Sisimito III--Topoxte

by Henry W. Anderson

  A preview of the last book of the Sisimito Series.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Good Friday, April 12, 1976

  Three years later.

  I sat on the veranda of our home in Belize City, looking out to sea. It was a cloudy day, heavy clouds rushing overhead from the northwest along with high winds. We were having a naat.543 Molly and I were supposed to be going to St. George’s Caye for Easter, but we had to postpone the trip due to the weather. I had the few days off for Easter and did look forward to the caye and fishing even though I would have preferred getting lost in the jungle somewhere. I didn’t get much chance to go on the jungle training missions any more. I had been promoted to Captain and was forced to do more desk work that I wanted. At least, the pay was better. I had gotten two promotions, the first to Lieutenant just after I got married to Molly and the other just two months ago. I was trained and experienced enough to hold the posts, but I could not help thinking that it was because I rescued and then married Molly Cervantez that I got the higher ranks. The life was difficult, at times, and I supposed that it was just hard for me to settle back into the routine of this type of army life. There were a couple times that I was given extra duties by the General for … incidents. Anyway, I would survive.

  I took a sip of my Caribbean white rum and Wynola. I always enjoyed looking at the sea, especially when it was agitated, and sip my rum. Of course, I was naked even though the wind was cold causing me to shiver on and off. I just couldn’t get used to cloths. After my youth in the jungle of Punta Gorda, and then my life on U Wach Ulew and in the city of Ox Witz Ha, cloths were just fuckin cumbersome. Molly had tolerated it and I took every opportunity to remind her of her statement, I must remember I’m married to a man who is really as innocent as the jungle he loves. She insisted, however, that I always keep my shorts nearby in case someone visited. I looked at the house across from us and had to smile. An old spinster lived there, a nice woman. Molly had told me, quite sternly, that if Ms. Hunter saw me naked, the lady would be flabbergasted and most upset. I had joking responded that I didn’t think so. I had said that Ms. Hunter would’ve probably run speedily to Brodie’s General Store and buy a pair of binoculars. Molly wasn’t too happy with that response, but, eventually, she forgave me, as she always did.

  Molly and I had been married less than three years and, unfortunately, although we enjoyed each other, fuc … made love often, something was beginning to grow in me. I felt a distant longing, and it was getting stronger and stronger with every day that passed. I fought it continuously, convincing myself that I was winning, always trying to throw it out of my mind, as I was then doing. Sometimes, however, I felt that it was a battle I was losing.

  Molly continued teaching and spent a lot of her free time with the nuns, helping in social programs, going to retreats and so forth. Sometimes I went to church with her, but it was mainly for special feast days, Christmas and so forth. I never went on Saint Stephens feast day. That was Boxing Day, anyhow, and there are always other more enjoyable things to do, like drinking Caribbean and Wynola. I no longer used the name Stephen, anyway. It was not that I didn’t want to have anything to do with religion, churches and priests, and so forth, or that I did not always keep in mind the role that the Green Scapular played in my life, it was just that I preferred to pray alone. And I did. I prayed the prayer Molly taught me at Ox Witz Ha and I prayed it often. That was the only prayer I knew and wanted to know.

  Molly had not gotten pregnant and I was unable to shut out Lady Batz’ Ek”s words. Whenever Molly and I made love, that woman’s words came back to me: There is something, Ke’kchi, that you must know. When the enchantments have been removed and you take Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ to your mat, do not expect that she will bear you a paal, or a mial. She will bear you no children. Perhaps, Tóolok was just shooting blank shots, but I certainly was not going to check the doctor. But, at times, I thought I should. Perhaps, I was afraid to find out, should it be me. Macho! Macho! Macho! Molly had not said anything even though it was nearly three years. Somehow, I thought she knew she wouldn’t have children and accepted it. Perhaps, Lady Batz’ Ek’ had told her. But I wanted a son. I wanted to take him to hunt, to fish, as I had done with Bas. Maybe Molly and I just hadn’t hit it right as yet. I would just have to keep working Tóolok, perhaps two or three times a day. I laugh loudly at myself. Two or three times a day. Ha-ha!

  “What are you laughing about?” shouted Molly from inside.

  “Mix-ba’al,” I answered. “Just remembered a joke.”

  “Lunch will soon be ready.”

  “Okay.”

  I took another sip of my rum. Molly had frowned that I would even drink on Good Friday. She had said that at least I should wait until after three-o-clock, the time that Jesus had died. I told her she reminded me of Saint Bas, how he had stopped us to pray at three-o-clock on Good Friday during Expedition Bold. That didn’t save him from Mahanamtz … Sisimito. She wasn’t too pleased at that remark, either, so I had just poured my rum, took off my cloths, and sat on my veranda, putting my feet up on the rail, wishing that my life was just the simple and uncomplicated life I had planned. I had come to accept that was impossible.

  I heard Molly behind me and turned. Her face was pale and drawn. Her eyes were large with concern, perhaps even fear.

  “What is it? What happened?” I immediately thought that something bad had happened to Ma or Pa Cervantez, or to Nah’.

  “You have, you havea visitor,” she said and put her hands to her face.

  “Who the fok is it, Molly? Why are you so upset? You look frightened.”

  She took her hands from her face.

  “Teul. It is Teul.”

  APPENDIX

  THE GODS

  Ah Peku: A God of Thunder.

  Ah Puch is the God of Death.

  Ah Tabai: A God of the Hunt. Yum Kaax is also a God of the Hunt.

  Ahmakiq: God of Agriculture. He locks up the wind when it threatens to destroy crops.

  Akhushtal: the Maya Goddess of Fertility and Childbirth.

  Bacabs are four brothers whom Itzamná placed, when he created the world, at the four points of it, holding up the sky so that it should not fall. Connected with the worship of these Bacabs were four stones, the Red (East), White (North), Black (West), and Yellow (South). They were intimately associated with the Chacs.

  Bahlam: Any of a group of Jaguar Gods who protected people and communities.

  Baläm Qajaw: Jaguar God.

  Bolontikú: Group of nine Underworld gods that live in the depths of the Yaxché roots. It also refers to the nine underworlds of the Yaxché. A total of 122 deities lived in Yaxché.

  Buluc-Chabtan: This deity, also known as ‘God F, is the God of War, Violence and Death to whom human beings were sacrificed regularly. He is also depicted as setting homes on fire, killing people and roasting them on skewers over a fire.

  Cabrakan: The Mountain God. He is also listed as one of the Earthquake Gods and is the son of Vucub Caquix and Chimalat.

  Cakulha: A God of Lightning.

  Camazotz was a Bat God.

  Can-Tzicinal is God of the North and favors White.

  Chaahk is the Maya Rain God in Classic Maya.

  Chac Uayab Xoc: The Fish God. He was regarded as the one who provided fish for the fisherman, but he also devoured drowned fisherman.

  Chac: The God of Rain and Storms. Like other major Maya gods, Chac also appeared as four gods, the Chacs. The four gods were associated with the points of the compass and their colors: white with north; red with east; black with west; and yellow with south. Chac was also the enemy of Camazotz.

  Chalchiuhtlicue: The Goddess of Running Water.

  Cit Bolon Tum is a Maya God of Medicine

  Coyopa: A God of Thunder and the brother of Cakulha who is a God of Lightning.

  Cum Hau is a God of Death and the Underworld.

  Ek Chuah: The ‘Black War Chief’, Patron God o
f Warriors.

  Hobnil is God of the East and favors Red.

  Hozanek is God of the South and favors Yellow.

  Huehuetlotl: The God of Fire.

  Hukte’ Ahaw: Some sources indicate that he is Vucub Hunahpú (Seven-Hunahpú), and the Sports God. Vucub Hunahpú is uncle of the Hero Twins.

  Hunab Ku: This Yucatec Maya word meaning ‘The Only God’ is used more in colonial times and particularly in doctrinal texts to refer to the Christian God.

  Hunahpu is one of the Hero Twins.

  Itzamná, also known as God D, is one of the most important Maya gods. He was considered the creator of the world and the other deities and is connected with the Sacred World Tree, Yaxché. One of the manifestations of Itzamná is the Bird of Heaven, a bird often portrayed standing on top of the World Tree.

  Ix Chel or Ixchel is the 16th-century name of the aged Jaguar Goddess of Midwifery and Medicine in ancient Maya culture. Ix Chel is also referred to as the Mother of Deities and is Goddess of the Moon and Water. She is also the Goddess of Making Children and the Goddess of Medicine.

  Ixazaluoh: The Goddess of Water and Weaving.

  Ixbenil Son is a Maya sacred song.

  Kinich Ahau is the 16th-century Yucatec name of the Maya Sun God, also designated as God G. He is also known as Ah Kinchel.

  Kinich Kakmo is a solar deity represented by a macaw parrot.

  Kisin is the ‘evil earthquake spirit’ in Maya Mythology.

  Kukulkan (Plumed Serpent or Feathered Serpent) is the name of a Maya snake deity. He was also regarded by some sources as the god with special responsibility for the Nobility. Kukulkan is closely related to the god Q’uq’umatz of the Ke’kchi Maya and to Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs. Although heavily Mexicanized, Kukulkan has his origins among the Maya

  of the Classic Period, when he was known as Waxaklahun Ubah Kan, the War Serpent.

  Lahun Chan is Venus. For the Maya, the important celestial bodies are deities, the sun, the moon, and Venus being the most important. Venus, sometimes the Sun’s (Kinich Ahau) brother, has a plethora of named aspects. Most are malevolent and dangerous, particularly when the planet first rises as the Morning Star.

  Manik is the Maya God of Sacrifice, of Sacrificial Victims, and of Purifying Suffering.

  Mayahuel is the Goddess of the maguey (agave) plant. It was thought that the aguamiel (Spanish - literally, agua: water, and miel: honey) collecting in the center of the plant was her blood.

  Nacon is the God of War. It is also the name for a military officer.

  Naum is the god who created the human mind and consciousness.

  Nohochacyum is the creator-destroyer deity.

  Oxlahuntikú: The 13 Heavens of Yaxché. A total of 122 deities lived in Yaxché.

  Tohil (also spelt Tojil) is the patron god of the Ke’kchi Maya in the Late Postclassic period of Mesoamerica. His principal function was that of a fire deity and he was also both a Sun God and the God of Rain. He was also associated with mountains and he was a God of War, Sacrifice, and Sustenance.

  Tzitzimimeh: The leader of the Tzitzimimeh was the Goddess Itzpapalotl, ruler of Tamoanchan, the paradise where the Tzitzimimeh resided. Some sources state that the name Sisimita, the female gender of the Sisimito, comes from the Nahuatl word Tzitzimitl, so a Sisimita may be a Tzitzimitl. They were powerful and dangerous female deities, especially in periods of cosmic instability. They were also regarded as Gods of the Stars, protectresses of the feminine, and progenitresses of mankind.

  Tzultacah is the Ke’kchi deity who protects them from wild animals. He has taken Sisimito (Mahanamatz) into the few remaining densely jungled areas in Belize. Thus, Sisimito is rarely seen today. This deity may also be Tzuultaq’a, God of the Hill.

  Tzuultaq’a is God of the Hill. This god may also be Tzultacah, the Ke’kchi deity who protects them from wild animals.

  U K’ux Kaj, Heart of Sky, is also referred to as Huracan (Spanish), and Hun-raqan (Maya) meaning ‘one legged’. He is the 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.

  U Wach Ulew: The Maya gods created the face of the earth, U Wach Ulew, as a propitious place for human life.

  Votan is a legendary ancestral deity. The name comes from Chiapas, Mexico.

  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. This false sun-moon bird was shot out of his tree with a blowgun by Hunahpú, one of the Hero Twins, but still managed to sever the hero’s arm. Finally, however, Vucub-Caquix was deprived of his power.

  Xbalanque is one of the Hero Twins.

  Yaluk is one of four Mopan ‘Grandfathers’ of Earth and Chief Lightning God.

  Yum Kaax, Lord of the Forest, is the God of Wild Vegetation and God of the Hunt. He is guardian of the jungle’s animals that are important to hunters. Ah Tabai is also God of the Hunt.

  Zac-Cimi is God of the West and favors Black.

  KRIOL, MAYA (Ke’kchi, Mopan, Yucatec), AND SPANISH WORDS

  IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER

  AS USED IN THE SISIMITO SERIES;

  A’kl (Ke’kchi Maya), Cecropia peltata L. is also known as ‘trumpet tree’ (English), guaruma, warumo (Spanish), cho-otz (Mopan Maya), po-hór (Ke’kchi Maya). The dried, powdered, leaves are used by chicleros and bushmasters as a smoking tobacco.

  Áak is Maya for ‘turtle’.

  Áayin is Maya for ‘crocodile’.

  Abix is Maya for ‘corn plant’ or ‘cornfield’.

  Achalal is the Maya noun for ‘older brother’ of male parent. It may also just refer to ‘brother’ or ‘family member’. Chaq’ is the Maya noun for younger brother or sister of the same sex.

  Achaq is Maya for ‘excrement (human, animal)’ or ‘buttocks’.

  Achi’l is Maya for ‘companion, friend, regidor (assistant to mayor on council)’. Here it is used to refer to a ‘bat-man or orderly to an officer’.

  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.

  Ah-cox is the Crested Guan: Penelope purpurascens, also known as Pava Cojolita.

  Ah-k’in is a town priest.

  Ah-k’inob: This was the priest with the responsibility of conducting public and private rituals within individual towns throughout the province. They preached and published the festival days, determined the appropriate steps in case of need, made sacrifices, and administered the acts connected to life cycle rituals.

  Ah-nakom is the name given to priests carrying out human sacrifice. Their status was relatively low.

  Ah’-cuab is Ke’kchi for ‘musician’. The Mopan word is pash.

  Ahau Can Mai is used for ‘High Priest of a kingdom’.

  Ahau is a royal title and the highest ranking political office held at any given Maya City.

  ¡Ai-yai-yai! ¡Hijueputa! (Spanish) An interjection plus the vulgar form of ‘son-of-a-bitch’.

  Ajaw is Maya for ‘king’. It can also be used for, ‘ruler, leader, lord, boss’.

  Ajawal refers to the king of a vassal state.

  Ajawibal Xma’ K’aaba’ is Maya for ‘Kingdom With No Name’.

  Ajawinel is Maya for ‘king’. Here it refers to the king of a large independent state or kingdom. Ajawal refers to the king of a vassal state.

  Ajch’o’j is Maya for ‘soldier’. Nabe Ajch’o’j is ‘First Warrior’.

  Ajchaq’e is Maya for ‘owner, master’.

  Ajk’ay is Maya noun for ‘seller’ or ‘vendor’.

  Ajwoyotz’ is the Mopan word for the kinkajou, Potos flavus. It is also called ‘night walker’.

  Ak’, pronounced
ahk’, is Maya for ‘clitoris’.

  Ala is Maya for ‘boy’.

  Alaj Chak is Maya for ‘Little Red’.

  Alaj is Maya for ‘little’.

  Alaxel is Maya for ‘prince’.

  Alcalde is Spanish for ‘Mayor’.

  Alixel is Maya for ‘princess’.

  Al-ch’utin-nan is Maya for ‘cousin’.

  Amate (Mopan), Ficus maxima Mill, is the Fig tree. It is also known as higuero (Spanish).

  Anäb is Ke’kchi for ‘sister of a male’.

  Aq’abil is Maya for ‘dawn’ or ‘at dawn’.

  Aqaj is Ke’kchi for ‘wasp’.

  Aquacate is Spanish for ‘avocado’.

  Atz’am is Maya for ‘salt’.

  Ba’at is Maya for ‘axe’ or ‘hatchet’. This hatchet, also used as a weapon, was a wooden ax hardened by fire and edged with flint or obsidian blades.

  Bacabs are the four gods of the cardinal points of the compass. Connected with the worship of these Bacabs were four stones, the Red (East), White (North), Black (West), and Yellow (South) acantuns or stone stela. Those stones were anointed with the blood of the worshipers.

  Bad-siknis is Kriol for ‘gonorrhea’.

  Bajibal-tuunich is Maya for ‘hammerstone’. Bajibal is a Maya noun for ‘hammer’ and tuunich for ‘stone’.

  Bakra is Kriol for ‘a white skinned person’.

  Baktun is the Maya unit for a period of 144.000 days or 400 tuns (years).

  Baläm is the general Maya word used for the ‘jaguar’ in the Sisimito Series. The scientific name is Panthera onca, but it is also known as chakmo’ol and koh. The yellow jaguar is Ek Baläm, the black jaguar is Ix Balanque, and the white jaguar is Majahuta Baläm.