“It’s just that we need to talk. I want to know what happened. We need to talk about the future. We need to make plans.”
“My future is here, Chiac,” uttered Clarke. He hung his head. “No more Barbados for me, but at least I have a life. A different life, one I still don’t understand and find hard to accept, but a life. Here, I am not dead.”
“We’re all tired, Chiac,” urged Teul. “We do have a lot to talk about, a lot to try to understand, but let’s leave it for now. The current focus is to get to Ox Witz Ha. We can talk then.”
I felt scolded again, but I decided to do what Teul had advised. I would not pull rank. I looked at him and nodded. He had grown. He was becoming someone I could really depend on. “Thanks, Teul. We’ll do as you suggest. Now, let’s get some rest. I do not know what tomorrow will bring.” The men turned quietly and, after cleaning a small area of ground, placed their lej-xajäbs neatly as the other Warriors had done. They promptly threw themselves down and fell asleep.
I cleaned my area, took off my lej-xajäbs, and lay down, but I couldn’t sleep. My balls were itching me and my crotch was wet and dirty. I got up and went to the creek. I smelled my armpit and had to move my nose away. “Ch’ich’-rech-par,”46 I grumbled. I began washing my balls, Tóolok, and my butt crease. I heard a chuckle behind me. It was Kish.
“Why didn’t the Warriors bathe?” I asked. “I would have thought everyone would bathe.” We stink like the par.”
“When you sleep on the jungle floor, it is best that you smell like the jungle. If you don’t, when the baläm or the chikoop,47 the síina’an or the kaan, or even the xop48 comes, the tired Warrior can be in danger. He can be bitten or taken. No animal, big or small, likes the ch’ich’-rech-par.” He chuckled again. “When Kinich Ahau returns, we bathe and get ready for our entrance to Tulam Tzu.” He handed me a maami. “Eat.”
“So, the Warriors have been sent for food and have returned. I didn’t know.”
Kish shrugged his shoulders and sat beside me. “I sent Yochi, Iztali, and Chicahua, but I will let the Warriors sleep further. They will eat when Kinich Ahau arrives, unless they awaken during the night.”
I looked up. Moon beams had filtered down on us through overcast skies and the canopy. I immediately remembered the night at Mahanamtz’ cave, when he had his jungle wedding. The moon was bright, yellow petals were falling, and Molly was beautiful. I closed my eyes and pushed the thoughts away.
“You worry about Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’, Chiac?”
I looked at Kish. “Yes, Kish.
Kish glanced up at Ix Chel. “As must your body. You have not had her beneath you for many k’iins. That is not good for a Warrior. The tutuchci49 must have its way. If we do not find her soon, you must take another woman.”
I almost laughed. I was eager to talk to Kish as a close friend would. I wanted to tell him that the only time I fucked … made love to Molly was at the Hidden Valley Falls. I didn’t. I was afraid it would make me appear less a Warrior. I sighed, stood up then sat again. I finished my fruit, looked beggingly at Kish and he went to get some more. We ate in silence most of the time and then I stood, once again. “Good night, Kish.”
“Good night, Chiac.” He didn’t move.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I will guard a little more then one of the Warriors will take over. We are close to Tulam Tzu and it is wise to have a guard.” I nodded, found my little spot on the jungle floor and slept.
CHAPTER THREE
TULAM TZU (Kaminaljuyú)
K’iin 11 - The Uinal of Yaxk’in’
Thursday, May 10, 1973
I awoke to men waking up, pissing, shitting, eating the fruit Yochi, Iztali, and Chicahua had brought the night before. I pissed then walked towards the creek to drink. Kish, Yochi, and Iztali were bathing.
“Come and bathe, Chiac,” said Yochi. “It is time to remove the jungle from our bodies.” I smiled and walked into the pool they were sitting in. The water felt good and I immediately began washing myself.
“The four of us will go into Tulam Tzu first,” explained Kish. “I will speak with the Batab50 and see what arrangements we can make. I will be Nimal, in command, and you will be my slaves. I will tell the Batab that we are trade emissaries of K’an II and we met with disaster at Ja’ Xakanul. I will ask for food and loincloths. I will not ask for weapons for all of us, just a few for hunting. If I ask for many weapons, they will become cautious and distrustful. Yax Mutul’s influence has reached far into this region and many secret alliances have been made. Those alliances are not with Ox Witz Ha, as you would know, Yochi.”
“I am no longer a citizen of Yax Mutul.” He stood up. “We need weapons, Kish,” countered Yochi. “What happens if they attack us when we are all there, or when we leave, knowing we are unarmed?”
“Indeed, they may attack us.” Kish shrugged his shoulders. “We will make good slaves,” he added, nonchalantly.
“I don’t understand. Then why go there? I asked. “We don’t need loincloths and we can find food in the jungle. How can we even explain losing all our loincloths?”
“We need weapons,” argued Yochi. “Although there is much trade between these kingdoms, there is also much hostility. We will not be safe further along on the sacbeob.” He looked deeply perturbed. “There are those who still offer the hearts of their slaves and captured Warriors to Manik.51
I shook my head and smiled. “Kish! You said that we would not ask for weapons.”
“You are correct, Yochi. You are also correct, Chiac, and it is good that you are listening and not questioning. We will simply take weapons.” I frowned.
“Patzoj!”52 cussed Yochi, shaking his head and sitting in the creek, once again. Kish actually grinned.
“Only you, Chiac, and I will go to the Batab. Yochi and Iztali. You will go into the city on a different route from us. You will seek out the tijobal53 and talk with the tijoxels54 there. Even this far south, the beliefs of K’an II have reached and are feared by the elite and the priests. Many young tijoxels study K’an II’s beliefs, in secret, and there are many among them that are loyal to him. Seek them out. They will get you weapons. There are also slaves that are captured Warriors. You must find out who and where they are. If there are any from Ox Witz ha, bring them.”
“And what will I do, Kish?” I asked.
“You will do nothing.” He put his arm on my shoulder, looking seriously at me. “There are many beautiful girls in Tulam Tzu, Chiac, and they wear only úúks,55 no suc-pics.56 You have not felt Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ beneath you for many k’iins. When you see these women, remember you are a slave. Don’t get a tutuchci and try to chakuj tutuchci or the priests will not only take out your heart, but they will remove the tutuchci as well.” I stared at his serious face. Yochi and Iztali started to laugh and I hung my head, laughing too. I looked up back, at the three men who had become my friends. I knew I was getting teary-eyed, but I couldn’t help it. Those Warriors, those violent Warriors, their camaraderie was just like that of soldiers anywhere. Kish smiled. “Ko’one’ex,” he said.
Kish called everyone for a briefing. “Chiac, Yochi, and Iztali will go with me to Tulam Tzu. While Yochi and I are away, Teul is Nabe Nacon, and Choco, Ukab Nacon. You will remain here, unless Teul orders otherwise. Yochi and Iztali should return before me then Yochi will resume command and give you your orders. If we do not return in one k’iin, go on to Ox Witz Ha and tell K’an II what has happened.”
The Warriors hit their chests three times in unison. Whenever that happened, for some unknown reason, I got very emotional. The thought that U Wach Ulew was really my home was growing and cementing itself more and more into my brain. I didn’t know if that was good.
The four of us left the jungle and started walking up the sacbeob towards Tulam Tzu. On both sides of the sacbeob grew fields of abix,57 embellishing the landscape with a beautiful and rich green display. Farmers came down the sacbeob, but they di
d not stop to talk to us. I did notice that many of them looked at us and especially me, puzzled. I initially thought that it was because we were walking dressed only in lej-xajäbs, but as I looked around me, I realized I was almost a head taller than everyone else … and since I had a bath, the grey mud had been removed allowing the pale residual golden color on my skin to be seen. I had to throw out my anxiety.
There was an irrigation system in place and we came to two large parallel canals running north to south. We crossed the first one on a wooden bridge and continued north between the two canals. We walked another mile and came upon another canal that transected both. Beyond was a large ha’, or lake, that acted as a reservoir and fed water to that canal. I noted that the water in the canals was low and much silt had accumulated on the canal floors. I thought that strange as the land we had come through had endured heavy rainfall. There were also places where the canal sides had partially collapsed and remained in disrepair. I wondered at those signs. It was obvious that the valley was a watershed so there would be rivers feeding into the ha’, providing a continuous source of water. The only way the ha’ would dry up would be if the farms were consuming more water from the irrigation system than the watershed provided. I queried if it were possible that the ha’ had been so low that the rains did not have a full impact on the water level. Of course, it may not have rained as much in the area. We stood on a long wooden bridge over a canal that was about sixty feet wide and twenty-five feet deep. I looked up and down the canal. It was easily over a mile in length.
“When were the canals built?” I asked Kish. He stared at me.
“I am a Warrior, Chiac. Not a scholar.” He laughed. “But perhaps I can answer your question. When I last visited this city, as I journeyed with Knot Ajaw, I was told that some of the canals have been here for about two baktuns.58 Others were built more recently. As the city expanded, those canals were built to bring water to the fields in the south of the city. The water comes from the ha’ around which the city is built, the water in the ha’ coming from the mountains. Now the ha’ is drying up and the canals are falling into disrepair. The scholars of Tulam Tzu are great builders and engineers, but it seems that they did not think that excessive use of the water would begin drying up the ha’. Tulam Tzu is lucky that Chac59 provides enough rain for the fields even if not sufficient for the canals. Perhaps, the canals were not even necessary. Ahmakiq60 has blessed them with good weather all year round. Even the recent heavy rains have not affected them. Look at the fields we saw, Chiac. They are raised. I have not seen that in any other kingdom.”
“The city and fields seem to occupy the whole valley.”
“Not the whole valley, but Tulam Tzu is one of the largest and most important cities in the region. K’an II sends emissaries here at least once a year, but Yax Mutul has been sending their emissaries as well. Tulam Tzu trades in all directions, as far north as Puh61 and as far east as Nohoch Atz’am Ja’. They trade in ceramics, ya’ax-chich,62 chay,63 and they control the mines in Chay Abaj. They trade in fruits and vegetables, jäl,64 and kakaw.65 They also trade in atz’am.66
I stared at Tulam Tzu in the distance. It was large and important, but something was missing. “I don’t see any temples.”
“The land here is good for farming, but not for building temples,” responded Kish. “There are no stones here so most of the buildings are made from materials that perish with time. The buildings are made from adobe, wattle and daub, built on top of earthen platforms, arranged around courtyards or in lines along wide avenues. They do have ballcourts, however, where pitz67 is played.”
“I’ve had enough of pitz for now,” I said, shaking my head.
Yochi and Iztali left us just before we reached the point where the canal running northwest to southeast cut across the sacbeob we were on. Kish and I crossed the bridge and continued towards the city. The sacbeob soon opened into a wide avenue with houses on either side. People were about, the smell of food cooking was evident, and smoke was rising from many places. We eventually came to a central area and I saw the ha’ to the west. There were two large buildings on a raised platform about ten feet off the ground with stairs leading up to it. Two stone figures marked the beginning of a sacbeob going westward to the building.
“That’s where we’re going,” said Kish.
As we approached the platform, two Warriors stepped in front of Kish, one of them speaking harshly. “Slaves go no further unless accompanied by their Ajchaq’e.68 Do you want your head removed or your heart cut from your chest?
“I am Kish, Kaloonte’ to Ajawinel K’an II of the great city of Oz Witz Ha. My party and I have had a great misfortune and I wish to have an audience with your Batab on behalf of my Ajawinel. My slave attends me.”
The two Warriors hesitated then the one who had spoken turned to the other and nodded. He ran towards the building and up the steps. Shortly after, the Warrior returned and spoke quietly with his comrade who then faced us saying, “Follow us.”
A group of four men stood at the top of the stairs. One was dressed in an elaborate loincloth decorated with grey and black feathers. He wore a headdress adorned with the red, blue, and yellow feathers of the ix-oop,69 jewelry made from ya’ax-chich and seashells, and it carried a wooden image of Kinich Kakmo.70 He also wore necklaces, arm and ankle bracelets, all decorated with pointed fragments of chay, and pieces of jewelry in his ears and nose. The other two men wore less decorated loincloths, necklaces of ya’ax-chich, smaller headdresses and blue cloaks fastened on one shoulder. The fourth man was dressed differently. He wore an ocelot skin over his body with an open slot for his head, and a carmine-colored71 loincloth. His hair sat on top of his head and was parted into two sections with a red cord wrapped around it. The cord was ornamented with green, blue, and red feathers. He held a long bate’,72 but did not carry a to’bal-rib.73 He was the only one wearing lej-xajäbs. I didn’t see any topless pretty girls as Kish had warned there would be so there wasn’t any danger of Tóolok behaving naturally.
“When we reach the bottom of the stair, I will bow,” instructed Kish. “You will kneel with your head bowed or you will lose it. Do not look directly at them … slave.”
I rolled my eyes, remembering how I had told K’an II’s uncle, Chekaj K’inich, Where I come from we are all free men. We look directly into the eyes of those we address. It was not good that I had done that.
“And, control yourself. I brought you so that you know what transpired. Do not allow your skin to brighten.”
“And how am I supposed to stop that?”
“Control yourself.” He said no more and walked away.
We reached the bottom of the stair. Kish bowed and I kneeled, looking down. Fok!
“I am from the city of Ox Witz Ha, Kaloonte’ of Ajawinel K’an II. We were travelling to Baúl as guards for emissaries of trade and were at Ja’ Xakanul when it’s side collapsed sending down a landslide, a torrent of grey mud. We were at the base, bathing, and so had removed our loincloths. Some of us barely escaped with our lives. The emissaries, many of my Warriors and slaves, were sent to the Underworld by Cabrakan, and we lost all our weapons and wares. I have left the few Warriors and slaves who survived at the outskirts of your city, until you give us permission to have them enter. On behalf of Ajawinel K’an II, I ask for food, loincloths, and a few hunting weapons for our trip back to Ox Witz Ha. We will leave immediately. The Great Ajawinel will honor your aid with q’aq’-puaq74 and other gifts.”
“Welcome to our city, Kaloonte’ of Ajawinel K’an II of Ox Witz Ha. I am Pakal,75 Batab of the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu. This is Coatl,76 Nabe Kaloonte’, who comes from the great Kingdom of Puh77 in the west, the land of Zac-Cimi.78 Beside us are the Ahau Can Mai of Tulam Tzu and his Ah-k’in.79 You may bring your Warriors and slaves into our city. You will be fed, your Warriors will be provided with the loincloths they need, and you will be given one long bate’, one short bate’, and one wik’iaq,80 so that you may hunt on your way b
ack to Ox Witz Ha.”
“Thank you, Batab. May I also have cloth for my slaves81 so they can make wraps. It is the custom in Ox Witz Ha.”
The Ahau Can Mai spoke into the ear of the Batab, at some length, until, finally, the Batab gave a slight nod. “It is not the custom of Tulam Tzu to provide our slaves with cloth, unless they have risen to a certain status of trust among our people.” Kish nodded. “The Ahau Can Mai has also advised that the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu has concern about the new and troubling, even dangerous, beliefs coming out of Oz Witz Ha. The Ajaw is very concerned. They differ from those given to our people by Itzamná82 himself. Our adherence to the teachings of Itzamná is demanded by all the gods of Yaxché. We do fear, Kaloonte’, that those strange beliefs threaten our Noble Society and the very survival of all our kingdoms.”
I did not like what I was hearing. My imagination ran from me and I felt a burning sensation around my neck and over my heart as the former was chopped off and the latter torn from my chest. I lowered my head even closed to the ground. I flashed back to a conversation that Molly had with K’an II. She had told him about Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the Mother of God, Ix Na Li Kawa, and the story of Tepeyac Mountain and Juan Diego. She had also given him the jade medallion, the Raax Ch’ayom Puag, I had made for her. I knew that K’an II also had new ideas about the role of the elite, the use of slaves, and the traditions that involved human sacrifice. It had been just a year since I left Ox Witz Ha. It was difficult for me to accept that those new beliefs had spread all the way to Tulam Tzu, perhaps even to more distant kingdoms. As I lowered my head even further, I concluded that Tulam Tzu did not regard itself as an ally of Ox Witz Ha.
“My Ajawinel is a great leader, as is the Ajaw of Tulam Tzu. Ajawinel K’an II only explores further the teachings of the priests of Ox Witz Ha. He will not anger the Great Kukulkan, God of the Noble Houses. He will not endanger his Nim-q’ij83 Dynasty or the dynasties of the great cities, of which Tulam Tzu is the greatest.”
Sisimito III--Topoxte Page 4