The Annals of the Cakchiquels Part 1

The Annals of the Cakchiquels.

by Daniel G. Brinton.

PREFACE.

Both for its historical and linguistic merits, the doc.u.ment 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 ma.n.u.script version of the late Abbe Bra.s.seur (de Bourbourg), the distinguished Americanist. Without the a.s.sistance 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 pa.s.sages 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 Bra.s.seur, 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.

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 a.s.sures 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 a.s.signed 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 n.o.ble 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 rehea.r.s.ed 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 Bra.s.seur (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 inst.i.tutions, 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 cla.s.sic Tezcuco.[12-2] But the grammatical structure and stem-words of the Cakchiquel remained absolutely uninfluenced by this a.s.sociation.

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 doc.u.ments of the time, generally spoken of by such foreign t.i.tles. The Cakchiquels were referred to as _Tecpan Quauhtemallan_, the Quiches as _Tecpan Utlatlan_, the Tzutuhils as _Tecpan At.i.tlan_, 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;" _At.i.tlan_, "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 G.o.d 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 superst.i.tious 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 G.o.ds 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 pa.s.sing, that precisely Guatemala is the habitat of the _Euchlaena luxurians_, the wild gra.s.s 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 a.s.serted 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 cla.s.s 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 a.s.sociated 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 _cha.n.a.l_, 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 a.s.sociations.

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 princ.i.p.al materials on which they depended for their manufactures, they were well acquainted with several metals. Gold and silver were cla.s.sed 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 ent.i.tled 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 pa.s.sage 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.