The Annals of the Cakchiquels
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Daniel G. Brinton >> The Annals of the Cakchiquels
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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.)
_Ca[c]_; I do not find this word in any dictionary; perhaps it is for
_ca[c,]_, a variety of wasp.
"When we asked each other," etc. Here follow some fragments of legends,
explaining the origin of the names of the tribes. They are quite
imaginary.
_Tohohil_, from _tohoh_, to resound in the water and the sky (sonar el
rio y el ayre, _Dicc. Cak. Anon._); not _clangor armorum_, as Brasseur
translates it, but sounds of nature. _Tohil_ was the name of the
principal Quiche divinity, and was supposed by Brasseur and Ximenez to
be an abbreviated form of Tohohil. But I have given reasons for
supposing it to mean "justice," "equity," and this legend was devised to
explain it, when its true etymology had become lost. (See my _Names of
the Gods in the Kiche Myths_, p. 23.)
_Cakix_; the bird so called, the _Ara macao_, of ornithologists, was one
of the totemic signs of the Zotzil families of the Cakchiquels. The
author here intimates that the name Cakchiquel is from _cakix_ and
_chi_, month, forgetting that he has already derived it from _cak chee_
(Sec. 16).
_Chita[t]ah_; "in the valley."
_[t]u[t]cumatz_; see notes on Sec. 38.
_Ahcic ama[t]_; "the town on high," built on some lofty eminence.
_Akahal_; the derivation suggested is from _akah_, a honey-comb or
wasp's nest.
_Caker_. This is an important word in Xahila's narrative. It is derived
from _cak_, white; hence, _caker_, to become white; also, to dawn, to
become light; metaphorically, of persons to become enlightened or
civilized. The active form, _cakericah_, means to inform, to acquaint
with, to instruct.
21. _Nima [c]oxom, nima chah_, Brasseur translates, "great ravines,
enormous oaks;" _ch[)a]h_ is oak, _ch[=a]h_, ashes; _[c]ox_, to strike
fire, to clash stones together. _[c]hopiytzel_, "the bad place where the
flesh is torn from the body," referring probably to sharp stones and
thorns. _Popo abah_, the Council Stone.
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