La Sirena (Xwaáy Kumätz). Xwáay is Maya for ‘witch’, Kumätz for ‘snake’. She is evil, half woman half snake, has long black hair and is clothed in white. Her face may be hidden, ugly or beautiful. She may be hiding a horse face or skull under the cloth she wears over her head. She got tired of her child and threw it in a stream to drown. She now sits by a stream at night and if you see her, it is an omen of death. She, sometimes, carries off children for three days and when they return they are unable to function normally for days. She mostly chooses men, drunks, and may even impersonate a sweetheart. She then leads them down paths difficult to return. When found, the men are frustrated and delirious.
La Sucia (The Dirty: English) (Xwáay Éek’). Xwáay is Maya for ‘witch’, Eek’ for ‘dirty’. She is a large woman with long golden hair, lives near rivers, is mischievous, and enchants men especially drunks. She is relatively harmless. When she sees a drunk, she exposes her breasts and laughs. The man follows, but she suddenly disappears. He loses his way and falls into exhaustion. When he awakens, he is usually sleeping on a grave in a cemetery. He then suffers from confusion, fever, and delusions.
Mozon (Etzelal Iq’). Etzelal is Maya for ‘evil, wickedness, badness’, Iq’ for ‘wind’. He is the wind and comes in short, sudden gusts. People can be affected. They fall down and begin to tremble violently. They may also vomit, faint, or get a high fever which can be cured by a curandero (bush doctor).
Negro de Agua (Q’eq Ja’ Wíinik) is Spanish for Black Man of the Water. He takes drowned bodies to dens under water in rivers. The palms of his hands and feet are white. Ja’ is Maya for ‘water’, Q’eq for ‘black’, Wíinik for ‘man’.
Ole Heg (Xwáay Chikoop). Xwáay is Maya for ‘witch’, Chikoop for ‘vampire bat’. She sucks blood and can transform herself into a flying ball of fire or a thin ray of light to enter a keyhole. She mainly travels at night searching for victims to suck their blood. She prepares by saying a prayer that allows her to remove her skin which she hangs on a ceiba tree. She can strap on two straw mats to fly with. She prefers to suck mainly sleeping children, returning night after night, while the victim becomes paler and thinner and die. She avoids the color blue and asafetida, a foul-smelling gum resin, will keep her away. Skinny, skinny, yu no know me? is her tortured cry. If one scatter wangla seeds, she becomes obsessed with picking them up, fills her hand, then throws them down again. When morning comes, she can be beaten to death with a broom. If you sprinkle her skin with salt, when she puts it on it stings and she gives her cry.
Ralxik is the name given to Mahanamatz’ bocotora clapansaya. It is Maya for ‘large snake’. ‘Ralxik’ is not a Belizean Folklore name.
Sisimito, also known as Mahanamatz: A full description is given in the Foreword.
Tata Duende (Tata Ponopik). Duende is Spanish for dwarf. Tata is Maya for old man, and Ponopik for dwarf (person, animal). He is three feet tall and wears a wide brimmed hat. He has a white beard and dresses in white satin, carries a machete or knotted stick, and smokes a pipe. He may also wear a big red hat, animal skins for clothing, red or brown shirt or pants, a big straw hat, and pointed boots. He is stocky built, has a hairy body, an ugly and mean face. He has his feet turned backwards. When he comes, there is a whistling sound and/or the fragrance of the ‘Dama de la Noche’ orchid flower. He has no thumbs and will wring off those of anyone who falls prey to him. If you meet him, you must hide your thumbs in your hands. He then likes you and will teach you to play his silver guitar or other instrument. If you imitate his whistle, he takes you away. To scare him, you need only to make the sign of the cross. Offer him food and he will return kidnapped children safely.
Waari Massa (Hach-k’ek’en Ajchaq’e). Ajchaq’e is Maya for ‘owner, master’, Hach-k’ek’en for ‘Waari’, (Kriol). He has a white face which is fierce and cruel, and is master and protector of the waaries, the white-lipped peccaries. He has droves of hundreds and when they march the Waari Massa is in front. He directs keeping the youngest animals at the front, the partly mature in middle, the full grown at back. The adults are greyish-black and the younger ones are reddish brown, and they have razor sharp tusks. The Waari Massa protects the droves, and nurses the hurt. Hunters may be feverish for days after warries have charged them.
Xtabai hides in the Ceiba tree. She can turn into a green snake and may use her tail to stop up a man’s nose. She appears as a beautiful Indian woman with long hair, wears a long flowing white huipil and sometimes a white cloth over her head. She may also appear as an old woman, have human features but no flesh, as a woman spirit with the face of a vulture, or a young woman with large black eyes, small mouth, slender waist. She has a hollow rough back covered with hard bony scales which she tries to hide. Her left foot is cloven like a goat and the other clawed like a turkey. She walks with one heavy step and then one light forming the pattern of an X as she walks. She can appear as a large floating mass and change quickly into a hissing green snake, a prickly tree, or a vicious old hag. Legend states that she was a beautiful Indian woman of the Maya aristocracy, with beautiful eyes and an enchanting smile; yet, ignored all suitors. An enchantress who wanted a gallant noble for herself tricked the maiden to drink a portion that made her promiscuous and led to her early death. She enchants men, especially on moonlit nights when she bares her upper body, enticing the men to follow her beckoning finger. As a snake, she seizes men, carry them to the underworld, or throw them in a well. She may choke a man to death. Men who follow her get fever, lose their mind, and die. If a man stays with her, he is unharmed until he fries to leave. She is stopped by prayers and disappears if she sees the sign of the cross. Villagers wear their sandal straps around the feet from left to right, in order to keep Xtabai away.
SOME BELIZE DEFENCE FORCE (BDF) SLANGS
BDF best lash: Ramen Noodles.
BDF waffle: Sliced bread.
Budda rounds: When live and blank rounds are in short supply for training purposes, the soldiers make a “budda” sound with their mouths to simulate firing.
Com-an-go: Generally, refers to an officer who was commissioned from the Royal Marine Military Academy, but was not able to earn the Commando Patch.
Come and get it while it’s hot: Come for munchies (food).
Dog tongue: Chopped ham; luncheon meat (Dak).
Deep lettuce: Deep jungle.
Flavor: A girl’s ethnicity.
Jungle Chow Mein: Corn Beef and Ramen Noodles.
Kite: BDF military aircraft.
Maintain military presence: Chat up the local girls.
Margarine: A soldier or officer who was unsuccessful at his attempt at completing the US Marines Course.
Mega brew: A pretty big meal cooked in the fields.
Nice and nasty: Soup.
Reindeer: A soldier or officer that has attempted the US Ranger course, but was unsuccessful.
Sardine: Young gyal (girl).
Sausage in briefs: Hot dog or great dog.
Squaw, Juvi, Victim, Pet, Auntie: A female friend who stayed over for the night.
Stand Down: In the Belize Defence Force, a soldier normally works a two-week period without weekend liberties. At the end of the two-week period, the weekend days are returned to him/her. It is this block of days of liberty that is referred to as ‘stand down’.
Trench taken: Used as a slang to imply having had sex, but sometimes, more particularly, anal sex.
Two tonner: Literally means ‘feet’, but implies that walking will be done due to roads being impassable by trucks. Derived from the British army truck know as a four tonner/four ton.
Wanker: A physically weak soldier.
Zeroing in on the grid: Positioning to have sex.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Arvigo, Rosita, D.N. and Michael Balick, Ph.D. Rainforest Remedies -One Hundred Healing Herbs of Belize. 1998. Twin Lakes, WI. Lotus Press. ISBN 13: 978-0-9149-5513-9. ISBN 10: 0-9149-5513-6.
Belize Audubon Society. March 1995. Snakes
of Belize. Sponsored by World Wildlife Fund. Printed by Belize Paper.
Belize Kriol Project. Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri (English-Kriol Dictionary). 2007. Belmopan, Belize: Print Belize Ltd. ISBN: 978-976-95165-1-9.
Editors of Archaeology Magazine. Secrets of The Maya. Hatherleigh Press. New York. London. ISBN: 1-57826-123-6.
Folklore Book Fund Committee. 1998. Characters & Caricatures in Beliz-ean Folklore. Belize: Belize UNESCO Commission.
Harris, Kate. Trees of Belize. Bay Cedar Publishing.
ISBN: 978-0-9927582-0-2.
Henderson, John S. The World of The Ancient Maya. New York: Cornell University Press, 1997. ISBN: 0-8014-8284-4.
Laughton, Timothy. The Maya - Life, Myth, and Art. Barnes and Noble Books. ISBN: 0-7607-4859-4.
Lt. Col. D.N.A. Fairweather. A Short History of the Volunteer Forces of British Honduras (Belize).
Martin, Simon and Grube, Nikolai. Chronicle of The Maya Kings and Queens. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. ISBN 978-0-500-28726-2
McCarthy, Timothy J., Mendez, Eustorgio, Waight, Lydia, Lumb, Judy. Mammals of Belize: A Checklist. ISBN: 976-8142-03-0.
Miller, Carolyn M. 100 Birds of Belize. 1995. Gallon Jug: American Bird Conservatory.
Montgomery, John. Maya (Yucatec) Dictionary and Phrasebook. Maya-English. English-Maya. Hippocrene Books, Inc. New York.
ISBN: 0-7818-0859-6.
Nations, James D. The Mava Tropical Forest - People, Parks, and Ancient Cities. 2006. Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press.
ISBN 0-292-71282-0 (hardcover) ISBN 0-292-71318-5 (pbk).
Toledo Maya Cultural Council and Toledo Alcaldes Association. 1997. Mava Atlas - The Struggle To Preserve Maya Land In Southern Belize. Berkely, California: North Atlantic Books. ISBN: 1-55643-256-9.
Webster, David. The Fall of The Ancient Maya. Thames and Hudson Ltd. London. ISBN: 0-500-05113-5.
Visit us at: http://jabirubooksbelize.com
Notes
[←1]
Kua is the Ke’kchi word for tortilla. The Mopan word is wah or waah. Another Maya word is lej.
[←2]
Ke’l is Ke’kchi for comal; sh’mm’ch is the Mopan word. It is a smooth, flat metal plate typically used in Mexico and Central America to cook tortillas (kua), toast spices, sear meat, and generally prepare food.
[←3]
Ixtama’al is Ke’kchi for tamales.
[←4]
Haaleb is the Maya word for paca or gibnut, a large rodent, Agouti pa-ca. The Lacandon Maya word is ha’ale.
[←5]
Bollos: Corn and cassava bollos are an indigenous food of the Caribbean coast of Colombia and Panama, but eaten throughout Central America. The ‘bun’ is boiled in banana or the thick waxy waha leaves, Heliconia rostrata.
[←6]
Pooch is a tortilla (kua) rolled and wrapped in a waha leaf and cooked on the fire or boiled in a pot.
[←7]
Ch’ukcua is a sweet tortilla made on special occasions and served with coffee or cocoa sweetened to taste.
[←8]
Iik is Maya for ‘pepper, chili’.
[←9]
Q’än-jal is Maya for ‘yellow corn on the cob’.
[←10]
Tiáálinbil is a thick stew with meat seasoned with traditional herbal ingredients.
[←11]
Kitam is the White Collared Peccary, a wild pig: Pecari tajacu.
[←12]
Hach-k’ek’en is the Lacandon Maya word for ‘waari’, the White-Lipped Peccary, Tayassu pecari.
[←13]
K’ambul is the Great Curassow: Crax rubra. It is also known as Hocofaisán or Bolonchan.
[←14]
Ah-cox is the Crested Guan: Penelope purpurascens. It is also known as Pava Cojolita.
[←15]
Kolol (Ke’kchi Maya) is known in Belize as the Partridge. It is the Great Tinamou, Tinamus major. It is also known as Tinamú Grande, Nom, Ix-Mancolol, and Ixkolool (Mopan Maya).
[←16]
Co’oc is the Ke’kchi word for ‘coconut’. The coconut palm is toni’co’oc.
[←17]
Wangla is a sesame seed candy. It is also known as ‘jojoli‘.
[←18]
Metate is the corn grinding stone. They are made from volcanic stones and white sandstones. They last a lifetime and are commonly found in the earth, abandoned by the ancient Maya.
[←19]
Tenleb is a mortar, a chalice-shaped hollow log, about thirty inches in height, used for threshing rice grain or coffee beans. The grain is pounded with a pestle, a three-foot wooden bar shaped like a drumstick, usually made from mahogany or cedar.
[←20]
Kool is the Maya word for milpa. A milpa is a small field, especially in Mexico or Central America, that is cleared from the jungle, cropped for a few seasons, and then abandoned for a fresh clearing. Wahmil is secondary fresh-scrub growing on what was originally a milpa.
[←21]
K’ah is ‘cornsham (roasted corn grain)’. It can be used to make a beverage in the same manner of coffee and cocoa. It can also be sprinkled with sugar and eaten as a gritty powder. Cornsham can be boiled until thick and served as a lab, a type of corn beverage, sweetened to taste. This is called pinol in Mopan and k’ah in Ke’kchi.
[←22]
Chelas: Spanish speaking Belizeans often refer to beers as chelas.
[←23]
Ceiba tree, Ceiba pentandra. The Maya cosmovision conceives Earth as flat and the universe as a multi-tiered square surrounded by the body of a crocodile. Within this cosmic square are three levels: the Sky is Kaán, the Earth is Cab, and the underworld is Xibalba. From the center of the Earth emerges the Yaxché, the sacred Maya Ceiba tree. Its branches support the Sky and it is in Heaven where the main god sits; the trunk rests on the Earth in the Upperworld; its roots reach down to the underworld. Mayas believed that 122 deities live in the Yaxché, divided into two groups, the 13 heavens of Oxlahuntikú, and the nine underworlds of Bolontikú. It is also thought that there is a connection between humans and the Yaxché, like a mother gives life. If the tree dies, the human also perishes.
The Ceiba, or Yaxché, also represents the four cardinal points and center of the cosmic square totaling five cardinal points, each with its own color. The center point of the cosmic square is green and from it grows the Yaxché. The North is white, South is yellow, West is black, and East is red. The latter is of utmost importance, for this is where the sun rises. Each of the cardinal points is supported by a Bacab, the Atlantean gods who also see to it that the stars and all the celestial planets remain in place for eternity.
In representations made of the Yaxché it is not unusual that the lower part is swollen, like the belly of a pregnant woman. In the Yaxché, the predecessors of the ancestral Maya culture reside, the gods and, it is said, some supernatural beings.
[←24]
Guaro: Spanish speaking Belizeans often refer to rum as guaro.
[←25]
Cususa is a crude cane liquor.
[←26]
Spudi is potato wine, a favorite home-made wine in Belize.
[←27]
Matz is a sweet corn lab and is seasoned with beans to taste.
[←28]
Chicha is the traditional drink made from corn and used when the Maya elders do a ceremony for the sun when summer begins. Chichiatl is the Nahuatl name for chicha.
[←29]
Alcalde is Spanish for ‘Mayor’.
[←30]
Xir is Maya for ‘cricket’.
[←31]
Xt’ut is Maya for the White-Crowned Parrot, Pionus senilis. It is also known as Perico Cabeza Blanca.
[←32]
Icim is Maya for the Mottled Owl, Strix virgata. It is also known as Búho Tropical (Americano).
[←33]
Koal seed is Kriol for ‘goose bumps’.
[←34]
Aak is Maya for ‘turtle’.
Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 64