Guatemala : $b the land of the quetzal; a sketchBrigham, William Tufts
History
Guatemala : $b the land of the quetzal; a sketch
Brigham, William Tufts
Central America -- Bibliography; Guatemala -- Antiquities; Guatemala -- Description and travel
“‘We have no name,’ replied they; ‘we are only hunters with the blow-gun,
and we catch birds with bird-lime. We are poor and have nothing, and we
are tramping over the mountains great and small. Here in the East we see
a great mountain, and its sweet odor is very pleasant. And it is so lofty
that it overtops all the other mountains. So we have not been able, it
is so high, to catch a single bird. So if it be true that you overturn
mountains,’ said Hunahpu and Xbalanque, ‘then you will aid us.’
“‘It certainly is true,’ said Cabracan. ‘Have you seen this mountain of
which you speak? Where is it? I will look at it, and I will topple it
down. Where did you see it?’
“‘There,’ said they, ‘it is, where the sun rises.’
“‘Very well,’ said Cabracan, ‘let us go; and it will be strange if we
don’t get some birds between us. One will go on the right hand, the other
on the left. We will take our blow-guns, and if there is a bird we’ll
shoot him.’
“So they went on happily, shooting birds (and it should be said that when
they shot, it was not with balls of clay, but only with a puff of breath
did they knock down the birds), and Cabracan went on astonished. Then
the youths made a fire and set about cooking the birds in the fire; and
one bird they anointed with _tizate_, white earth they put on it. ‘This
we will give him,’ said they, ‘when desire is strong upon him, smelling
its savor. This our bird shall conquer him, for in conquering him he must
fall to the ground; and in the ground must he be buried (wise is the
Creator!) before human beings are brought to light.’ So spoke the two
youths, and to themselves they said it. Great desire had Cabracan in his
heart to eat of it. Then they turned the bird on the fire and seasoned
it. Now it was brown, and the fat of the birds ran out, and the savor
was delectable; so Cabracan was most eager to eat them, and his mouth
watered, and the saliva dropped from it, because of the delicious smell
the birds gave out. And then he asked them,—
“‘What is this your food? Truly it is an appetizing odor I smell; give me
a bit.’
“He spoke, and then was given a bird to Cabracan for his destruction;
and he quickly finished the bird. And then they went on, and came to the
birthplace of the sun, where was that great mountain. But Cabracan was
now sickened, and he had no strength in his hands and feet, because of
that earth which they had put on the bird he ate; and now he could no
longer do anything to the mountains, nor could he overturn them. So the
youths tied his hands behind him, and likewise tied his feet together,
and threw him on the ground and buried him. So was Cabracan conquered by
Hunahpu and Xbalanque alone. It is not possible to tell the feats these
youths did here on earth.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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