Page:The Annals of the Cakchiquels.djvu/201



1. The author begins by stating his purpose in a few lines.

xtinuꜯabah, future of ꜯabah, to write, originally to paint.

xeboço, past tense, third person, plural, of the absolute form of boç, here, as often, used actively. Compare Gram., p. 49.

laꜫabex, passive of laꜫabeh, to inhabit, to settle.

huyu taꜫah, hills and plains, or, the interior and the coast; an expression meaning the whole country.

que cha, they say, used as the French on dit, indicating that the writer is reporting the words of another.

ki, an intensive or affirmative particle, thrown in to add strength to the expression.

ka taia, our fathers, ka mama, our grandfathers and ancestors more remote than fathers. These terms are to be understood in a general sense.

yx nu qahol, you my sons, or yx ka qahol, you our sons, intimates that this account was prepared for the family of the writer.

pa Tulan. The prep. pa (before a vowel pan) means in, at, to, and from. Torresano (MS. Gram.) renders it by the Latin ad, pro, absque, ab, de, e, ex. Brasseur translates these words "being still in Tulan," which does not make sense.

2. Ꜫaꜫavitz, Zactecauh. Both these names of the ancestral heroes of the Cakchiquels appear to be partly Nahuatl. Ꜫaꜫ is "fire," and Zak is "white," both Cakchiquel words, but vitzli, thorn, and techatl, the stone of sacrifice, are Nahuatl.

Ꜭhaka palouh, the other side of the sea. The word palouh appears to be derived from the verb paloh, to lift onesself up, to rise, referring to the waves.

pe vi, and vi pe; on the use of the particle vi, see Grammar, p. 63.

pa Tulan ru bi huyu, from the country or place called Tulan. The word huyu usually means hill or mountain; but it is frequently used in the vague sense of "place," "locality."

achij, men, viri, not homines, which latter is vinak.

Xahila, a plural form. The name may be derived from xahoh, to dance in the sacred or ceremonial dances; or from ahila, to reckon or number.