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There was a tree standing by the spring. A very
long time ago they said, "There is a spring where the
tree is standing." [That's what] the people said.
"Let's go see," said the others.
"Let's go," they said. They came to look at the
spring. They saw that the tree wasn't there now.
They saw something [that looked] like a person
standing there in the place where the tree was. They
saw the person standing there. They found a stump
standing there where the spring was. They began to
dig a well. The next day they saw that the tree was
standing there where a tree had always been. They
dug the well. They found water. They named it Vo7
Ta Pas Te7 ["Spring by the Stump"].
This origin tale of the major waterhole in Xun's hamlet of
Paste7 was not very clear to me, so eleven days later I asked
Xun to retell it (T46). Although both accounts give the same
information that a tree disappeared, was replaced by a human
being, who was replaced by a stump, which vanished at the
reappearance of the tree, I have retained both to show the
degree of variance in two versions told, within a short period of
In the beginning it was there. The tree disappeared
when they saw it—when [they saw] there was a
spring there. A tree had been standing there. The
next day they went to look. They saw the tree was
no longer there. They saw a person standing there
where the tree had stood. [That was] when the
people were off in the distance. When they looked,
after they had come close to where the person was
standing, they saw a stump standing there. [It was]
when they arrived next to where the spring was.
They returned from looking at the spring. They
went back to bring their tools, to dig the well. They
saw that the tree was standing there again, that the
stump was no longer there. They thought it over.
They offered candles. They asked for permission
since they wanted to dig a well. They dug the well.
When they finished digging the well they celebrated
Cross Day. That's why they named it Pas Te7al Vo7
["Stump Spring"].
XUN 7Akov 157
The Tree and the Spring
T46
Bellyache
They slept together. The woman had a husband.
The woman's husband came. [A man] spoke to his
sister-in-law. They talked together. He slept with his
sister-in-law. The husband didn't know that there
was someone else. The husband came. He arrived to
T32
7Oy te jun te7 tek'el ta vo7, 7iyalik ti vo7ne ta
j-meke, "Oy me te jun vo7 ta tek'el te7!" xi ti
krixchano.
"Ba jk'eltik kik," xi ti yane.
"Battik!" xi. 7Italik sk'elik li vo7, 7iyil ti ch'abal xa
te li te7e.
Bweno, 7iyilik jun komo jun krixchano te va7al, ti
buy yav ti te7, 7iyilik xa li krixchano te oy va7al
7istaik, jun chuman te7 te va7al ti bu 7oy li vo7e,
7ilik sjok'ik li vo7e, ta yok'omal 7iyilik te xa tek'el ti
te7 ti buy 7onox tek'el li te7, 7isjok'ik li vo7e, 7istaik
li vo7 7isbiin Vo7 ta Pas Te7.
time by the same individual.
The etymology of Pas Te7 is difficult; te7 means tree, but pas
apparently is derived from the root p'as, which indicates a short
length of wood, in this instance referring to the stump. If Pas
Te7 is translated loosely as "stump," then Vo7 Ta Pas Te7
would be "Spring By the Stump," and Pas Te7al Vo7 (T46)
would be "Stump Spring." See T46.
Primero te to 7ox 7ich'ay te7e, k'alal ti 7iyilik ti
k'al te 7oy vo7, te petzel j-tek' te7, 7ibat sk'elik ta jun
7o k'ak'al, 7iyilik ch'abal xa te li te7e, 7iyil krixchano
te va7al bu 7oy to 7ox li te7e, petzel, ti k'alal nom to
7ox xlok'ik li krixchanoe, k'alal 7iyilik k'alal
7inopojik bu va7al li krixchano, ja7 to 7iyilik jun
chuman te7 te va7al, k'alal 7ik'ot ta stz'el bu 7oy
vo7e sutik tal sk'elik vo7, ja7 to 7isut tal yich'ik
yabtejebik ta sjok'ik ti vo7, 7iyilik te xa petzel li te7
noxtok, ja7 ch'abal xa li chuman te7e, lik snopik,
7iyak'ik kantela, 7isk'anik lisensya yu7un sk'an
sjok'ik li vo7e, 7isjok'ik vo7, spasik k'in krus k'alal laj
sjok' li vo7 yech'o 7isbiin li Pas Te7al Vo7.
For commentary see T29.
Yik' sbaik, 7oy smalal li 7antze, 7ital smalal li
7antze, 7isk'opon sbaik xchi7uk smu7, 7iyalbe sbaik,
chik' sbaik xchi7uk smu7, mu sna7 li vinik, mi 7o te
yan, 7ital li vinike, makal sna, yul sta, 7isjam sna li
vinik, te kajalik xcha7-va7alik xchi7uk smu7.