Etzelal Iq’: Mozon.
Hach-k’ek’en Ajchaq’e: Waari Massa.
Kechelaj Jupuq: Jungle Horde of Enchanted Animals.
Kechelaj Komon: Jungle Folk.
Kitam Ajchaq’e: El Dueño de Los Kekeos.
Mahanamatz: Sisimito.
Patzapik: Cadejo.
Q’eq Ja Wíinik: Negro de Agua.
Ralxik: Mahanamtz’ bocotora clapansaya.
Tata Ponopik: Tata Duende.
Xtabai: Xtabai.
Xwáay Kumätz: La Sirena.
Xwáay Éek’: La Sucia.
Xwáay Mulibal-k’ux’: La Sigua.
Xwáay Ok’ol: La Llorona.
Xwáay Chikoop: Ole Heg.
ANCIENT AND MODERN NAMES OF CITIES AND SITES.
THOSE CREATED BY THE STORYTELLER ARE MARKED §.
Ajk’ay §: La Venta
Balix: Belize City
Belikin: Belize Kingdom
Cahal Pech
Chaa Nim-ja’ §: Cha Creek
Chay Abaj §: El Chayal
El Baúl: Baúl
Ha’ Ta Itza §: Lake Petén Itza
Ixkun
Ixlu (Saklamakhal)
Ja’ Xakanul §: Crater Lake and Water Volcano
Ja’-nima’ Beya’: Motagua River Valley
Ja’-nima’: Motagua River
Jumulaj Yaché §: Seibal
Lubaantun
Masuul: Naachtun
Maxam: Naranjo
Mictlan Chen: Cave of the Underworld.
Motul: Motul de San José
Naab’: Kingdom of Chiik
Naj Tunich
Nakbé
Nakúm
Nito: San Gil de Buena Vista
Nohoch Atz’am Ja §: Caribbean Sea
Ox Te’ Tuun: Calakmul
Ox Witz Ha: Caracol
Oxwitik: Copan
Pa’ Chan: El Zotz
Poj Suq§: El Tintal
Porobal Awaj §: Altar De Sacrificios
Puh: Teōtīhuacān
Pusilhá
Qas Nim Ha’ §: Lake Izabal
Quiché: Santa Cruz, Toledo, Belize.
Quiriguá
Siaan K’aan: Uaxactun (Born In Heaven)
Sib Juyub §: Smoke Hill
Temax: Temash (River)
Tinimit Saatal §: El Mirador
Tipú
Topoxte (Seed of the Ramon Tree)
Tulam Tzu: Kaminaljuyú
U Hatz’il Chaak: El Tajín
Xunantunich
Yax Mutul: Tikal
Yaxal: Moho (River)
Yaxchilan (May have also been called Pa’ Chan)
Yaxha
Zactun: Sarstoon (River)
Zaculpa
THE
CAVES OF NAJ TUNICH
Ch’ajch’oj Jul is Maya for ‘Sacred Cave’.
Chúumuk Pa-raqan-ja is Maya for ‘center corridor’. Here it refers to the ‘Principal Passage’ in the Caves of Naj Tunich.
Choq’ Ja is Maya for ‘Crystal House’. Here it refers to the ‘Crystal Room’ in the Caves of Naj Tunich.
K’u Multun is Maya name for ‘Stacking Stone’ in the Caves of Naj Tunich.
Mictlan Chen is the Maya name for ‘Cave of the Underworld’.
T’or Pa raqan-ja: This passageway or chamber is known as the Quiet Way or Paso Silencios in the Caves of Naj Tunich.
Paintings from Naj Tunich.
SISIMITO- MAHANAMTZ
“If you are a man and you see him, you will die within a month. If you are a woman and you see him, your life will be prolonged.”
Best described as a large, hairy gorilla with a head much like a human’s, Sisimito is a character that spans the legends of many of Belize’s ethnic groups, including the Garinagu, who call it Sisimidu. A Spanish word with the female form of Sisimita has no English translation and appears to have come from the Nahuatl word Tzitzimitl.
Tales of the Sisimito were told in the camps by the mahogany cutters of earlier days and are still passed along in villages like Ranchito and Hill Bank. He is said to inhabit high forest areas and to live in caves and rocky land. In the Toledo District, forest areas have decreased over the years because of agricultural development and the Ke’kchi believe that Tzultacah, the deity who protects them from wild animals, has taken Sisimito into the few densely jungled areas remaining; so, he is rarely seen today.
Among the Maya of San Antonio, the Sisimito is called Mahanamtz, the Maya word for a gorilla-like, mythical animal. Most accounts describe Sisimito in this way, saying also that he has no thumbs and only four fingers on each hand. He has no knees and his feet are turned backwards. His diet consists of raw meat and fruits and when feasting on human beings he will tear the body into several pieces before devouring it. Though fierce and malevolent towards humans, he is afraid of water and dogs and will avoid them at all costs.
He often assumes human form, lures people out of a village, and then kills them; because of this, he is sometimes confused with Xtabai or La Llorona. A man who looks into Sisimito’s eyes and escapes usually dies within a month. A woman, on the other hand, has a prolonged life as a result. Male and female Sisimitos exist only in certain areas; they kill human members of the same sex and abduct, and sometimes rape, those of the opposite sex.
A young farmer from the Toledo District once reported that his wife had been carried off by a Sisimito and because authorities believed he had killed his wife they imprisoned him. Sometime later, a group of hunters discovered a wild-looking woman drinking at a stream by the hillside. They tried to capture her, but she struggled violently, more so when a Sisimito appeared at the top of the hill carrying a child who looked like a cross between a monkey and a human. The Sisimito shrieked wildly and purposely dropped the child. He then trampled down the hill and threw branches at the hunters who, nevertheless, managed to carry the woman away. When they brought her before the imprisoned man, however, he was unable to recognize her saying that his wife had been young and attractive unlike the wild, unsightly woman he saw before him.
The woman refused to speak or eat and she died a few days later, pining away for her lost child.
Especially on Sundays and religious holidays, such as Good Friday, Sisimito preys on hunters and other people who stray into the bush. He follows human footprints, with his main purpose being either to kill his victims or rip off their thumbs; he will also attack men who are killing animals needlessly or destroying the forest.
Sisimito harbors an intense desire to learn to speak and, in a desperate attempt, will kidnap children with hopes of learning to talk from them. The children cannot be rescued because the trail leading into the forest can be wiped out by the Sisimito who sometimes reverses his feet and runs heels foremost. He is fascinated by fire and will sit patiently by a hunter’s fire until it goes out and then dines on the embers.
Despite all this, he is not invincible and can be outsmarted in various ways. He can be shot in the face; the rest of his body is protected by thick hair and would not be affected by bullets. Also, on seeing Sisimito, you can strip naked and dance and jump about, making him laugh uncontrollably until he falls down unconscious. If you dance in a circle he will try to follow you, but because his feet are on backwards he will trip and fall.
Some say that he fears his own blood and, to make him run away, you can hand him your machete and, while his hand is grasping it, quickly pull the machete away causing him to cut his hand deeply.
The Sisimito can, in fact, be tricked in a couple of ways because of his limited intelligence. When you walk away from him he becomes confused, thinking that you are actually approaching him. Sometimes, you can make a path of footprints that lead into the bush and Sisimito, unable to follow the trail any longer, will turn and begin to follow his own footsteps, thinking they are someone else’s. The ultimate way to get rid of him, however, is to set fire to his long hair.
The above extrac
t and artwork were taken from Characters and Caricatures in Belizean Folklore.
Note: The meaning of the name Stephanie is ‘Victorious’. The Ke’kchi Maya word for ‘victorious’ is chabi’l na’leb. The rest of the
Dedication’s translation is in Mopan Maya, kindly done by Federica and Benedicto Choc.
Illustration 3: Chiac’s March in Sisimito’s (Mahanamtz’) World
THE SURFACE WORLD:
U WACH ULEW1
Illustration 4 – Ja’ Xakanul.
CHAPTER ONE
JA’ XAKANUL (Crater Lake Volcano)
K’iin 9 - The Uinal2 of Yaxk’in’3
Tuesday, May 8, 1973
I felt someone kicking me in the butt and knew I was alive. I opened my eyes and closed them very quickly. Even though there was heavy overcast, it was still bright enough to sting my eyes. I must be out, out of Xibalba.
Having been in the Underworld for eight days, my eyes needed time to adapt. I sat up, my eyes still closed. 1 slowly opened them to see Yochi kneeling beside me. “Yochi, my friend,” I said, trying to stand, but I was weak and disoriented. The air stunk and there was the distinct smell of sulfur and the ground was black with ash and small pebbles. “Oh fok!” I shouted, absolutely distraught. “We’re not out.”
“We are,” he responded. “Rest. We have time.” He stood up, looking into the distance. He had no weapons, no armor, no loincloth, nothing except for a very wet skin and lej-xajäbs. I was dressed exactly the same.
“Where are the others?”
“We are the only síina’an to surface and we have just got out of the ha’.4 You didn’t wake. I brought you to shore.”
I was still unsettled, my mind clouded, as I turned to see where he was looking. We were on the edge of the bank of a large lake, or ha’, about a mile wide, having a distinct green color. Gasses were bubbling from it, and the surface was quite rough, a strong wind blowing overhead. What I had regarded as a bank was, in fact, a stony ledge about twenty feet wide which formed the rim of the lake. The ledge had a moderate incline downward to the water which actually reached almost as high as the ledge in some places, waves occasionally washing onto it. I glanced around. We were on the summit of a mountain and the lake was definitely a crater lake.
I felt drizzle and gazed upward. It seemed so long ago that I had felt drizzle, or rain. Storm clouds rushed overhead and as I looked around, I saw that some of the higher mountains, and the valleys between them, were completely covered in clouds or mist. Those mountains were volcanos and there were at least four of them west of us and one to the east. Even through the storm clouds, I saw occasional flashes of flames as the volcanos spewed fire and molten rocks into the air.
There was some beauty and peace in the landscape and even through it brought flashbacks of the Underworld, the feeling it gave was very different. Perhaps, it was just knowing that we were no longer in the lair of the Death Gods. But that beauty and peace were jerked away. Abruptly, from out the lake rose the giant form of a síina’an with partially severed claws and sting, its underbelly facing us, ascending so high it seemed to be standing on its tail, green water falling all around it. It turned in the air and there were Warriors on its back. I automatically held onto Bas’ Green Scapular.
The síina’an was tilting backwards and it was going to crush the Warriors as it fell onto the surface of the lake. Then, with what seemed to be one command, the Warriors all leapt from their positions hurling off the sides of the síina’an, the síina’an slamming the surface while the Warriors were still falling. The síina’an did not move at first then slowly began sinking into the darkness of the lake as the Warriors fell around it.
Illustration 5: Ja’ Xakanul – Crater Lake
I stood up and made to go to the lake, but Yochi held me back. “You are safe here. You will not endanger yourself further. The rest of the Warriors and I will go to the edge of the ha’ and help. “Ko’one’ex!” he shouted, then added, “Except Hulse”, and started walking down the short incline to the edge of the water. I had not seen the other Warriors who were resting behind me and, as they passed me, I counted four. Seven of us had arrived at the rim so far, including Hulse, for which I was very thankful. Hulse came and sat beside me, looking at the lake with a haunted expression.
Even though the lake was rough, I was able to see the Warriors. They were not too far out and were swimming quickly with even and strong strokes, no panic. They were loosely grouped in twos, some obviously helping others. I kept searching the surrounding water, trying to see any signs of the other two síina’ans. There were no indications they were there.
The first two Warriors approached the edge of the lake, but Yochi and his Warriors did not move. As they climbed out the lake, each hit his chest then came up further on the land where they threw themselves on the ground. Four more reached the shore, a Warrior with Clarke and another Warrior with Anderson. They hit their chests, walked up the shore, and also threw themselves down. That were six Warriors and there were still others in the water, eight, swimming towards us. That meant that the whole of Kish’s5 section had made it through. Three more Warriors came first, then Teul, Choco, Kish, and Iztali. Kish and Iztali stood at the edge of the lake surveying us and the area as the final Warrior climbed onto the ledge and sat there looking out onto the lake. Yochi walked towards Kish and Iztali; Choco and Teul came towards me, nodded, and threw themselves on the ground, not saying anything. I walked over to Kish and the others who were standing in the moderate rain.
“We have a total of twenty-one Warriors and all members of the Red and Black Teams that were in my section have lived. Four of my Warriors did not leave Xibalba,” stated Yochi, his voice unusually soft with affection. “Three more did not survive the passage. I have lost seven Warriors.”
“And the other two sections. Where are they? Even if they are like the áayin as it sleeps in the chokoh,6 they will not have much more time,” warned Kish. The ground started to move and we looked at each other, moderate alarm on our faces. It stopped.
“Kabraqan,”7 1 said.
“Kisin8 wants our attention,” surmised Kish. He looked around. “I have been here before.”
“You have?”
“Yes, Chiac. When I was a very young Warrior I came with Knot Ajaw,9 the brother of Ajawinel10 K’an II. This is Ja’ Xakanul.11 We had to go down, perhaps fifty feet, to the lake. Now the water is at the rim. There were also six other craters.” He indicated and looked to the northwest. “Those too are covered.” He became pensive. “This mountain is swollen like an excited xpoo.12 There is too much water here.” He looked to the skies. “And more comes. The Chacs have some purpose, not in our favor. We should leave quickly.”
“What about the others,” asked Yochi. “If the síina’ans are weakened or dead, they may be at the bottom of the ha’ … if it has a bottom … and the Warriors will be there with them. This lake is green. The volcano is alive and the water will be very hot below. Even if they release themselves, they may not reach the surface alive.”
“Is there anything we can do?” asked Iztali. Kish shook his head.
“Then, Mix-ba’al,”13 I replied, utterly tormented. I couldn’t believe I had said that. Kish looked at me and nodded.
We stood looking at the rough waters of the crater lake, the rain increasing, the wind rising. There was an explosion to our left and we quickly turned towards it, the ground moving once again. One of the volcanos to the northwest had a tall ash plume above it that had pushed away the clouds that hung around it. Red burning lava was flowing out its crater.
“Another kabraqan,” said Iztali, appearing a little fearful and concerned.
I looked at the Warriors around me and saw the same demeanor. I was awed. If we were facing a battle with overwhelming odds against us, they would have shown no worry or fear. We were facing a natural occurrence and there was great apprehension. I had to remember, however, that in the land I was, a kabraqan was not a natural o
ccurrence; it was the will of the gods and it brought fear.
I didn’t want to think of the men still under water, probably still alive if they were like the áayin as it sleeps in the chokoh, but I kept seeing their faces. Taat was still down there, as was Bas, Rhys, Choc, Robertson, Taylor, Parham, Ichik, Ikan, and other Warriors as well. I had to get away from their faces. If we did not leave, immediately, we’d all be dead. “Kish!”
“Yes, Chiac.”
“We must move out. Now! This mountain is unstable. As you said, there is too much water. We must safeguard ourselves and those with us, if the mission is to succeed. We can only hope the others survive.”
“You are becoming a true Warrior, Chiac, but I do not know if that will be right for you.” He stared at the lake with much disquiet and I saw that even though he knew we had to leave, beneath that stern face he was hoping he would see the Warriors swimming for the lip of the crater. “Come with me,” he told us, and Yochi, Iztali, and I followed him to the opposite edge of the ledge of the crater lake. Except for the summit of Ja’ Xakanul which was bare of vegetation, we looked down between breaks in the clouds at mountains and valleys, covered with jungle. I estimated we were well over ten thousand feet above sea level.
“Warriors,” Kish shouted, and the men got up and quickly came to us. He looked up at the small glow of the hidden sun above us. “I have been looking at Kinich Ahau’s path and we are on the east rim of Ja’ Xakanul. We will follow the ha’ to its northern edge and descend the mountain side to that valley that goes to the north. We will continue northeast to Tulam Tzu14 where we will get food, loincloths and vests, more lej-xajäbs, if necessary, then travel to Chay Abaj15 where we will get weapons. We continue north until we reach a large valley where Ja’-nima’16 flows to the Nohoch Atz’am Ja’.17 We travel down the Ja’-nima’, but when we reach Quiriguá18 we turn north, once again, until we come to Qas Nim Ha’.19 We cross that ha’ and continue to Pusilhá, then Naj Tunich, then on to Ox Witz Ha.” Kish looked at me, rather deadpan. “I am not sure if the cities we march through will be friendly to us. We will have no problems in Pusilhá, however, as that is the city Fuck comes from.” I almost choked. By the look on Kish’s face, he knew that I had lied about my coming from Pusilhá.
Sisimito III--Topoxte Page 2