Full Description
Xurt'an (the end of the world) showcases the rich storytelling traditions of the northern Lacandones of Naha' through a collection of traditional narratives, songs, and ritual speech. Formerly isolated in the dense, tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, the Lacandon Maya constitute one of the smallest language groups in the world. Although their language remains active and alive, their traditional culture was abandoned after the death of their religious and civic leader in 1996. Lacking the traditional contexts in which the culture was transmitted, the oral traditions are quickly being forgotten.
This collection includes creation myths that describe the cycle of destruction and renewal of the world, the structure of the universe, the realms of the gods and their intercessions in the affairs of their mortals, and the journey of the souls after death. Other traditional stories are non-mythic and fictive accounts involving talking animals, supernatural beings, and malevolent beings that stalk and devour hapless victims. In addition to traditional narratives, Xurt'an presents many songs that are claimed to have been received from the Lord of Maize, magical charms that invoke the forces of the natural world, invocations to the gods to heal and protect, and work songs of Lacandon women, whose contribution to Lacandon culture has been hitherto overlooked by scholars. Women's songs offer a rare glimpse into the other half of Lacandon society and the arduous distaff work that sustained the religion. The compilation concludes with descriptions of rainbows, the Milky Way as "the white road of Our Lord," and an account of the solstices.
Transcribed and translated by a foremost linguist of the northern Lacandon language, the literary traditions of the Lacandones are finally accessible to English readers. The result is a masterful and authoritative collection of oral literature that will both entertain and provoke, while vividly testifying to the power of Lacandon Maya aesthetic expression.
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1. Lacandones
Origin
Language
History
Ethnography
Religion and Cosmology
Chapter 2. Northern Lacandon Oral Literature
Lacandon Literary Style
Lacandon literary genres
Narrative structure
Transcription Conventions and Procedures
Chapter 3. Myths
Birth of the Gods
Hachäkyum and Akyant'o' Create their People and Kisin Creates their Onen'
Hachäkyum makes the Ants and Snakes
Hachäkyum Makes the Sky
Ulu'ubir Ba'arka'an Umentik Petha' 'A Star Falls and Creates the Lagoon'
Hachäkyum yeter T'uup yeter Kisin 'Hachäkyum and T'uup and the Devil'
Hachäkyum yeter T'uup yeter Chäk Xib 'Hachäkyum and T'uup and Chäk Xib'
Xurt'an: Hachäkyum Uxatik Uche'ir Ukaar 'The End of the World: Hachäkyum Cuts the Mortals' Throats'
Äkiche'ex 'Our Eyes'
Nacimiento 'Birth'
Uyählehir Bah 'The Mole Trapper'
Xurt'an uburur 'The World ends with the Flood'
Äkyant'o' No Permite Uxurt'an Äkyant'o' Prevents the End of the World'
'Ähah
Ka'wäts'äk uho'or Barum yeter K'ak' 'The Two-headed Jaguar and the Lord of Fire'
Mensäbäk yeter Hach Winik Tukinsah 'Mensäbäk and the Ancestor He Killed'
Kak'och yeter Uk'anir Hach Winik 'Kak'och and his Human Assistant'
Ak'inchob Takes a Human Wife
Chapter 4. Popular Stories
Maya Kimin 'The Mayan Death'
Chak Xok 'The Sirens'
Nukuch Winik yeter uti'a'ar yeter Ahya'axche' 'The Ancestor, his Son, and the Ceiba Tree'
Haayok'
Ko'otir Ka'an 'The Celestial Eagle'
Uyitber 'He at the End of the Road'
Kak'och yeter Uyitber 'Kak'och and the Yitber'
Want'ut'k'in
P'ikbir Ts'on yetel Kisin 'The Rifle and the Devil'
'Ayim yetel Chem 'The Crocodile and the Canoe'
AhSaay 'The Leaf-cutter Ants'
Aht'uur yeter Balum 'The Rabbit and the Jaguar'
Ch'ämäk yeter Balum 'The Fox and the Jaguar'
Hachäkyum yeter ahBäb 'Hachäkyum and the Toad'
Pek' yeter 'Ayim 'The Dog and the Crocodile'
How the Toucan Got his Red Beak
Chapter 5. Songs
Uk'aay Barum 'Jaguar Song'
Uk'aay Box 'Gourd Song'
Uk'aay Käkah 'Cacao Song'
Uk'aay Käy 'Fish Song'
Uk'aay ti' Huuch' 'Song for Grinding'
Uk'aay ti' K'uuch 'Song for Spinning Thread'
Uk'aay Torok 'Iguana Song'
Uk'ayir Ma'ax 'Song of the Monkeys'
Uk'ayir Tok' 'Song of the Flint'
Uk'ayir Xux 'Song of the Yellow Jacket Wasps'
Chapter 6. Ritual Speech: Invocations, Chants, and Charms
AhHooch' 'Hooch''
Ahts'in 'Manioc'
An Offering Chant during the Preparation of Balche'
Offering Under a Tree
Ut'anil Balche' 'The Secret of the Balche''
Chapter 7. Descriptions of Meteorological and Astral Phenomena
'Äxp'äli' 'The Solstice'
Lu'um Kab 'The Rainbow Gods'
Säkber Akyum 'Our Lord's White Road'
Appendix 1. Lacandon Onen, Ceremonial Names, and Distribution
Appendix 2. Gods and Men in Lacandon Mythology
Bibliography
