The Annals of the Cakchiquels | Page 3

all of them pure Nahuatl,
the word Tecpan means the royal residence or capital; Quauhtemallan
(Guatemala), "the place of the wood-pile;" Utlatlan, "the place of the
giant cane;" Atitlan, "the place by the water;" Tezolotlan, "the place of
the narrow stone," or "narrowed by stones."[13-1]
These fanciful names, derived from some trivial local characteristic,
were not at all translations of the native tribal names. For in their own
dialects, Quiche, [c]iche, means "many trees;" Tuztuhil, [c,]utuhil, "the
flowery spot;" Akahal, "the honey-comb;" and Cakchiquel, a species of
tree.
Culture of the Cakchiquels.
These four nations were on the same plane of culture, and this by no
means a low one. They were agriculturists, cultivating for food beans,
peppers, and especially maize. To the latter, indeed, they are charged
with being fanatically devoted. "If one looks closely at these Indians,"
complains an old author, "he will find that everything they do and say
has something to do with maize. A little more, and they would make a
god of it. There is so much conjuring and fussing about their corn fields,
that for them they will forget wives and children and any other pleasure,
as if the only end and aim of life was to secure a crop of corn."[14-1]
In their days of heathenism, all the labors of the field were directed by
the observance of superstitious rites. For instance, the men, who always
did a large share of the field work, refrained from approaching their
wives for some days before planting the seed. Before weeding the patch,
incense was burned at each of the four corners of the field, to the four
gods of the winds and rains; and the first fruits were consecrated to
holy uses.[14-2] Their fields were large and extremely productive.[14-3]
In this connection it is worth noting, in passing, that precisely
Guatemala is the habitat of the Euchlæna luxurians, the wild grass from
which, in the opinion of botanists, the Zea Mais is a variety developed
by cultivation.

Cotton was largely cultivated, and the early writers speak with
admiration of the skill with which the native women spun and wove it
into graceful garments.[15-1] As in Yucatan, bees were domesticated
for their wax and honey, and a large variety of dye-stuffs, resins for
incense, and wild fruits, were collected from the native forests.
Like the Mayas and Aztecs, they were a race of builders, skillful
masons and stone-cutters, erecting large edifices, pyramids, temples,
and defensive works, with solid walls of stone laid in a firm
mortar.[15-2] The sites of these cities were generally the summits of
almost inaccessible crags, or on some narrow plain, protected on all
sides by the steep and deep ravines--barrancas, as the Spaniards call
them--which intersect the plateau in all directions, often plunging down
to a depth of thousands of feet. So located and so constructed, it is no
wonder that Captain Alvarado speaks of them as "thoroughly built and
marvelously strong."[15-3]
In the construction of their buildings and the measurements of their
land, these nations had developed quite an accurate series of lineal
measures, taking as their unit certain average lengths of the human
body, especially the upper extremity. In a study of this subject,
published during the present year, I have set forth their various terms
employed in this branch of knowledge, and compared their system with
that in use among the Mayas and the Aztecs.[16-1] It would appear that
the Cakchiquels did not borrow from their neighbors, but developed
independently the system of mensuration in vogue among them. This
bears out what is asserted in the Annals of Xahila, that their
"day-breaking," or culture, was of spontaneous growth.
The art of picture writing was familiar to all these peoples. It was
employed to preserve their national history, to arrange their calendar,
and, doubtless, in the ordinary affairs of life.[16-2] But I am not aware
that any example or description of it has been preserved, which would
enable us to decide the highly important question, whether their system
was derived from that of the Mexicans or that of the Mayas, between
which, as the antiquary need not be informed, there existed an almost
radical difference.

The word for "to write," is [c,]ibah, which means, in its primary sense,
"to paint;" ah[c,]ib, is "the scribe," and was employed to designate the
class of literati in the ancient dominion. Painted or written records were
called [c,]ibanic.
They had a literature beyond their history and calendars. It consisted of
chants or poems, called bix, set orations and dramas.[17-1] They were
said or sung in connection with their ceremonial dances. These
performances were of the utmost importance in their tribal life. They
were associated with the solemn mysteries of their religion, and were in
memory of some of the critical events in their real or