The Annals of the Cakchiquels Part 20

_Xahun chi lol_; a difficult phrase, translated by Bra.s.seur, "le dernier rejeton;" _lol_ is applied to a condition of desertion and silence, as that of an abandoned mill or village. On _halebal_, see Introduction, p.

46.

On Zaki[c]oxol, and the conflict with him, see the Introduction, p. 42.

22. _Ru chahim_; Bra.s.seur translates this phrase, "between the fire and the ashes," taking _chahim_ from _chah_, ashes. But I take it to be from the verb _chahih_, to guard, as later in the paragraph the question is asked: "_Nak rumal tachahih bey?_" "Why guardest thou the road?"

_xcha [c]a ok xul_; "apres qu'il eut parle, il joua sur la flute."

Bra.s.seur. The Abbe here mistook the preterit of _ul_ to arrive, for the noun _xul_, a flute.

_ru [c]ux huyu_. The ambiguity of the word _huyu_, here, as often, offers difficulty in ascertaining the precise sense of the original. It means mountain or hill, woods or forest, or simply place or locality.

While _[c]ux_, means literally "heart," it also has the sense, "soul, spirit." (Coto, _Vocabulario_, MS. s. v. _Corazon_.) Hence, the phrase may be translated "the Spirit of the Forest," or "of the Mountain."

Bra.s.seur prefers the latter, while I lean to the former.

_roquecam_, from the root _oc_, to enter; applied to garments "that which is entered," or put on. Compare our slang expression, "to get into one's clothes."

_xahpota_, see Introduction, p. 18.

23. _Yukuba_, to string out; hence, to name _seriatim_. The last four names given are clearly Nahuatl, as is also Zuchitan. This indicates that the Cakchiquels, in their wanderings, had now entered the territory of the Pipils, of the Pacific slope.

_Cholama[t]_; "the tribe of the Chols," or "of the corn fields." The Chols were a Maya tribe, who lived around Palenque (see Stoll, _Ethnographie der Rep. Guatemala_, pp. 89-93), but the reference in the text is not to them, nor yet to the Mams, as Bra.s.seur thought, but to a nation speaking a non-Maya tongue.

_Vaya vaya ela opa_. I have given several reasons for the opinion that these words are in the Xinca language. See my essay _On the Xinca Indians of Guatemala_, in the _Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society_, 1885.

24. _Mem_, dumb, silent, incapable of speech. _Tin memuh vi_, I am dumb, I keep silence; given in the text as the origin of the _nomen gentile_, Mam. The Mams speak a dialect of the Maya, probably scarcely intelligible to the Cakchiquels. They at present dwell in the northwestern districts of the Republic of Guatemala. See Stoll, _Ethnographie der Rep. Guatemala_, pp. 164-5.

25. _Nacxit_. On this pa.s.sage Bra.s.seur builds his theory of the formation of a great Toltec empire in Central America, about the close of the eleventh century (_Hist. des Nations Civilisees[TN-28] du Mexique_, Tom. II, pp. 101-5). He explains _Nacxit_ as the last two syllables of _Topiltzin Acxitl_, a t.i.tle of Quetzalcoatl. _Cinpual Taxuch_ is undoubtedly from the same tongue. _Orbal tzam_, Bored Nose, the pendent from the nose being apparently a sign of dignity, as the pierced ears of the Incas.

_vapal abah_, "the lintel stone," here used in the metaphorical sense of "the corner stone."

26. The description of the dance of the Pokomams, leads us to suppose that the author means it was a war dance. The Pokomams dwell at present in the southeastern part of the Republic of Guatemala.

_chicop cakbim_; the savage or barbarian Zakbim. See Introduction, p.

39.

27. _Tzaktzuy_. Bra.s.seur translates "Chateau des Citrouilles," mistaking _tzak_ for _[c,]ak_, as he does throughout the pa.s.sage; _tzuy_ means also cup or gourd, and the name may be rendered either "the ensnaring cup," or "vine." Possibly it refers to a scene of drunkenness.

_ri retal_; the sign or mark. Bra.s.seur translates it "limit" or "landmark" of the Ahquehays. These were one of the n.o.ble families of the Quiche stock.

28. _Oronic Cakhay_, "the Red House of the n.o.bles," said by Bra.s.seur to be a hill, one league west of the modern village of Rabinal.

_Tecpan_, "the royal house." See Introduction, p. 13.

_[c,]umah chi qui [c]ux_; Bra.s.seur translates these words, "cuira.s.ses sur la poitrine," and says this was the name of the Pokomams (_Hist.

Mex._, II, p. 126). _[c,]uum_ is leather or skin, and _[c]ux_ is heart; but _[c,]umah_, and later, _x[c,]umax_, is a verb, signifying to lower, to depress.

"The venison and honey." This sentence is apparently a gibe or jeer, addressed by the defenders of Cakhay to Gagavitz after his attack on their city had been repulsed.

29. _Ah queh hay_, "those of the deer (skin) houses."

_xakoti[c]en a t.i.til a [t]ana abah._ Bra.s.seur translates, "il ne nous est reste que les vieilles femmes et les pierres deja hautes." This ill.u.s.trates how far he is from the correct meaning at times. For these words, see notes to Sec. 41.

30. _Xhachatah qui vach._ Bra.s.seur gives this literally, "leurs faces ensuite se diviserent;" but _vach_ means also "fruit, results, possessions," and so I render it.

31. _[t]a[t] xanul_, "the uncoverer of fire." This is supposed by Bra.s.seur to be the name of a volcano, and the whole episode to refer to a pretended miracle. See his _Hist. Mexique_, Vol. II, pp. 166-7. He calls the pa.s.sage "fort difficile," which it certainly is.

32. _cakcho[t]._ "Brule a blanc," is Bra.s.seur's translation, but I cannot verify it. No such stone is mentioned in Guzman's list of Cakchiquel names of stones. It would seem that there were fourteen chief performers in the dance of [t]a[t] xanul,[TN-29] and that they took the name of certain stones.

34. _Chi [t]alibal_, "at the seat;" but the author chooses to derive it from _[t]a_, hand, which is a doubtful etymology.

35. The episode of Tolgom, his capture and death, is explained by Bra.s.seur, _suo more_, as the destruction of the ruler of an independent tribe on the sh.o.r.es of Lake At.i.tlan.

_[c]habak Nicnic_, the quivering mud, perhaps the quicksand. This strange name adds to the obscurity of the legend.

_[c]akbatzulu._ The punning explanation of this name refers to its similarity to _[c]ak_, to place in front of another; also to shoot with arrows, or to stone. Its real derivation seems to be _[c]akba_, from _[c]akaba_, to reveal, disclose, and _tzulu_, to embrace, sleep together. (Compare _chee tzulu_, later on.)

37. His song, _i. e._, his death song.

_Chee tzulu_, "the interlaced trees."

_Uchum_, the fifth month of the Cakchiquel calendar. See Introduction, p. 29.

38. _Ri tzam tzakbal Tol[c]om_, "throwing the extremities of Tolgom."

The reference to this festival is too slight to enable us to understand it.

_Chi tulul_, "at the zapote trees."

_Qabouil Abah_, "the Stone G.o.d," possibly the Chay Abah before referred to.

_cu[c,]u c.u.matz_; the latter is the generic term for snake, but the meaning of the prefix is uncertain. Perhaps it should read _cuxcu_, to move in spiral lines, as is described in the text. This miraculous form was one of Gagavitz's metamorphoses.

_Nak ruma tiqui [c]am_, etc. These words of the hero Gagavitz are not easy to translate. They seem to chide the Cakchiquels for their weakness in seeking women, and to announce his intention to remain among the Tzutuhils.

_ru [c]hac pe ri ne[c]ah c.o.o.n_; perhaps this should be translated, "the organs of the women have conquered."

39. _cakeribal_, civilization, their becoming civilized. On the meaning of this word see note to Sec. 20.

_abah [c]uval_; the precious stone offered by Ba[c]ahol as the price of royalty, indicates that such carved gems were in high esteem. _[c]uval_ is translated by Guzman and others, "diamond;" but it was probably native jade.

_Chuluc balam_, literally "tiger p.i.s.s," the name of a common medicinal plant, used in Guatemala as a diuretic (Guzman). In this connection it either means the totem of a gens, or refers to a magic rite. The former seems to be indicated by the term _chicop_ (see Introd. p. 39).

_xahun chi raxon ru halebal_, a punning allusion to the name of the hill Paraxone. Bra.s.seur translates it "qui possedent l'un et l'autre ces oiseaux bleus enchanteurs."

40. _The sun had risen_, etc. All these expressions are to be understood metaphorically, with reference to the growing civilization of the tribes.

41. The description of the installation of Ba[c]ahol as head chief, is an interesting pa.s.sage. Unfortunately, several of the terms used are not found in the dictionaries, at least with any appropriate meaning. Thus, _paz_ is now applied to the swathing bands of infants; _cucul_ is the cradle or bundle in which infants are fastened; while _ta[c]h_ I have not found at all. Guzman gives the expression, _t.i.til [t]ana abah, caka uleuh xak_, with the explanation, "Colores con que ungian los senores,"

and _Ah t.i.til_, etc., "Senores ungidos de estos colores quando eran puestos en senorios." (_Compendio de Nombres en Lengua Cakchiquel_, MS., 170-4.)

_[t]u[t]u cot_; _cot_, eagle; _[t]u[t]_, the general term for various species of quetzals, birds with brilliant green plumage. The reference seems to be to one of the magical metamorphoses of [t]a[t]avitz.[TN-30]