Chapter 14

164. Chupam huna ok xe[c]utun chic ahaua, ahpop Co[c,]il ahpop Xahil, chuvach Tunatiuh, cahvinak ruvaka xquiban ahaua xe chee xe[c]am, maqui [c]a xax cutzih ahaua xeba, [c]hi[c]h tal qui[c]amic ruma Tunatiuh, xax [c]atun qui tzihol ahaua chuvach Tunatiuh. Ha [c]a chi vuku Ahmak xebokotah el ahaua, xeapon Paruyaal Chay, tzatz chi ahaua xcuchu ri ronohel [c]a ru mam ahauh, ru [c]ahol ahauh, xbe tzatz chi vinak cachbiyil ahaua. Chi vahxaki Noh [c]a xeapon Panchoy, xa[c]a tiquicot Tunatiuh chique ahaua, tok x[c,]et chic quivach ruma Tunatiuh.

164. In the course of this year the chiefs Ahpopzotzil and Ahpopxahil came before Tunatiuh. For eighty-six days these chiefs had hid in the woods. Not only did they wish to come forth, but their labors and sufferings were known to Tunatiuh, and the memory of these chiefs came to Tunatiuh. On the day 7 Ahmak the chiefs decided to come forth. When they arrived at Paruyaal chay, many chiefs, all the fathers of the chiefs and their sons, and a multitude of people accompanied the chiefs. On the day 8 Noh they reached Panchoy. Then Tunatiuh rejoiced with the chiefs, when their faces were seen again before Tunatiuh.

Chi oxlahuh Ah xel humay cahlauha yuhuh.

On the day 13 Ah was completed the 36th year after the revolt.

[_I append the translation of the remainder of what I believe to be the original work (see Introduction, page 58); but as its contents are of little general interest, I omit the text._]

165. During this year frightful imposts were levied; they paid gold and silver before the face of Tunatiuh, and there were demanded as tribute five hundred men and five hundred women to go to the gold washings; all the people were busy seeking gold. Five hundred men and five hundred women were also demanded by Tunatiuh to aid in building Pangan for his princely residence. All that, yes, all that, we ourselves witnessed, O my children.

On the 10th Ah was completed the 35th year after the Revolt.

166. Forty days were lacking to complete three years from the date of the submission of the kings when Belehe Qat died. He died on the 7th Queh, when employed in washing for gold and silver. As soon as he was dead Tunatiuh set to work to appoint his successor. The prince Don Jorge was appointed by the sole command of Tunatiuh. There was no council held nor assembly to confirm him. Tunatiuh gave his orders to the princes and they obeyed him; for, truly, he made himself feared.

On the 7th Ah was completed the 36th year after the revolt.

167. Three hundred and forty days after the death of Belehe Qat the princes were forced to place Don Jorge in possession of the throne. His father was Don Juan Xuares.

Oh[TN-23] the 4th Ah was completed the 37th year after the revolt.

168. In the course of this year the king Cahi Ymox Ahpozotzil withdrew and went to inhabit the capital. He intended to separate from the others, because the tribute had been imposed on all the chiefs, even on the king himself.

On the 1st Ah was completed the 38th year after the revolt.

169. During this year Tunatiuh departed for Castile, making new conquests on his road. Thus he destroyed those of Tzutzumpan and of Choloma; and many other towns were destroyed by Tunatiuh. There occurred an unheard of event at Tzutzumpan. I saw Hunahpu tremble a litle[TN-24] while before the prince Mantunalo arrived here. Tunatiuh went to Castile, leaving Tzutzumpan.

On the 11th Ah was completed the 39th year after the revolt.

170. In the course of the year, on the 11th Noh, Prince Mantunalo arrived. The prince Mantunalo arrived to relieve the nation from its sufferings; the washing for gold and silver promptly ceased, and the tribute of young men and women ceased; the burnings alive and the hangings ceased, and, indeed, all the various acts of violence of the Castilians and the imposts which they had forcibly laid upon us. The roads were once more frequented by travelers when the Prince Mantunalo arrived, as they had been eight years before, when the imposts were first laid upon us, O my children.

On the 8th Ah was completed the 40th year after the revolt.

On the 5th Ah was completed the first year of the third cycle.

171. Before the close of the second year of the third cycle, the prince Tunatiuh arrived, landing at Porto Cavayo. When Tunatiuh came back from Castile with the position of commander, each of us went before him to receive him, O my children. It was then that he killed with his sword the Ah-tzib Caok on account of his lineage; it was on the day 11 Ahmak that he killed the Ah-tzib.

On the day 2 Ah was completed the second year of the third cycle.

172. One hundred and twenty days after the death of Ahtzib and of the return of Tunatiuh to Panchoy, the prince Mantunalo departed, leaving Tunatiuh in command. Two hundred and sixty days after his return, Tunatiuh hanged the king Ahpozotzil Cahi Ymox, on the day 13 Ganel. They hanged with him Quixavit Caok, by order of Tunatiuh.

On the day 12 Ah was completed the third year of the third cycle.

173. Two hundred and eighty days after the execution of the king Ahpozotzil he hanged Chuvy Tziquinu, prince of the city, who had angered him. They hanged him on the day 4 Can at Paxaya. They seized him on the road and executed him secretly. Seventeen other chiefs were hanged at the same time. On the day 4 Ig[TN-25] the chief Chicbal, who had caused the death of Chuvy Tziquinu, was hanged in his turn, and with him Nimabah and Quehchun. Meanwhile, Tunatiuh had left for Xuchipillan, appointing as his lieutenant and to see to the hangings, Don Francisco, who attended to them. One hundred days after the prince Chicbal had been hanged, came the news that Tunatiuh had met his death at Xuchipillan.

On the day 9 Ah was completed the fourth year of the third cycle after the revolt.

174. In the course of this year there was a great disaster which destroyed the Castilians at Panchoy. On the day 2 Tihax the waters burst from the mountain Hunahpu, rushing out from the interior of the mountain, and enveloped the Castilians in destruction. The wife of Tunatiuh was then drowned.

_When Our Instruction Began._

One hundred and sixty days after this disaster there arrived at our house our fathers of St. Dominic, Brother Pedro Anculo and Brother Juan de Torres. They arrived from Mexico on the day 12 Batz, and we began to receive instruction from our fathers of St. Dominic. Then also appeared the Doctrina in our language. Our fathers, Brother Pedro and Brother Juan were the first who taught us the word of God. Until that time the word and the commandments of God were unknown to us; we had lived in darkness, for no one had spoken to us of the doctrine of God. There were also the fathers of St. Francis, Father Alamicer and Father Clerico, with those of St. Dominic, who spoke to us. They translated the Doctrina into our language, and we were soon instructed by them.

On the day 6 Ah was completed the fifth year of the third cycle.

On the day 3 Ah was completed the sixth year of the third cycle after the revolt.

On the day 13 Ah was completed the seventh year.

175. In the course of the year our fathers of St. Dominic separated from those of St. Francis, on account of ashes; the latter went away. Ashes were not given by our Fathers of St. Dominic; therefore, those of St. Francis went away.

On the day 10 Ah was completed the 8th year of the third cycle.

On the day 7 Ah was completed the 9th year of the third cycle after the revolt.

176. In the course of the year the licentiate Don Juan Roxer arrived.

_They Begin to Group the Houses._

One hundred and six days after they had really begun to teach us the word of God, then they commenced to gather together the houses in groups, by order of the ruler, Juan Roser, and the people came forth from their caves and ravines. On the day 7 Caok the capital was repeopled, and we were there with all the tribes.

On the day 4 Ah was completed the 10th year of the third cycle after the revolt.

On the day 1 Ah was completed the 11th year of the third cycle after the revolt.

177. In the course of the year the President Cerrado arrived, while the licentiate Pedro Ramirez was still here. When he arrived he condemned the Castilians; he set free the slaves and prisoners of the Castilians, diminished by one-half the imposts, put an end to forced labor, and obliged the Castilians to pay all for their work, little or great. This Prince Cerrado truly solaced the afflictions of our nation; for I, myself, O my children, was a witness of the many miseries which we endured.

On the day 11 Ah was completed the 12th year of the third cycle.

On the day 8 Ah was completed the 13th year of the third cycle.

178. In the course of the year died the Ahtzib Juan Perez; he died on the day 12 Tihax. Eighty days after the death of the Ahtzib, there was an eruption of the mountain Chigag; it was on the day 9 Ah that the fire appeared in the mountain.

On the day 5 Ah was completed the 14th year of the third cycle.

179. During this year arrived the iron bell; it came from the emperor of Castile; it reached us on the day 3 Hunahpu, which was on a Friday. Twenty days after the arrival of the iron bell, the licentiate Ramirez tried to kill the prince bishop at Pangan, the governor Cerrado being present. The door of the church was forced by Ramirez. This took place on a day 2 Can, on a Thursday. One hundred and sixty days after these leaders had come to blows at Pangan, all our fathers of St. Francis and St. Dominic came to blows in their turn at Xelahub, the former having tried to wrest Xelahub from the Dominicans.

On the day 2 Ah was completed the 15th year of the third cycle.

180. In the course of this year the locusts (grasshoppers) reappeared. It was on the day 12 Tziquin, the day after the Visitation, that the grasshoppers came. They passed over all parts of the country, and we saw them with you, my children.

On the day 12 Ah was completed the 16th year of the third cycle.

181. During the course of this year arrived the President Doctor Quexata; it was on a day 2 Hunahpu that that ruler arrived here, coming from Mexico. They were celebrating the feast of the circumcision. The governor Cerrado was here when he arrived. When the Doctor Quexata had almost arrived, the President Cerrado died. There was but little between them. Then the Doctor Quexata died. He did not condemn any one, because he had no time. But the ruler Cerrado condemned (the Castilians), for he did what was right. About the same time died the chief Don Francisco Ahpozotzil; it was on the day 1 Can, a Monday, the 14th day of the month October, that he died. It was in this year that he died that the nativity of our Saviour Jesus Christ came on the day 1 Batz.

On the day 9 Ah was completed the 17th year of the third cycle.

182. Forty days after the death of the chief Don Francisco, died our Father Fray Domingo de Vico in Acalan. Truly, with great tortures was he put to death by the tribe. Twenty days after the death of our father in Acalan, Father Fray Francisco de la Para was exiled by the bishop and the ruler Ramirez. This took place on Easter day.

On the day 6 Ah was completed the 18th year of the third cycle.

183. At this time died Alonzo de Pazon, the day 12 Ganel.

In the 13th month of the year, the day of Sanctiago at Pangan occurred on the day 1 Tziquin. On that day the Castilians at Pangan had great rejoicings, because on that day was inaugurated as supreme monarch over in Castile the Emperor Don Peliphe. There were then three rulers, the Prince Ramirez, the Doctor Mercia and Louaisa. They held court at Panchoy. In the 14th month of the year, after this day of Sanctiago, there came an order from Ramirez. He imposed a tribute on members of the nobility among the people. He also made provision for the surplusage of the tribute. There had never been a surplus under the chiefs; it was known to be stolen, but no one knew by whom. The maize tax was reduced and that of roast fowls, and none of the chiefs could steal anything from the surplus. This order of Ramirez was promulgated on the day of St. Francis, a Monday, the day 7 Camey. Twenty days after the promulgation of the order of Ramirez, the Book of the Doctrina was published, on the day of Saints, a Monday; but many would not accept the Doctrina, but refused it.

On the day 3 Ah was completed the 19th year of the third cycle after the revolt.

184. The Alcaldes in the year 1557 were Don Juan Juarez and Don Francisco Fez.

In the course of the year an incursion was made to destroy the Lacantuns. It was on the day 5 Ey that the ruler Ramirez sallied forth as general, and Don Martin went also as general, twenty days before the close of the third cycle.

Don Juan Juarez and Francisco Pez Martin were chosen as Alcaldes, to issue orders. (_Note by a later writer:_ These were the first Alcaldes, and with them began the elections.)

On the day 13 Ah was completed the third cycle since the Revolt was made. The third cycle was completed in the year 1558.

185. When we were in the eleventh month of the year, a President Royal arrived, on the day 3 Qat. When he arrived at Pangan on 1 Akbal, Don Diego Pez was inaugurated as chief by the ruler Ramirez.

Six months after the arrival of the President at Pangan, began here again the pestilence which had formerly raged among the people. It came from a distance. It was truly terrible when this death was sent among us by the great God. Many families bowed their heads before it. The people were seized with a chill and then a fever; blood issued from the nose; there was a cough, and the throat and nose were swollen, both in the lesser and the greater pestilence. All here were soon attacked. These maladies began, O my children, on the day of the Circumcision, a Monday, and as I was writing, we also were attacked with the disease.

Diego Ernandez Xahil and Francisco Ernandez Galel Bagahol were Alcaldes in the year 1559.

The first year of the fourth cycle since the revolt was completed on the day 10 Ah.

NOTES.

1. The author begins by stating his purpose in a few lines.

_xtinu[c,]ibah_, future of _[c,]ibah_, to write, originally to paint.

_xeboco_, past tense, third person, plural, of the absolute form of _boc_, here, as often, used actively. Compare _Gram._, p. 49.

_la[t]abex_, passive of _la[t]abeh_, to inhabit, to settle.

_huyu ta[t]ah_, hills and plains, or, the interior and the coast; an expression meaning the whole country.

_que cha_, they say, used as the French _on dit_, indicating that the writer is reporting the words of another.

_ki_, an intensive or affirmative particle, thrown in to add strength to the expression.

_ka tata_, our fathers, _ka mama_, our grandfathers and ancestors more remote than fathers. These terms are to be understood in a general sense.

_yx nu qahol_, you my sons, or _yx ka qahol_, you our sons, intimates that this account was prepared for the family of the writer.

_pa Tulan._ The prep. _pa_ (before a vowel _pan_) means in, at, to, and from. Torresano (_MS. Gram._) renders it by the Latin _ad_, _pro_, _absque_, _ab_, _de_, _e_, _ex_. Brasseur translates these words "being still in Tulan," which does not make sense.

2. _[t]a[t]avitz_, _Zactecauh_. Both these names of the ancestral heroes of the Cakchiquels appear to be partly Nahuatl. _[t]a[t]_ is "fire," and _Zak_ is "white," both Cakchiquel words, but _vitzli_, thorn, and _techatl_, the stone of sacrifice, are Nahuatl.

_[c]haka palouh_, the other side of the sea. The word _palouh_ appears to be derived from the verb _paloh_, to lift onesself up, to rise, referring to the waves.

_pe vi_, and _vi pe_; on the use of the particle _vi_, see _Grammar_, p. 63.

_pa Tulan ru bi huyu_, from the country or place called Tulan. The word _huyu_ usually means hill or mountain; but it is frequently used in the vague sense of "place," "locality."

_achij_, men, _viri_, not _homines_, which latter is _vinak_.

_Xahila_, a plural form. The name maybe derived from _xahoh_, to dance in the sacred or ceremonial dances; or from _ahila_, to reckon or number.

3. _chinamit_, the sub-gens. On this see the Introduction. The our[TN-26] referred to include the Xahila, mentioned in the previous paragraph. These four, the Xahila, the Gekaquch, the Baqahol, and the Cibaki, formed the tribe; the remaining four, the Caveki, the Ah Queh, the Ah Pak, and the Ykomagi, were of the same lineage, but not in the confederacy.

_Daqui_; the letter _d_ does not occur either in Cakchiquel or Nahuatl. The foreign aspect of some of these names seems to point to an ancient influence of some allophyllic tongue.

4. _He [c]a [c]oh_, etc. The writer here states that he gives the exact words of the ancient tradition. He probably wrote the text from some antique chant, which had been handed down from his ancestors. The quotation begins at the words _Cahi xpe_, and continues to near the close of the next paragraph, where the words _xecha can ri [t]a[t]avitz_, the above spoke Gagavitz, etc., mark its termination. This is one of the most obscure passages in the book. The original text is given by Brasseur among his _pieces justificatives_, in the appendix to the first volume of his _Hist. du Mexique_. A comparison with his translation will show that in several important constructions I differ from him.

The mythological references to Tulan, [c]abouil, the Chay Abah, Xibilbay, etc., have been discussed in the Introduction. The passage corresponds to the first chapter of the third book of the Popol Vuh.

_Tulan_, _Tullan_; these variations are in the original.

5. The particle _tan_, with which the paragraph opens, throws the narrative into the "historical present," for the sake of greater vividness. The verb _[c,]ak_, as at present used, means to make bricks, etc., out of earth.

_xtiho_; translated by Brasseur, "the trial was made;" but it is the imperfect passive of _tih_, which means "to give to another something to eat or drink."

_xaki_, plural of _xak_, generic word for leaf.

_utiuh_, _koch_; besides these, two other animals are named in the Popol Vuh.

_achak_ is the general word for excrement, either of men or brutes; also, refuse, waste products in general.

_tiuh tiuh_ is the name of a small variety of hawk. "_El gavilan pequeno_." Guzman, _Compendio de Nombres en Lengua Cakchiquel_. MS.

_mani [c]a x[c]hao_, "and he talked not." The connective _[c]a_, like _navipe_, and _pe_, all three of which may usually be translated by "and," is not placed at the beginning of the clause. _[c]ha_ is to speak in the general sense; hence, _[c]habal_, a language. Synonyms of this are _tin cha_, I say; _tin tzihoh_, I speak words, I harangue; _tin biih_, I name, I express myself; and _quin ucheex_, I tell or say, especially used in repeating what others have said (Coto, _Vocabulario_). These words are of frequent use in the text.

_Rubanic chay abah ri [c,]apal_, etc.; this obscure passage was, I think, entirely misunderstood by Brasseur. The word _[c,]apal_ is derived from the neuter form _[c,]ape_ of the active _tin [c,]apih_, I shut up or enclose, and means "that which is shut up," _lo cerrado_, and _[c,]apibal_, the active form in the next line, means "that which shuts up," _i. e._, gates or doors. It will be remembered (see ante, p. 26) that the gates of Iximche were constructed partly of, or ornamented with, obsidian, and the same is supposed here of the gates of the mythical city or place of Tulan.

_ki-kan_; our burden, our tribute. The passage seems to indicate that they left their former country to escape subjection.

_[c]oh qui tzih_; the passage may be translated "theirs were the words which incited us," _i. e._, to revolt and to depart.

6. The articles mentioned as paid in the tribute, have been described in the Introduction (see p. 39).

7. "So spoke the Obsidian Stone," _i. e._, the sacred oracle, referred to as the final arbiter. See ante, p. 26.

"The wood and stone which deceive," that is, the idols of wood and stone which they worshiped.

8. This paragraph is obscure, and the numerous erasures in Brasseur's translation indicate the difficulty he found in discovering its meaning.

9. _[c]holloh tacaxepeval rikan [c]eche_; Brasseur translates this: "_Malheureux etaient[TN-27] les fils et les vassaux des Quiches._" I take the word _tacaxepeval_ to be the name of the first month in the Cakchiquel calendar (see ante, p. 29); and _[c]olloh_ means "to divest ourselves of, to get rid of."

13. This and the following section describes the efforts of certain inimical powers, under the guise of birds, to obstruct and deceive the Cakchiquels. The _chahalcivan_ is a small bird which builds in the rocky sides of the ravines, and is called by the Spaniards by a literal translation, "_El guarda barranca_," the gully-guard. The _tucur_ is the owl; this name being apparently an abbreviation of the Nahuatl _tecolotl_. The bird called _[c]anixt_ is the Spanish _cotorra_, a small species of parrot. (Guzman, _Compendio de Nombres_, MS.)

On the word _labalinic_, see Introduction, p. 47.

14. The owl sat on the red tree, the _caka chee_, whence, as we learn later, the tribe derived its name, Cakchiquel--a doubtful derivation.

_Chee abah_, wood and stone; understood to refer to the idols of these substances.

_Ca[t]ih_, for _Cak[t]ih_, the spring. Father Coto has the following under the words: "_Estio vel verano, Cak[t]ih; pa cak [t]ih_, en el estio vel verano. Y nota que los que nosotros decimos en saliendo el verano, o que quando para, estos lo entrinden al contrario; porque decin, _mixel cak [t]ih, mani chic ru [t]ih hab_, ya salio el verano, no ay mas aguero."

16. The _cak chee_, red tree, is translated by Father Guzman, "arbol de carreta." The legendary derivation of the name Cakchiquel from this is doubtful. _[c]hamey_ may mean something more than staff; it is applied to the staff of office, the _baton de commandement_ carried by the alguacils, etc.

The whole paragraph is obscure, but seems to describe their leaving the sandy shore of the sea, passing out of sight of land, then coming in sight of it again, and going ashore.

17. The word _ikan_, burden, here as elsewhere, is usually translated by Brasseur, "tribute."

18. _Ah chay_, literally, "master of obsidian." As this stone was largely used for arrow heads and other weapons, the expression in this connection seems to mean "master of arms." _Ah [c]am_, from _[c]am_, to take, seize. Brasseur construes these words as in apposition to _vach_: "Whom shall we make our master of arms," etc.

_Etamayom_, from the root _et_, mark, sign; _etamah_, to know, to be skilled in an art; _etamayom_, he who knows (see _Grammar_, pp. 27, 56). Brasseur's rendering, "_le Voyant_," is less accurate. See his translation of this passage in the _Hist. du Mexique_, Tome II, p. 92.

_[c]okikan_; Brasseur gives to this the extraordinary rendering, "parfumes d'ambre." But Coto states that it was the term applied to the loads of roasted maize, which were the principal sustenance of the natives on their journeys.

19. The narration continues in the words of the ancestral heroes, who speak in the first person, plural.

_Nonovalcat_, _Xulpit_; the first of these names is decidedly Nahuatl, and recurs in the _Maya Chronicles_. See Introduction, p. 44. The second is clearly of Maya origin. These localities are located by Brasseur on the Laguna de Terminos, near the mouth of the Usumacinta.

20. Having defeated their enemies in the field, the Cakchiquels seized their boats and ventured an attack on the town, in which they were repulsed.

_Zuyva_; this famous name in Aztec mythology, was also familiar to the Maya tribes. (See _The Maya Chronicles_, p. 110.) The term _ah zuyva_ seems here employed as a general term for the Nahuatl-speaking nations. (See above, p. 44.)