The Annals of the Cakchiquels | Page 8

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 they were adopted later to assign the days of worship of their divinity (see Sec. 44). Brasseur is of opinion that the thirteen divisions refer to the Pokomams,[34-1] but that such a subdivision obtained among the Cakchiquels as well, is evident from many parts of their Annals. The same division also prevailed, from remote times, among the Quiches,[34-2] and hence was probably in use among all these tribes. It may have had some superstitious connection with the thirteen days of their week. The [c]hob may be regarded as the original gens of the tribe, and the similarity of