The Annals of the Cakchiquels

D >> Daniel G. Brinton >> The Annals of the Cakchiquels

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

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.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16