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It is not surprising, in a culture where age and experience are
so highly valued, that Christ is imagined as an old man at the
time of his crucifixion, even though the images of Christ in the
church represent, of course, a young man.
As in Romin Teratol's account (T8), the creation of the sky is
associated with the crucifixion, but the wandering Jew episode is
a new emphasis.
The use of Judas as a name and an image to describe the Jews
who persecuted and strove to murder Our Lord is renewed
every year in the Easter celebration, when an effigy of Judas,
crowned with a sombrero, clothed in baggy blue pants, carrying
an armadillo-shell shoulder bag, and sporting in his mouth a long
cigar, hangs above the entrance to the Church of St. Lawrence
until, on Saturday night, it is lowered precipitously to an
ignominious end in the waiting bonfire.
Though many of the scenes are familiar biblical events,
Christ's character in these Mesoamerican tales is startling—only
It seems they grew up. There were three brothers.
One child, the smallest one, couldn't climb the
tree. Those two older brothers got that honey. They
would chew [the honeycomb].
It was the chewings they tossed down to that little
younger brother of theirs who didn't climb the tree.
As for that one—"Give me a little, older bro—
ther!" he kept saying.
"Okay, it's coming!" they said. It was the chewings
that came down.
That poor younger brother ga—thered up his little
bit of wax from that honey. Quickly he stuck it
under the tree roots. Sonofabitch, it turned right
away into a gopher! It turned right away into a
gopher. When the time came, Lord, that tree came
toppling down. But first, first he went. He went to
fix his little oval tortillas. "Mother, I want two oval
tortillas," he said. "With three holes in them," he
said.
"Well, let's make them!" that little child was told
by that mother of his. He took them because that
gopher had stayed behind to work. He took those
oval tortillas. Lord, when that tree toppled over,
then that little younger brother quickly stuck those
oval tortillas on [his older brothers'] faces. They
turned into pigs. One went to the woods. It was the
peccary. But the other one, he led home—that's the
domestic pig. That's the way it was long ago. But it
was [the younger brother] who has been Our Lord in
Heaven ever since, they say. But it is the sun, as we
say. That's who it was. He was the youngest brother.
The older brothers didn't succeed, because they
were so mean, as we say. They wouldn't give their
younger brother anything to eat, as we say. They
were so mean, that's why it turned out like that. It
REY KOMIS 387
The Three Suns
T162
by a slight shift of emphasis Christ has become a hero remembered
more for his cunning than for his love of mankind. It
would not be difficult to imagine this Christ in the guise of
Hunahpu or Xbalanque of the Popol Vuh.
Christ's utter humiliation before and during his crucifixion
contrasts sharply with two other versions, one from Zinacantan
and another from Chichicastenango. In the first, Christ is left
bound to a tree, but does not die. The Jews try to cut down a
tree to make his cross, but tree after tree splinters. They ask
Christ to cut the tree himself. He does. The Jews try in vain to
hew it. Christ does. They try in vain to carry it. Christ does
(Bricker, T10). Similarly, in the Guatemalan version, the Jews
are unable to cut down the tree for Christ's cross. The chips turn
into snakes and frogs, until Christ volunteers his services. Then
the chips turn into fish and edible animals (Tax, 1947:457-460).
See also T8, T52, and their notes.
7A li 7ich'iik ya7el 7ox-vo7 xchi7il sbaik xkaltik.
Bweno li li jun k'oxe 7a li mas bik'it mu xmuy ta
te7, 7a taj pom 7une, 7a li ta la staik taj cha7-vo7
bankilal 7une, ta la smatz'ik 7un.
Va7 7un, smatz' 7une, ja7 la sjipbe yalel taj yunen
k'ox 7itz'in mu xmuy ta te7 7une.
Va7i, taj 7une, "7Ak'bon j-set'uk 7un, jbanki—1!"
xi la batel 7un.
"Bweno, te xa me chtal 7un!" xi la. Smatz'ben la
chyal tal 7un.
Va7i 7un, stzo—b la taj 7unen yunen chabil taj, 7a
taj pom taj prove 7itz'inal 7une, j-likel la 7ixch'ik ta
yisim te7 7un, piita, pas la ta ba ta 7ora 7un, pas la ta
ba ta 7ora 7un, k'al la 7ista 7orae, kere, xbutut xa la
yalel taj 7a taj te7 7une, pero ba7i la ba7i la ma ti bat
7a li ba smeltzan tal yunen memela. "Me7, ta jk'an
chibuk jmemela," xi la 7un. "Ta 7ox-ch'oj ssat," xi la
7un.
"Bweno, jmeltzantik!" x7utat yu7un taj sme7 taj
7unen k'ox 7une. Yich' k6mo te xa kom 7abtejuk taj
ba 7une, yich' ech'el taj memela 7une, kere7, k'alal
7ibutk'ij yalel taj 7a taj te7 7une, ja7 7o la j-likel la
7ispak'anbe tzni7 taj memela taj k'ox 7itz'inal 7une,
chitom la pas 7o 7un, li j-kote bat la ta te7tik, ja7 li
te7tikil chitom 7une, yan li j-kot 7une, 7isnit la tal
tzna 7un, ja7 li tz'unbalal chitom la 7une, ja7 ja7
yech taj taj vo7ne 7une, pero ja7 la ja7 la li kajvaltik
li k'al tana ta vinajele xiik 7un, pero li k'ak'al xkaltik
7une, ja7 la 7un, ja7 slajeb 7itz'inal Ie7 7une, ti
bankilal 7une, muk' xtojob yu7un tol pukuj xkaltik
7un, mu xak'be k'u slajes i yitz'in xkaltik 7une, toj
pukuj 7un yech'o, yech'o x7elan 7ibat la 7une, ja7 la
taj, taj 7itz'inale che7e ja7 li kajvaltik ta vinajel
xkaltik xa 7une, li k'ak'al xkaltik 7une, 7a taj