The Annals of the Cakchiquels | Page 8

of the Mexican calendar, Izcalli; but if
borrowed from the latter, two Cakchiquel words, of similar sound but
different meaning, have been substituted for the original by the familiar
linguistic principle of otosis or paronomasia.
Names of the Cakchiquel Days.
Name. Name. 1. Imox, 11. Batz, 2. I[t], 12. Ee, 3. A[t]bal, 13. Ah, 4.
Kat, 14. Yiz, 5. Can, 15. Tziquin, 6. Camey, 16. Ahmac, 7. Queh, 17.
Noh, 8. Kanel, 18. Tihax, 9. Toh, 19. Caok, 10. Tzii, 20.
Hunahpu,[TN-2]
The calendars in use were of two different kinds, the one called [c]hol
[t]ih, literally "the valuer or appraiser of days," which was employed
exclusively for astrological and divining purposes, to decide on which
were lucky and unlucky days; and may [t]ih, "the revolution or
recurrence of days," which was for chronological purposes.[31-1]
It will be noticed that in Xahila's Annals, every year ends on a day Ah,
and that each such closing day is numerically three less than the day Ah
terminating the preceding year. There are also obvious inconsistencies
in his identification of native dates with the Christian calendar; but
these, and the numerous difficult questions they suggest, would take me
too far afield to enter upon in the present introductory paragraphs. The
object of this volume is rather to furnish material for study than to
undertake the study itself.
The brief description of their reckoning of time, given by Sanchez y
Leon, may be quoted: "They divided the year into 18 months, and each
month into 20 days; but they counted only by nights, which they
mentioned as dawns (alboradas); the movements of the sun in the
ecliptic governed their calendar; they began their year forty days before
ours; they celebrated annually three great feasts, like Easters, at which
periods both sexes assembled together at night, and indulged in
drunkenness and wantonness."[31-2]
I think in this extract the author should have said that they began their
year 40 days later than ours, as this would bring his statement more into

conformity with other writers.
Personal and Family Names.
Among the Cakchiquels, each person bore two names; the first his
individual name, the second that of his family or chinamitl. This word
is pure Nahuatl, and means a place enclosed by a fence,[32-1] and
corresponds, therefore, to the Latin herctum, and the Saxon ton. As
adopted by the Cakchiquels, it meant a household or family of one
lineage and bearing one name, all of whom were really or theoretically
descended from one ancestral household. To all such was applied the
term aca, related or affined;[32-2] and marriage within the chinamitl
was not permitted. When a man of one chinamitl married into another,
every male in the latter became his brother-in-law, baluc, or son-in-law,
hi.[32-3]
Each chinamitl was presided over by a recognized leader, the "head of
the house," whose title was ah[c,]alam, "the keeper of the
tablets,"[32-4] probably the painted records on which the genealogy of
the family and the duties of its members were inscribed.
The division of the early tribes into these numerous families was not
ancient, dating, according to tradition, from about a century and a half
before the Conquest.[32-5]
The family name was sometimes derived from a locality, sometimes
from a peculiarity, and at others from astrological motives.[33-1]
The personal name was always that of the day of birth, this being
adopted for astrological reasons. There was a fixed opinion that the
temperament and fortunes of the individual were controlled by the
supposed character of his birthday, and its name and number were
therefore prefixed to his family name. This explains the frequent
occurrence in the Cakchiquel Annals of such strange appellatives as
Belehe Queh, nine deer; Cay Batz, two monkey, etc.; these being, in
fact, the days of the year on which the bearers were born. They should
be read, "the 9th Queh," "the 2d Batz," etc.

Tribal Subdivisions.
The chinamitl appears to have been the sub-gens. Besides it, there are
other words frequently recurring in the Annals referring to divisions of
the community, hay, home or household; [c]hob, sept or division; and
ama[t] tribe or city.
The first of these, hay, appears to be a general term applied to a
community, without necessarily implying relationship. An Indian,
asked where he is from, will answer in ah-hay vae, "I am of this place,"
referring to his village. Yet it is evident that in early times, all of one
village were considered to be related. The word hay, moroever,[TN-3]
does not signify a house as an edifice. In that sense the proper term is
ochoch.
The frequent references by Xahila to the seven tribes, or rather the
seven cities, vuk ama[t], and the thirteen divisions or provinces,
oxlahuh [c]hob, are not explained in the course of the narrative. These
numbers retained sacred associations, as