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someone disappeared from his house and was
washed down by the water, fell in the flooded
gully.
"You see, the gully flooded, maybe a person fell in
the gully. We can't make him take the blame. It
seems the man didn't have anyone, his father or his
mother [who said], My son has disappeared, my son
was killed. Who knows where he died. He was killed by
an assassin. [There was no one] who said that, the
man's mother or wife or someone, it seems. That's
why I can't jail our countryman here. Forget it, who
knows who killed him. Who knows if he went off in
the river, if the poor dead thing was swept down
there. If someone comes to make an accusation, then
we'll seize our countryman, but we can't seize him
[for nothing]. Don't you see, we never saw it. We
didn't hear about it, it seems. There wasn't anyone
who saw it. There wasn't anyone who said, You
killed him! There isn't any proof, it seems, we can
say. But if we had seen it, there wouldn't be any
difficulty. Forget it, son, go home, you aren't guilty
of anything. There is no one who came to make an
accusation, it seems, that you were seen. Not until
something is discovered will you be called, if you
were seen, if you were discovered, if someone makes
an accusation because it was seen that it was you
who killed someone. Forget it, go on, forget it, son,
but if there were somebody who saw you, if there
were somebody who watched you kill him then you
could certainly be punished. As it is, there isn't
anybody who saw you. It seems as if it's just a bunch
of lies. It's just that the clothes, the sash, the hat and
so on were seen where he was buried. We don't
know if he was washed along the gully. We don't
know if some person fell in the gully. We don't know
if some person fell in the gully, but maybe, maybe it
isn't our concern where we die, it seems. It makes no
difference anymore how the people died long ago.
Not unless someone goes and makes an accusation.
Yes! As it is, it makes no difference if it was in a
flooded gully that he died. No fuss. The man was
lost. He disappeared. And maybe he had no wife or
something, or he had no mother, or the man had no
woman at all. There wasn't anybody to complain. So
he died. The man died. No fuss. None." That's the
way it was left. The end.
Tonik's measurement of distance by blocks and half-blocks,
even in the woods, emphasizes her "civilized" outlook!
Upon first encounter, this tale seems to be quite simply a story
of (1) the consequences of infidelity and (2) the consequences of
tattling. Despite the real worries of Zinacantec men, who must
labor in their lowland corn fields for weeks at a time, while their
wives are left to their own devices in their mountain homes,
there is a surrealist quality to this drama—presenting an outspoken
dog, a peculiar hole in the wall, an extraordinary
TONIK NIBAK 287
buch'u ch'ayem ta na, te 7ital ta ves-vo7, mi bat ta
nojel be-o7.
"Va7i 7un tal la nojel be-o7 te nan mi 7o bu batem
ta be-o7 krixchano, mu xu7 xkak'betik skuch, mu
yu7unuk 7o buch'u sme7 stot ti vinik ya7ele,
Ch'ayem jkrem, milbiljkrem, jnaltik bu laj, laj ta
jmak-be, mu7nuk 7o bu xi ya7el sme7 yajnil buch'u ti
vinike ya7el 7une, yech'o mu xu7 jchuk i jchi7iltik
Ii7i, yiyil, jna7tik buch'u milonuk, jna7tik mi yu7un
batem ta 7uk'um, mi yu7un ja7 te vesel 7ik'ot ti
buch'u proveal chameme, ti mi yu7un 7o buch'u tal
sk'an parte, ja7 to te jtzaktik i jchi7iltike, pero mu no
7ox stak' jtzaktik, mu xavil muk' bu kilotik, mu7nuk
ka7yotikuk ya7el, mu7nuk 7o buch'u yiloj. Ja 7
lamilvan! Mu7nuk 7o buch'u xi, mu7nuk 7u k'usi, 7u
k'usi preva ya7el, ta xkaltik yu7un ti kilojtik ya7el
7une, ch'abal k'op chak taje, yiyil, kere, batan ta
7ana, mu7nuk 7u k'usi 7amul, mu yu7unuk 7o buch'u
tal sk'an parte ya7el ti 7ilbilot 7une, ja7 to ti mi ja7 to
k'u xta xavich' 7albel ti mi yu7un 7avich' 7ilel mi
yu7un 7avich' tael mi 7o buch'u te sk'an parte yu7un
7ilbil ya7el ti vo7ot lamilvan, yiyil, batan 7un, yiyil,
kere, yan ti mi7n 7o buch'u nayil, mi 7o buch'u
nask'el ti milvanemot 7ikta nan xu7 xu7 xavich'
kastiko bi 7a, 76ra Ie7e, mu7nuk 7o buch'u yilojot,
yech no 7ox ta j-mek k'op ya7el 7une, ja7 no 7ox
yu7un ti 7ile ya7el ti k'u7ule ti xinchaile, ti pixalale ti
k'utikuk ya7el ti bu mukul 7une, mu jna7tik mi
ves-be-o7 talem, mu jna7tik mi 7o bu batem ta be-o7
krixchano, pero ja7 nan ja7 nan muk' i jk'oplaltik bu
xilajotik ya7el 7une, mu7yuk to sk'oplal ti krixchano
bu xcham ti vo7ne 7une, ja7 to ti mi yu7un 7o buch'u
ba sk'an parte ja7, 7a 7un taje, muk' la sk'oplal mi
nojel be-o7 bu la laj 7un, ch'abal k'op, ch'ay ti vinike,
7ich'ay, 7i yu7 nan mu7yuk yajnil mi k'u xi, mi
mu7yuk sme7, k'u xi x7elan ti 7antz ya7el ti vinikuk
7une, muk' buch'u ssa7 k'op, yech'o cham, ti cham ti
vinike, ch'abal k'op, ch'abal." Kechel 7ikom chak taj
7une, 7i laj 7o 7un.
abundance of game, a bizarre piece de resistance, and a wildly
thirsty wife. The major plot, revealed in excruciatingly fine
detail, offers a series of dramatic contrasts. Lover is like husband.
Lover is like dead dog. Wife seems honest and hardworking,
but is unfaithful. Lover's penis is like deer's penis. Husband
assumes wife's role; he grinds the chilis and serves the meal.
Husband gives wife a delicious repast, but with fatal effect.
Lover's penis produces bloated stomach, pregnant with death,
Husband appears guilty, but is "proved" innocent.