Chapter 2
"_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._