2.-i,-5o F6H& CORNELL - UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library F 2230.1.F6H64 The hills and the corn:a legend of the K 3 1924 021 083 542 ^^ Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924021083542 r UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS VOL. VIII NO. 2 THE HILLS AND THE CORN A Legend of the KekchI Indians of Guatemala Put in Writing BY THE LATE TiBURTIUS KaAl AND OtHERS AND Translated into English BY ROBERT BURKITT The mountains skipped like rams, and the little hills like lambs. — Book of Psalms. PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 1920 KVP PREFACE When you try to get hold ov a fairy tale in Indian, you hav two principal difficulties. One ov the two iz to get an Indian who can tel a fairy tale. Many Indians, in my experience, cant tel fairy tales. Some Indians hav never heard fairy tales: and thoze that hav, very ofen dont remember what they hav heard. They hav heard some tale, told by an old woman at the fire, perhaps, when they wer half asleep, or told by an old man at a feast, when they wer half drunk: and they remember scraps ov the tale, very likely, and know the tale again when they hear it; but when you ask them themseivs to tel the tale, they ar very likely to be floord. That iz the first difficulty. And then comes the other, and more vexatious one. When you do find a man who can tel a tale, you stil cant get the tale down on paper. You cant get down the actual Indian. You cant get down the mans words. You cant get a mans words down in English, without short hand: much less in Indian. Ov course you might remember some ov the mans expressions: and in the end no dout you could put something together that would be intelligible Indian: and might, in fact, be very good Indian: — but it would be your Indian. It might be az good az the real thing. It might be az good az Indians Indian. But it could not profess to be anything but your Indian. You might az wel, I should supoze, rite the thing in English at once. The Indian ov this little tale iz the real thing. The diffi- culty about getting Indians Indian waz got over, by having the tale ritten by Indians themseivs. (183) 184 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIM Ther ar not many, but ther ar Indians, here and there — mostly about the towns ov Koban and Karcha — who can read and rite, in some fashion, in their own language. The riting they can do, az you may supoze, iz not apt to be any thing very fine. The men ar more used to grasping a bush nife than a pen, and besides, even to Indians themselvs, riting in Indian iz not such plain sailing az you might think. The men hav learnd reading and riting, not in conexion with Indian, but az something that belongs to Spanish. In riting Indian, they hav no models. Each man spels, and divides hiz words, or joins them together, acording to hiz notion at the moment : and he iz lucky if he gets through many moments without leaving some word altogether out. Each man iz a pioneer. An Indian riting Indian iz exploring hiz own language. However, it i:( hiz own language. And I thought that if any thing worth looking at, in Indian, waz to be got at all, it would hav to be through some ov thoze men. I made the experi- ment. It happend that two ov the men that I got hold ov, one ov them a Koban man, and the other a Karcha man, each new something ov thistale — it waz a tale I had heard something ov before — and I got each man to rite out for me what he new. The two ritings, when they wer done, ov course wer not alike. And it turnd out that one ov the two men, the Koban man, not only rote much better than the other, but new much more ov the story. At the same time that other man, who new less ov the story, new an intresting part ov it that the Kobin man didnt know. What I did then, — I had the Koban man read the other mans story, and incorporate the other mans story with hiz own. Some paragrafs ov hiz own wer dropt, and new paragrafs wer added. And throughout the tale, at the same time, the corectness ov the language waz closely examind. THE HILS AND THE CORN 185 Finaly, az a check on slips ov the pen, more than az any thing else, I had the revized tale ritten out afresh by a third man, who new nothing about the tale, but who had learnd reading and riting in my alfabet. The man found nothing ov the nature ov a mistake, whether in words or in pronunciation: but he made some slight improvements ov fraze. The rezult ov the process iz the tale az it now stands. You wil find plenty ov faults ov compozition in the tale. The telling iz uneven. Some points ar brought plainly before you, and others seem to be unduly slighted. You ar struck by abrupt transitions. Possibly ther ar points left out. And so on. But on the hole, considering the riters, I think the tale iz not a bad job. The Koban man, who ended by doing nearly all the riting ov the tale, waz a certain Tiburtius Kaal. Hewaz much the most competent man that could be found: and he iz now, I am sorry to say, dead. I am able to prezent you with hiz picture. Tiburtius waz a pure Indian, with features, az you may see, ov that somewhat Jewish cast, which iz not at all uncommon among theze Indians, Hiz hair waz stil black, but he waz now a man ov over sixty. For a long time past, he had been one ov the chief men, in fact waz the chief man — the father ov the town, az they say — among the Koban Indians. Hewaz a man ov sharp wits, ov course — too sharp, hiz enemies said : and he waz that uncommon bird, an Indian ov what you might call a literary turn. He read and rote in Spanish az wel az any body, and he had made a hobby ov reading and riting in Indian. He had even invented an alfabet for Indian. He rote, in the form ov a speech, a life ov Saint Dominic, in Indian — Saint Dominic iz the patron Saint ov Kobd,n: and a life ov Saint John Baptist, the patron ov an other KekchI town : and he rote pieces to be spoken by the mummers at feasts: and various other things. 186 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII This fairy tale that I am sending you, which Tiburtius had promist to follow with others, turnd out to be hiz last riting. He had a stroke ov palzy at the beginning ov the year [1918], and he died in July. — This little picture [Plate IV] iz a view at the foot ov the calvary hil, in the town ov Koban. The hil which iz to the right iz where Tiburtius is buried. Tiburtius belonged not to this prezent day ov progress, and liberalizm (az the name iz), in Guatemala, but to a day a little before it: when the country waz stil out ov the world: when the land owners wer not yet planters : when the jolly labour recruiter, and the daggletail scool mistress, wer objects stil below the horizon : when the Indian waz oprest, without also being continualy dragd about and interfered with : and Indian society and customs, and Indian learning, such az it waz, stil flourisht under the shadow ov the church. That day is gon. Whatever the prezent day may pro- duce, it wil probably produce nothing rezembling Tiburtius Kaal. To come back to the fairy tale — or to the tale: ther ar no precise fairies in it — the tale iz entitled by Tiburtius, a Thing that happend in ancient times, through the stealing ov Shuka- neps dauter: but 1 supoze it might az wel be entitled The Hils and the Corn. The main buziness ov the tale iz a hiding and recovery ov corn. The persons ar hils and animals. Quare poptdi meditati sunt inania? — Thoze who make a sience ov fairy tales, wil be able 1 supoze, at once, to declare the interpretation ov the tale, and to identify the tale with any one ov a dozen others. For my own part, 1 find the tale dul. And 1 should supoze that the chief intrest ov the tale would lie, not in the tale itself, but in the fact ov its being prezented in authen- tic Indian. The tale would be intresting, I should supoze, not so much to thoze who for any reazon wer intrested in fairy tales, az to thoze who wer intrested in the Maya languages. THE HILS AND THE CORN 187 And that iz why it iz that I hav made the translation the sort ov translation that it iz. You wil see at once that it iz not a free translation. It iz a translation meant to be ov use, especialy, to readers who wish to follow the Indian. It iz meant to be az nearly as possible, a translation ov that slavish kind that scool boys call a key. — 1 say, az nearly az possible: becauz any thing like a word for word translation, from a Maya lan- guage into English, iz not az a rule possible. The two languages ar so differently put together, they step with such unequal steps, that any intelligible translation from one to the other iz bound to be a loose translation. But ther ar degrees ov looseness: and I hav taken pains, in my translation, to make the looseness a minimum. I think that most readers ov the Indian wil find the trans- lation a decided help : at the same time that thoze who cannot follow the Indian, and hav to accept the translation, wil find the translation readable. And for them, 1 might say this: many, translators, including Indians themselvs, hav a propensity to what you might call, heighten the Indian: to make it say more, or speak finer, or more sofisticatedly, than it realy does. That iz very eazy to do: and it iz something that 1 hav particularly avoided. I think that readers ov the translation only, wil yet get a right impression from it, not merely ov the matter ov what the Indian says, but what I supoze may be thought more important, ov the level ov the words in which the Indian says it. The foot notes that I hav added to the translation ar mostly to point out defects in it : or at least to point out discrep- ancies between the Indian and the English. The discrepancies ar realy what make the translation intelligible, and the number ov them iz endless. Thoze that I hav noticed must be taken merely az samples ov the great heaps that 1 hav not noticed. 188 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Ther iz one point ov discrepancy between the Indian and the English, that might atract the notice ov any body, though it did not at first atract my own. When the paragrafs ov Indian and English ar put side by side, you see that the English, in most cases, turns out a trifle longer than the Indian. The reazon ov that, iz not that Indian iz a briefer language than English, but simply, I believ, that any close translation haz a tendency to be longer than the original. The Indian ov the tale iz not mine, but the apearance ov it on paper iz mine, and might hav been different. The division into paragrafs iz mine. And the division ov words iz mine: or at least Im responsible for it. And the spelling iz mine: — and it remains for me to explain that spelling. I wil explain az little az possible, and I wil begin by taking something for granted. The language ov the tale iz Kekchi. And the reader ov the Indian may not be particularly aquainted with Kekchi. But he must, by supozition, be aquainted with some one ov the Maya languages. He must, consequently, already be aquainted, in general, with the sounds and pronuncia- tion ov thoze languages. That iz what I take for granted. I shal escape, in general, from having to explain sounds or pronuncia- tion. Ther may be one or two peculiarities in the pronunciation ov Kekchi to mention: but in the main, what I hav to speak ov, wil be not sounds in themselvs, but only my way ov riting. Acording to that way ov riting, the point ov accent in a word will be markt with a ritten accent. Doing the same in English, the word Muzeum would apear, Muzeum, so, with an accent on the E. And no matter if the word iz only one sylla- ble: — Cat, and Dog, if they wer Indian, would apear. Cat, so: and. Dog, so. The accented syllable ov a word wil be markt, no matter if ther iz no other syllable. THE HILS AND THE CORN 189 It does not follow that evry word, ov whatever syllables, wil hav an accent mark. Ther may be no accent to mark. Supoze you say, Where iz he going? You might very likely so say it, that on the plan ov the Indian, I should rite it in this way — Where iz he going? — leaving the Iz and the He, both without a mark. That would mean that you spoke the Iz and the He completely without accent. You made the Iz, and the He, like the Ing ov Going: like mere apendages to the other words. When you so speak, in the Indian I shal so rite. Syllables that ar supozed to be spoken without independent accent, no matter if they make separat words, wil apear with no accent mark. You wil see, in the Indian, many unaccented words ov more than one syllable. Taqla iz to Send: but in saying taqla eb, Send them, the taqla, though it iz two syllables, haz no indepen- dent accent. The two words ar spoken like some single word ov three syllables. And you might mark the pronunciation in this way: taqla eb. The first syllable ov the taqla wil hav a slight accent, like the slight accent on the first syllable ov our word Recomend: a secondary accent. But secondary accent I dont pretend to mark. The distribution ov accent among words being partly at the wil ov the speaker, the distribution in the Indian ought not to be my own. And it iz not my own. I had the speakers, that iz to say the riters, read aloud, on purpose, what they had ritten. I noted their accentuation in a copy, and I giv you their accen- tuation. Now about the letters. — Pronounce the vowels az in Spanish, and the consonants az in English. That iz the main rule. The reader wil make alowance for thoze slight regular differences, that ther ar, between the Indian and English pronunciations ov what you might call the same sounds. Pronounce the vowels 190 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII az in Spanish, and the consonants az in English — a:^ nearly ai Indian alows. — And with that rule, most ov the speUing needs no further explanation. The points I go on to speak ov wil be points where the rule fails : or where you might wish to be made more certain. B, in the Maya languages, iz very variously pronounced: and a traveler, acording to the Maya language he iz listening to, wil take the B — some times for B : and some times for P, or V, or W, or M : or for some mixture ov them. The KekchI variety comes az near to the English B, az it iz possible for a Maya language B to come. At the beginning ov a word, the English imitation ov the KekchI B wil be our B: but at the end ov a word, wil be our P. The English for this name, Xukaneb, that you see in the tale, wil be Shukanep, ending in P. H iz the H ov Hat: not silent, az in Spanish: and not the Spanish J. J iz the Indian aproximation to the Spanish J: that iz, to the CH ov the Scottish Loch. Q iz that sticky K-sound, ov the south Maya languages, which iz made at the far back ov the mouth. X, acording to the custom ov the country, iz the old Spanish X: that iz, the English SH. A. This letter, which looks like a V upside down, iz to stand for the Maya-language choke. I hav to apologize for the letter, az an article ov my own invention: and I wil giv you an example ov its use. Take the word for Fire wood. The word happens to be the same in nearly all the Maya languages (including Maya), so that any probable reader ov the Indian may be supozed to know the word by sound. The word iz siA. It iz commonly ritten SI, az if it waz like our See. But you wil notice in pronouncing the Indian, THE HILS AND THE CORN 191 that the sound ov the I iz not the last thing in the word. The sound ov the I comes to a remarkable sudden end. The choke ends it. The sound ov the 1 iz choked off. That silent choke iz the last thing in the word, and what makes the word different from our See. I rite the word for Fire wood, SI A (S, I, choke)- The choke, though in itself it iz silent, iz az plain az any other consonant. You dont hear it, but you hear its efects. In the word sia, az you hav just seen, the choke brings the I to a sudden stop. In the Rabinal word Aam, meaning a Bridge, the choke comes first : and the efect iz to giv the A a sudden start. In the Kekchi word aAin, which means This, the choke iz between the A and the I, and the efect iz a sharp break between them. — Leav out the choke, in theze words, and in stead ov sia, Fire wood, you hav plain si, which in Kekchi means a Gift: in stead ov Aam, a Bridge, you hav plain am, a Spider: in stead ov aAin, This, you hav ain, an Alligator. That brings me to the end ov the alfabet. But besides individual letters, ther ar some combinations to look at. TH is not to be the TH ov Thorn, it iz to be like the TH ov Short-horn. This word, hitho, meaning Loose, that you see in the tale, iz to be read hit-ho. X being for our SH sound, TX wil be our CH ov Church. This word, txu, meaning Stink (an other word in the tale), iz to be read like our Chew. Letters may be doubled. The commonest sort ov double letters, in my way ov riting, ar double vowels — AA, EE, II, and so on. AA simply means one A after an other, an A ov double length: EE, an E ov double length: and so on. A double letter iz to mean what it seems to mean. Each letter iz to take efect. UA iz not to be read wa, Spanish fashion, az if the U waz W: it iz to be two syllables, u-a. I dont mean that ther iz a 192 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII break between the U and the A, but the UA iz to be az much two syllables az EA, or any other combination ov two vowels. In the same way lA iz to be two syllables: it iz not to be read ya, az if the I was Y. And so in the case ov IE, and UE, and all U or I combinations. It iz important, in theze languages, not to confound U with W, nor 1 with Y : and in my riting ther wil be no confusion. A U or an I, like any other vowel, wil always amount to a syllable. When the less than sylabic efect iz intended, the esential W or Y efect, then W or Y wil be riiten. And they wil be ritten, not only in WA, YA, and so on, with the W or Y coming first, but in the reverse sequences: AW, AY, EW, EY, and so on. And in reading theze reverse sequences (it may not be amiss to say) dont for a moment be misled by the tricks ov English spell- ing. Some times Indian and English wil agree: OY wil be like our OY ov Boy: EY, like the EY ov Grey: OW. like the OWov Low. But AW wil not be like the AW ov Saw. This word, kaw, meaning Hard, or Strong, that you see in the tale, iz not like our Caw, it iz nearly like our Cow. EW. that you see in this, saqew, meaning to Dawn, iz not like the EW ov Few, it iz like the EU ov the Spanish Deuda. And so on. The pronunciation ov W and Y iz not uniform throughout the Maya languages, nor even within the limits ov Kekchi. Acording to Koban pronunciation, which iz Tiburtius's pronun- ciation, WA iz to be read az if it was GWA, gwa. WE iz to be read gne: and so on. W, before a vowel, iz to be read, for Koban, like GW. And Y haz its Koban alteration. This, yu, which means to Mix, in stead ov being pronounced like our word You (az it iz in the dialect ov Kaabon), iz pronounced, in Koban, like our Dew, DYU. Y, before a vowel, iz to be read, for Koban, like DY. THE HILS AND THE CORN 193 Theze Koban alterations ar only before a vowel. In AW, AY, and so on, with the W or Y coming last, no G or D efect iz put in. But ad a vowel, and the efect apears. Take instances in the tale. This, naw, which means to Know, sounds nearly like our Now — whether in Koban style or any other. But ad a syllable dl: nawil, so: and that word, which means Knowledge, iz to be read, for Koban, az nagwdl, with a G in it. — This, laaw e, means Your mouth. Ther ar two words. But in speaking, the two ar run together : and the hole thing wil be read, for Koban, laagwe: again the G. — This, jdy, means Thin, or Shallow. It sounds something like our word High. But this word, jaydl, that you wil see translated az Direction, and iz taken from jiy — Indian calls direction thinness — that derived word wil be read, in Koban style, jadydl: with a D. The combination AK (choke, K) wil mean that sound ov the Maya languages, which iz the twin ov K: what 1 call the stif K. In the same way AP, AQ, and AT, wil mean the stif sounds ov P, Q, and T. If you ar aquainted with the once celebrated system ov Father Flores, and the Franciscan missionaries, my AK iz what they rote with their letter cuatrillo, ^. My AQ iz their hesillo, £. My ATX (that iz to say, stif T, followd by X) iz what they rote, ^h, so. And so on. I think that that iz az much az I need say about the spelling. You may not altogether aprove the spelling — and I dont stop to defend it — but 1 think you wil now be able to read it. The principal innovations it contains, — I wil just run over them: The riting ov accent : The distinction between H and J : The recognition ov the choke az an independent consonant, and the introduction ov a letter for it : The recognition ov double vowels : 194 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII The introduction ov W: and the disuse ov U and I for W and Y: The analysis ov the stif consonants, and the disuse ov special letters for them. Ther ar also innovations — or rather ther iz one sweeping innovation — in the division ov words: words ar divided by a fixt. rule, suitable to any language. But that iz more than I can go into. The spelling ov the Indian waz the last thing left for me to speak ov: and having spoken ov it, this preface ov mine iz done. 1 leav you to the main thing: though the preface haz come to such a length that Im afraid the main thing, now, may begin to look like a mere apendix. 196 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII NAALEB AKULBIL AQE KUTAN XBAN RELAQANKIL XRABiN XUKANEB SaA xwaklijik Xukaneb Aqaxal CAqla, ki ril maa ani li xrabin saA xwaribaal. Ki paAtsok re eb li raj Akanjel, ma xeA ril na ru txalen xsaqewjfk. Eb aAan keb xye naq iriAkaA. Keb laj xsiAki yalaq bar, ut maa mim keb xtaw. Maa ani ajtxik wan, Numtajenaq xjosAqil Xukaneb xban xsatxik li xrabin, ki xtaqla xboqbal eb laj usqil aj taktxiA, aAin eb XAkabaA: tsuul Pansuj, tsuul Aqeqwaj, tsuul maA PuAklum, tsuul TxiAtsujay, tsuul Txitx^n, tsuul maA T6Ak. 1 THAT HAPPEND, AKULBiL: Met with, Receivd, Sufferd. Akfil, to Meet, and so on. — In the belief ov Tiburtius and the Indians, ov course, the tale iz a true tale. It may not be exact, but it iz an acount that haz come down, ov things that did anciently happen: and might happen now. 2 IN ANCIENT TIMES, AQE KUTAN: a set compound. In itself, Aqe merely says Time, and kutdn says Day. ' Shukanep iz a conspicuous mountain to the south east ov KobSn. It iz the highest part ov the range ov mountains that separates the Kobin table land from the basin ov the Polochfk, and iz the highest mountain ov the Upper Verapas. All the mountains in the story, except one, belong to the Shukanep range. ^her waking, xsaqewjik: Her dawning. Saqew, to Dawn: from s&q, White. You can speak in Indian, az you can in Spanish, ov a person dawning. ' The servants, Eb aA^n: which simply says Thoze. THE MILS AND THE CORN 197 THING THAT HAPPEND^ IN ANCIENT TIMES^ THROUGH THE STEALING OF SHUKANEPS' DAUTER Shukanep having rizen very early, saw that hiz dauter waz not in her sleeping place. He. askt hiz servants whether they had seen her since her waking*. The servants^ said that they had not. They made a complete search for her evry where, and not a bit^ did they find her. She waz no more there. Exceedingly^ angry at the loss ov hiz dauter, Shukanep sent to call the worthy counselors, ov whom theze ar the names: mount Pansuh, mount Kekgwah, mount Master* Puklum, mount Chitsuhay, mount Chichen, mount Master Flint'. « not a bit, maamiin: Not at all: literaly, Not a fingers breadth. Miin, a Fingers breadth. ' Exceedingly, Nutntajenaq. Numta, to Exceed: on the base hum, to Pass. ' Master, maA. I say Master, only to avoid saying Mister. MaA (which cannot be accented) ansers, usualy, exactly to our Mister, and haz no other meaning in the language. The title iz ofen uzed with the names ov hils. ^ Flint, T6Ak: the only one ov theze names that haz a clear meaning. Some ov the other names sugest meanings. For instance PuAklum might be fancied to mean Earth smasher. PuAk means to Smash, in Kekchi: and in some Maya languages (though not in any neibouring Maya language) lum means Earth. 198 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Eb ut aAin, txi jumpaat keb txal. Xukaneb ki el txi XAkulbal eb, satxso xAtxool, ra ra XAkaAux. Ki xkutanobresi txi ru eb naq satxenaq li xloAqlaj rabin, txi inAkaA na xnaw bar ta ko kanaaq. AAan ut xyaalal naq xin taqla ee boqbal, txan, re naq tee ye li ta ruuq tin baanu. Ki txaAqok maA PuAklum, tiixil tsuul, aj balaAq: yaj, putx, mamaA, AkupAku rix xban li xyuam : aj naAOJ saA xyoAla- p. Ki xye re aj Xukaneb: Taqla xhitbal joAwiA risinkil kaAibaq li txaabil AtsiA wan aaw e. Taa ye eb re naq o eb riAkin li etxkabal, wan saA xyanq li saAqe joAwiA li lAq. ' the counselors, Eb . , . aAin: which simply says Theze. ^ came, keb txal: txal means to Move in this direction, to Start to come. ' upset, satxs6 : Lost. ^cherisht, loAq: Highly prized. Dear. Probably the same historicaly az loAq, to Buy. ' hiz having a notion, xnaw: Hiz knowing: combined with the efect ov the subsequent particle ov mood, ta. To a filosofic Indian, one ov the most remarkable things about European languages, would be the fact that mood, az a rule, could be exprest only through a verb. Indian throws in particles ov mood with all sorts ov words: in this case with the word for Where, bar. ' had gon, ko kanadq: Had gon and remaind, Gon and stil waz. Eanfi, to Remain. THE HILS AND THE CORN 199 And the counselors' at once came^. Shukanep went out to receiv them, with hiz heart upset^ in pain ov mind. He informd them that hiz cherisht* dauter had disapeard, without hiz having a notion^ where she had gon.^ And that iz the reazon that 1 hav sent' and calld you, he says, so that you may say what I ought to do. Anser waz made by Master Puklum, an old hil, wily: sick, dropsical, an old man^ hiz back bent with age: one that waz wize from hiz birth*. He said to Shukanep: Comand to hav loost and led out two ov the fine dogs that you hav. Say to them that they ar to go to the place ov" the neibour, who iz between the sun and the wind". ' I hav sent, xin taqld. 1 sent, would be kin taqla. This dialect ov Kekchi distinguishes between the aorist and the perfect. 'man: the Indian doeznt say Man, but mamaA iz an Old man: or a Grandfather. ^from hiz birth, saA xyoAlajik: the mean'ng iz, By nature. Our word Nature, and the Indian word, hav the same development ov meaning. ^° the place ov, riAkin. lAkin iz With, and also the French Chez. " between the sun and the wind. Tiburtius could not explain this. He told the tale az it waz told to him. Most likely what the expression signifies iz some point ov the compass, between the rizing sun, and a wind blowing probably from the south. The neibour, az you see later, iz another hil; perhaps about south east ov Shukanep. 200 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Wi li AtsiA nakeb suAqi txaq, laa rabin maa ani aran : Wi li AtsiA inAkaA nakeb Akulun, reetalil naq laa rabin aran wan. Xukaneb ki xjultika, wJAtxik xkaA wd txi ru 6b H XAkial tsuul. Eb aAin keb xjunaji li xAkaAux, keb xkutu li naAleb ki xye maA PuAklum.. JoAkan naq Xukaneb ki xboq li XAtsiA kaAib (maakwaA Atsaqal AtsiA, kaq koj li jun, ut li jun txik hix), ki xtaqla eb txi xbaanunkil li junxilaj ki xye li putxej mamaA. Naq keb wulak a AtsiA aAin saA li tsuul keb taqlaak wiA, inAkaA txik keb el txaq toj txi xkab li kutan. Txi xkab ut li kutan, majiAaq na wakli Xukaneb saA xwarib, ak yook eb li AtsiA txi roybeninkil. Ki wakli Xukaneb, ki xboq li XAtsiA kaib, re xpaAtsbal li AkaA ru keb ril txaq. Li AtsiA keb xye re: Laa rabin xSuqAkim xqa taw AkoJAko txi xbeen raAq li tsuul aj Akix mes. InAkaA koo txal txi jumpaat, xmaak naq txi xjunil li kutan baAkbook ' comeback, suAqi txaq: Return hither. SuAqi, to Return : intheKarchi "dialect, sutAqi: conected with sut, a Round, a Circuit, a Trip. 2 Others: not in the Indian. ' unanimously, keb xjunaji li XAkaAUx : They united their minds. Jua, One. * leopard, hix. Hix iz any cat beast, but especialy the big spotted beast. ^ where they had been: to giv the efect ov txaq. Txaq means something like Hither. The Indian says something like. What they had seen 'hither'. They had seen something, and the txaq signifies that they afterwards came here. ' Basket grass, SuqAMm: the name ov a hil. The Karchi form ov the word iz suJAkim. ' Thorn broom, Akix mes : an other hil, the hil the dogs wer sent to, the neibour between the sun and the wind. 1 dont know the plant, thorn broom, from which the hil iz calld: but mes iz a tough weed uzed for brooms. — In the Indian, you see the hil Basket grass styld xSuqAkim, with the prefix x. And Thorn broom iz styld aj Akix mes, with the prefix aj. The prefix x, to a persons name, signifies a female: and aj signifies a male. I hav been askt about theze prefixes, and I wil tel you what 1 think about them. I think they THE MILS AND THE CORN 201 If the dogs come backS your dauter iz not there: If the dogs do not come, it iz a sign that there your dauter iz. Shukanep advized again a second time with the other hils. Theze others^ unanimously' aproved the thing that Master Puklum said. Acordingly Shukanep calld hiz two dogs (not mere dogs, one waz a puma, and the other a leopard^), and sent them to do az the dropsical old man previously said. When theze dogs got to the hil they wer sent to, they did not start back til the second day. And on the second day, before Shukanep had rizen from hiz bed, the dogs wer already waiting for him. Shukanep roze, and called hiz two dogs, to ask what they had seen where they had been^ The dogs said to him: Your dauter Basket grass^ we hav found sitting on the nees ov the hil Thorn broom''. We did not come at once, becauz^ the hole day ar simply the remnants ov words for Man and Woman. In Kichechi, and other languages. Woman iz ixoq. In Kekchi, the word iz shortened to ixq. In the Chuh language, ov north western Guatemala, the word iz merely ix. And I think the last reduction ov the word iz this feminin prefix x. Again, the Kekchi for a Man iz vnnq. But in several other languages the word iz winiq. Now Q, by length ov time, of en turns to J. In the Hacaltenango dialect ov Chuh, the word for Man iz winaj, with J for Q. And just az in other dialects ov that language winaq iz constantly cut down to naq, so in Hacaltenango the form winaj iz constantly cut down to naj: and 1 think this masculin prefix, aj, iz simply a further reduction. One step further in reduc- tion, that you might expect, would be to drop the A ov aj, and come down to the mere J : just az ix comes down to the mere X. And in at least the Tseltal language, ov central Chiapas, that step iz taken. The masculin prefix, in that language, iz the mere sound ov J. This masculin prefix aj, by the by, iz not to be confounded with that other prefix ov the same sound, aj, that you hav for instance in the second paragraf ov this riting, in aj taktxiA, a Counselor. That aj, which ansers to the Or, ov Counselor, or the Er ov Londoner, haz nothing to do with sex. ' becauz, xma^ naq: strictly, Its fault that. 202 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII 06 xban aj Akix mes, ut koo raAtxab toj txi ru Aqoqyin : xxiw re naq baa naw bar wan laa rabin. Xukaneb ki laj xtaw xyaalal aAin, AkaA ki xbaanli, ki xtaqla xmolAkankil txi xjunil li xjunkablal. Ki xboq li xaalamje, ki xboq li Akutx: Ayuq riAkin li tsuul SaklcAtx, txan. Yeomaq re, naq tin Atsaama raj txi ru, naq txi XAkul, txi XAkuula, saA junaq XAkuulebaal pek, txi xjunil lin junkablal: li Atsaqal Atsaqal xbeen, aA li iyaj ixim. Txi xjunil eb li waUq, txan, xiAkanel xul, joAwiA li kaafb roq, na xwaAtesi rib riAkin a ixim aAan, hitho naq txeb wanq riAkin laj SakleAtx, re xnimankil ru li xAkitxebaal, roybeninkfl naq tin taqla wiAtxik XAkambal eb. * being afraid ov your knowing, xxiw re naq baa naw: Hiz fear lest you should know, — might be a little more like the Indian. * But then why should he hav let the dogs loose at all? You wil come across other incoherences. ' understood how this waz, ki . . . xtaw xyaalal aAin: the Indian says something like — Found the nature ov this, Found the so-ness ov this. Yaalfil, Nature ov: yail, True, So. Taw, to Reach, to Find. * what did he do: a common formula in Indian narrativ. ' sizzor tail, xaalamje: a bird with a forkt tail: a bird smaller than the frigat bird, and lighter colourd: it comes about the beginning ov the rainy seazon. ' Saklech iz the one hil that does not belong to the Shukan6p range. In stead ov being south east from Koban, Sakl6ch iz about north west: and THE HILS AND THE CORN 203 we wer tied up by Thorn broom, and he did not let us loose til during the night: being afraid ov your knowing' where your dauter waz^ Shukanep when he fully understood how this waz', what did he do* but send and gather together the hole ov hiz goods. He calld the sizzor tail", he called the hawk: Go to the hil Saklech^ he says. Say to him, that 1 beg ov him, that he would receiv and put by, in one ov hiz stony repozitories^ the hole ov my goods: the first and foremost* being the corn seed. All my creatures*, he says, flying animals, and thoze with four feet, which feed on that corn, let them be there" loose at Saklech's for the magnification" ov hiz forest places, til such time^^ az 1 send again and get them. far out ov sight. Saklech iz about two days north ov Chama, on the way to the salt springs. The name Saklech, like Shukanep, haz no meaning in Kekchi. ' stony repozitories: this iz a lime stone country, full ov caves. — Repozi- tory, Akuulebaal: Putting-by place: from Akuula, to Put by, to Keep, to Store. '* the first and foremost, li Atsaqal Atsaqal xbeen: The right right first. ' creatures, aUq: pigs, turkeys, and so on: animals kept by man. The wild animals belong to the household ov the hil, and he so speaks ov them. 1° be there, wan. Wan iz to Be, to Be some where, to Be situated. " magnification, nimanM: from nun, Big. '^ til such time, oybeninkil: strictly. Waiting for: the French En attendant. 204 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII K6 li Akutx, rotxben li xaalamje, re xyebal li xtaqlankil ^b. Usilal ki sumen wIa laj SakleAtx. Toj joA naq Xukaneb ki xmolAka txi xjunil eb li xxul, re naq saA Akial txeb XAkam riAkin aj SakleAtx li OAob paay txi xnaA ixim. Ko eb a Akila xul aAan, keb riqa li oAob paay txi xnaA ixim, ki XAkuula aj SakleAtx. SakleAtx xbeen aj Atsaam re SuqAkim, xrabin li xnimal Xukaneb, antxal XAtxool naq ki xAkuluban li ki Atsaamaak txi ru. AAban inAkaA ki xnaw naq xSuqAkfm ki elAqa xban laj sutuAq aj Akix mes. Ak xlub Xukaneb txi roybeninkil li xrabin inAkaA na naAtxok txi xAkatq, ki xtaqla li riiAtsin, aj Atxina Xukaneb, txi xAkambal. AAban laj Akix mes inAkaA ki raj XAkebal. Aj Atxina Xukaneb, txi rilbal XAqetAqetfl aj Akix mes, ki xtaqla li xjosAqej AtsiA txi xbeen. Eb a AtsiA keb xpaab, keb xhopoxi aj Akix mes: txi mako txi joAkan ki risi li xrabin Xukaneb. Ki suAqi laj Atxina Xukaneb, ki xye re li ras. • between them all, saA AkMl: In multitude. AkI, Much, Many. 2 the five kinds, li oAob paay. 1 dont know how many kinds ov corn ther may be. Each region, almost, haz its own kind. But in the story, no particular five. kinds ar thought ov. The five iz merely a reprezentativ number. ' corn seed, xndA ixha: or Seed corn: literaly. Mother ov corn. ^ suitor, aj Atsaam: Asker. Asking for a girl haz its formalities, and iz usualy a protracted afair, not conducted by the suitor himself. — Hils further apart than Saklech and Basket grass may yet be huzband and wife. In the Upper Verapis, near Kaabon, ther iz a mountain ItsSm, which iz wife to Seven ears, a mountain away on the Pacific side ov the country. Mother Itsam, az they call her, used to eat people: and stopt eating them when she waz scolded for it by her distant huzband. 'complied with, ki XAkulubSn: Accepted, Admitted: conected with Akfil, to Meet. THE HILS AND THE CORN 205 The hawk went, along with the sizzor tail, to tel their message. Saklech anserd favourably. Whereupon Shukan^p gatherd all hiz animals, so that between them all^ they should take to Saklech's the five kinds^ ov corn seed^ They went, thoze many animals, they carried the five kinds ov corn seed, and Saklech stored it. Saklech who waz the first suitor* for Basket grass, dauter ov the great Shukanep, willingly complied with^ what waz askt ov him. But he did not know that Basket grass waz stolen* by the circumventer^ Thorn broom. Shukanep having become tired ov waiting for hiz dauter, who did not come near him^ sent hiz younger brother. Little Shukanep, to get her. But Thorn broom waz unwilling to giv her. Little Shukanep, seeing the pride ov Thorn broom, set' hiz fierce dogs on him. The dogs obeyd, they bit Thorn broom all over'^": but neither for that did he let out Shukaneps dauter. Little Shukanep returnd, and told hiz elder brother. ^ stolen, eUqa: not a mistake for the regular passiv elAqaak. EUqd, to Steal, iz iregular. The primary passiv, elAqa, besides having its regular use, with a pozessiv prefix, retains iregulariy its primitiv independence ov thoze prefixes. EUqa itself takes the place ov the derived eUqa^k. '' circumventer, aj sutuAq: conected with sut, a Circuit. * did not come near him, inAkiA na naAtxok txi XAkatq: Not aproaches to hiz vicinity. Akatq, Imediat vicinity: txixAkatq, Beside him. The word Akatq iz probably conected with Akat, to Burn : the notion being the same az ours — when you ar getting close to a thing, you ar warm. 'set, taqla: Sent. " they bit Thorn broom all over, keb xhopozi aj Akix mes : They made Thorn broom full ov holes. Hop, to Pierce: hopdx, Full ov holes: hopozf, to Make full ov holes. 206 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Txi rabinkil Xukaneb aAin, numtajenaq ki poA. Ki xtaqla xaAan AbaAas, retxkabal aj Akix mes, wi saA usilal, wi riAkin maa usilal, 6 txi risinkil li xrabin. Aa ut a xaAan aj nawal aAin, rixaqil maA PuAklum, ki xkawresi rib, ki xkut rib saA seebal txi xbeen aj Akix mes. Ut aAan saA jumpaat ki XAke rib. Maa AkaA txik ki ru ki xye, kaAajtxik xAtsaamankil txi ru li xaAan naq aAan ta oksinq eb re txi ru li xnimal tsuul Xukaneb. JoAkan ki xbaanu li biAtbiAtej tiix. Ut Xukaneb ki Akojla xAtxool riAkin rilbal naq ki naAtxok li xsatxal rabin txi XAkatq. Ki xkuy xmaak laj Akix mes ki eUqank re. Ki xnaw ru joA txaabil hiAbej. ' angered, p6a: or Provoked. The proper meaning ov poA iz to Be dis' aranged, to Get out ov order: for instance, a trap. Speaking ov meat' p6a iz to Go bad. Speaking ov people, az 1 say, it means to Be angerd, or provoked. — P6a iz a verb. The common word for Angry iz josAq. That waz the word in the second paragraf. JosAq points more to the outward signs ov anger, and pOA more to the state ov mind. Besides josAq may signify a permanent caracter: Coleric: Fierce. Fierce waz the translation in the paragraf before this. Whereaz poA signifies a change: a change for the worse. — This pOA iz not to be confounded with p6, the Moon. ^ Mother Abais, xaAan AbaAas : an other hil ov the Shukanep range. Abaas iz the name ov a valuable timber tree. — Az for the title Mother, the word xaAan does not precisely mean Mother: it means a female that haz had young: speaking ov women, you might say Matron. Any elderly woman iz commonly styled xaAdn (though not to her face), and sometimes — for example, in the next paragraf — I say Old woman. THE HILS AND THE CORN 207 Shukan^p on hearing this, waz exceedingly angerd^ He comanded Mother Abaas^ a neibour ov Thorn brooms, whether by civil means, or by uncivil means, to go and get out hiz dauter. And this wize old woman, the wife ov Master Puklum, made her self ready, and threw her self with a rush' on Thorn broom. And Thorn broom^ at once surenderd^ Nothing else' waz he able to say, excepting to beg ov the old woman that she her self^ would bring them' in before the great hiP Shukanep. So the smart old woman^" did. And Shukaneps heart waz set at rest" when he saw that hiz lost dauter came near to him. He forgave'^ Thorn broom who stole her. He recognized him" az a good son in law. ' with a rush, saA seebal: In speed. Seeb, Light, Quick. * Thorn broom, aAan: That. " surenderd, ki XAke rib : He gave himself. Ake, to Giv. ' else: prezent in the Indian — ^txik. ' she her self, aAan: That. You might leav out Her self, and emfasize the She. ' them, eb re: that iz to say — though the Indian does not say it — himself and hiz bride. 'great hil, xnimal tsuul: not merely Big hil: which would be nimla tsuul. '" old woman, tiix: which merely says Old. " waz set at rest, ki Akojla: Sat. The base iz akoj, to Sit. '^ He forgave, Ki xkuy xmaak : He endured hiz fault. Kuy, to Endure, to Last, to Tolerate. " He recognized him, Ki xnaw ru: He new hiz face. New hiz prezence. N&w, to Know. 208 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Txi rix aAan, Xukaneb ki xb6q wiAtxik li xaalamje joAwiA li Akutx. XnumeA lin josAqil txi xbeen aj Akix mes, txan. Ayuq riAkin li tsuul SakleAtx. Yeomaq re, naq txi rix eb ajwiA lin xul, txi xAqajsi li Akila paay txi ru ixim ki AkecA txi xAkuuld. Li Akutx joAwiA li xaalamje koeb xbaanu li xtaqlankil eb. AAban li tsuul SakleAtx ki satx XAkaAux, ki xye: AkaA ru xAkulman, naq na xye, Xkos lin josAqil txi xbeen aj Akix mes? Li Akutx joAwiA li xaalamje keb sumen: WaA, li xAkulman, xSuqAkim ki eUqa, ut txi rix aAan xsumla riAkin li tsuul Akix mes: ut wank €b txi XAkatq qa waA Xukaneb. A! txan xyaalal naq aj Akix mes xsumla riAkin lin ra6m xSuqAkim? Txan naq Xukaneb xbaanu wiAkin a balaAqfl aAin, toj joA naq lain xbeen aj Atsaam re li xrabin? E! naAleb inAkdA kuuyel ! Maa AkaA txik na raj, kaAajwiA junaq eeqajunk. ' by conveyance ov, txi rix. It would be a mis-translation to say On the back ov. ' various looking sorts ov corn, Akila paiy txi ru ixim : literaly, Many sorts ov faces ov corn. ^ hiz keeping, XAkuuld: see page 203, note 7. * errand, taqlanMl: Sending ov. Taqla, to Send. ^ waz confounded, ki sitx XAkaAUx: Hiz mind became lost. Satx, to Be lost. ' slackend, kos : in the Karchi dialect, kots. Not Akos, to Shrink, to Contract. ' Sir, WaA: the same word az for Father. WIa iz uzed in speaking to a man: maA, in speaking ov him, and only az a prefix to hiz name. See page 197, note 8. Miving with, txi XAkfitq: Close to him, Beside him : see page 205, note 8. It iz the usual thing for a son in law to go and liv with hiz father in law, and work for him. THE MILS AND THE CORN 209 After that, Shukanep calld again the sizzor tail and the hawk. My anger against Thorn broom iz past, he says. Go to the hil Saklech. Say to him, that by conveyance ov^ thoze same beasts ov mine, let him return the various looking sorts ov corn^ that wer given into hiz keeping.' The hawk and the sizzor tail went and did their errand^ But the hil Saklech waz confounded^ and said: What haz happend, that he says. My anger iz slackend^ against Thorn broom? The hawk and the sizzor tail anserd: Sir'', what haz hap- pend. Basket grass waz stolen, and since that haz married the hil Thorn broom: and they ar living with* Master^ Shukanep. O! how can it be that Thorn broom haz married^" my dear" Basket grass? How haz Shukanep practist^^ this deceit^' on me, and mean while I the first asker for hiz dauter? O! insufferable" act! Nothing else does it need, but only a requital^^. ' Master, qa waA: the words say Our father:- and so begins the pater- noster in Indian. The speakers here happen to be two : but a single speaker would stil say Our father, uzing the words az a title. To say qa waA ov an absent person, shows more respect than plain maA, which means Mister: you might almost translate qa waA Xukaneb, by saying Sir Shukanep: az we say Sir John. '"haz married: the Indian says, Haz married with, xsumla riAkin. Sumla, to Get married: conected with sum, a Mate, a Fellow: which also givs rize to sumSl, a Pair. " dear, raom : from rd, to Love. The expression sounds a little sloppy, and an Indian, in the circumstances, would hardly uze it: but you must consider here that it iz put in the speakers mouth by the story teller. " practist, baanu : Done. '^ deceit, balaAqil: on a base bal, to Cover up, to Hide. "insufferable, inAklA kuuyel: Not to be sufferd. Kuuyel, from kuy: see page 207, note 12. '* requital, eeqajunk. EeqSj, any thing given in return. 210 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Yeomaq re aAan naq rajawal us kamk txi xerimbfl, txi ru XAqaxtesinkil li ki xAke txin Akuula. Li ixim ki XAk6 txin Akuula, lam tin muq txi junaj wa. Txi xjunil eb li xxul txeb kamq txi waxil txi weAejil. Maa jaruj txik ta ril riAkin ru maa jun Atorolaq li ixim. Li xaalamje joAwiA li Akutx kuleb xAke li xtaqlankil re Xukaneb. Ut aAin ki xtaqla xboqbal eb laj taktxiA, re naq txeb xye AkaA ru na ru na xbaanu. Txi ru ajwiA a kutan aAan ki tikla jun xnimal wcacj saA xyanq eb txi xjunil li xul. Ak xeb AtxiAAtxiAOA xban li XAtsu- kajik, eb li txakwow, AkitxeA aaq, haalaw, joA txi xjunil eb li rotxben : ko eb txi xsiAkbal xtsakaem, ut inAkaA keb xtaw. KaAajwiAan, retxAkulub eb li yak. Li yak numtajenaq xtxuil ru, yo txi kisik, yo txi qixbak, keb ril naq siip li xsaA. AkaA ru xaa tsaka txaq, txank eb re, naq siip laa saA, joAwiA txu aaw u? ^ Shukanep, aAin: That. ^very much, rajawal: In the highest degree: from the obsolete ajiw, a Lord. ' a single, maa jun: Not one. The Indian repeats the negativ. ^came, ul: the sign ov motion hither. The speaker puts himself back at Shukaneps. THE HILS AND THE CORN 211 Say to Shukanep^ that it iz very much^ better to die cut in pieces, than to deliver up what he put into my keeping. The corn that he put into my keeping, I wil hide for ever. All hiz animals, let them die ov rage and famin. Never again shal he see with hiz eyes a single^ grain ov the corn. The sizzor tail and the hawk came^ and gave their message to Shukanep. And Shukanep^ sent and calld the counselors, that they should say what he might do. On that same day ther began a great famin among all the animals. Already they ar distrest^ by hunger^ the peccary, the wood pig, the paca, and all their companions: they went to look for food, and they did not find it. The only thing waz, they met with the fox. The fox waz making a great stinky he waz farting, he waz belching, and they saw that hiz belly waz swollen. What hav you been* and eaten, they said to him, that your belly iz swollen, and you ar making a stink? ^ Shukanep, aAin : This. ^Already they ar distrest: az we should say, When they wer now dis- trest: and so on. ' hunger, Atsukajik: in Karcha, Atsokajik. The base iz atsok, or atsdk. ^waz making a great stink, numtajenaq xtxuil rii: Exceeding waz the stink ov hiz prezence. ^ been: to giv efect to txSq. See page 200, note 5. 212 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ^ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Li yak ki txaAqok: Wi siip lin saA, wi yook In txi qixbak kaA paAkal, saA xAkabaA na li wcAcj: aA ajwiA lin koAk naAq xin tsaka. Laj paAtsonel keb ok txi seAek. Keb xye txi ribil rfb xtaaqenkil saA muqmu alaj yiAktiA aAin, yal re xnaAbal AkaA ru na xtsaka. Keb nUut naq ko li yak saA li tsuul SakleAtx, saA xto6n jun saqjoonak w»n wiA jun xmul teken. Aa ut li teken, txi Akaal, txi OAqob, nakeb el, nakeb ok, saA jun riAtsilal li saqjoonak. £b ut li nakeb el, nakeb el txi wank eb riiq ixim. Yook eb txi xAkambal li ixim saA li xmul. Aran ki XAkojob rib li yak, txi re xbe li teken: ki 6k txi xmaAqbal li ixim txi ru eb laj iqanel, nakeb el saA XAkulbaib li saqjoonak. ' breaking wind, qixbak: properly, Belching. Quantities ov words begin with stif Q, AQ az I rite it: for instance, in the heading ov the story, the word Aqe: but only two words in the language, so far az 1 know, begin with plain Q. One iz the word for Our, qa : and the other iz this qixbak. The base is QIX. ^ ends, paAkal: Sides, Quarters, Parts. ' on acount ov, saA XAkabaA: literaly. In the name ov. * 1 supoze: to giv efect to na. * the fact being: to giv efect to aA ajwiA. "made a meal ov, tsaka : Fed on. In the next paragraf I translate tsaka simply by Eat. 'nuts, naAq: Fruit stones: such az ov plums, or alligator pears. The fox seems to say obliquely. That iz the sort ov fruit I hav been eating. The usual word haz nothing to do with fruit, or fruit stones. 8 began, ok: literaly, Enterd. •I THE HILS AND THE CORN 213 The fox anserd: If my belly iz swollen, and I am breaking wind^ at both ends^ it iz on acount^ 1 supozeS ov the famin: the fact being^ that 1 hav made a meal ov* my little nuts^. The questioners began^ to laugh. They propozed* among themselvs that they should secretly^" follow this liar, just" to know what it waz that he ate^^. And they saw that the fox went to the hil Saklech, to the base ov a clif where ther waz a nest ov weewees". And the wee- wees, by scores, and by four hundreds^*, wer coming out and gomg m^^ at a crack m the clif. And thoze that came out, came out with loads ov corn. They wer taking the corn to their nest^*. There the fox seated himself, beside the weewees path": and began to snatch away the corn from the carriers, that came out from the junction^^ in the clif. ' propozed : ye, to Say, means to Propoze, in the construction ye . . . xtaaqenkfl. 1° secretly, saA muqmu: Hiddenly. Muq, to Hide. " just, yal. '^ lie ate: tiie Indian says He eats: uzing the prezent tense sign na. '^ weeweas : more sientificaly, Leaf cutter ants. The general word for an ant, in Kekchi, iz Eiiik. But in Indian, az in English — at least in Central American English — the leaf cutter ant iz called by a special name: in Kekchi, teke.i. " by scores, and by four hundreds, txi AkaSl, txi OAqob : az we should say. By tens and by hundreds: the Indian base ov counting being twenty. Akall, a Score: 0Aq6b, a Score ov scores. " wer coming out and going in: the idiom ov Indian says They come out, they go in : uzing the prezent tense sign nak. '^ A nest ov weewees may be az big az your hand, or az big az a foot ball field. In fact, ov course, weewees dont touch Indian corn. Foxes some times wil. 1' path, be. Thoze ants make beaten paths. '* junction, Akulbaib: Self meeting. Akul, to Meet: ib, Self. 214 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Aran keb xtaw li jun Atx61. Anaqwan xat qa taw, bar nak aa taw laa wa, txank eb. Keb xnaw xyaalal naq mako Aka ta peA ru na XAkux li yak, aA pcA li ixim ko eb xtaw li teken, saA li naAajej muqbil wia xban li tsuul SaklcAtx. Sa eb XAtxool li xul riAkin li xeb xkutanobres, ko eb, nakeb kilkot, txi xnums- inkil txi ru Xukaneb. AkaA ki xbaanu Xukaneb, ki xxaqab oxib Atxajom tsuul, aj TxiAtseq eb XAkabaA, re xraobtesinkil li tsuul SakleAtx: aA raj ki raj keb xpej ta li Akuulebaal pek AtsapAtso wiA li ixim. Ki txal ut li xbeen saaj tsuul, na xrep xxamlel txi rd li saqjoonak. Ki XAke xnaAleb, ki XAke xAtxool, ki XAke txi xjunil li xmeAtsew, re xjorbal li pek, maa miin ki ru. 'They comprehended, Keb xniw xyaalSl: They new its sense. They new its nature. See page 202, note 3. ^ waz the fox eating, na XAkux li y^: Does the fox eat. See page 2 13, notes 12 and 15. The general word for Eat iz waA. Akux iz to eat grains ov corn, or any thing that you crunch. ' Happy, sa eb XAtxool: Their hearts pleazant. The usual expression. Sa, Pleazant: Atxool, Heart, Soul. *discoverd, kutanobres: Brought to light. Kutan, Day, Light. ^ report it, xnumsinkil: Cauz it to pass. See page 197, note 7. ^if^ll this about the fox, and the other animals meeting him, and the discovery ov the corn through the ants, though I should say it waz the best known part ov the story, waz precisely the part that Tiburtius himself did not know. — It might strike you az a curiosity, — here iz the fox apearing in hiz European caracter ov a trickster. And you might fancy that the Indians had possibly got that European caracter ov the fox from something they had heard from Europeans, that iz, from the Spaniards. You may dismiss that fancy. The Central American fox iz a small grey animal which the Spaniards hav never calld a fox. They hav always calld it a bush cat. Ther zj an animal ov the country, which the Spaniards do call a fox, and always hav so calld: but that animal, strange to say, iz the skunk. If the Indians had got the European caracter ov the fox from the Spaniards, they would hav put the caracter on the skunk. THE HILS AND THE CORN 215 There the others found him. Now we hav found you out, where it iz that you find your food, they said. They compre- hended^ that nothing whatever waz the fox eating^ but the corn which the weewees had gon and found, in the place where it waz hidden by the hil Saklech. Happy^ at what they had discoverdS the animals went scampering to report it^ to Shukanep^ What did Shukanep do, but apoint^ three bachelor hils, Chitsek waz their name, to torment^ the hil Saklech: the thing being^ that he wisht them to rend" the stone repozitory where the corn waz shut up. And the first young hil came, and he flashes" hiz fire" against the clif. He put hiz wits, he put hiz heart to it", he put out all hiz strength, in order to break the rock, and not a bit could he do it". ' apoint, xaqib: Set up. Xaqli, to Stand: and so on. ' torment, raobtesi: from ra, Sore. ' the thing being: to render aA raj. " rend, pej. Pej, to Rend, to Tear: for instance cloth. " he flashes, na xrep : here again the Indian uzes the prezent. Seepage 213, note 12: and elsewhere. Rep, to Flash out, to Let fly. The same word would be uzed about squirting water on some body. " hiz fire, xxamlel : the fire that iz natural to him. Xamlel iz the asociativ case ov xim, or xaml, Fire. — The fire natural to the hil iz lightning. Thunder and lightning iz understood to be an afair ov the hils. Thunder iz the voice ov the hils. The ecoing ov thunder among the hils iz the speaking and ansering ov the hils. In an other version ov this same tale, the chief persons ov the tale ar not calld hils, they ar calld thunders. In stead ov the sick old hil, ther iz a sick old thunder: and the three bachelor hils ar three bachelor thunders. '' to it: not in the Indian. " do it: not in the Indian. 216 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Ki txal wiAtxik li xkab Atxajom tsuul: maa miin ajwiA. RosoAJik naq ki txal li roxil: joAbajwiA txik ki XAkul aAan. Yal ta na jor^A li saqjoonak txi ru eb. Us ta xutaanal eb t6, keb XAkaAUxla xyebal re Xukaneb naq eb li xmcAtsew inAkaA Atsaqal. Keb xseeraAqi li jar sut xeb xyal, ut li jarub txi naAleb xcA roksi. Txi rilbal Xukaneb naq eb li keb wulak inAkaA eb xkawilal re xkaAyankil eb r.b riAkin li tsuul SaklcAtx, ki xteneb xtaqlankfl maA PuAklum. Jumpaat ki XAtxolob txi ru xyaalal li tix baanu. * no more could he, maa miin ajwiA: Likewise not a bit. See page 197, note 6. ' Not the least, Yil ta. Or you might say, Devil a bit. The literal translation would be some thing like Just not. See page 213, note 11. But the particle ov mood, ta, does not exactly mean Not. The efect iz some thing az if you said The clif just breaks for them — oh yes. The ta works some thing like the ironical Oh yes: though the irony ov ta iz merely constructiv. The ta throws the yal into unreality. See page 198, note 5. ' rezolvd. AkaAuxla, to Think, to Rezolv: from AkaAUX, Mind, Purpose: itself compounded ov AkiA, What, and ux, to Be done, Fieri. * related: or Discourst ov. SeeraAqi, or seereAqi, from seereAq, a Talk, a Conversation. 'arts, naAleb: or Devices. 1 hav now translated naAleb in several different ways. The base is naa, a variant ov naw, to Know: and the proper meaning ov naAleb iz a means, or instrument, ov knowing. Consequently it means Wits, Intelligence. That waz the meaning in the paragraf before this. But the word also means some thing that wits ar employd in: a Device, a Scheme, a Proceeding, an Act: ofen in a bad sense. In the speech ov THE MILS AND THE CORN 217 Again came the second bachelor hil: no more could he^ Lastly came the third: and so again it happend to him. Not the least^ does the clif break for them. Although it waz a shame to them, they rezolvd^ to tel Shukanep that their strength waz not suficient. They related* how many times they had tried, and how many arts^ they had employd^ Shukanep seeing that thoze who had been there^ wer not fit' to face^ the hil Saklech, determind to send^" Master Puklum. He quickly explaind to him the nature ov what he waz to do". Saklech I made Act the translation. And the word comes to mean something so vague, even, az to say a Thing. That iz the translation in the title: Thing that happend, and so on. I hav also said Thing in the paragraf after Puk- lums speech. An other translator might hav said Scheme. "they had employd, xeA roksi: They had put in. Oksi, from 6k, to Enter. — Az for the xeA, the X iz the tense sign : and ca iz the same thing az eb, meaning They. The use ov ca in stead ov eb, in some situations, iz very common : but Tiburtius, in riting, nearly always sticks to eb. ' been there, wulak. Ther iz no There in the Indian: but wulak means to Go some where, to Go and arive. *fit: or Prepared, Competent. Kawilal, Ability, Competency. From kaw, Strong, Hard: which iz also the base ov kawresi, to Make hard, to Prepare. Prepare (or Make ready, az 1 hav translated) waz the meaning on page 208. 'to face: you might say, to Confront: the Indian says, to Face them- selvs with. KaAya, to Gaze at, to Face. '" determind to send, M xteneb xtaqlankil: He impozed the sending ov. " he waz to do: the Indian says He shal do, tix baanti. 218 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Ak xtaw xyaalal li mamaA li tenebambil txi xbeen, ki xy6: Txan naq ta ruuq naq jun txi mamaA joA lain, numtajenaq yaj in, putx in, siip li wu, siip li woq, ta ruuq tin Atok li kawil tsuul SaklcAtx? Wi li oxib txi ninqil al inAkaA xeb ru txi xbaanunkll, maa tojaA txik txi ruuq junaq AkupAku rix mamaA joA lain. Us, rosoAJikaq, kaAajta naan lam nebaA, txin yal. Wi nakin kam, kamenaq na tin kanaaq. Kim wiAkin, wetxkabal waA ToAk: txin toAon laa hux, joAWiA laa xam pek, re xjiAbal in maal, joAwiA xtsirbal in xam. Kaw txaa Atok Atxinaq laa nimla wajb saA li welik: joAbajwiA txik taa baanu saA xAqeil lin Akulunik. ' Az soon az the old man understood: the Indian says, Already the old man haz understood. Az for Understood, see page 202, note 3. ' in: not in the Indian. 'possibly. The repetition iz in the Indian: ta ruuq, twice over. Ru, to Be possible. ^rnuch less, maa toj^ txik: some thing like saying Not thereafter: meaning, that it iz the oppozit ov a consequence. 'to make an end ov it, rosoAJikaq: Let ther be an end ov it. Osoa, to Come to an end. The base is os. ^ becauz I am poor: and consequently must submit — would be the Indian order ov ideas. The word for Poor, neblA, also means an Orfan, a Waif: and throughout the Maya languages, so far az I know, the word for Poor iz the word for Orfan. Az for a hil being poor, some hils ar said to hav money. Shukanep iz said to hav money. THE MILS AND THE CORN 219 Az soon az the old man understood^ what waz impozed on him, he said: How shal it be possible that an old man like me, exceedingly sick az 1 am, dropsical, swollen in^ my face, swollen in^ my feet, shal possibly^ smite the strong hil Saklech? If the three big youths hav not been able to do it, much less* can a bent old man such az 1. However, to make an end ov it^ only perhaps becauz I am poor^ I wil try. If I die, why'', dead I shal be*. Come with me, neibour Master Flint^: let me borrow your sand stone, also your fire stone'", to whet" my ax with, and to strike my fire. Beat some what loudly your great drum at my going out : so likewize do again at the time ov my coming in^^. ' why: to anser in some way to the particle na, thrown in after the word for Dead, kamenaq. Na iz some thing like saying I supoze: see page 212, note 4. ' be: the Indian says Remain. Indian haz that Spanish way ov saying Remain. See page 198, note 6. ' Master Flint. That hil waz mentiond az one ov the counselors. It iz a hil at about the west end ov the Shukanep range, near the village ov Taktik. "• fire stone, xam pek: not to repeat the hils name Flint. " whet. JiA means to Rub, and also to Whet. '2 coming in, Akulunik. Akultin means to Come: not in the sense ov moving in this direction, which iz txSl, but ov getting here. See page 1 98, note 2. 220 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS, VOL. VIII Txalq at arm, it in tsentserej. O aa lotxob aawib txi ru xsaqjoonak aj SakleAtx. Aran taa tikib XAkotsAkotsinkil li saqjoonak riAkin laaw e, toj reetal taa taw jun tenel homh6. Aran xjayal muqmu wIa li ixim. Taaw abi naq aAan li pojpoj xyaababaal, taa xaqdb aawib aran, roybeninkfl naq tin kawres lin xam joAwiA lin kaaq. Naq tin wulaq, bi AkaA aa xiwa. Xulxu naq tat elq. Bat el txi terto, ban naq joAkan na ru nakat in Akat. K6 li tsentserej txi ru xsaqjoonak aj SakleAtx, ki xbaanu txi xjunil li xyecA re. Reetdl ki xtaw li homhookil saqjoonak pek, aran ki kana: toj joA naq ki xjap re, re naq li tiix txi rabi. Kaw ki reeAkasf rib maA PuAklum. Ki xkoAq txaq rib riAkin txi xjunil li xjosAqil: na replok li xkaaq txi ru li homhookil pek xaqxo wiA li tsentserej, koAk puAk ki kana li pek. ' beak: the Indian says Mouth, e. Some times, to say Beak, they uze a word which also means front teeth. Ther iz no special word for beak. ^ come : or Get there. See page 2 1 7, note 7. ' Fly away: the Indian says Go out, tat elq. £l, to Go, or come, out. ^and cried: not exprest in the Indian, but implied in uzing the word jlp, for Open. The ordinary word for to Open, iz te. 'hil: not in the Indian, which merely says tiix, Old. You might say Old man. See page 207, note 10. ' At a distance ov twenty or thirty leagues. See page 202, note 6. ' stird himself, ki reeAkasi rib. EcAk, Matter, Trouble, What ails anything: eeAka, to Feel: eeAkasi, to Cauz to feel, to Cauz a sign ov feeling in, to Move, to Budge, to Stir. ^ flung himself: the Indian says. Let himself loose. K6Aq, to Loose. THE MILS AND THE CORN 221 Come here, you my wood pecker. Go and perch your self against the clif ov Saklech. There you wil begin to tap at the clif with your beakS until you find a part that iz hollow. That iz the direction in which the corn iz hidden. When you hear that, that haz the hollow sound, there you wil take your stand, til 1 make ready my fire and my thunder. When I come^, fear nothing. Fly away' head downwards. Do not fly away upwards, becauz so 1 might burn you. The wood pecker went to the clif ov Saklech, and did all that had been told him. Having at length found the hollow stone ov the clif, there he remaind: then he opend hiz mouth and cried*, so that the old hiP might hear him^. Master Puklum stird himself^ strongly. He flung himself* forward^ with all hiz fury: hiz thunder flashes out^" against the hollow stone where the wood pecker stands, and the stone waz shiverd to bits." 'forward: the Indian says some thing like Hither — ^txaq: He let him- self loose hither. The speaker puts himself at the clif and sees Puklum coming. See page 200, note 5. '" The flashing out ov thunder, iz lightning. " the stone waz shiverd to bits, koAk piiAk ki kana li pek: Small frag- ments remaind the stone. In saying Little Shukanep, Atxina Xukaneb, the word for Little, or Small, waz Atxina: ov which the base iz atxin. Here the word iz entirely difl'erent, koAk. The only difference ov meaning iz that atxin iz singular, and koak plural. Ther iz no other such case in the language. — Az for p*^' ^:--^'""M"-^^^^^^'-- i^:^^m ^^ :'^^^,'^i^>^m^ ^^^^^BMO^Kmiu^jtjfm^^^^^ J^^^^^fBSu On the road to Koban ANTHR PUB. UNIV. MUSEUM VOL. VIII PLATE III TIBURTIUS KAAL SEE PAGE 185 ANTHR PUB. UNIV. MUSEUM VOL. VIII PLATE IV ji^^^IRHHhb^^^b. ^^HVR&t^Si^^^^^K ^^^H i««. ^RfrS^^i^^&.^ ^Hp ^oBBS^SP^r W M^SSSSSal^^^^ * ^^ ^I^^K^ '^^^SO^^Sq^ .i'.-j^^^^ ^t^^^ V J»»^ Wj^I^^ ^6^ #^r?i=« '^^ii ■ ■''■^JW p-ilW^ M < . w 1 ...i'W f\,<: r . ■ '* • .•S"'--■^■^ .:'•; •>•■.•-• .'-•.• 1 •5f«r .!♦?► ■ #"• BW "^"T^ ^^' .'^ij f 1 «■ i ^^'itiiliilji " ^M^^^^^^^S^^^^ K MHrwiitiij^^ " "■■ ^^^L^ '.^^^^^^^^^1^1. "^' ^'>^' ''"'rlLlMl.' '' ''V^ ^H H „,.„^ ,„„ I^^^^HI^..- "the HIL which IZ to the right IZ where TiBURTlUS IZ BURIED' SEE PAGE 186