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Beyxan teen is Maya for ‘Me too’.
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Ah-chu’uy is the Bat Falcon, Falco rufigularis, also known as Halcon Enano or E’pi’. It is a small but powerful bird of prey.
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Recce is a reconnaissance patrol used to gain tactical information concerning the enemy.
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Maquahuitl: This weapon was a war club used to crush the enemy. The end was sometimes fitted with pieces of sharp obsidian. The maquahuitl was widely used.
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Although in Sisimito II - Xibalba Chiac’s home world is set in 1973, there was an incident in October 2006 when Sgt. R. Aguilar of the Belize Defence Force, who was on a six-week Jungle Warfare Instructor Course, was lost for nine days in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, an area of dense and sometimes impenetrable rainforest. The BDF activated 325 soldiers in a search and he was eventually rescued. There was the concern that he may have been captured or killed by Guatemalan Xateros who operated illegally in that area. Illegal Xatero activity in the Chiquibul National Park is a serious problem even today. It is not only a danger for the BDF patrolling the Belize border, but the Xate palm is being exterminated in large areas. Also, Xateros kill anything they can including jaguars, ocelots, tapirs, Howler and Spider monkeys, and Scarlet Macaws. There have been violent incidents initiated by Xateros like those of August and September in 2008.
The Xate Palm.
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Sent is Kriol for ‘smell (odor)’. Renk is Kriol for ‘rank’.
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Clip: This is the device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine.
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Tin-titty is a World War II slang for ‘canned milk’.
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In traditional ‘offhand position’, the body is canted to the target, the firing arm cocked high, the support arm completely under the rifle, and the feet at almost a 90-degree angle. The ‘offhand position’ is nice for unsupported accuracy at medium ranges, but is slow to get into and out of. This position does not allow a wide swing and it is also difficult to move while in this position. It is also not good for rapid fire, as one is not able to absorb recoil very well. The firing arm is also very exposed when shooting around cover and will get banged on obstacles.
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The ‘kneeling position’ is a good field position. It is quick to assume, quick to exit, it gives the shooter a smaller visual signature, allows for getting behind cover, if necessary, and is a great improvement in precision over ‘offhand position’ with little increase in time.
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Tzultacah is the Maya deity that protects the Ke’kchi from wild animals. He took Sisimito into densely jungled areas away from them.
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Sotz’ is Maya for the ‘common bat’.
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Chikoop is Maya for ‘vampire bat’.
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Xibalba, roughly translated as “place of fear”, is the name of the Underworld city in Ke’kchi’ Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya Death Gods and their helpers.
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Obsidian is a dark volcanic rock formed from rapidly chilled hardened larva. Aztec and Maya Warriors used weapons like knives, clubs, and spears on which the very sharp volcanic glass was attached as blades. Knives made wholly from obsidian were also used for human sacrifices.
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For more than four millennia, Maya conducted rituals in caves like Ac- tun Tunichil Muknal, Belize. Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulcher), also known locally as Xibalba or ATM, is a cave near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are several areas of skeletal remains in the main chamber. The best-known is “The Crystal Maiden”, the skeleton of an adolescent (now thought to be a teenage boy), possibly a sacrifice victim, whose bones have been calcified to a sparkling, crystallized appearance.
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Dats how fi yu skelintan wahn luk afta yu peg owt is Kriol for ‘That’s how your skeleton will look after you die’.
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Tak sáamal, Molly. Ka xi’ik te’ex hatz’utzil. Tu laak’ k’iin … Ke’eleen is Maya for ‘Goodbye, Molly. Good luck. Until another day … I’m cold’.
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From the poem, Requiem, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
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Lachreen is Kriol for ‘latrine’ or ‘out-house’.
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Mahanamatz is the Maya name for Sisimito. It is the word for a gorilla-like, mythical animal.
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Naum is the god who created the human mind and consciousness.
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Ch’ayom-puag is Maya for ‘medallion’.
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Ya’ax-chich is Maya for ‘jade’.
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Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ is Molly’s Maya name translated as ‘Woman With No Name’. Xch’úup is ‘woman’. Xma’ is ‘without’. K’aaba’ is, ‘name’.
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Ix Na Li Kawa is Maya for ‘Mother Of God’. This refers to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ. Ix Na Li Kawa is used while Chiac is in Sisimito’s world.
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Nim-ja’ Ti’ Síina’ans is used as the Maya name for ‘River of Scorpions’. Nim-ja’ is ‘river’, Ti’ is ‘with’, Síina’an is ‘scorpion’.
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Ek Chuah, the ‘black war chief’ was the patron god of Warriors.
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Bolontikú is the name for a group of nine Underworld gods that live in the depths of the Yaxché roots. It also refers to the nine underworlds of the Yaxché.
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Nacon is Maya for ‘officer’. It is also the name of a god of war.
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U K’ux Kaj, Heart of Sky, also referred to as Huracan (Spanish), Hun-raqan, “one legged” (Maya), is a Ke’kchi’ god of wind, storm, fire, and one of the ‘creator deities’ who participated in all three attempts at creating humanity. He also caused the Great Flood after the second generation of humans angered the gods. He supposedly lived in the windy mists above the floodwaters and repeatedly invoked “earth” until land came up from the seas.
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The gods created the ‘Face of the Earth’, U Wach Ulew, as a propitious place for human life. It is the name of the Surface World.
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Sacbeob is Maya for ‘road’.
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Nim-ja’ Ti’ Puh is the Maya name used for ‘River Of Pus’. Puh is Maya for ‘pus’. Please note that the original name of Teotihuacan is unknown, but it appears in hieroglyphic texts from the Maya region as Puh or “Place of Reeds”.
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Nim-ja’ Ti’ K’i’ik is the Maya name used for ‘River Of Blood’. K’i’ik is Maya for ‘blood’.
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Ikaj is Maya for ‘stone axe’.
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Xjos is Maya for ‘small sickle’ or ‘hoe’, used for cutting grass. It was also used as a weapon.
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Pet-kot: This is a garden surrounded by a low wall of stones. Pet is Maya for ‘circular’ and kot for ‘wall of loose stones’.
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Abix is Maya for the ‘corn plant’.
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Bu’ul is Maya for ‘bean’.
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K’úum is Maya for ‘pumpkin’.
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Páak’am is Maya for the cactus, ‘prickly pear’.
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Iximche is the Maya name of the ‘ramon’ tree, Brosimum alicastrum, the ‘breadnut’. It comes from the words ixim and che, meaning literally ‘maize tree’.
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Balche’ is a milky white beverage with a sour odor and disagreeable taste. When drunk in large quantities it can produce drunkenness
. It was a special drink in Maya ceremony and of the Ancient Maya in general. The drink is prepared by boiling the bark of the Balche’ tree, Lonchocarpus longistilus Pitter, and then leaving it to ferment. The name comes from the Maya baal which means ‘to hide’, or ‘something hidden’, and che which means ‘tree’.
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Me’t is Ke’kchi for ‘tobacco’. The tobacco known to the ancient Maya was far stronger than the tobacco of today, possibly strong enough to be hallucinogenic. It was an important part of Maya religion during the Classic Period, 300-900 AD.
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K’uutz is Maya for ‘marijuana’.
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Iztāc-octli is the original name of the drink ‘white pulque’. The term pulque was probably mistakenly derived by the Spanish from the octli poliuhqui which meant “spoiled pulque”. It is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It has the color of milk, a somewhat viscous consistency, and a sour yeast-like taste. The maguey was one of the most sacred and important plants in ancient Mexico.
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Saksa’ is Maya for atol, a traditional hot corn and massa (corn hominy flour) beverage.
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Kakaw is Maya for ‘cacao’.
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Ch’o’ is Maya for ‘rat’ or ‘mouse’.
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Vucub-Caquix, Seven Macaw, is described as a powerful bird pretending to be the sun and moon of the twilight world in between the former creation and the present one. According to modern Ke’kchi, his name refers to the seven stars of the Big Dipper asterism. This false sun-moon bird was shot out of his tree with a blowgun by Hunahpu, one of the Maya Hero Twins, but still managed to sever the hero’s arm. Finally, however, Vucub- Caquix was deprived of his teeth, his eyes, his riches, and his power. Together, the Hero Twins were to become the true sun and moon of the present creation. The episode is only loosely connected to the main tale of the Twins, and is varied by other Mesoamerican hero myths. It is also akin to certain scenes in Maya art dating back to the 8th century and before.
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Pub is Maya for ‘blowgun’.
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Nim-ja’ is Maya for ‘river’.
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Krus-be is Maya for ‘crossroad’.
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Tun is the Maya time period of 360 days. This approximates one solar year.
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U-yeh is Maya for ‘blade’.
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Ahmakiq is a god of agriculture. He locks up the wind when it threatens to destroy crops.
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Chúumuk Sacbeob is Maya for ‘Central Road’ or ‘Main Road’.
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Baktun is the Maya unit for a period of 144,000 days or 400 tuns (years).
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Chan-koxol is Maya for ‘mosquito’.
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Ol is the Maya name for the rubber ball used in playing the ballgame Pitz. The action of play’ is called Ti Pitziil in Classical Maya and Chaaj in Ke’kchi.
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Imul is Ke’kchi for ‘rabbit’.
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Masat is Ke’kchi for ‘deer’.
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The number ‘9’ had special significance with respect to the Underworld as the Maya believed that the Underworld had nine layers.
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Bate’ is a ‘spear’.
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To’bal-rib is a ‘shield’.
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Alaxel is Maya for ‘prince’.
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T’oit’ik-jolom is Maya for a renowned warrior, soldier, one that has achieved great esteem regardless of rank.
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Ch’ajch’oj Tz’ono’ot is Maya for ‘Sacred Cenote’. Tz’ono’ot is Maya for ‘sinkhole’ or ‘cenote’.
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Kaloonte’ is an elite Warrior associated with the jaguar. He may be a hunter, or a nacon (officer), or a batab (war chief). Nabe means ‘first’. Kish’s name means ‘feathered’.
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Pati’: This is a big, square-shaped piece of cloth that is tied around the shoulders.
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Waach is another Maya word for ‘soldier’. In the Sisimito Series, it is used to mean the lowest rank in the military.
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Tlacelel is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘greatest of our male heroes’.
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Uetzacayotl is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘the essence of light’.
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Tepilzin is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘privileged son’.
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Maami is Kriol for ‘mamey’ or ‘mammy apple’, Pouteria sapota. It is known as sapote in Spanish.
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Ahau Can Mai is the title used for ‘High Priest of a Kingdom’.
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Ch ‘um q’aq’ is Maya for ‘firefly’. The Kriol word is ‘peeniwali’.
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K’ab is Maya for ‘hour’ or ‘hand’. One hour may also be referred to as ‘one hand’ width. As the sun crosses the sky, midday would, therefore, be six hands above the horizon.
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Yochi is a Maya male name meaning ‘hope’.
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Asafetida or asafoetida is not native to Belize, but is used extensively. Asafetida, Ferula assa-foetida, is the dried gum exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula, a perennial herb that grows 1 to 1.5 m tall. The species is native to the deserts of Iran, mountains of Afghanistan, and is mainly cultivated in nearby India. As its name suggests, asafetida has a fetid smell, but in cooked dishes it delivers a smooth flavor reminiscent of leeks, a vegetable that belongs, along with onion and garlic, to the genus Allium. In Jamaica, it is used for repelling spirits and is traditionally applied to a baby’s anterior fontanel (Jamaican patois: mole) to prevent spirits (Jamaican patois: duppies) from entering the baby through the fontanel. In the African-American Hoodoo tradition, asafetida is used in magic spells, as it is believed to have the power both to protect and to curse. It is also known as asant, food of the gods, giant fennel, jowani badian, stinking gum, Devil’s dung, hing, kayam, and ting.
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Choq’ is Maya for ‘quartz crystal’.
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The common flint knife is typically of a bi-facially flaked ovate or elliptical shaped form, rounded or sometimes rectangular at the base. It may be well pointed, but the tip is likely to be more rounded or less well defined than in the case of projectile points. The cruder forms can be mistaken for preforms or unfinished artifacts. The length is commonly between 50 mm and 200 mm although much larger ones, some measuring up to 600 mm or more in length, are known. The larger specimens, however, are rarer and represented a valuable social asset for the individual or society concerned. Many unmodified flint flakes or blades were also used as knives. Flint flakes, when struck from the core, have razor-sharp edges and many of these were used as cutting tools without any modification of the flake. In fact, the freshly removed flakes provided a much sharper cutting edge than bifacial knives and they were probably used much more than is currently recognized.
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In the Popol Vuh, Camazotz are the bat-like monsters encountered by the Maya Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, during their trials in the Underworld city of Xibalba. In Maya Mythology, Camazotz was a bat god. Camazotz means ‘death bat’ in the Ke’kchi language. In Mesoamerica, the bat was associated with night, death, and sacrifice. Camazotz is formed from the Ke’kchi words kame meaning ‘death’, and sotz’ meaning ‘bat’.
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Sisimito II--Xibalba Page 68