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© 1995-2001 Untangle Incorporated
Last Updated: Saturday, October 2nd, 1999
And here now is the beginning of the creation of true humans, and of the search for the ingredients of the human body. The Bearer, Begetter, the Makers, Modelers named Sovereign Plumed Serpent:
"The dawn has approached, preparations have been made, and morning has come for the provider, nurturer, born in the light, begotten in the light. Morning has come for humankind, for the people of the face of the earth," they said. It all came together as they went on thinking in the darkness, in the night, as they searched and sifted, they thought and they wondered."
And here their thoughts came out in clear light. They sought and discovered what was needed for human flesh. It was only a short while before the sun, moon and stars were to appear above the Makers and Modelers. Broke Place, Bitter Water Place is the name: the yellow corn, white corn came from there.
And these are the names of the animals that brought food: fox, coyote, parrot, crow. There were four animals that brought the news of the ears of yellow corn, and white corn. They were coming from over there at Broken Place, they showed the way to the break.
And this was when they found the staple foods.
And these were the ingredients for the flesh of the human work, the human design, and the water was for the blood. It became human blood, and corn was also by the Bearer, Begetter.
And so they were happy over the provisions of the good mountain, filled with sweet things, thick with yellow corn, white corn, and thick with pataxte and cacao, countless zapotes up the citadel named Broken Place,
Bitter Water Place. All the edible fruits were there: small staples great staples, small plants great plants. The way was shown by the animals.
And then the yellow corn and white corn were ground, and Xmucane did the grinding nine times. Corn was used, along with the water she rinsed her hands with for the creation of grease; it became human fat when it was worked by the Bearer, Begetter, Sovereign Plumed Serpent:
the making, the modeling of our first mother - father,
with yellow corn, white corn alone for the flesh,
food alone for the human legs and arms,
for our first fathers, the four human works.
It was staples alone that made up their flesh.
T these are the names of the first people who were made and modeled:
This is the first person, Jaguar Quitze,
The Second, Jaguar Night,
The third: Mahucutah,
The Fourth: True Jaguar.
And these are the names of our first mother-fathers. They were simply made and modeled, as we have said. They had no mother and no father. We have named the men by themselves. No woman gave birth to them, nor did the Builder, Sculptor, Bearer, and Begetter beget them. By sacrifice alone, by genius alone, they were made, they were modeled by the Maker, Modeler, Bearer, Begetter, Sovereign Plumed Serpent. And when they came to fruition, they were human:
They talked and they made words.
They looked and they listened.
They walked, they worked.
They were good people, handsome, with looks of the male kind. Thoughts came into existence and they gazed, their vision came all at once. Perfectly they saw, perfectly they knew every thing under the sky, whenever they looked. The moment they turned around and looked around in the sky, on the earth everything was seen without obstruction. They did not have to walk before they could see what was under the sky, they just stayed where they were.
As they looked, their knowledge became intense. Their sight passed though trees, through rocks, through lakes, through seas, through mountains, through plants. Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar were truly gifted people.
And then there were asked by the builder and mason:
"What do you know about your being? Don't you look, don't you listen? Is not your speech good and your walk? So you must look to see out under the sky. Do not you see the mountain plain clearly? So try it."
And then they saw everything under the sky perfectly. After that ,they tanked the Maker, Modeler: Truly now,
double thanks, triple thanks,
that we have been formed, we have been given
Our mouths and our faces,
we speak, we listen,
we wonder, we move,
our knowledge is good, we have understood
what is far and near,
and we have seen what is great and small
under the sky, on the earth.
Thanks to you we have been formed,
we have come to be made and modeled,
our grandmother, our grandfather,"
they said when they gave thanks for having been made and modeled. They understood everything perfectly, they sighted the four sides, the four corners in the sky, on the earth, and this did not sound good to the builder and sculptor:
"What our works and designs have said is no good: they understood too much
"We have understood everything great and small they said, they say,"
And so the Bearer, Begetter took back their knowledge:
"What should we do with them now? Their vision should at least reach nearby, they should see at least a small part of the face of the earth, but what they're saying is not good. Are they not merely 'works' and 'designs' in their very names? Yet they will become as great as gods unless they procreate, proliferate at the sowing, the dawning, unless they increase."
"So let it be this way: now we will take them apart just a little. What we have found is not good. Their deeds would become equal to ours, just their knowledge reaches so far. They see everything," so said
the Heart of Sky, Hurricane,
Newborn Thunderbolt, Raw Thunderbolt,
Sovereign Plumed Serpent,
Bearer Begetter,
Xpiyacoc, Xmucane,
Make, Modeler.
And when they changed the nature of the works, the designs it was enough that they eyes be marred by the Heart of Sky. They were blinded as the face of a mirror is breathed upon. Their eyes were weakened. Now it was only when they looked nearby that things were clear.
And such was the loss of the means of understanding, along with the means of knowing everything such was making, modeling of our first grandfather, our father, by the Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth.
And then their wives and women came into being. Again, the same gods thought of it. It was if they were asleep when they received them, truly beautiful women were there with Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. With their women they became wider awake. Right away they were happy in the heart again, because of their wives.
Celebrated Seahouse is the name of the wife of Jaguar Quitze.
Prawn House is the name of the wife of Jaguar Night.
Hummingbird House is the name of the wife of Mahucutah.
Macaw House is the name of the wife of True Jaguar.
So these are the names of their wives, who became ladies of rank, giving birth to the people of the tribes small and great.
And this is our root, who we are the Quiche people. And there came to be a crowd of penitents and sacrificers. IT was not only four who came into being then, but there were four mothers for us, the Quiche people. There were different names for each of the peoples when they multiplied, there in the east. Their names became numerous: Sovereign Oloman, Cobah, Quenech Ahau, as the names of the people who were there in the east. They multiplied and it is known that the Tams and Ilocs began then. They came from the same place, in the east.
Jaguar Quitze was the grandfather and father of the nine great houses of the Cauecs.
Jaguar Night was the grandfather and father of the nine great houses of the GreatHouses.
Mahucutah was the grandfather and father of the four great houses of the Lord Quiches.
These are three separate lineages. The names of the fathers and grandfathers are not forgotten. These multiplied and flourished there in the east. But the Tams and Ilocs also came forth, along with thirteen allied tribes, thirteen principalities, including
The Rabinals, Cakchiquels, those of the Bird House.
And the White Cornmeals.
And also the Lamcs, Serpents, Sweatbath House, Talk House those of the Star House.
And those of the Quiba House, those of the Yokes House, Acul people, Jaguar House, Guardians of the Spoils, Jaguar Ropes.
It is sufficient that we speak of only the largest tribes from among the allied tribes; we have only noted the largest. Many more came out afterward, each one a division of that citadel. We have not written their names, but they multiplied there, from out of the east. There came to be many peoples in the blackness: they began to abound even before the birth of the sun, and the light. When they began to abound they were all there together; they stood and walked in crowds, there in the east.
There was nothing they could offer for sustenance, but even so they lifted their faces to the sky. They did not know where they were going. The did this for a long time when they were there in the grasslands, black people, white people of many faces, people of many languages, uncertain, there at the edge of the sky.
And there were mountain people. They did not show their faces, as they had no homes. They just traveled the mountains, small and great. "It is as if they were crazy," it was said. The mountain people were derided. There they watched for the sunrise, and for all the mountain people there was just one language. They did not yet pray to wood and stone.
These are the words with which they remembered the Maker, Modeler, and Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth. It was said that these were enough to keep them mindful of what was in shadow and what was dawning. All they did was ask: they had reverent words. They were reverent and givers of praise, givers of respect, lifting their faces to the sky when they made request for their daughters and sons:
"Wait!
thou Maker, thou Modeler,
look at us, listen to us,
don't let us fall, don't leave us to die,
thou god in the sky, on the earth,
Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth,
give us our sign, our word,
as long as there is day, as long as there is light.
When it comes to the sowing, the dawning,
it will be a greening road, a greening path?
Give us a steady light, a level place,
a good light, a good place,
a good life and beginning.
Give us all of this, thou Hurricane,
Newborn Thunderbolt, Raw Thunderbolt,
NewBorn Nanahuac, Raw Nanhuac,
Falcon, Hunahpu
Sovereign Plumed Serpent,
Bearer, Begetter,
Xpiyacoc, Xmucane,
Grandmother of Day, Grandmother of Light,
when it comes to the sowing, the dawning."
They said all this when they made their fasts and prayers, just watching intently for the dawn. There too they looked toward the east, watching closely for the daybringer, the great star at the birth of the sun, of the heat for what is under the sky, on the earth, the guide for the human work, the human design.
They spoke, those who are Jaguar, Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar:
"Were are still waiting for the dawning," they said, these great knowers, great thinkers, penitents, praisers, . And there was nothing of wood and stone in the keep0ing of first mother-fathers, and they were weary at heart there, waiting for the sun. Already there were many of them, all the tribes including the Yaqui people, all penitents and sacrificers.
"Let us just go. We will look and see whether there is something to keep as our sign. We will find out what we should burn in front of it. The way we are right now, we have nothing to keep as our own, " said Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. They got word of a citadel. There they went:
And this is the name of the mountain where they went, Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, True Jaguar, and the Tams and Ilocs: Tulan Zuyua, Seven Caves, Seven Canyons is the name of the Citadel. Those were to receive the gods arrived there.
And they arrived there are Tulan, all of them, countless people arrived, walking in crowds, and their gods were given out in order, the first being those of Jaguar Qutze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah and True Jaguar. They were happy:
"We have found what we were looking for," they said, And this one was the first to come out:
Tohil is the name of the god loaded in he backpack born by Jaguar Quitze. And the others came out in turn:
Auilix is the name of the god that Jaguar Night carried.
Hacauitz, in turn is the name of the god received by Mahucutah.
Middle of the Plain is the name of the god received by True Jaguar.
And there are still other Quiche people, since the Tams also received theirs, but it was the same Tohil for the Tams, that is the name received by the grandfather and father of the Tam lords.
And third was the Ilocs again, Tohil is the name of the god received by the grandfather and father of those lords, the same ones known today.
And such was the naming of the three Quiches. They have never let go of each other because of the god having just one name. Tohil: There is just one name for their god, so those three people have not come apart.
And then all the tribes came in: Rabinals, Cakchiquels, those of the BirdHouse, along with the Yaqui people, as the names are today. And the language of the tribes changed there; their languages became differentiated. They could no longer understand one another clearly when they went away from Tulan.
There they broke apart. There were those who went east, many who went westward. They were all alike in dressing with hides. There were no clothes of the better kinds. They were in patches, they were adorned with mere animal hides.
They were poor. They had nothing of their own. But they were people of genius in their very being when they came away from Tulen Zayua Seven Caves, Seven Canyons so says the Ancient Word.
They walked in crows when they arrived at Tulan and there was no fire. Only those with Tohil had it, this was the tribe whose god was first to generate fire. How it was generated was not clear. Their fire was already burning with Jaguar Quitze and Jaguar Night first saw it:
"Fire has not yet become ours. We will die from the cold," they cried. Then Tohil spoke:
"Do not grieve. You will have your own even when the fire you are talking about has been lost," Tohil told them.
"Aren't you a true god!
Our sustenance and our support!
Our god!"
They gave thanks for what Tohil had said."I am your god: so be it.
I am your lord: so be it." the penitents and sacrificers were told by Tohil.
And this was the warming of the tribes. They were pleased by their fire.
After that a great downpour began, which cut short the fire of the tribes. And hail fell thickly on all the tribes, and their fires were put out by the hail. Their fires did not start up again. So then Jaguar Quitze and Jaguar Night asked for their fire again:
"Tohil, we will be killed by the cold," they cried.
"Do not grieve." said Tohil. He pivoted inside his sandal, and a fire began.
After that Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar were pleased.
After they were warm, the fires of the other tribes were still out. Those tribes were slowly dying from the cold, so they came back to ask for fire from Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. They could bear the cold and hail no longer. They were now chattering and shivering. There were too little and too much life in them. Their legs and arms kept shaking. Their hands were stiff when they arrived.
"Perhaps we will not feel shame to ask you if we can have some burning coals from your fire?" they asked. But they got no response. And the arriving tribes cursed in their thoughts, for already their language was different from that of Jaguar Quitze, Night, True Jaguar and Mahucutah.
"We do not have a common language. How did this happen. We had one language, on origin when we went to Tulan. We have not done well." said all the tribes beneath the trees and bushes.
And then before Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah and True Jaguar as person appeared, a messenger from Xibalba.
"You have a god, your nurturer, the representation of your Make and your Modeler. So do not give the tribes their fire until they give something to Tohil. You do not want them to give you anything. Ask for Tohil, to him must be offerings for them to get fire," said the messenger with wings like a bat.
Now the people were happy and thought all the more of Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz. When the messenger had spoken he vanished.
So when the tribes arrived, done in by the cold. Thick was the hail, the blackening skies, the white snow. The cold was unbelievable. They were overwhelmed. They arrived doubled over in pain, pain in their hearts, desire in the mouths and faces, as they arrived before Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar, Jaguar Quitze.
"Would you not take pity on us if we asked for a little of your fire? Was it not found, and revealed that we all were of one home, and one mountain when you were modeled? Take pity on us," they said.
"What would you give us for taking pity on you?"
"We will give you metal," said the tribes.
"We do not want metal," said Jaguar Quitze and Jaguar Night.
"What do you want, if we may ask?" came the response.
We must Tohil, and then we will tell you." And then they asked Tohil:
"What should the tribes give you, Tohil? They want to share in your fire," said Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar.
"Tell them, if they desire to worship me, to be sacrificed to me," said Tohil then they shall have fire; if they do not desire it, then I shall not give them their fire."
"And the tribes said we do desire it, and they said it very quickly, and so they got their fire.
There was one tribe who stole their fire, under the cover of the smoke. This was the Bat House. Calm Snake is the name
of the god of the Cakchiquels, but it looks like a bat. They went right past everyone under the cover of smoke, and took without asking fire."
This tribe refused to be sacrificed to the god Tohil. They did not want to be cut open before him, lying on their side, their hearts removed through sides, under their arms. This had not happened yet, and this tribe did not want it to happen to them."
When they came away from Tulan Zuyua, they were not eating. They observed a continuous fast. It was enough that they watch intently for the dawning, that they watch closely for the rising of the sun,
taking turns at watching for the great star named daybringer. This one came first before the sun when the sun was born, the new daybringer.
And there , always they were facing the east, when they were in the place named Tulan Zuyua. Their gods came from there. It was not here that they received their first fiery splendor and their dominion, but it was here that tribes great and small were subjugated and humiliated.
When they were cut open before Tohil, fiery splendor came to them all at once at Tulan, along with great knowledge, and they achieved this is the darkness, in the night.
Finally they said, "Our home is not here. Let us go on until we see where we belong," said Tohil. He actually spoke to them, to Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar.
"It remains for you to give thanks, since you have to yet take care of bleeding your ears, and passing a cord through your elbows. You must worship. This is your way of giving thanks before your god."
And so the tribes bled their ears, and they sang as they departed Tulan:
" We won't be here when we see the dawn,
when the sun is born,
when the face of the earth is lit.".
Aand
then they went away, camping on the road. People camped there, each tribe slept and got up and went on again. They were always watching for the star, the sign of the day. They kept watch, they kept faith in their heart, as they moved from the east. In unity they passed beyond the place named Great Abyss.
And then they arrived on top of a mountain there. All the Quiche people got together there, along with the other tribes, and all of them held council there. The name of the mountain came from holding council there that day. Place of Advice is the name of the mountain. They identified themselves there:
"The Ilocs, the Cakchiquels, the Rabinals each got their name, names not lost even to this day.
They were still waiting for the dawning, at this council, watching for the appearance of the rising star, the one that comes before the sun.
They kept pain in their hearts, the separation from each other from Tulan, and there was nothing to eat, nothing to feed on. They were just smelling the tips of their staffs as if they were thinking of eating them.
And it is not clear how they crossed over the sea. The crossed as if there were no sea. They crossed as if on some stones, stones piled up in the same. They give the stones a name, Rock Rows, Furrowed Sands was the name for the place where they crossed through the midst of the sea. Where the waters divided they crossed over.
And this is what weighted on their hearts when they took counsel: that they had nothing to eat. They had one beverage to drink, just one thing, which they brought up on the mountain. Place of Advice. They brought Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz.
Ovserving this fast was Jaguar Quitze, his wife Great Seahouse.
Also fasting was Jaguar Night, his wife named Prawn House.
And Mahucutah was also fasting with his wife named Hummingbird House.
And True Jaguar fasted also with his wife Macaw House.
So these were the ones who fasted. They fasted in the darkness, before the dawn. It was at the place of advice that the gods spoke again.
Aand then Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz spoke to Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah and True Jaguar:
"Move us one, give us places to hide. It is nearly dawn. Would you look stupid if we were stolen by warriors? Construct places where
we can remain yours, and give one place to each of us."
"We shall search the forces," they all replied.
After that they packed each one of the gods on their backs.
Auilix went into the canyon named Concealment Canyon in the forest. Pauilux is its name today. He was left there by Jaguar Night, coming first in the placements.
And then Hacauitz was placed above a great read river. Hacauitz is the name of the mountain today, and it became their citadel. So the god Hacauitz remained there, and Mahucutah stayed with his god. This was the second god to be hidden. It was on a bare mountain that Hacauitz was hidden.
Jaguar Quitze arrived in the great forest there. The mountain is called Patohil today. Masses of jaguars, rattlesnakes, yellowbites were there in the forest where Tohil was hidden by the penitents and sacrificers.
So all was done, and they waited for the dawn on top of the mountain named Hacauitz.
Also a short distance away was the god of the Tams, together with the Ilocs. Tam Tribe is the name of the place where the god sat at the dawn. Net Weave River is the name of the place where dawn came for the Ilocs. The god of the Ilocs was just a short distance away.
Also there were all the Rabinals. Cakchiquels, those of the Bird House all the tribes, great and small. In unity they stopped there, and in unity they had their dawning there. In unity they waited there for the rising of the great star named daybringer.
It will rise before the sun everyone said.
There was no sleep, no rest for them. They cried with their hearts and their guts, there at the dawning, and the clearing, and they looked badly. Great sorrow, great anguish came over them, their pain marked them. They stayed that way.
"Coming here has not been pleasant for us. IF we could only see the bird of the sun! What have we done? We all had one identity, one mountain, but we sent ourselves into exile," they said among themselves. They talked about sorrow, about anguish, about crying and wailing, since their hearts had not been set to rest by the dawn."
The gods in the canyons, on the mountain, in the forest, just out in the bromelias, on the hanging mosses, not yet set on pedestals, they felt calm. At first, Tohil, Xuilix and Hacauitz actually spoke. The greatness of their day and the greatness of their great of spirit set them above all the other tribal gods.
Their genius was manifold and their ways were manifold, their strategies manifold. They were chilling, frightening in the hearts of the tribes. The tribes were calmed by Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. Their hearts did not yet harbor ill will towards the gods who had been taken up and carried away when they all came from Tulan Zuyua there in the east, and who were now in the forest.
These were the dawning places: Patohil, Pauilux, and Hacauitz, as they are called today. And this is where our grandfather, our fathers had their sowing, their dawning.
This is what we shall explain next: the dawning and showing of the sun moon and stars.
And here is the dawning and showing of the sun, moon and stars. Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar were overjoyed when they saw the daybringer. It came up first. It looked brilliant when it came up, since it was ahead of the sun.
After that they unwrapped their copal incense which came from the east, and there was triumph in their hearts when they unwrapped it. They gave their heartfelt thanks of three kinds at once:
Mixtam Copal is the name of the copal brought by Jaguar Quitze.
Cauiztan Copal is the name of the copal brought by Jaguar Night.
Godly Copal was brought by Mahucutah.
The three of them had their copal, and this is what they burned as they incensed the direction of the rising sun. They were crying out sweetly as they shook their burning copal, the precious copal.
After that they cried because they had yet to see and yet to witness the birth of the sun.
And then, when the sun came up, the animals, small and great were happy. They all came up from the rivers and canyons they waited on all the mountain peaks. Together they looked toward the place where the sun came out.
So then the puma and jaguar cried out, but the first to cry out was bird, the parrot by name. All the animals were truly happy. The eagle, the white vulture, small birds, great birds spread their wings, and the penitents and sacrificers knelt down. They were overjoyed together with the penitents and sacrificers of the Tams, and the Ilocs.
And the Rabinals, Cakchiquels, those of the Bird House
And the Sweatbath House, Talk House, Quiba House, those of the Yoke House.
And the Yaqui Sovereign - however many tribes there may be today. There were countless people, but there was just one dawn for all tribes.
And then the sun dried out the face of the earth. The sun was like a person when he revealed himself. His face was hot, so he dried out the face of the earth. Before the sun came up it was soggy, and the face of the earth was muddy before the sun came up. And when the sun had risen just a short distance he was like a person, and his heat was unbearable. Since he revealed himself only when he was born, it is only reflection that now remains. As they said:
"The sun that we see is not the real sun."
All at once, Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz were turned to stone, along with the idols of the puma, jaguar, rattlesnake yellowbite that the White Sparkstriker took with him into the trees. Everywhere all of them became stone when the sun, moon and stars appeared. Perhaps we would have no relief from the voracious animals today, the puma jaguar, rattlesnake, yellow bite- perhaps it would not even be our day today, if the original animals had not turned to stone by the sun when he was born.
There was great happiness in the hearts of Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. They were overjoyed when it dawned. The people on the mountain of Hacauitz were
were not yet numerous, just a few were there. Their dawning was there and they burned copal there, incensing the direction of the rising sun. They came from there: it is their own mountain, their own plain. Those named Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar came from there, and they began their increase on that mountain.
And that became their citadel, since they were there when the sun, moon and stars appeared, when it dawned and cleared on the face of the earth, over everything under the sky.
And there began their song named "The Blame Is Ours". They sang out the lament of their very hearts and guts. In their song they say:
"Alas!
Were were lost at Tulan!
We shattered ourselves!
We left our elder brothers behind!
Our younger brother!
Where did they see the sun? Where must they be staying,
Now that the dawn has come?"
They were speaking of the penitents and the sacrificers who were the Yaqui people.
"Even though Tohil is his name, he is the same god of the Yaqui people, whose god is named Yolcuat and Quitzalcuat. When we divided, there at Tulan, at Zuyua, they left with us, and they shared our identity when we came away." they said to themselves remembering their faraway brothers, elder and younger, the Yaqui people whose dawn was there in the place named Mexico today.
And again there were also the Fishkeeper people. They stayed there in the east; Sovereign Oloman is their name.
"We left them behind." It was a great weight on their hearts up there on Hacauitz. The Tams and Ilocs did likewise except that they were in the forest. The Tam Tribe is the name of the place where the sun dawned for the penitents and sacrificers of the Tams, with their god, named likewise Tohil. There was just one name for the god in all the three divisions of the Quiche people.
Again, the name of the god of the Rabinals was nearly the same, "One Toh" is the way the name of the god of the Rabinals is spoken. They say it that way, but it is meant to be in agreement with the Quiches and their language.
And the language has differentiated in the case of the Cakchiquels, since their god has a different name when they came away from Tulan Zuyua. Calm Snake is the name of the god of the Bat House, and they speak a different language today. Along with their god, the lineages took their names; they are called Keeper of the Bat Mat and Keeper of the Dancer Mat. Like their god, their language was differentiated on account of a stone.
when they came from Tulan in the darkness. All the tribes were sown and came to light in unity, and each division was allocated a name for it's god.
And now we shall tell about their stay and their sojourn there on the mountain. The four were together, the ones named Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar Their hearts cried out to Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz, who were now amid the bromelias and hanging mosses.
And here they burn their copal, and here also is the origin of the masking of Tohil.
And when they went before Tohil and Auilix, they went to visit them and keep their day. Now they gave thanks before them for the dawning, and now they bowed down before their stones, there in the forest. Now it was only a manifestation of his genius that spoke when the penitents and sacrificers came before Tohil, and what they brought and burned was not great. All the burned before their gods was resin, just bits of pitchy bark along with marigolds.
And when Tohil spoke now it was only his genius. When the gods taught procedures to the penitents and sacrificers they said this on speaking.
"This very place has become our mountain, our plain. Now that we are yours, our day and our birth have become great because all the people are yours, all the tribes. And since we are still your companions, even in your citadel, we shall give you procedures:
"Do not reveal us to the tribes when they search for us. They are truly numerous now, so don't let us be hunted down, but rather gives the creatures of the grasses and grains to us, such as female deer and female birds. Please come give us a little of their blood, take pity on us. And leave the pelts of the deer apart, save them. These are for disguises, for deception. They will become deer costumes, and also they will serve as our surrogates before the tribes. When you are asked:
"Where is Tohil?" they will say, and you will display the deer costumes before them, and with revealing ourselves. There is still more for you to do. You will become great in your very being. Defeat all the tribes. They must bring blood and lymph before us. They must come to embrace us. They belong to us already." said Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz. They had a youthful appearance when they saw them when they came to burn offerings before them.
So then began the hunting of the young of all the birds and deer; they were taken in the hunt by the penitents and sacrificers.
And when they got hold of the birds and fawns, they would then go to anoint the mouth of the stone of Tohil or Auilix with the blood of the deer or bird. And the gods drank the bloody drink. The stone would speak at once when the penitents and sacrificers arrived, when they went to make their burnt offerings.
They did the very same thing before the deerskins" they burned resin, and they also burned marigold and yarrow. There was a deerskin for each one of the gods, which was displayed there on the mountain.
They did not occupy their houses during the day, but just walked in the mountains. And this was their food: the larva of the yellow jacket, the larva of the wasp, the larva of the bee, which they hunted. And yet there was anything else good to eat or good to drink. It was not obvious how to get to their houses, nor was it obvious where their wives stayed.
As for Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar, it was not obvious where they were. When they saw the people of the tribes passing by on the roads, that was when they would get up on the mountain peaks, just crying out with the cry of the coyote and the cry of the fox. And they would make the cries of the puma and jaguar, whenever they saw the tribes out walking in numbers. The tribes were saying:
"It is just a coyote crying out, it is just a fox."
It is just a puma, it is just a jaguar."
In the minds of all the tribes, it was as if humans were not involved. They did it just as a way of decoying the tribes, that was what their hearts desired. They did so that the tribes would not get really frightened just yet; that was what they intended when they cried out with the cry of the puma and the cry of the jaguar. And then when they saw just one or two people out walking they planned to overwhelm them.
Each say, when they came back to their houses and wives, they would bring the same things: yellow jacket larvae, wasp larvae, and bee larvae, and give them to their wives, each day. And when they went before Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz, they thought to themselves:
"They are Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz, yet we only give them blood of deer and birds, we only draw cords through our ears and elbows when we ask for our strength and our manhood from Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz. Who will take care of the death of the tribes? Maybe we should just kill them one by one?"
When they went before Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz they drew cords through their ears and elbows in front of the gods. They spilled their blood, they poured gourdfuls into the mouths of the stones. And stones became like a boy when they arrived, happy once again over the blood.
And then came a further sign as to what the penitents and sacrificers should do:
"You must win many victories. Your right to do this came from Tulan, when you brought us here." Then the matter of sacrificing and offering up the heart was set forth, at the place called Staggering, and the blood that would result from it, the rainstorm of blood, also became a gift for Tohil, along with Auilix and Hacauitz.
Now here begins the abduction of the people of the tribes by Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah and True Jaguar.
And then came the killing of the trees. This is how they died. It was not obvious when they took them away.
After that they went to cut them open before Tohil and Auilix.
After that when they had offered the blood, the skull would be placed in the road. They would roll it out on the road. So the tribes would say:
"A jaguar has been eating," was all that was said, because their tracks were like a jaguar's tracks when they did their deed. They did not reveal themselves. Many people were abducted.
It was actually a long time before the tribes came to their senses:
"If it is Tohil and Auilix who are after us, we have only to search for the penitents and sacrificers. We will follow their tracks to wherever their houses are," said the tribes when they shared their thoughts among themselves.
After that, they began following the tracks of the penitents and sacrificers, but they were not clear. They only saw the tracks of the deer, the tracks of the jaguar. The tracks were not clear. Nothing was clear. Where they began the tracks were merely those of animals. It was if the tracks were there for the sole purpose of leading them astray.
It would get cloudy.
It would get dark and rainy.
It would get muddy too.
It would get misty and drizzly.
It was all the tribes could do to see in front of them, and their search would simply make them weary at heart. Then they would give up.
Because Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz were great in their very beings, they did this for a long time, there on the mountain. They did their killing on the frontiers of the tribes when the abductions began; they singled them out, and cut them down. They would seize the people of the tribes in the roads, cutting them open before Tohil, Auilix, and Hacauitz.
Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz had the appearance of three boys when they went out walking; these were simply the spirit familiars of the stones. There was a river. They would bathe there on the bank, just as a way of revealing themselves, and this gave the place its name. The name of the river came to be Tohil's Bath, and the tribes saw them there many times. They would vanish the moment they were seen by the tribes.
Then the news spread as to the whereabouts of Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah and True Jaguar, and this is when the tribes realized how they were being killed.
First the tribes tried to plan the defeat of Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz. All the penitents and sacrificers of the tribes spoke to each other.
They roused and summoned one another, all of them. Not even one or two divisions were left out. They all converged and presented themselves. They shared their thoughts. As they questioned one another they said
"What would assure the defeat of the Cauecs, the Quiche people? Our vassals have met their deaths because of them. Is it not clear that our people have been lost because of them? What if they finish us off with these abductions?"
"Let it be this way: if the fiery splendor of Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz is so great then let this Tohil become our god! Let him be captured! Don't let them defeat us completely!
Don't we constitute a multitude of people? And as for the Cauecs, there aren't as many of them, " they said when all of them had assembled. Then the Fishkeepers spoke to the tribes saying:
"Who could be bathing every day at the river bank? If it is Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz, then we can defeat them. Let the defeat of the penitents and sacrificers begin right there!" said the Fishkeepers, speaking further they said:
"Let this be our means for defeating them, since they present the appearance of adolescent boys at the river, let two maidens go there. Let them be in full blossom, maidens who radiate preciousness, so they will be desirable," they said.
The others replied: " We shall find such maidens." And then they searched among their daughters. Then they gave the maidens instructions:
"You must go, our dear daughters. Go wash clothes at the river, and if you should see three boys, undress yourselves in front of them.
And if their hearts should desire you, you will titillate them. When they say to you:
"We are coming after you," then you say:
"Yes."
Then they will ask, "Where do you come from? Whose daughters are you?" You shall answer them thusly:
"We are the daughters of lords, so show us respect."
If they truly like your faces you must give themselves up to them, else we will have to kill you when you come back to us. If you give us a sign that they came after you, then that will be proof," said the lords instructing the maidens, Utah, and Xpuch.
And they sent the two of them, named Xtah and Xpuch, over tot he place where Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz bathed. All the tribes knew of this.
And when they went off. They were dressed up, looking truly beautiful. They were carrying what looked like their wash when they went off. Now the lords were pleased over having sent their two daughters there.
And when they arrived at the river, t hey began to wash. They both undressed. They were on the rocks, on their hands and knees when Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz came along. They got to the bank of the river and barely glanced at the two maidens washing there, the maidens now scared. They did not go after the two maidens. The questions began:
"Where do you come from? The two maidens were asked. "What do you intend by coming here, to the bank of our river?
"We were sent here by the lords, so we came. They told us, go see the faces of Tohil and the others, and speak to them. Also you must show us a sign as to whether you really saw their faces. Go!, that is what we were told. "
This is what the tribes had intended, that the maidens be violated by the spirit familiars of Tohil and the others. Then Tohil, Auilix and Hacauitz spoke to the two maidens, Xtah and Xpuch.
"Good. Let a sign of our word go with you. But you must wait for it, then give it directly to the lords," the maidens were told.
Tohil and the others plotted with the penitents and sacrificers. Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah were told:
"You must draw figures on three cloaks. Inscribe them with the signs of our being. They are for the tribes; they will go back with maidens who are washing. Give them to the maidens."
After that they drew the image for all three of them.. Jaguar drew first, his image was that of the Jaguar. He drew it on his cloak.
And as for Jaguar Night he drew the image of an eagle on his cloak.
Mahucutah drew the figures of swarms of yellow jackets, swarms of wasps on his cloak. Then the figures were complete, they had drawn all three of them, the three fold figures.
After that, when Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah went to give the cloaks to those who were named Xtah and Xpuch, they said to them:
"Here is the proof of your word. When you came before the lords, you will say: ' Tohil spoke to us, and here are the signs,' and you will give the lords the cloaks to try on.".
And so the maidens went back, taking the figured cloaks.
And when they arrived the lords were happy the moment
they spotted what they asked for hanging from the arms of the maidens.
"Did you see the face of Tohil?" they were asked.
"See it before you that we did.", said Xtah and Xpuch.
"Very good. You have brought back some sort of sign. Is not that so?" said the lords, since there seemed to be signs of their sin or so thought the lords. So when they
shown the figured cloaks by the maidens, one with a jaguar, one with an eagle, and one with yellow jackets and wasps drawn on the inside, on the smooth surface, they knew.
The lords loved the way the cloaks looked. They costumed themselves. The jaguar did not do anything.
When another lord tried on the cloak with the eagle it just felt good to him.
Another lord put on the one that had yellow jackets and wasps painted inside.
And then he started getting stung by the yellow jackets and wasps. He could not endure it. He could not stand the stings of the insects. That lord yelled his mouth off over the insects. Mahucutah's figures inside the cloak looked like a mere drawing, but it could sting.
The maidens were reprimanded: "How did you get these things you brought back? Where did you go to get them you tricksters!" the maidens were told when they were reprimanded.
The maidens Xtah and Xpuch continued to think of them as temptresses and to bark shins, cause great pain.
Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah were not defeated as they were people of genius.
But all the tribes plotted again:
"How are we going to beat them. They are truly great," they said to each other when they shared their thoughts.
"Even so, we will invade them and kill them. Let us fit ourselves out with weapons and shields. Are we not a multitude? There will not even be one or two of them left," they said to each other.
There were masses of killers, once the killers of all the tribes joined together.
Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar, they were on the mountain. They were not a numerous people then; their numbers were not equal to the numbers of the other tribes. There were just a few of them on the mountain, their fortress, they sat together when they learned that all the tribes were gathering to bring death to them all.
And here is the joining together of all the tribes, all decked out now with weapons and shields. Their metal ornaments were countless, they looked beautiful, all the lords, all the men. In truth, they were just making talk, all of them. In truth, they would become slaves.
"Since there is a Tohil, and since he is a god, let us celebrate his day, or make him our prize!" they said among themselves.
But Tohil already knew about it, and Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah already knew about it. They had heard about it while it was being plotted, since they were neither asleep nor resting.
So then all the lance bearing warriors of tribes got up at night. They set off, but they never arrived. They just fell asleep on the way, all those warriors.
So they were defeated again by Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah, since every last one of them fell asleep in the road.
Now they could not feel a thing. A multitude slept, all of them. And that is when things got started. Their eyebrows were plucked out, along with their bears.
And then the metal was undone from their cloaks, along with their headdresses.
As they slept, their necklaces came off. The necks of their staffs were taken next. So they suffered a loss of face, the plucking signified the greatness of the Quiche.
When the tribes woke up. When they reached for their headdresses, long with the necks of their staffs. There was no longer any metal.
"How could it have been taken from us? Who could have plucked us? Where did they come from? Our metal has all been stolen!" the warriors cried out.
"Perhaps it those tricksters who have been abducting people. Let us not get frightened by them. Let us enter their very citadel! That is the only way we will ever see our metal and make it ours again." said all the tribes.
The hearts of the penitents and sacrificers were contents, on the mountain, but even so Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar were making great plans.
And then Jaguar Quitze,
Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar had a plan. They made a fence at the edge of their citadel. They made a palisade of planks and stakes around their citadel.
Next they made manikins, as if they had made people.
Next they lined the manikins up on the parapet. They were even equipped with weapons and shields. Headdresses were included, with metal on top, and cloaks as well. But they were mere manikins, mere woodcarvings. They used the metal that belonged to the tribes, which they had gone to get in the road. This is what they used to decorate the manikins. They surrounded the citadel.
They asked Tohil about their plan.
"What if we die, what if we are defeated?" They spoke straight from their hearts before Tohil." They spoke straight from their hearts before Tohil.
"Do not grieve. I am here. And here is what you will use on them. Do not be afraid." Then the matter of the yellow jackets and wasps was set out.
And when they had gone to get these insects and come back with them, they put them inside four large gourds, which were placed all around the citadel. The yellow jackets and wasps were shut inside the gourds.
And they were spied upon and watched from hiding, their citadel was studied by scouts of the tribes.
"There are not many of them," they said, but when they came to look at it, it was only the manikins. The woodcarvings with weapons and shields in their hands. They looked like people, like real killers when the tribes saw them.
The tribes were happy when they saw there were not many of them. The tribes themselves were in crowds. There were countless people, warriors and killers, the assassins of Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, and Mahucutah, who were there on the mountain called Hacauitz. This is where they were when they were invaded. Here we shall tell about it.
And these are the ones who were there: Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar. They were in unity on the mountain with their wives and children.
And then all the warriors came, the killers, and it was nothing less than eight hundred score, or even thirty times eight hundred people who surrounded the citadel. They were bellowing, bristling with weapons and shields, rending their mouths with howling and growling, bellowing, yelling whistling through their hands when they came up below the citadel. But the penitents and sacrificers had no fear, they enjoyed the spectacle from the parapet of the stockade. They were lined up with their wives and children. Their hearts were content, since the tribes were merely making noise.
The tribes climbed up the mountainside, and now they were just a little short of the edge of the citadel.
And then the gourds were broken open-there being four of them about the citadel- and the yellow jackets and wasps were like a cloud of smoke when they poured out of each of the gourds. And the warriors were done in. The insects landing on their eyes and landing in their noses, in their mouths, their legs their arms. The insects went after them wherever they were; they overtook them wherever they were.
There were yellow jackets and wasps everywhere. There were swarms of them. Insects were going after every single person. The yellow jackets and wasps dazed the tribes. They through away their weapons and shields away. They were doubling over and falling to the ground, stumbling. They fell down the mountainside.
And now they could not feel a thing when they were hit with arrows and cut with axes. Now Jaguar Quitze and Jaguar Night could even use sticks, even their wives became killers.
Then the Fishkeepers turned away, all the tribes took off running. The first to be overtaken were finished off, killed and it was not just a few people who died. Those who did not die, the chase reached them when the insects caught up with them. There were no manly deeds for them to do, since they no longer carried weapons and shields.
Thusly all the tribes were conquered. Now the tribes humbled themselves before Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night and Mahucutah.
"Show mercy. Do not kill us!" they said.
"Very well. Although you were destined to join the dead, you will be payers of tribute for as long as there are days and as long as there is light." they were told.
Such was the defeat of all the tribes by our first mother-fathers. It was done there on the mountain named Hacauitz today. This is where they first began. They grew, they multiplied, they had daughters, and they had sons on Hacauitz. They were happy once they had beaten all the tribes, who were defeated there on the mountain.
In this their hearts were content. They informed their sons that their deaths were approaching. They wished to settle everything before they died.
Now this is where we shall tell about the death of Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar, as they are named. Since they knew about their death and disappearance, they left instructions with their sons. They were not sickly yet, they wee not gasping for breath, when they left their word with their sons, named:
Cocaib, firstborn, and Cocauib was the name of the second son of Jaguar Quitze, the grandfather and father of the Cauecs.
Coacul, was the first son, and Cacutec the second son of Jaguar Night of the Greathouses.
Coahau was the one son of Mahucutah.
True Jaguar had no son. They were all true penitents and sacrificers and these are the names of their sons, with whom they left instructions. They were united, the four of them together. They sang of the pain in their hearts, they cried their hearts out in their sing "The Blame is Ours" is the name of the song they sang.
The told their sons:
"Our dear sons, we are leaving. We are going back. We have enlightened words, enlightened advice to leave with you, and with you who have come from faraway mountains, our dear wives," they told their sons and wives.
"We are going back to our own tribal place. Again it is the time of our Lord Deer as it is reflected in the sky. We have only to make our return. Our work has been done, our day has been completed. Since you know this, neither forget us nor put us aside.
Since you know this neither forget us nor put us aside. You have yet to see your own home and mountain, the place of your beginning.
"Let it be this way, you must go to see the place where we came from, " were the words the four spoke.
And then Jaguar Quitze left a sign of his being:
"This is for making requests of me. I shall leave it with you. Here is your fiery splendor. I have completed my instructions, my counsel.", leaving the sign of his being, the Bundle of Flames. It was not clear just what it was, as it was wound about with coverings. It was never unwrapped. Its sewing were not clear as no one had seen it while it was being wrapped.
Such was the death of all four of first grandfathers and fathers. When they disappeared their sons remained there on the mountain of Hacauitz, their sons stayed there for awhile. And the tribes, it was now their day
to be broken and downtrodden. They no longer had any splendor to them, though they were still numerous.
All those on Hacauitz gathered on each day that was for remembrance of their fathers. For them, the day of the bundle was a great one. They could not unwrap it; for them it stayed bundled - the Bundle of Flames they called it.
Such was the disappearance and loss of Jaguar Quitze, Jaguar Night, Mahucutah, and True Jaguar, the first people to come across the sea, from the east. They came in ancient times. When they died they were already old. They had a reputation for penitence and sacrifice.
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