, yx numeal, yx nu[c]ahol, xtinyael yvahauarem, yx oxlahuh
chi ahpopo tihunamah; [c]a y[c]ha, ypocob, yvahauarem, y [t]a[t]al,
ytepeval, y muh, y [t]alibal, ree [c]a y nabey ale; xucheex ri Qeche
vinak ok xpeul oxlahu [c]hob chi ahlabal pa Tullan. Ha [c]a nabey xpe
Qeche vinak; xa[c]a [c]holloh tacaxepeval rikan [c]eche vinak: ok xpeul
rachbilam hetak [c]a ru hay ru chinamit ru [t]arama[t] ri hutak [c]hob
chi ahlabal tok xpeul pa Tullan ok x[c]iz [c]a pe ronohel.

     9. The Tzutuhils were the first of the seven tribes who finished
     coming to Tulan, and then we the warriors came, as they say. Then
     it was said to our fathers and mothers, then we were commanded:
     "Oh, you, you my daughters, you my sons, I shall give you your
     riches, your majesty, I shall give you your distinction, your
     sovereignty, your canopy, your royal throne; because you have
     carried the rounded shield as your riches, the bow, the buckler,
     the feathers, the war paint. If you have paid as tribute jade,
     silver, feather stuffs, if you have paid articles painted, articles
     sculptured, astrological calendars, reckoning calendars, flute
     songs, songs hated of you because the seven tribes paid this
     tribute, yet you shall in turn take it, you shall receive more than
     others, you shall lift up your face. I shall not give you their
     sovereignty, of which you have borne the burden; truly their
     fortune is great; do not hate them; also do you be great, with
     wealth of rounded shields. Sleep not, sit not, my daughters, my
     sons, I will give you the power, to you the seven rulers, in equal
     shares, and your bows, your bucklers, your majesty, your power,
     your sovereignty, your canopy, your royal seat; these are your
     first treasures." Thus it was spoken to the Quiche men, when the
     thirteen divisions of warriors arrived at Tulan. And first came the
     Quiche men; they acquitted themselves of their tribute in the first
     month; then arrived their companions one after another, by their
     families, their clans, their tribes, their divisions, in sequence,
     and the warriors, until the whole of them had finished arriving in
     Tulan.

10. Xpe Rabinale, xpe Co[c,]il vinak--xpe Tukuchee--xpe
Tuhalahay--Vuchabahay--Ah[c]humilahay--xpe chic Lama[t]i--Cumatz--xpe
chic Akahal vinak.--Ah Tucuru xquiz, yape ronohel ri. Tok xpe chi [c]ari
oxlahuh chi ahlabal ri oh Bacah Pokoh, Bacah Xahil: hun xnabeyah,
hun[c]a x xambeyah chikichin ri oh ru nabey Bacah, Bacah Pok [c]a nabey
xpe, oh [c]a xambey xoh pe ri oh Bacah Xahil, que cha ri e ka tata, ka
mama, yxka[c]ahol. Xmier ok [c]a ti pe vuk ama[t] xmier ok [c]a ti
tiquer rupetic ahlabal.--Tok xohpe [c]a oh Cakchequel vinak, kitzih vi
chi xambey chic xoh peul pa Tullan, mani hunchic [c]o can ok xoh pe, que
cha ri [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh, xoh pixabax chi pe: He ree ahay a
chinamit he, que ucheex [c]ari [t]eka[c]uch, Ba[c]ahol, Cibakihay. Ree
[c]a yvahpop he, hun ahpop, hun [c]a ahpo[c]amahay, chiquichin ree
xeucheex [c]a ri [t]eka[c]uch, Ba[c]ahol, Cibakihay. Yx [c]a quixalan,
quix[c]aholan, quichin yxquix[c]ulu, yvahpop, xeucheex. Quere[c]a he
tee, he nam vi ri. Ha[c]a nabey, ha[c]a nabey xpe ri Cibakihay ok xpe
[c]ari Ba[c]ahol, xpe chi [c]a [t]eka[c]uch nabey xepe chinamit.

     10. Those of Rabinal came, the Zotzil men came, the Tukuchee came,
     the Tuhalahay, the Vuchabahay, the Ahqhumilahay, the Lamagi came,
     the Cumatz, the men of Akahal came, the Tucuru ended it; and thus
     all are given. After that came thirteen warriors, we the Bacah
     Pokoh, and the Bacah Xahil; one of us went first, and one followed
     after; the first Bacah was Bacah Pok, who went first, and we
     followed after, we the Bacah Xahil, as was said by our first
     fathers, our ancestors, oh you our sons. Already the seven
     villages had come, and some time after began the coming of the
     warriors.--Then we came, we the Cakchiquel men. Truly, we were the
     last, as we arrived at Tulan, and there was not another remaining
     when we came, as said Gagavitz and Zactecauh; we were ordered to
     come thus: "These are your houses, these your clans;" they said to
     Gekaquch, Baqahol, and Cibakihay: "These are your head chiefs,
     even one head chief, and one official messenger;" thus they said
     to Gekaquch, Baqahol, and Cibakihay. "Bring forth daughters, bring
     forth sons, marry one another, ye rulers," said they. Therefore
     those were mothers and ancestors. But the first, the first came
     the Cibakihay, then came the Baqahol, and then came the Gekaquch,
     the first clans.

11. [c]ate[c]a ok xoh pe oh ahpop tok xoh pixabax chi[c]a pe ruma katee
ka tata: ohix [c]a, yxnumeal, yxnu[c]ahol, mixebe a hay a chinamit.
Maqui xaquere xcat xambeyah, at[c]hipil al; kitzih nim a [t]ih tux re
[c]a a tzuku hee xucheex pe ri chee abah Belehe Toh ru bi; ri abah
Huntihax chi [c]a ru bi hunchic, huhunti vikah xoh ucheex pe, quecha.

     11. Thus, therefore, came we, the rulers, and then we were ordered
     by our mothers and fathers: "Go, my daughters, go, my sons, your
     houses, your clans, have departed. Not thus shalt thou always
     follow, thou, the youngest son; truly, great shall be thy fortune,
     and thou shalt be maintained, as is said by the idols called, the
     one, Belehe Toh, the other Hun Tihax, to whom we say each pays
     tribute," as is related.

12. Re [c]a ti voquecah e [c]ha, pocob, achcayupil, [c]u[c]um, cahcab
rach yaic [c]aperi [t]avonon, [t]acital, xo[t]ol, [t]ekal, hab, cu[c],
moyeuh, ok xoh pixabax pe ree: kitzih nim xtivikah; mani quix var vi,
quix [c]hacatah vi, mani quix ye[t]etah vi, yxnu[c]ahol, ha quix
[t]a[t]ar quix tepevar vi, hati [c]ohe vi y vux la ree cetecic chee
[t]iomah, [c]ha, pocob. Vuetah mixi vikah ree xit, puak, [t]u[t]uraxom,
bix ye[t]etah, ruma xavi [c]a y vichin tux, yxquix i chi nan, quix cao
ru vach: ri xit, puak, [t]u[t]uraxom, [c,]ibanic, [c]otonic, ronohel ri
mix rikah vuk ama[t], [c]a chila [c]a xticavi ru vach chi huyubal, ti
vulaah ronohel, ti ca [c]a ru vach ri y [c]ha, y pocob, hun nabeyal
hun[c]a [c]hipilal chivichin, yx oxlahuh chi ahlabal, yx[c]a oxlahuh chi
ahaua, chi yx ahpop ti hunamah y [c]ha y pocob mixnuyael. Cani ca tibe y
ca ru vach ree y vikan y [c]ha y pocob; [c]ohun labal chila chi relebal
[t]ih, Cuyva rubi; chi ri [c]a tibe y tihavi y [c]ha y pocob ree
mixnuyael, vhix [c]a, yxnu[c]ahol; xohucheex [c]ape okxoh pe pa Tullan,
xmier ok [c]a tipe vuk ama[t] ahlabal; ok xohpe ul pa Tullan, kitzih
[c]a ti xibin ok xoh pe kachpetic [c]a ri [t]avonon [t]acital, cu[c],
moyeuh, xo[t]ol, [t]ekal, hab; ok xohpe ul pa Tullan.

     12. Then they put on their bows, their shields, their lances, their
     feathers, and their paint, given (as a defence) against the bugs,
     the dirt, the boding owls, the blackness, the rain, the fogs, the
     clouds; then we were commanded: "Great shall be your burden; sleep
     not, sit not, be not cast down, you, my sons; you shall be rich,
     you shall be powerful; let your rounded shields be your riches,
     your bows, your bucklers. If you have given as tribute jade,
     silver, feather work, hated songs, on that account they shall be
     given you; you shall receive more than others; you shall lift up
     your face; for jade, silver, painted articles, engraved articles,
     all the seven nations have paid as tribute; but there, in those
     hills you shall lift up your faces, there is a refuge for all of
     you, there you shall lift up your faces, your bows, your bucklers.
     One shall be your first chief, and one his junior, of you the
     thirteen warriors, you the thirteen princes, you the thirteen equal
     chiefs, to whom I shall give the bows and bucklers. Soon you shall
     lift up your face and have your burden, your bows and bucklers;
     there is war there toward the east, at the place called Zuyva;
     there you shall go, there is the place for your bucklers which I
     shall give you, you indeed, you my sons." So it was spoken to us
     when we came to Tullan, before the warriors of the seven villages;
     and when we arrived at Tullan, truly our coming was terrifying,
     with our accompaniments against the bugs, the dirt, the clouds, the
     fogs, the mud, the darkness, the rain, when we entered Tulan.

13. Cani[c]a chiri xtiquer vipe ri labalinic; xo[t] pe hun chicop
chahalcivan ru bi chu chi Tullan, ok xohelpe pa Tullan; quix cam, quix
cach, yn ylab, xcha ri chicop chi kichin; mani [c]a xkoquecah? Xax
avo[t]ebal vi ri tux, xoh cha can chire ri chicop, quecha.

     13. And soon the divination began with them. A bird called "the
     guard of the ravine," began to complain within the gate of Tulan,
     as we were going forth from Tulan. "You shall die, you shall be
     lost, I am your portent," said this brute to us. "Do you not
     believe me? Truly your state shall be a sad one." Thus spake to us
     this brute, as is related.

14. Ok xo[t] chi [c]a hun chicop Tucur ru bi chacal pe chuvi caka chee,
x[c]hao pe chi ri: Yn ylab; xcha: Mani at kalab, xa[c]oh tavaho, xucheex
can tucur. Xavi [c]a e [c]oh qui camahel ri xeyaope ri chee abah
chikichin, quecha ka tata, ka mama oher. Ok xo[t] chi [c]a pe hun chicop
chicah [c]anixt ru bi, xavi cha chic: Yn ylab, quixcam; xoh cha chire ri
chicop, mani tabijh xaat retal ca[t]ih tux. Nabey cat o[t] oktel
ca[t]ih, haok titan a hab, cato[t]; xoh cha can chire.

     14. Then another bird called "the owl," seated on a red tree,
     complained and said thus: "I am your portent," he said. "You are
     not our portent, although you would like to be," we answered this
     owl. Such were the messengers who gave them their idols, said our
     fathers, our ancestors of old. Then another bird called the
     parroquet complained in the sky, and said: "I am your portent; ye
     shall die." But we said to the brute, "Do not speak thus; you are
     but the sign of spring. You wail first when it is spring; when the
     rain ceases, you wail." Thus we spoke to him.

15. Ok xoh ul [c]a chu chi palouh. Xa[c]a e[c]oh chi ri xa[c]a e mulan
conohel ama[t] ahlabal chi palouh; ok xekil xatak [c]icinak qui[c]ux.
Mani tan ti qui [c]ovibeh pe, mani tucheex y[c]ovem pe chuvi palouh,
xecha [c]a ri conohel ahlabal vuk ama[t] chikichin; chinak koh u cheen,
chinak tiki[c]ovibeh, at kacha[t], xa at chic at koyobem, xecha conohel.
Xoh cha [c]a chique: Yx quixbe, chijl, yx kanabeyal; chinak tik
i[c]ovibeh, oh an vae, konohel xoh cha, [c]ate[c]a xe cha chic conohel:
ta hoyevah kavach, atkacha[t], xa vipe kote[t]e vave chu chiya palouh,
mahatikil ka huyubal ka ta[t]ahal. Xape cani xkovar, xko [c]hacatah oh
cay chial, oh ru vi oh ru holom oh runabey ahlabal vuk ama[t], at nu
cha[t], vueta xko y[c]o cani tika[c,]et ru vach kikan mix yape rumal ka
tee ka tata, at nucha[t]. Xcha [c]ari. Xeboco [c]echevinak, chikichin
quecha ri [c,]a mama [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh; xoh cha [c]a chique:
katiha na, yx ka nimal; maxa vi pe xko[c]ohe xkote[t]e vave chuchij
palouh, maqui pe mahatikil ka huyubal [c]oh [c]a tucheex xti[c,]et,
yxahlabal, yx vuk ama[t], xkahi[c]o vacami, xoh cha. Cani [c]a xe quicot
conohel.

     15. Then we arrived at the sea coast. There were gathered together
     the warriors of all the seven villages at the sea. A great number
     perished, devoured by sorrow. "There is no means of passing, nor is
     it told of any one who has passed the sea," said all the warriors
     of the seven villages. "Who can, who will find means to pass the
     sea? In thee alone, my brother, in thee alone have we hope," said
     they all. We said to them, "You may go on; you may be first. Who
     will find the means of crossing, while we are here?" All of us
     spoke thus, and then all of them said: "Have pity on us, our
     brother, since we are all stretched on the shore of the ocean
     without seeing our hills and plains. As soon as we were asleep, we
     were conquered, we the two oldest sons, we the chiefs and guides of
     the warriors of the seven villages, oh my brother. Would that we
     had passed, and could see the burdens given us by our mothers and
     fathers, oh my brother!" So they spoke. At that time the Quiche
     nation had increased. Our ancestors, Gagavitz and Zactecauh, said:
     "We said to them, 'we suffer also, our brother, we do not live
     stretched out on the shore of the ocean, where we cannot see our
     mountains where they are, as you say, oh you warriors, you people
     of the seven villages. We shall pass over at once. Thus we spoke;
     and soon all of them rejoiced.'"

16. Xa[c]a hun chi caka chee ka [c]hamey ok xoh pe xi[c]o ka[c]amape chu
chi Tullan, quere[c]a ka binaam vi Cakchiquel vinak ri, yxka[c]ahol,
quecha can ri [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh. Xa[c]a ru xe ka [c]hamey
xuto[t]beh oc canayi chupam palouh; cani[c]a x[c]ok pi tah palouh ruma
canayi, haxi [c]atzin viri cakachee xka[c]ampe chu chii Tullan. Xa chuvi
cholo chic canayi xoh i[c]o vipe; haok x[t]ahar can ru xe palouh ru vi
palouh. Cani [c]a xequicot conohel, ok x[c]i[c,]et canayi chupam palouh,
cani [c]a xepixaban quij, [c]a chi la ko oyobem vi ki, chuvi nabey huyu,
chiri komolo viki, xe cha, xavi[c]a xere ka cholanem ok xohpe pa Tullan.

     16. Now there was a red tree, our staff, which we had taken in
     passing from the gate of Tulan, and therefore we are called the
     Cakchiquel people, oh our sons, said Gagavitz and Zactecauh. The
     root of this, our staff, was pushed into the sand of the sea, and
     soon the sea was separated from the sand, and for this the red tree
     served which we brought from Tulan. Soon the sand was as a line,
     and we passed out; it became wide above the sea and below the sea.
     Then all rejoiced, when they saw sand in the sea, and many
     counseled together. "There indeed is our hope, we must gather
     together on these first lands," they said; "here only can we
     arrange ourselves since leaving Tulan."

17. Xebokotah [c]a pe xey [c]ope chuvi canayi xavi[c]a que re xambey
xohpe chic chi palouh, xohel [c]ape chuchij ya. Xe [c]a cani xu xibih ri
vuk ama[t] ronohel; quere xubijh ahlabal ronohel, ok xe cha [c]a ri vuk
ama[t]: Xere an kikan ree mixi[c,]et; mi[c]a xka caruvach yvukin,
yxahaua, yx ahlabal, maqui xkobe yvu[c]in relebal [t]ih, xati ka canoh
can ka huyubal ka ta[t]ahal, xere kikan ree mixi[c,]et [t]u[t], raxom,
[c]ubul, xe cha ri vuk ama[t] xe pixa: Utzan, xeucheex, [c]a vuk ama[t]
xutzin [c]a qui poponic. Ok xepe [c]a chuvi huyu Deocacvancu; xpe [c]a
ronohel xeul chi[c]a chuvi hunchic huyu, Meahauh rubi. Chiri xemolo
chivri quij, xeel chi [c]a chiri chuvi Meahauh, xeapon chic chuvi huyu
Valval Xucxuc ru bi xeuxlan chivi; xemolo chi na quij xeel chi ri xe
apon chica chuvi huyu Tapcu Oloman ru bi.

     17. They rushed forth and passed across the sand, and following one
     another we came to the shore of the sea, and we arrived at the edge
     of the water. Then all the seven villages began to fear, and all
     the warriors spoke, and then the seven tribes spoke: "Do you not
     see our burdens? Yet it is not long since we lifted up our faces
     with you, ye rulers, ye warriors; did we not come from the sun
     rising with you, that we might seek our hills and valleys? Have you
     not seen the burden, the green feathers, the garlands?" So spake
     the seven tribes, and commanded and said, "It is well," and the
     seven tribes took counsel what to do. Afterwards they went on to
     the place Deocacvancu; and then they all went on to another place
     called Meahauh. There many gathered together; having thus arrived
     at Meahauh, they thence departed for the place called Valval
     Xucxuc, and there they rested. There many gathered together, and
     departing they arrived at the place called Tapcu Oloman.

18. Xemolo chi[c]a qui conohel chi ri xoh popon chi vi [c]a chi ri, que
cha [c]a ri ka tata ka mama [t]a[t]avitz, Cactecauh, [c]a chiri [c]a xoh
vi ko viel ki, chi ri navipe xkaquir vi kikan. Xcha [c]a ri ahlabal
ronohel: Chinak ti kaban xere kavach vae oh ah chay, oh ah [c]am, oh
caol ru vach kikan, at kacha[t] kanimal, xecha [c]a chikichin. Xoh
cha[c]a chique: Mian xnakahar kalabal xaka vika kij, xaka cauh kij, ko
[c]u[c]umah, kaquira kikan. [c]oh na vipe kikan, xpage ruma ka tee, ka
tata, ko [c]u[c]umah, yn yn etamayom. Xoh cha chique, ok xkaquir [c]a
kikan, ohoh [c]o kikan, ri [c]u[c]um, cahcab, [c]ha, pocob, achcayupil.

     18. Then all gathered together there, and we took counsel there,
     said our fathers and ancestors, Gagavitz and Zactecauh; and it was
     after we had arrived there that we first unloosed our burdens. All
     the warriors said: "Whom shall we make to be our head, we the
     masters of arms, the masters of booty, the assignors of tribute, oh
     thou, our younger brother, and thou, our older brother?" So said
     they to us. Then we said to them: "It is but a little while that we
     looked to make war, and already we are prepared, our standards are
     ready, our burdens are loosed; they are the burdens which were
     given us by our mothers and fathers; here are our standards; I, I
     am the Sage." Thus we spoke when we unloosed our burden, our loads
     of