Description
Book Synopsis
Xurt’an (the end of the world) showcases the rich storytelling traditions of the northern Lacandones of Naha’ through acollection of traditional narratives, songs, and ritual speech. Formerly isolated in the dense, tropical rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, the Lacandon Maya constitute one of the smallest language groups in the world. Although their language remains active and alive, their traditional culture was abandoned after the death of their religious and civic leader in 1996.Lacking the traditional contexts in which the culture was transmitted, the oral traditions are quickly being forgotten.
This collection includes creation myths that describe the cycle of destruction and renewal of the world, the structure of the universe, the realms of the gods and their intercessions in the affairs of their mortals, and the journey of the souls after death. Other traditional stories are non-mythic and fictive accounts involving talking animals, supernatural
Trade Review
"Xurt’an will appeal to students and scholars in the fields of folklore, anthropology, comparative literature, and performance studies. The scope of the oral narratives gathered here is notable, as is Cook’s discussion of some of the selections. . . . Xurt’an will certainly become a landmark in the study of Northern Lacandon Maya oral literature."—Sarah Alice Campbell, Journal of Folklore Research
“This is a very valuable piece of work for folklorists and linguists and is a huge contribution to scholarship in this area. I applaud Cook for including oral traditions recorded from Lacandon women. Lacandon women are largely ignored in the Lacandon ethnographic literature and archaeology, and until now I know of no compilation of Lacandon women’s stories. This is an outstanding service to the field.”—R. Jon McGee, professor of anthropology at Texas State University
“You will be quickly drawn into this presentation of language texts contributed by skilled Mayan narrators working in multiple literary genres while covering topics ranging from the earthly to the cosmological. The author’s attention to detail is unparalleled. The scope and quality of the narratives will take your breath away.”—Barry Carlson, editor of Northwest Coast Texts: Stealing Light
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1. The Hach Winik ‘True People’
The Lacandones
Northern Lacandon Oral Literature
Part 2. Myths
Birth of the Gods
Bor Maʼax
Hachäkyum and Akyantʼoʼ Create Their People and Kisin Creates Their Onen
Bor Maʼax
Hachäkyum Makes the Ants and Snakes
Antonio Martinez
Hachäkyum Makes the Sky
Bor Maʼax
Uluʼubir Baʼarkaʼan Umentik Pethaʼ ‘A Star Falls and Creates the Lagoon’
Antonio Martinez
Hachäkyum yeter Tʼuup yeter Kisin ‘Hachäkyum, Tʼuup, and the Devil’
Bor Maʼax
Hachäkyum yeter Tʼuup yeter Chäk Xib ‘Hachäkyum, Tʼuup, and Chäk Xib’
Bor Maʼax
Hachäkyum Uxatik Ucheʼir Ukaar ‘Hachäkyum Cuts the Mortals’ Throats’
Bor Maʼax
Äkicheʼex ‘Our Eyes’
Bor Maʼax
Nacimiento ‘Birth’
Bor Maʼax
Uyählehir Bah ‘The Mole Trapper’
Bor Maʼax
Xurtʼan Uburur ‘The World Ends with the Flood’
Bor Maʼax
Akyantʼoʼ No Permite Uxurtʼan ‘Akyantʼoʼ Prevents the End of the World’
Bor Maʼax
ʼÄhah
Antonio Martinez
Kaʼwätsʼäk uhoʼor Barum yeter Kʼakʼ ‘The Two-Headed Jaguar and the Lord of Fire’
Säk Hoʼor
Mensäbäk yeter Hach Winik Tukinsah ‘Mensäbäk and the Ancestor He Killed’
Kʼayum Maʼax
Kakʼoch yeter Ukʼani(r) Hach Winik ‘Kakʼoch and His Human Assistant’
Bor Maʼax
Akʼinchob Takes a Human Wife
Antonio Martinez
Part 3. Popular Stories
Maya Kimin ‘The Mayan Death’
Säk Hoʼor
Chäk Xok ‘The Sirens’
Bor Maʼax
Nukuch Winik yeter Utiʼaʼar yeter Ahyaʼaxcheʼ ‘The Ancestor, His Son, and the Ceiba Tree’
Bor Maʼax
Haayokʼ
Bor Maʼax
Koʼotir Kaʼan ‘The Celestial Eagle’
Bor Maʼax
Uyitber ‘He at the End of the Road’
Bor Maʼax
Kakʼoch yeter Uyitber ‘Kakʼoch and the Yitber’
Bor Maʼax
Wantʼutʼkʼin
Säk Hoʼor
Pʼikbir Tsʼon yeter Kisin ‘The Rifle and Kisin’
Säk Hoʼor
ʼAyim yetel Chem ‘The Crocodile and the Canoe’
Säk Hoʼor
Ahsaay ‘The Leafcutter Ants’
Bor Maʼax
Ahtʼuʼur yeter Barum ‘The Rabbit and the Puma’
Säk Hoʼor
Chʼämäk yeter Chäk Barum ‘The Fox and the Puma’
Bor Maʼax
Hachäkyum yeter Ahbäb ‘Hachäkyum and the Toad’
Säk Hoʼor
Pekʼ yeter ʼAyim ‘The Dog and the Crocodile’
Säk Hoʼor
How the Toucan Got His Red Beak
Antonio Martinez
Part 4. Songs
Ukʼaay Barum ‘The Jaguar Song’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaay Box ‘The Gourd Song’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaay Käkah ‘The Cacao Song’
Juana Koh
Ukʼaay Käy ‘Fish Song’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaay tiʼ Huuchʼ ‘Song for Grinding’
Juana Koh
Ukʼaay tiʼ Kʼuuch ‘Song for Spinning Thread’
Juana Koh
Ukʼaay Torok ‘The Iguana Song’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaayir Maʼax ‘Song of the Monkeys’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaayir Tokʼ ‘Song of the Flint’
Antonio Martinez
Ukʼaayir Xux ‘Song of the Yellow Jacket Wasps’
Säk Hoʼor
Part 5. Ritual Speech: Invocations, Chants, and Charms
Ahhoochʼ ‘The Hoochʼ’
Juana Koh
Ahtsʼin ‘The Manioc’
Juana Koh
An Offering Chant during the Preparation of Balcheʼ
Antonio Martinez
Offering under a Tree
Antonio Martinez
Utʼanir Baʼcheʼ ‘The Secret of the Balcheʼ’
Antonio Martinez
Part 6. Descriptions of Meteorological and Astral Phenomena
ʼÄxpʼäriʼ ‘The Solstice’
Antonio Martinez
Luʼum Kab ‘The Rainbow Gods’
Bor Maʼax
Säkber Akyum ‘Our Lord’s White Road’
Antonio Martinez
Appendix 1: Lacandon Onen, Ceremonial Names, and Distribution
Appendix 2: Gods and Men in Lacandon Mythology
Notes
References
