Yaxta, are the ruins of the very ancient city Napeten, and that lake may
have once been called "Chac-napeten," "the water of Napeten." Again, on
the road from Peten to Bacalar is the town Chacnabil, and the compound
_Chacnabiltan_ would mean "toward or in the direction of Chacnabil" (see
_Itinerarios y Leguarios que proceden de Merida, etc._, p. 15, Merida,
1851). The Itzas always remembered the Peten district, and when they met
with reverses in northern Yucatan, they returned to it and established
an important State there, which was not destroyed until the last decade
of the seventeenth century.
3. _Hunpel haab minan ti hokal haab_, "one year lacking from five score
years."
The name Ahmekat is probably an old form for _ahmeknah_ or _ahmektan_,
both of which are given in the _Diccionario de Motul_ for chieftain,
leader, captain.
4. _Lai tun_, the relative _lai_ with the particle _tun_, which is
called by Beltran a "particula adornativa." _uchci_ is the aorist of the
defective verb _uchul_, _uchi_, _uchuc_, to happen, to take place, come
to pass. _Emob_ is the third plural of _emel_, to descend, to disembark,
arrive. Pio Perez translates the phrase _ca emob uay lae_, "luego
bajaron aqui." As this was written in the province of Mani, the "here"
now refers in a narrower sense to the vicinity of the writer. The word
_chuulte_ I take to be an error of transcription for _uchci_, as it is
so translated by Pio Perez. It is noteworthy that the word _chicpahci_,
"discovered," conveys the sense that Chichen Itza was already in
existence when the migration here recorded reached northen[TN-15]
Yucatan. It is from _chicul_, a sign or mark by which something is
recognized.
Of the proper names in this section Bakhalal, "the canebrakes" (_halal_,
the cane, _bak_, a roll or enclosure), is the modern province of
Bacalar, on the east coast of the peninsula. _Ziyan caan_ appears to be
used as a synonym of it, or else refers to a part of it. Its meaning is
a picturesque reference to the view from the sea shore, where the
horizon is clearly defined, and the sky seems to rise from the water,
"the birth of the sky;" _Ziyan_, birth, _caan_, sky.
The name Chi C[=h]een Itza was that of one of the grandest ancient
cities of Yucatan. _C[=h]een_ is the name applied to a tract of
low-lying fertile land, especially suitable to the production of cacao
(Berendt); _chi_ is edge or border. It is therefore a name referring to
a locality, "on the border of the _c[=h]een_ of the Itzas." _C[=h]een_
also means well or cistern, and another derivation is "at the mouth of
the well," as _chi_ can also be rendered "mouth;" either of these is
appropriate to the features of the locality, as it is a fertile
low-lying tract with two large natural reservoirs near by.
5. _Paxi_, from _paaxal_, a neuter form of the active verb _pa_, to
break in pieces; it means "to go to pieces, to fall in ruins, to be
depopulated or deserted." Applied to a city it is often translated "to
be destroyed," but it does not convey quite so positive a meaning.
_Kuyan uincob_, "men of God," from _Ku_ the general name for Divinity.
Chichen Itza was one of the chief centres of religious life in Yucatan,
and its priests were esteemed among the most learned in the peninsula.
The name Chanputun, Champoton, or, reversed, Potonchan, is derived by
Gomara from the Nahuatl _potonia_, to smell badly, and _chan_, house (in
composition). Elsewhere, however, we find it in the form Chakanputun,
and this is Maya. _Chakan_ is the term applied to a grassy plain, a
savanna, and it was especially applied to the ancient province in which
the city of Ho, now Merida, was situated, as appears from the following
entry in the _Diccionario de Motul, MS._
"AHCHAKAN: el que es de Merida, o de los pueblos de aquella comarca, que
se llama _Chakan_."
The correct form of the name is probably _Chakan peten_, the savanna
region.
6. The only obscure expression in this section is _yalan che, yalan
aban, yalan ak_. This often recurs in the ancient Maya manuscripts, and
was evidently a well-known formula, probably the refrain of one of their
ancient chants. In Mr. Stephens' translation it is rendered "under the
uninhabited mountains" (!) which is an attempt to render Pio Perez's
words "bajo los montes despoblados," "in the uninhabited forests."
_Aban_ or _haban_ is an obsolete word, only found in compounds, as
_yoxhaban_, huts made of branches. Both it and _ak_ were the names of
various branches or twigs. The phrase is literally "under the trees,
under the branches, under the foliage," and meant that those who thus
lived were homeless and houseless. It is a striking testimony to the
love of solid buildings and walled cities which characterized the Mayas.
I will add a verse from a curious prophetic chant in one of the Books of
Chilan Balam, where this expression occurs, and which is an interesting
example of these strange songs.
TZOLAH TI AHKIN CHILAM.
(_Recital of the priest Chilam._)
Uien, uien, a man uah;
Uken, uken, a man haa;
Tu kin, puz lum pach,
Tu kin, tzuch lum ich,
Tu kin, naclah muyal,
Tu kin, naclah uitz,
Tu kin, chuc lum [c]iic,
Tu kin, hubulhub,
Tu kin, co[c] yol chelem,
Tu kin, e[c]ele[c],
Tu kin, ox [c]alab u nak yaxche,
Tu kin, ox chuilab xotem,
Tu kin, pan tzintzin
Yetel banhob yalan che yalan haban.
_Translation._
Eat, eat, thou hast bread;
Drink, drink, thou hast water;
On that day, dust possesses the earth,
On that day, a blight is on the face of the earth,
On that day, a cloud rises,
On that day, a mountain rises,
On that day, a strong man seizes the land,
On that day, things fall to ruin,
On that day, the tender leaf is destroyed,
On that day, the dying eyes are closed,
On that day, three signs are on the tree,
On that day, three generations hang there,
On that day, the battle flag is raised,
And they are scattered afar in the forests.
7. _He[c]ob_, from _he[c]_, _he[c]el_ or _e[c]_, to fix firmly, to
settle, to found: _he[c]el ca cah uaye_, let us settle here, "poblamos
aqui" (_Dicc. de San Francisco_, MS.).
8. The founding of Uxmal by Ahcuitok Tutulxiu is recorded in this
paragraph; _ahcui_ is the name of a species of owl, _tok_ is the flint
stone. By some old writers Uxmal is spelled Oxmal, which would give the
meaning "to pass thrice," _ox_, three, _mal_, to pass. From _mal_,
preterite _mani_, also was derived the name of the chief city of the
Tutulxiu, with a peculiar signification explained in a note on a
previous page.
Mr. Stephens has taken considerable pains to prove that Uxmal with its
astonishing edifices was inhabited at and after the conquest (_Incidents
of Travel in Yucatan_, Vol. II, p. 259); there may, indeed, have been an
Indian village there, but the first European traveler who has left us a
description of it, and who visited it in 1586, when many natives, born
before the conquest, were still living, describes the massive buildings
as even then in ruins, and very large trees growing upon them. An old
Indian told him that according to their traditions, these structures had
at that time been built nine hundred years, and that their builders had
left the country nearly that long ago. (_Relacion Breve y Verdadera de
algunas cosas de las muchas qui[TN-16] sucedieron al Padre Fray Alonzo
Ponce_, in the _Coleccion de Documentos para la Historia de Espana_,
vol. LVIII, p. 461.)
The phrase _u he[c]icab Ahcuitok Tutulxiu Uxmal_ is translated by Pio
Perez "se poblo en Uxmal," [TN-17]established himself in Uxmal,"
conveying the impression that he merely moved to that city. This is,
however, not the sense of the original. _He[c]icab_ is an active verb
governing Uxmal as its direct object, and means to found firmly or
promptly.
The expression _halach uinicil_, the real man, the true man, is a common
idiom for governor or ruler, he being the only "real man" in an
autocratic community (ante p. 26).
The name of Mayapan is given in the form Mayalpan, which I think is
dialectic. It is spoken of as an established city under the joint rule
of several chiefs at the date of the founding of Uxmal.
9. This paragraph describes how the ruler of the Itzas lost his share in
the government of Mayapan. _Kebanthan_, literally a plot, or to plot to
do some injury--"concertar de hacer algun mal, y el tal concierto,"
_Diccionario de Motul_, MS. I have followed Pio Perez in translating
"against Hunac Eel," although "by Hunac Eel" seems more correct.
Elsewhere the name is Hunac Ceel. Ancona argues that he was a member of
the Cocom family (_Hist. de Yucatan_, I. p. 157.)
Several of the names of the seven "men of Mayapan" have a Nahuatl
appearance. Kakaltecat=Cacaltecatl, He of the Crow; Ytzcuat=Itzcoatl,
Smirch-faced snake; Xuchueuet=Xochitl, the rose or flower;
Pantemit=Pantenamitl, the Conqueror of the city wall. These would seem
to bear out what Landa and Herrera say, to the effect that at one period
the rulers of Mayapan invited Aztec warriors from the province of
Tabasco to come and dwell in the city and aid them in controlling the
inhabitants.
Both Dr. Valentini and Senor Pio Perez are of opinion the Katuns at the
commencement of this paragraph should read the 10th, 8th and 6th,
instead of the 11th, 9th and 6th, as it is necessary in order to
establish consistency with what follows.
10. This is one of the most obscure sections in the chronicle. The
phrase _tumenel u uahal uahob_ is rendered by Pio Perez "because he made
war," while Brasseur translates it "because of his great feasts." The
meaning of the root _uah_ is maize cakes, or, more generally, bread. The
_Diccionario de Motul_ gives: "UAHIL; banquete, convite o comida," which
is in favor of Brasseur's translation.
_Oxlahun uu[c]_, "thirteen divisions;" _uu[c]_ or _uuu[c]_ means
literally a fold or double, and hence appears to have been applied to
ranks of men in double rows. I do not find, however, any such meaning
given in the dictionaries. As a numeral particle it is used to count
whatever occurs in folds or doubles.
The number thirteen had a sacredness attached to it, from its frequent
use in the calendar. It appears from a passage in the _Popol Vuh_ that
the Cakchiquels, Pokomams and Pokomchis also divided their tribes into
thirteen sections (_Popol Vuh_, p. 206). In the Maya language, 13 is
also used to signify a great but indefinite number: thus _oxlahun
cacab_, thirteen generations, is equivalent to "forever"; _oxlahun
pixan_, thirteen times happy, is to be happy in the supreme degree; more
remote from customary analogies is the phrase for "full moon," _oxlhaun
caan u_, literally "the thirteen-sky moon," the moon which fills with
its light the whole sky (_Diccionario de Motul_, MS.).
The phrase _u [c]abal u natob_ is not translated at all in the English
rendering in Stephens' _Travels_, nor in that of Valentini. Brasseur
paraphrases it "by him who gives intelligence."
The proper names Ulmil and Ulil seem both to be derived from _ula_,
host, the master of the feast.
Here, again, I shall give the originals of the two previous translators.
_Translation of Pio Perez._
"En este mismo periodo o _katun_ del 8º ahau fueron a destruir al rey
Ulmil porque le hacia la guerra al rey de Izamal Ulil. Trece divisiones
de combatientes tenia cuando los disperso Hunac-eel para escarmentarlos:
la guerra se concluyo en el 6º ahau a los 34 anos."
_Translation of Brasseur._
"C'est dans la meme periode du Huit Ahau qu'ils allerent attaquer le roi
Ulmil, a cause de ses grands festins avec Ulil, roi d'Ytzmal: ils
avaient treize divisions de troupes, lorsqu'ils furent defaits par
Hunac-Eel, par celui qui donne l'intelligence. Au Six Ahau, c'en etait
fait, apres trente quatre ans."
The name Hunac Eel should be Hunac Ceel, as it is given in the other
chronicles. It means "he who causes great fear," _hunac_ in composition
means much, great, and _ceel_, cold, also the fright and terror which
makes one shiver as with cold ("espanto, asombro o turbacion que causa
frio." _Dicc. de Motul_, MS).[TN-18]
11. This important section describes the destruction of the great city
of Mayapan, which occurred somewhere between A.D. 1420-1450. The reasons
given for the act are not clear.
_Tumenel u pack tulum, tumenel multepal ich cah Mayalpan_, appears to me
to have the precise meaning I have given in the text; but Pio Perez
translates the passage thus "fue invadido por los hombres de Itza y su
rey Ulmil, el territorio fortificado de Mayalpan, porque tenia murallas,
y porque gobernaba en comun el pueblo de aquella ciudad."
The expression _multepal_, from _mul_, to do an act jointly, or in
common, and _tepal_, to govern, is interesting as showing that the
government of the country in its golden days of prosperity was not one
of an autocratic monarch, but a league or confederation of the principal
chiefs of the peninsula. This is also borne out by the descriptions of
the ancient government to be found in the pages of Landa and Herrera.
The Itzas seized the territory in and around Mayapan, but they were not
the ones who destroyed the city. This was the work of _Ahuitzil[c]ul_,
foreign mountaineers. _[C]ul_, is the common term for a foreigner in
Maya, and is now-a-days applied especially to the whites. _Uitz_,
mountain, is used with reference to the high sierra which runs through
central Yucatan, and so Pio Perez understood _ahuitzil_, "los que tenian
sus ciudades en la parte montanosa." This is probably correct, though we
do not know to whom this appellation refers. Yet it may be added that
another meaning can be given to the phrase; _uitz_ is the term applied
by the natives in some parts of the peninsula to the artificial mounds
or pyramids on which their temples were situated, which are usually
called _muul_.[132-1] In this sense _ahuitzil [c]ul_ should be rendered
"foreigners who had great pyramids."
The words _tan cah Mayapan_ (not Mayalpan as before) are rendered by Pio
Perez and Brasseur as the name of a province or district; but as they
simply mean "in the middle of the city of Mayapan," it appears to be
their signification here.
12. "After the fortress was depopulated" or destroyed. This no doubt
refers to the fortress of Mayapan, spoken of in the previous section.
Aguilar and his companions were wrecked on the coast of Yucatan, in
1511, and this is probably the earliest date of any actual landing of
Europeans, although in 1506, Pinzon had sighted the eastern shores.
13. _Mayacimil_, "the death of the Mayas," a term applied to a general
and fatal pestilence. Such are referred to by Landa (_Relacion_, Sec. X.)
and Cogolludo (_Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. IV, cap. VI),[TN-19] The
_Diccionario de Motul_, MS. has this entry:
"MAYACIMIL: una mortandad grande que fue en Yucatan. Y tomase por
qualquier mortandad y pestilencia que lleva mucha gente."
_Noh kakil_, _noh_, great, _kak_, fire, is the usual word for the
smallpox.
The reference to the death of Ahpula, who, as we learn from another
chronicle, was a member of the royal Xiu family, is especially valuable
as assigning a definite date in both the Maya and European calendars. It
is specified with great minuteness, and yet Pio Perez made the serious
error in his computations regarding the Maya calendar of reading "the
sixth year of the 13th ahau" instead of "six years from the close of the
13th ahau," as, in fact, he himself elsewhere translated it.
The expression _u xocol haab ti lakin cuchie_, "the reckoning of the
year was toward the East," refers to the circle or wheel marked with the
four cardinal points by which the years were arranged with reference to
the four "year-bearers" Kan, Muluc, Ix and Cauac.
The last words of this section, "sixty years after the fortress was
destroyed," are an obvious error, as in the preceding section this date
is said to be that of the first arrival of the Spaniards.
14. _Kul uincob_, "mighty men," from _kul_, strong, powerful, probably
akin to _ku_, god, but not with the religious signification which
_kuyen_ has (see page 125). _Caputzihil_, literally "to be born a second
time." Bishop Landa assures us positively that a rite of baptism was
known to the Mayas before the arrival of the whites, and that this name
was applied to it (_Relacion_, p. 144). As will be seen on a later page,
Maya writers usually employed another term to express Christian baptism.
The year in which Bishop Francisco Toral first came to Yucatan was 1562
(Cogolludo, _Hist. de Yucatan_, Lib. VI, cap. VI). He died in Mexico in
1571.
The remainder of this chronicle has never been translated or published.
It refers to facts after the Conquest, but I think it of interest to
give it completely, as its manner of dealing with known dates will throw
light on its general accuracy.
15. Bishop Diego de Landa, second bishop of the diocese of Merida, died
at that city in 1579, aged fifty-four years. The first missionaries that
came to Mani were Fathers Villalpando and Benavente, in 1547 (Cogolludo,
_Hist._, Lib. V, cap. VII). The convent there was established in 1549.
16. No town of the name Yokhaa is now known. But I find on the ancient
native map of Mani, dating from 1557, given by Stephens (_Travels in
Yucatan_, Vol. II, p. 264), a locality marked _Yokha_, marked with a
cross. This is no doubt the reference in the text.
17. The Auditor Don T[)o]mas Lopez came to Yucatan from Guatemala. He
was in Yucatan as early as 1552, and published laws in that year
(Cogolludo, Lib. V, cap. XIX, Lib. VII, cap. XI). A hospital was founded
very early in Mani, according to Cogolludo, but he does not give the
exact date (_ibid._, Lib. IV, cap. XX).
18. Doctor Don Diego Quijada arrived in Yucatan in 1562, and remained
until 1565.
19. When Landa was provincial, 1562-65, various Indians were hanged on
account of the prevalence of suicide.
20. What Marshall is referred to is uncertain, _thulub_ should probably
be _chulub_, and so I have translated it. Berendt suggested _ca botab
chulub_, "when they paid for water," the reference being to a great
drought.
21. An epidemic of measles and smallpox, in 1609, is referred to by
Cogolludo (Lib. IX, cap. I).
22. In 1610 three Indians of Tekax were hanged for having killed their
chief Don Pedro Xiu (Cogolludo, Lib. IX, cap. I).
23. The reference is to a census or assessment of the town. None is
mentioned in this year by Cogolludo, nor does he speak of the Judge
Diego Pareja.
FOOTNOTES:
[89-1] "No lo pudiendo sufrir los otros Senores, se conjuraron con el
Senor de los Tutuxius, i acudiendo en Dia senalado a la Casa del Senor
Cocom, le mataron con sus Hijos, salvo uno, que estaba ausente, i le
saquearon la Casa, i le tomaron sus Heredades, i desamparon la Ciudad
[de Mayapan], deseando cada Senor vivir en libertad en sus Pueblos, al
cabo de quinientos Anos, que se fundo, en la qual havian vivido con
mucha Policia; i havria que se despoblo, segun la cuenta de los Indios,
hasta que llegaron los Castellanos a Yucatan, setenta Anos. Cada Senor
procuro de llevar los mas Libros de sus Ciencias, que pudo, a su Tierra,
adonde hicieron Templos; i esta es la principal causa de los muchos
Edificios, que hai en Yucatan. Siguio toda su gente Ahxiui, Senor de los
Tutuxius, i poblo en Mani, que quiere decir, ia paso; como si dixese,
hagamos Libro nuevo; i de tal manera poblaron sus Pueblos, que hicieron
una gran Provincia, que se llama oi dia, Tutuxiu." Herrera, _Historia de
las Indias Occidentales_, Dec. IV, Lib. X, caps. II, III.
[90-1] _Historia de Yucatan_, Lib. III, cap. VI.
[91-1] I quote Dr. Berendt's words. "Los datos historicos que publico
Stephens en el Apendice de su obra fueron extractados de tal libro de
Chilam Balam en poder de un Indio de Mani, maestro de escuela, que por
tener el mismo apelido Balam pretendio ser descendiente del sacerdote de
los Mayas que llego a padrinar esta clase de escritos." _Chilam Balam,
Articulos y Fragmentos en Lengua Maya_ MSS., Advertencia, p. vii.
I have also in my collection a manuscript copy of what Yucatecan
scholars call the _Codice Perez_, a mass of materials copied by Senor
Pio Perez, among them this chronicle. The following is his own note at
its close:--
"Hasta aqui termina el libro titulado Chilambalam que se conserva en el
Pueblo de Mani en poder del maestro de Capilla."
[92-1] _The Katunes of Maya History_, A Chapter in the Early Chronology
of Central America, with special reference to the Pio Perez Manuscripts.
By Philip J. J. Valentini, Ph. D. _Proceedings of the American
Antiquarian Society_, 1879. (Worcester, Mass. Press of Charles Hamilton,
1880). The reprint is 60 pages, octavo.
[92-2] Crescencio Carrillo, _Manual de Historia y Geografia de la
Peninsula de Yucatan_, pp. 16-27. (12mo: Merida de Yucatan; imprenta de
J. D. Espinosa e Hijos.)
[95-1] chichcunahthan.
[96-1] uchuc.
[96-2] haban.
[96-3] ximbal.
[97-1] ximbal.
[99-1] chulub.
[116-1] The Spanish word "poblar" does not mean to people an uninhabited
country, but to found villages and gather the people into communities.
[120-1] _Historia de las Indias Occidentales Dec._ IV, Lib. X, cap. II.
[121-1] _Cacal_ is reduplicated from _cab_, land, province, town. The
change from _b_ to _l_ is also seen in _cacalluum_, "tierra buena para
sembrar," _Diccionario de Motul_; also in the town names Tixcacal,
Xcacal, etc.
[132-1] "En toda la Peninsula existen unos cerros a mano o monticulos
artificiales, que comunmente llaman los naturales en idioma Maya _Muul_
en algunos lugares, y en otros _Uitz_." Don Jose T. Cervera in the
_Revista de Merida_, Dec. 3, 1871.
II. THE SERIES OF THE KATUNS.
_From the Book of Chilan Balam of Tizimin._
Tizimin is a town of some importance, in the district of Valladolid,
about a hundred miles east of Merida. The "Book of Chilan Balam" which
was found there is one of the most ancient known, and appears to have
been written about the close of the sixteenth century. It is now in the
possession of the eminent antiquary, the Canon Crescencio Carrillo y
Ancona, of Merida, who has described it in his work on Maya
literature.[136-1] It contains 26 leaves, without numeration, and on the
17th this chronicle is inserted without title or prefatory remarks. It
is evidently a version of that previously given from the Book of Mani,
although a few additional particulars are stated, and there seems to
have been an attempt to arrange the epochs in more completeness.
This has led to the insertion of a number of katuns which I think it
evident do not properly come into the count. To correct the list the
katuns 8th, 6th, and 4th, mentioned in Sec.2, should be considered the same
as 8th, 6th, and 4th, repeated in Sec.3 and Sec.4. Again, in section 11, the
8th katun, on which the attack on Mayapan occurs, is to be considered
the same as the 8th with which Sec.12 begins, and the whole of the 25
katuns which are either stated to have intervened, or must be added in
order to make the series correct, are to be omitted. Finally, the 8th
katun at the close of Sec.10 should immediately follow the 10th at the
close of Sec.8.
TEXT.
1. Uaxac ahau.
Uac ahau[TN-20]
Can ahau.
Cabil ahau--[138-1]cakal hab catac humppel hab tu humpiztun
ahoxlahunahau.
2. Oxlahun ahau.
Uaxac ahau.
Uac ahau.
Ca ahau; kuchci chacnabiton mekat tutul xiu, humppel hab mati hokal
hab.
3. Uaxac ahau; uch cuchi [138-2]canpahal chic[=h]en Ytza; uch cu
chicpahal tzucubte Zian can lae.
4. Can ahau.
Cabil ahau.
Oxlahun ahau; lai tzolci pop.
5. Buluc ahau.
Bolon ahau.
Uuc ahau.
Ho ahau.
Ox ahau.
Hun ahau; lahunkal hab cu tepal chic[=h]en Ytza, ca paxi ca binob t
cahtal chakanputun ti yanhi yotochob ahYtzaob kuyan uinicobi.
6. Uac ahau; chuccu lumil chakanputun.
Can ahau.
Cabil ahau.
Oxlahun ahau.
Buluc ahau.
Bolon ahau.
Uuc ahau.
Ho ahau.
Ox ahau.
Hun ahau.
Lahca ahau.
Lahun ahau.
Uaxac ahau; paxci chakanputun; oxlahunkal hab cu tepal chacanputun
tumen Ytza [139-1]unincob; ca talob u tzaclob yotochob tucaten; ca u
zatahob be chakanputun; lay u katunil [139-2]biciob ahYtzaob yalan
che, yalan haban, yalan ak ti numyaob.
7. Vac ahau.
Can ahau; cakal hab ca talob u he[c] yotochob tu caten; ca u zatahob
be chankanputun.
Cabil ahau.
Oxlahun ahau.
Buluc ahau.
Bolon ahau.
Vuc ahau.
Ho ahau.
Ox ahau.
Hun ahau.
Lahca ahau.
8. Lahun ahau; u he[c]cicab ahzuitok tutulxiu uxmal; lahunkal hab cuchi
ca he[c]iob lum Uxmal.
9, 10. Buluc ahau.
Bolon ahau.
Uuc ahau.
Ho ahau.
Ox ahau.
Hun ahau.
Lahca ahau.
Lahun ahau.