Chapter IV: Introduction (2)

Landa frequently mentions the fact that in his day drunkenness (_kaltal_) was the curse of the Indians and the cause of many crimes among them, including murder, rape, and arson.[1] At the present time these remarks apply equally well; indeed, drunkenness is probably more prevalent than formerly, as the rum is made locally and is far more intoxicating than the _balchè_, which Landa describes as a drink made from fermented honey, water, and roots. Moreover, the people drink rum at all times and seasons, whereas both the preparation and consumption of _balchè_ were to some extent ceremonial, as was the resulting intoxication. Drunkenness is not considered in any way a disgrace, but is looked on rather as an amiable weakness. The women, especially the older ones, drink a good deal but they usually do so in the privacy of their own houses. I have seen, however, a little girl of 14 or 15 purchase a pint of rum in a village liquor store, and go out on the plaza, where she drank it in a few gulps; then, lying down in the fierce heat of the afternoon sun, she lapsed into alcoholic coma. Alcohol effects an extraordinarily rapid change for the worse in the Indian's temperament; from a quiet, polite, rather deferential individual, he is converted almost in a moment into a maudlin idiot, staggering about singing foolish snatches of native songs, and endeavoring to embrace everyone he comes in contact with. When thwarted while in this condition his temper is likely to flare up at the slightest provocation, whereupon the thin veneer of civilization and restraint is sloughed in a moment, and he becomes savage, impudent, overbearing, and contemptuous toward the stranger, and ready to draw his machete and fight to kill, with friend or foe alike.

CHIEFS

On the death of the head chief (_noh calan_ or _nohoch yumtat_) among the Santa Cruz and Icaichè the oldest of the subchiefs (_chan yumtopilob_) is supposed to succeed him; as a matter of fact there are always rival claimants for the chieftainship, and the subchief with the strongest personality or greatest popularity among the soldiers usually succeeds in grasping the office. There are nearly always rival factions endeavoring to oust the chief in power, and the latter rarely dies a natural death. The village subchiefs are elected by the people. The power of the head chief is practically absolute over the whole tribe. Some years ago, when Roman Pec was head chief, one of the subchiefs came to Corozal, the nearest town in British Honduras, to purchase powder, shot, and other supplies. He remained some time, as he had many friends in the place, and obtained, among other things, a bottle of laudanum to relieve toothache. On returning to his village he was met by three soldiers, who informed him that he was to go with them at once to the head chief, as the latter was angry with him on account of his long absence from the country. Aware that this was equivalent to a sentence of death, he asked permission to retire to his house for a few minutes, to get ready for the journey, and taking advantage of the opportunity, he swallowed the whole contents of the bottle of laudanum. This began to take effect very shortly, and long before reaching the capital he was dead.

The method of executing those sentenced to death is curious. The accused does not undergo a formal trial, but the evidence against him is placed before the head chief; if he is convicted, he has an opportunity of defending himself and of producing witnesses in his behalf. Three or four soldiers are chosen by the chief to carry out the sentence; this they do by chopping the victim to death with their machetes when they catch him asleep or off his guard. Several men always perform this act, all chopping the victim at the same time, so that no single individual may be directly responsible for his death. Imprisonment as a punishment for crime is unknown, fine, flogging, and death being the only three methods employed for dealing with criminals. Fines and flogging may be administered by the subchiefs, but sentence of death can be passed only by the head chief. The severity of the flogging is regulated by the nature of the offense, and after it is over the recipient is compelled publicly to express sorrow for his crime and go around humbly kissing the hands of all the spectators, after which he is given a large calabash of anise to drink. The heaviest punishment is inflicted for witchcraft or sorcery, as the _pulya_, or sorceress, is greatly dreaded by the Indians. She is literally chopped limb from limb; but whereas the bodies of other victims executed in this way are always buried, that of the _pulya_ is left for the dogs and vultures to dispose of.

Military service is compulsory for all adult males among the Santa Cruz, though many avoid such service by payment to the chief of a certain sum in money or its equivalent. Small garrisons were kept up at Santa Cruz, Chan Santa Cruz, Bacalar, and other Indian towns where soldiers were permanently stationed. No uniform was provided, though many of the men were armed with Winchester rifles. They were provided also with a ration of corn and beans, and often took their wives along with them as cooks.

DISEASES AND MEDICINES

Indian men and women of all ages and classes, when attacked by any serious malady, are found to be lacking in vitality and stamina; they relinquish hope, and relax their grip on life very easily, seeming to hold it lightly and as not worth a fight to retain. An elderly man or woman will sometimes take to the hammock without apparent physical symptoms of disease beyond the anemia and splenitis from which nearly all suffer, and merely announce _Ile in cimli_, "I am going to die." They refuse to eat, drink, or talk, wrap themselves in a sheet from head to foot, and finally do succumb in a very short time apparently from sheer lack of vitality and absence of desire to continue living.

Malaria is without doubt the chief scourge of the Indian's existence. Many of the villages are built in low-lying situations, with mosquito-breeding swamps all round them, while the scrubby bush and rank vegetation are allowed to grow in the yards right up to the houses, furnishing good cover and an excellent lurking place for the insects; moreover, the Indians seldom use mosquito curtains, as they seem to have acquired a sort of immunity to the irritation caused at night by the noise and biting of the pests. Practically all Indians suffer from malaria, which is the main cause of the splenic enlargement and anemia so prevalent among them. In some cases the spleen reaches an enormous size, nearly filling the abdominal cavity, and deaths from a slight blow or fall, causing rupture of this organ, are by no means uncommon. Malaria is usually treated by means of profuse sweating (_kilcabankil_), the patient lying wrapped in a cotton sheet in the hammock, with a fire burning beneath and drinking sudorific bush medicine. This in itself is an excellent remedy, but in the midst of the sweat patients frequently plunge into cold water, thus becoming thoroughly chilled, a procedure very apt to bring on pneumonia, to which they are peculiarly subject.

The splenic enlargement is treated by applying a number of small circular blisters (_xacal_) containing chichem juice to the skin, over the affected organ, which seem to be remarkably efficacious in reducing the swelling.

In the winter when the nights are cold the Indians often lie out all night in the wet, a practice which frequently results in pneumonia and death. Hookworms and many other varieties of intestinal parasites are prevalent, owing to the earth-eating habits of the children, the earth being taken usually from the immediate vicinity of the house, where pigs and other domestic animals have their quarters. This disgusting habit no doubt accounts in part for the swollen bellies and earthy color of many of the children.

Smallpox (_ǩak_) invading an Indian village is a terrible scourge, far worse than in a more civilized community of the same size, where partial immunity has been acquired. Sometimes the whole unaffected population depart en masse, leaving the dead unburied and the stricken lying in their hammocks, with a supply of food and water, to do the best they can for themselves. The Indians employ the same mode of treatment for this disease as for malarial fever--sweating followed by immersion in cold water, treatment which, it need hardly be said, is not infrequently followed by disastrous results.

Venereal diseases of all kinds are remarkably rare among all the Indian tribes. Among the Santa Cruz and Icaichè such diseases were practically unknown. Even among the mixed breeds of British Honduras they are comparatively rare, notwithstanding the fact that these natives have come much in contact with people of many other races, especially of late years with Mexican Chicleros, nearly all of whom are affected with venereal disease in one form or another.

Simple fractures of the long bones are set very neatly and skillfully in the following way: The fractured limb is pulled away from the body with considerable force in order to overcome the displacement; over the fractured bone is wound a thick layer of cotton wool, and over this are applied a number of small round, straight sticks, completely surrounding the limb, their centers corresponding nearly to the seat of fracture; these are kept in place by a firm binding of henequen cord. The limb, if an arm, is supported in a sling; if a leg, the patient is confined to his hammock till the fracture is firmly knit. Excellent results are secured by this method, the union being firm, and the limb nearly always uniting in good position.

Bleeding, a favorite remedy for all complaints, is especially resorted to in cases of headache and malarial fever. Usually the temporal vein, less frequently one of the veins in the front of the forearm, is opened, having been first distended with blood by tying a ligature around the upper arm. A chip of obsidian, a sharp splinter of bone, or a snake's tooth, serves as a crude lancet; the use of the last causes considerable pain, but is believed to have some esoteric virtue connected with it.

Decoctions made from the charred carcasses of animals at one time were much employed, certain animals being regarded as specifics for certain diseases. Thus, during an epidemic of whooping cough (_xinki sen_) a decoction from the charred remains of the cane rat was almost exclusively given to the children to relieve the cough, though in this case it is difficult to trace the connection between the remedy and the disease.

Many eye troubles are treated by placing a small rough seed beneath the lower lid of the affected eye, where it remains for a day; when the seed is withdrawn it is covered with mucus, to which the doctor points as the injurious matter, the cause of all the trouble, which he has removed.

Massage is practiced chiefly for uterine and ovarian pains by the older women, who also act as midwives; it is used also in conjunction with kneading and manual manipulation in the cure of neuralgic pains, strains, stiffness, and rheumatism.

In confinements, which usually take place either in the hammock or on the floor, the dorsal position is invariably assumed. In such cases also massage over the uterus is performed by the midwife. If the desired results are not secured, the patient is made to vomit by thrusting a long coil of hair down her throat, while a woman of exceptional lung power is sent for to blow into her mouth, with the object of hastening delivery.

The Indians use for medicinal purposes a great variety of plants which grow in their country; some of these are purely empirical remedies; others produce definite physiological results and are frequently used with good effect, while a few, apparently on the assumption that "similia similibus curantur," are employed because of some fancied resemblance in form to the diseased part, as _xhudub pek_, twin seeds of the size of small eggs, the milky juice of which is used as an external application for enlarged glands and for various forms of orchitis.

The following plants are used medicinally by the Indians as remedies for the diseases named, respectively:

_Acitz._--The milky juice of a tree, used as an application for
chronic sores and ulcers.

_Acam._--The leaves of this plant are applied hot to reduce the
swelling and relieve the pain in enlargement of the spleen and
liver.

_Purgacion Xiu._--An infusion made from the leaves is administered
warm in bladder and urethral troubles.

_Pakaal._--An infusion made from the leaves of the orange tree is
given as a sudorific.

_Pichi._--A paste made from the leaves of the guava is applied to
"bay sore," a specific ulcer somewhat resembling "oriental sore."

_Pomolche._--A mouth wash made from the milk of this tree is used
in cases of stomatitis and ulceration of the mouth.

_Quimbombo._--The wild okra is greatly esteemed as an external
application in cases of snake bite.

_Sisim._--An infusion made from the leaves is used as a sudorific
in cases of malarial fever.

_Sicilpuz._--A yellowish fruit sometimes used as a purgative.

_Cabalpixoy._--The fruit of this tree is given in cases of
diarrhea, and an infusion made from the bark is used in diarrhea
and dysentery.

_Claudiosa Xiu._--An infusion made from the whole bush is greatly
esteemed as a bath and lotion in all uterine and ovarian
complaints.

_Chalche._--The spinous leaf of this plant is used as a local
application to relieve neuralgic pains, and an infusion made from
the leaves is given for rheumatism.

_Chamico._--An infusion made from the leaves of the convolvulus
mixed with other leaves is given to relieve asthma and bronchial
catarrh.

_Chaac._--The arrowroot, eaten raw, is regarded as a useful remedy
in all bladder and urethral complaints.

_CuƆuc._--The wood, ground into a paste, is applied to the heads
of small children suffering from fever and convulsions.

_Ruda._--The leaves of this plant are universally used as an
external application for children suffering from convulsions, and
frequently in the same manner for the relief of almost any nervous
complaint in adults.

_Pica pica._--A sort of cowhage which, mixed with atol or some
corn beverage, is largely used as a vermifuge for children.

GAMES

Both children and adults play many games, most of which have probably been introduced since the conquest. A favorite among these is a game known as _tak in kul_, in which a number of players stand in a row with their hands behind their backs while one, who holds a small pottery disk in his hand, stands behind the row, another standing in front. The one holding the disk places it in the hands of one of those in the line, who in turn passes it to his neighbor, so that it travels rapidly up and down the line. The player in front has to guess in whose hand the disk is at the moment of guessing. If he is right, the holder of the disk has to come in front while the one who guessed correctly joins the line.

_Chac_ is a sort of "knucklebones," played with pottery disks, which are tossed from the palm to the back of the hand and back again; the one who drops fewest disks in a given number of double throws wins the game.

The boys make little bows (_pohoche_) and arrows (_hul_) tipped with black wax, with which they play war and hunting games.

A seesaw made from a small tree balanced on a stump is popular, as is also a sort of merry-go-round constructed from a cross of poles fixed on top of a stump by means of a wooden pin, which rotates freely. The children sit at the extreme ends of the poles and make the contrivance rotate by kicking against the ground vigorously at intervals as they go around.

The bull roarer, made from a dry seed pod, is popular in some villages and is probably one of the few toys used by the natives before the conquest.

Cricket, baseball, marbles, kites, and spinning tops have been introduced among the Indians of British Honduras, and all have their devotees.

RELIGION

The Indians, who are extremely superstitious, believe that the air is full of _pishan_, or souls of the dead. They imagine that these souls are at liberty at all times to return to earth, and that at certain seasons they are compelled to do so. They are regarded as being capable of enjoying the spirit, though not the substance, of food or drink provided for them. Some of these _pishan_ the Indians believe to be friendly and some inimical to mortals. They believe also in spirits, usually mischievous or harmful, known as _xtabai_, who often take the form of beautiful women, though they have never been human. The natives will whisper a message into the ear of a corpse with the certainty of having it conveyed to a friend or relative in the next world. They firmly believe that the clay images of the gods upon incense burners, at one time found in considerable numbers in forests which had been uncut since the days of their ancestors, live, walk about, and dance at certain seasons. Another belief held by the Indians is that the images of Christian saints are endowed at times with life and perform acts desired by their devotees. A celebrated wooden image, supposed to represent San Bernardo, was credited with considerable powers in this respect, and when an Indian wanted rain for his milpa, the return of an errant wife, or any similar blessing, he would come and pray to the image to obtain it for him. On one occasion an Indian came asking the saint to aid him in the recovery of pigs which he had lost, and on returning to his village found that the pigs had arrived home before him. Next day he returned with the intention of making an offering to the saint, and incidentally to the owner of the house where the image was kept. He found the poor Santo with torn clothes and many burs sticking all over him. On inquiring how this happened he was informed that the saint had been out in the bush hunting for pigs, a quest which had given him a great deal of trouble before he could find and drive them home, and that when he got back he was tired out, his clothes torn by thorns, and covered with burs--an explanation with which the Indian was perfectly satisfied.

The men are very unwilling to dig either in ancient mounds or ruins, as they are afraid of being haunted by the _pishan_ of those whose remains they may disturb; and nothing will induce them to go into caves or burial chambers in mounds. Many curious superstitions hang about the ruins found throughout the country. I was assured by an Indian at Benque Viejo that he had gone on one occasion to the ruins situated near the village, and seeing a pigeon seated on a tree, raised his gun to shoot it; before he could do so, however, the pigeon turned into a cock, and this almost immediately into an eagle, which flew at him, driving him away. There is another superstition about these ruins to the effect that when the first settlers came to Benque Viejo they wished to build the village near the ruins, where the land is very good for growing corn, but were repeatedly driven off by a little old man with a long gray beard. At last, giving up the idea, they contented themselves with the present site for the village.

For many years, between the expulsion of the Yucatecans from Bacalar by the Indians and the conquest of the latter by the Mexican troops, some 12 years ago, no Catholic priests were permitted to visit the Santa Cruz country. The Indians, however, appointed priests from among themselves, who carried out, so far as can be ascertained from those of their number who left the territory and settled in British Honduras, a sort of travesty of the rites of the Roman Catholic Church freely interspersed with many of those of their ancient religion, which had survived. The headquarters of this religious cult was the capital, where it centered around what was known as the "Santa Cruz," a plain wooden cross, 2 to 3 feet high, which had probably been removed from some church after the expulsion of the Spaniards. This cross was supposed to be gifted with the power of speech (a belief arising no doubt from the exercise of ventriloquial powers by one of the priests), and acted as a sort of oracle, to whom all matters of importance--civil, military, and religious--were submitted for decision. It need hardly be said that the cross never failed to return an answer to all these questions, in entire conformity with the wishes of the chief.[2]

The Indians here under consideration occupy an intermediate position between the civilized Maya of northern Yucatan, who have lost nearly all tradition and traces of their former civilization, and the Lacandones of the Usumasintla Valley, who have probably changed but little in their customs and religious observances since the conquest. Nominally they are Christians, but the longer one lives among them, and the better one gets to know them, the more he realizes that their Christianity is to a great extent merely a thin veneer, and that fundamentally their religious conceptions and even their ritual and ceremonies are survivals--degenerate, much changed, and with most of their significance lost--but still survivals of those of their ancestors of pre-Columbian days. To Christianity, not as a separate religion, but as a graft on that which they already practiced, they seem to have taken kindly from the first; and at the present day, as will be seen, the sun god, the rain god, St. Laurence, and Santa Clara may all be invoked in the same prayer, while the Cross is substituted in most of the ceremonies for the images of the old gods, though many of the latter are called on by name. The four principal religious ceremonies of the Indians are, as might be supposed, closely associated with agriculture, especially with the corn crop. The first of these ceremonies takes place at the cutting of the bush in which the corn plantation is to be made, the second at the planting of the corn, the third during its ripening, and the fourth at harvest time. Of these the third, known as the _Cha chac_, which takes place during the ripening of the corn, and whose object is to secure sufficient rain for that purpose, is by far the most important, and it alone will be described, as it embraces the offerings and ritual of all the other ceremonies.

The day previous to the ceremony the men of the family prepared the _pib_, an oblong hole in the ground, in which the various corn offerings were to be baked, while during the night the women were busy grinding corn to make masa (a thick paste of ground maize) and pumpkin seeds to make _sikil_. Very early in the morning of the day of the ceremony the priest with his assistant arrived at the house of the giver. This priest called himself _men_, but was called by the owner a _chac_, while the Chichanha priest called himself an _ah kin_. The Indians chose a site in the midst of a grove of large trees. After clearing away the undergrowth they swept clean a circular space about 25 feet in diameter. In this they proceeded to erect two rude huts, one 12 feet the other 6 feet square; both were thatched with huano leaf, and the floor of the smaller hut was covered with wild plantain leaves. In the center of the larger hut was erected a rough altar 6 by 4 feet and 4 feet 6 inches high, built of sticks bound together with bejuco (fig. 11). The central part of this altar was covered by an arch of "jabin" branches with the leaves still attached. About a dozen small calabashes in their ring supports (Maya _chuyub_) were placed on the altar, and three more were hung to a string passing from the side of the shed to a post a few yards away. The masa prepared the previous night was then brought out in four large calabashes, two of these being placed under the altar and two on top of it; a large calabash of _sikil_ and one of water were also placed on the altar and a jar of _balchè_ (a drink made of fermented honey in which is soaked the bark of a tree) beneath it.

Beneath the suspended calabashes was placed a small table containing piles of tortillas and calabashes of masa and water. In carrying out this ceremony it is essential that everything used in it be perfectly fresh and new; the leaves, sticks, bejuco, and jabin must be freshly cut, and the masa, _sikil_, _balchè_, and even the calabashes must be freshly made. The masa was taken from the large to the small shed, where the priest and several male members of the family sat around it. After flattening out a small ball of the masa the priest placed it on a square of plantain leaves and poured over it a little _sikil_ (a thin paste made of ground pumpkin seed and water). Then the next man flattened out a piece of masa, which he placed over the _sikil,_ and the process was continued until a cake was formed containing 5 to 13 alternating layers of masa and _sikil_. On top of each cake, as it was completed, the priest traced with his forefinger a cross surrounded with holes; these were first partly filled with _balchè_, which was allowed to soak into the cake, after which they were filled completely with _sikil_, whereupon the whole cake was carefully tied up in plantain leaf, with an outer covering of palm leaf (fig. 12). These cakes are known as _tutiua_; their number is generally gauged by the number of participants in the ceremony. When _sikil_ is not available, a paste of ground black beans is used; in this case the cakes are known as _buliua_ (Maya _bul_, "bean"; _ua_, "bread"). The priest next made a deep depression in a ball of masa about the size of a tennis ball, which he filled with _sikil_, covering it with the masa, so as to leave a ball of masa with a core of _sikil_.

A number of these balls, known as _yokua_, were made, each wrapped in plantain leaves. When finished, all of them were wrapped in a large palm leaf and tied into a bundle with split palm-leaf strands. Two more _tutiua_ were next made, and lastly all the masa and _sikil_ left were mixed together with a few ounces of salt. After being well kneaded this mass was divided into two portions, each of which was tied up in plantain and palm leaf coverings. In the meantime some members of the family had filled the _pib_ or oven with firewood, over which they placed a layer of small blocks of stone. The priest next made a bowl of _sachà_ (literally "white water," a drink made from ground corn and water), with which he filled the small calabashes on the altar, as well as the suspended calabashes; these he explained were for the _tuyun pishan_, or solitary souls. A turkey and four fowls were then placed in front of the altar, alive, while the priest lighted a black wax candle by blowing a piece of glowing wood to a flame; this candle he placed upon the altar. He next took up the turkey, around whose neck the assistant had placed a wreath of jabin leaves, and poured a little _balchè_ down its throat, its legs being held by the assistant (fig. 13). While doing this the priest murmured the following prayer:

In kubic ti hahnal cichpan colel, ti San Pedro, San Pablo, San
Francisco.

_Translation_

I offer a repast to the beautiful mistress, to San Pedro, San
Pablo, San Francisco.

The turkey and the other fowls were then killed by having their necks wrung, and the carcasses of all five were removed to the house to be prepared by the women. The various bundles of masa and _sikil_ in their leaf coverings were next removed to the _pib_, where the fire had burned itself out, leaving the hole half full of ashes and red-hot stones. A lining of plantain bark was laid over the stones, upon which the bundles were arranged; over these were placed more hot stones and over the latter palm leaves; lastly, the earth which had been dug from the _pib_ was raked over all. The priest next took a small quantity of the _sachà_ from a calabash, in a jabin leaf, and scattered it on the ground in three directions, meanwhile murmuring this prayer:

Cin kubic ti atepalob, ti noh yum kab yetel uahmetan, atepalob,
tiaca tzib nah.

_Translation_

I offer to the majestic ones, to the great lord, corn cake, great
ones. [_Tiaca tzib nah_ is somewhat obscure. The reading,
according to Don Juan Martinez, of Merida, should be _tia ca
Ɔib-nah_.]

Afterward the priest repeated the performance with _sachà_ from the calabashes on the altar, and lastly with some from the calabashes of the _tuyun pishan_. The _sachà_ was then distributed in calabashes to the participants, it being essential that every drop of it be drunk. After a wait of about an hour all proceeded to the _pib_, which, after it had been sprinkled by the priest with _balchè_ from a small calabash, was opened. The red-hot leaf-wrapped bundles were carried to the small shed, where the coverings were removed, exposing the _tutiua_ and _yokua_, crisp, brown, and hot. These were placed upon the altar, with the exception of one _tutiua_, which was tied to the string holding the calabashes of the _tuyun pishan_. The cakes made from the remainder of the masa and _sikil_ were now crumbled into a large calabash and mixed with another large calabash of _kool_ (a reddish liquid made from water, ground corn, black pepper, and achiote). The two mixtures were stirred with a peeled wand of jabin till they formed a thick paste known as _sopas_. While the _sopas_ was being made the hearts, heads, and intestines of the fowls were removed to the _pib_ where they were buried, lest some animal by eating them should defile the offering. The cooked and dismembered turkey and other fowls were brought out to the small shed in calabashes; the livers, gizzards, and immature eggs were chopped up fine and well mixed with the _sopas_. A small calabash full of this mixture was placed with the calabashes of the _tuyun pishan_, while the rest, in a large calabash, the fowls' claws standing upright in it, was placed upon the altar, together with the dismembered birds wrapped in a clean cotton cloth. The priest next removed some _balchè_ from the jar and filled a calabash, which he placed upon the altar, as he did so murmuring these prayers:

Ea, in cichpan colel kanleoox, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tat
yum San Isidro, ah kolkal, yetel bacan tech yum kankin, culucbalech
ti likin, yetel bacan in chanttupchaac, culucbal chumuc caan, ti
likin, yetel bacan yum canchaacoob; kin kubic yetel bacan ahooil
atepalo chumuc caan, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tata ahcanan
kakabool, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tata Cakaal Uxmal, yetel
bacan tech in cichpan colel Santa Clara, yetel bacan tech in
cichkelem tata yum xualakinik, yetel bacan tech in cichpan colel
Xhelik, yetel bacan tech in cichkelem tatayum Santo Lorenzo, yetel
bacan tech in cichpan colel Guadelupe, yetel bacan tech tun yum
Mosonikoob, meyahnaheex ichil cool kat tocah. Cin kubic bacan letie
Santo Gracia, utial a nahmateex, yetel bacan tech u nohchi Santo
uai yokol cab halibe in yumen sates ten in cipil. Minan a tzul
pachkeech letie Santo Pishan, Ooki in mentic letie Santo Promicia.

_Translation_

Now my beautiful lady of the yellow-leaf breadnut, as well as you,
my handsome father San Isidro, tiller of the earth; as well as
you, lord sun, who art seated at the east; as well as you,
Chanttupchaac, who art seated in the middle of the heavens, in the
east; as well as you, Yumcanchaacoob: I deliver to you, with the
majestic servants in the middle of the heavens. As well as you, my
handsome father, Ahcanankakabool; as well as you, my handsome
father Cakaal Uxmaal; as well as you, my beautiful lady Santa
Clara; as well as you, my handsome father Xualakinik; as well as
you, my beautiful lady Xhelik; as well as you, my handsome father
San Lorenzo; as well as you, my beautiful lady of Guadelupe; as
well as you, Lord Mosonicoob, that blows within the milpa when it
is burnt. I deliver then to you this Holy Grace, that you may
taste it, and because you are the greatest Santos on earth. That
is all my master. Pardon my sins; you have not to follow the holy
souls, because I have made this holy offering.

Cin Kubic ti nah tatail, ti u cahil San Roque, u cahil Patchacan,
ti Chan Sapote.

_Translation_

I offer you, great father, for your town of San Roque, your town
of Patchacan, and Chan Sapote.

The assistant then brought up some burning incense (_pom_) on a piece of plantain bark, which the priest took, and after waving it about for a short time placed it upon the altar, after which he dipped out a small portion of _balchè_ and scattered it in three directions, murmuring while doing so the following prayer:

Noh Nah ti Uxmal, ti atepaloob Ixcabach Chen Mani, ti Xpanterashan,
Chacanchi, Chacantoc, ti Xnocachan, Xcunya, Yaxutzub, Yaxaban, ti
atepaloob.

_Translation_

Great house of Uxmal, of the majestic Ixcabach, Chen Mani, of
Xpanterashan, Chacanchi, Chacantoc, of Xnocachan Xcunya, Yaxatzub
Yaxaban of the majestic ones.

A small portion of _balchè_ was next passed around to each of the participants, the priest again scattering a little on the ground and repeating the prayer. The calabash, which was now nearly empty, was then removed to the house for the benefit of the women. It was soon brought back by the assistant and refilled from the jar, and the same procedure gone through again. This was repeated till no more _balchè_ remained to be drunk. The priest then scattered some of the _sopas_ in four directions, using one of the fowls' claws to scoop it up from the calabash, after which what remained of the _sopas_ was divided up among the participants, each one being given a calabash in which a fowl's claw was placed for use as a fork. A small quantity of the mixture which remained was taken to the house for use of the women. Lastly the priest removed the _tutiua_ and _yokua_ from the altar, and divided these among the participants, giving each one at the same time a corn-husk cigarette. The ceremony was now finished, and the last act was completely to destroy all the objects used in it, including buildings, altar, calabashes, and _chuyubs_; this was done by fire.

This Cha chac ceremony as performed by the Santa Cruz and Icaichè Indians bears a strong resemblance to certain ceremonies performed before the conquest, in honor of the Chacs, or Rain gods, and also to ceremonies carried out at the present day by the Lacandon Indians.

The names given to the modern priests were, according to Landa, all in use in his day. The Chacs were four old men chosen to assist the priests.[22] The _men_ was an inferior priest or sorcerer, while the name _Ahkin_[4] was applied after the conquest, both to their own and to Christian priests by the Maya. Landa also mentions (Chap. XL, p. 260) a fiesta given to the Chacs, in conjunction with other gods, held in one of the plantations, when the offerings were consumed by the people after being first presented to the gods; these offerings consisted of turkeys and other fowls, corn cake, _sikil_, and _posol_,[5] all of which are used in the modern Maya Cha chac.

The god Yumcanchacoob (Lord of all the Chacs) of the Santa Cruz probably corresponds to Nohochyumchac (Great Lord Chac) of the Lacandones, as does the Ahcanankakabol (keeper of the woods) of the Santa Cruz, to the Kanancash of the Lacandones, whose name has practically the same significance. A belief in _Xtabai_, or spirits, and _Ikoob_, or Wind gods, seems common alike to the Santa Cruz, the Lacandones, and the Indians of Yucatan.