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"Ah, I see where I should climb, then! I thought I,
was to climb into the rafters to spend the night," he
told his mother again.
"No, you should climb on top of your wife. You
should stick your prick in where you say she has that
mouth, where you say she has that beard. That's
where it goes in. That's what your wife wants so
badly. So give it to her! Stick your prick inside her!"
said the old woman.
"Ah, I understand, then," he said. The boy
learned. The next night that's what he did. That's
how the boy became a bit wiser. And he had a hard
time learning what to do. That's the way it was.
The boy's failure to "speak to" the girls is doubly funny to a
Zinacantec, for clearly it is the literal meaning of k'opon, "to
speak to" that is intended here rather than the verb's figurative
meaning, "to have sexual relations with." The humor would be
just as apparent to many Guatemalan Indians, for the same
Once there was an Ixtapanec who heard a tale [of
what would happen] if you didn't wait for the ghosts
every All Souls' Day. He did it. He tested to see if it
were true that the ghosts come to take us away. All
Souls' Day arrived. He waited for the ghost. He left
bull shit for it. He climbed a tree to see if it were true
that the ghost himself would come walking in. He
thought he would take his wife up into the tree. The
woman didn't want to [go with him]. She stayed
inside the house. The spirit came at midnight. He
arrived. He went inside. "Are you there?" he asked
the woman.
"I'm here," she said.
"Where has he gone?"
"He's gone. He went out," she said.
"Well, where is my meal?" he asked. "Am I to eat
bull shit? I've just come for this one fiesta. It isn't
every day I return," said the spirit.
"I don't know. That's what he left," said the
woman.
"Well, I guess we'll see. If you're here all the time
you can eat the bull shit," he said. "As for me, I'm
going. I have friends. I'll see who will give me a
meal," he said. He went. He left. The man came
down from the tree. He had heard everything the
spirit said. The man climbed down the tree. Dawn
came. Already his body ached. No hope for him.
"It feels as if I'm dying. What's the use?" said the
man. "I guess I'm going to look at my horse. If I
return, I return. If not, if I haven't come back, go
look for me then," said the man. He left. He never
returned. He died when he was looking at his horse.
ROMIN TERATOL
Respect the Dead!
T15
"7Aa, va7i, buy chimuy che7e, ka7uk me ta jol
nauk chimuy vayikon," xut la ti sme7 noxtok 7une.
"7I7i, ta sba me lavajnil chamuye, ja7 me te chatik'
lavat yo7 bu 7a taj 7o ye chaval 7une, 7a taj 7oy
yisim chaval 7une, ja7 me te ch7och 7un, yu7 me ja7
tzk'an ta j-mek lavajnil taj 7une, yu7n chavak'be
chapajbe ochel lavat 7une," xi la ti me7el 7une.
"7Aa, ka7i che7e," xi la 7un. 7Ixchan 7o la ti krem
7une, 7ispas xa yech ta 7otro jun 7ak'ubal 7un, 7i ja7
yech 7ip'ijub 7o j-set' 7i krem 7une, 7i vokol 7ixchan
ti k'usi ta spas 7une, ja7 yech 7un.
extension of the verb, "to speak to," occurs in a number of
Mayan languages.
Although Tax collected a number of folktales in Panajachel
relating the misadventures of innocent newly weds, I know of no
competitor to this lively numbskull story.
7O la jun jnibak ti vo7nee ya7yoj la jun kwento, ti
mu xich' malael ti ch'ulelal ju-jun Santoe, 7ispas la
yech, 7ispas preva, mi melel, ti chtal yik'otik li
ch'ulelale, 7ital la jun Santo, 7ismala la ti ch'ulelale,
7iyak'be la tzo7 vakax, 7imuy la ta te7, ta la sk'el, mi
melel, ti xva7et tal stuk ti ch'ulelale, yak'uk la yik'
muyel ta te7, ti yajnile, mu la sk'an ti 7antze, te la
7ikom ta yut na, ta 7o71ol 7ak'ubal 7ital ti 7animae,
7ik'ot 7i7och ta yut na. "Mi Ii7ote?" x7utat 7a li
7antze.
"Li7one," xi.
"Bu batem?"
"Batem, lok'em ech'el," xi la.
"Bweno, buy li jve7ele?" xi. "Mi ja7 ta jlajes, li
tzo7 vakaxe, yu7un k'ajom jun k'in lital, mu sbatel
7osiluk chiyul," xi la ti 7animae.
"Mu jna7, ja7 yech 7iyak' komel," xi la ti 7antze.
"Bweno, jk'eltik kik, mi sbatel 7osil Ii7oxuke tek
lajesik li tzo7 vakaxe," xi la 7un. "7A li vo7one
chibat 7oy kamikotak, te ta jk'el buch'u xisk'elanbe
jve7el," xi la. 7Ibat la, 7ilok' la ech'el, 7iyal la ta te7
ti vinike, ya7yoj skotol ti k'usitik 7iyal ti 7animae,
7iyal ta te7, ti vinike, 7isakub 7osil chopol xa spat,
xxokon, mu yorauk 7un.
"Chicham ya7el pasensia," xi la ti vinike. "Chibat
jk'el kik jka7 7a ti mi lisut tale, lisut tal, 7a ti mi7n
mu7yuke, muk' xisut tale, te xbat 7ak'elikon," xi la ti
vinike. 7Ibat la, mu la bu sut tal, te la 7icham ta
k'el-ka7, ba la sk'elik, te la pak'al, ta balamil, ja7 yech
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