The Native Races [of the Pacific states], Volume 5, Primitive History

In the earliest annals of Central America, while the Xibalban empire was yet in the height of its power, we find what is, perhaps, the first mention of the territory known later as Guatemala, in the mention by the Popol Vuh[871 - Popol Vuh, p. 79; this volume, p. 175 (#Page_175).] of Carchah, or Nimxob Carchah, a locality in Vera Paz, as the place whence Hunhunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu, the first Nahua chiefs who conspired against the Xibalban monarchs, directed their first expedition toward the region of Palenque. Las Casas also names this as one of the entrances to the road which lead to the infernal regions, the sense probably given to Xibalba in the traditions of the country.[872 - Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., tom. iii., cap. cxxiv., cxxv.] And from Utatlan, in the same region, in later centuries the Quiché capital, started Xbalanque and Hunahpu, the descendants of the two chieftains already named, to avenge the defeat of their ancestors, and to overthrow the proud kings of Xibalba. The young princes left behind them their mother and grand-mother, planting in their cabin two canes which were to indicate to those left at home their own fortune, to flourish with their prosperity, to wither at each misfortune, and to die should they meet the fate of their predecessors; hence perhaps the Quiché name of Utatlan, Gumarcaah, 'house of withered canes.'[873 - This vol., pp. 178-80 (#Page_178); Popol Vuh, p. 141.] The mention of Guatemalan localities in this connection is not sufficient to prove that the opposition to Xibalba had its beginning or centre in Guatemala, but simply indicates that the Nahua power in those primitive times extended over that region, as did also the Maya power, not improbably. In other words, the long struggle between the two rival powers was no local contest at and about Palenque, but was felt in a greater or less degree throughout the whole country, from Anáhuac to Guatemala, and perhaps still farther south.

EXPEDITION OF XBALANQUE

Xbalanque's expedition and some subsequent occurrences are related by Torquemada, as follows: "After the people of the earth had multiplied and increased, it was made known that a god had been born in the province of Otlatla (Utatlan), now known as Vera Paz, thirty leagues from the capital called Quauhtemallan (Guatemala), which god they named Exbalanquen. Of him it is related, among other lies and fables, that he went to wage war against Hell, and fought against all the people of that region and conquered them, and captured the king of Hell with many of his army. On his return to the earth after his victory, bearing with him his spoils, the king of the Shades begged that he might not be carried away. They were then in three or four grades of light, but Exbalanquen gave the infernal monarch a kick, saying 'go back, and thine be in future all that is rotten, and refuse, and stinking, in these infernal regions.' Exbalanquen then returned to Vera Paz whence he had set out, but he was not received there with the festivities and songs of triumph which he thought he had deserved, and therefore he went away to another kingdom, where he was kindly received. This conqueror of Hell is said to have introduced the custom of sacrificing human beings.""[874 - Torquemada, tom. ii., pp. 53-4; Las Casas, Hist. Apologética, MS., tom. iii., cap. cxxiv.] Brasseur adds on this subject: "Copan, the name of which ('on the vase') alludes mysteriously to the religious symbols of the mixed, or Mestizo, Nahua race, was it then chosen by this prince, whose mother (Xquiq) personified the fundamental idea of this sanguinary worship? However this may have been, it seems certain that the latter city owed its origin to a fierce warrior named Balam, who had entered the country by the way of Peten Itza about fifteen centuries before the Spanish conquest. During the last period of native rule the province of which Copan was the capital was called Payaqui ('in the Yaqui, or Nahuas') or the kingdom of Chiquimula."[875 - Brasseur, in Popol Vuh, p. cclvi. The only authority referred to on this matter of Copan is the Isagoge Historico, a manuscript cited in García Pelaez, Mem. para la Historia del antiguo Reino de Guatemala, tom. i., p. 45 et seq.] But all this may be regarded as purely conjectural.

From the time when Xbalanque and Hunahpu marched to the conquest of Xibalba, and succeeded in subordinating the ancient Maya to the Nahua power, for several centuries down to the subsequent scattering of both Nahua and Maya tribes, which preceded the appearance of the Toltec branches in Anáhuac, the history of Guatemala is a blank. That civilized peoples occupied the country at that remote time; that they had been more or less the subjects of the ancient empire; and that they had been brought within the new influences of the Nahua institutions, there can be little doubt; but they have left no record of their deeds, probably not even of their names. The annals recommence with the traditional migration from Tulan, by which the Toltecs established themselves on the central plateaux of Mexico, while the tribes afterwards known as Quichés wandered southward to the highlands of Vera Paz; but five or six centuries were yet to pass before we find any record that may be properly termed history. I return to the traditions of the Popol Vuh, it being necessary to take up the thread of the story at a period even preceding the arrival at Tulan, and thus to repeat in a measure certain portions already referred to in a preceding chapter.

RECORD OF THE POPOL VUH

After the creation of the first men, Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah, and Iqi-Balam, wives were given them, and these were the parents of the Quiché nation. Among the nations then in the East, that received their names from those that were begotten, were those of Tepeuh, Oloman, Cohah, Quenech, and Ahau; also those of Tamub and Ilocab who came together from the eastern land.[876 - The other names are Lamak, Cumatz, Tuhalha, Uchabaha, Chumilaha, Quibaha, Batenab, Acul-Vinak, Balamiha, Canchahel, and Balam-Colob, most of which Brasseur connects more or less satisfactorily with the scattered ruins in the Guatemala highlands, where these tribes afterwards settled. It is stated by the tradition that only the principal names are given.] Balam-Quitzé was the ancestor of the nine grand families of Cawek; Balam-Agab of the nine of Nihaïb; Mahucutah of the four of Ahau-Quiché. There came also the thirteen of Tecpan, and those of Rabinal, the Cakchiquels, those of Tziquinaha, Zacaha, and others. All seem to have spoken one language, and to have lived in great peace, black men and white together. Here they awaited the rising of the sun and prayed to the Heart of Heaven. The tribes were already very numerous, including that of the Yaqui (Nahuas). At the advice of Balam-Quitzé and his companions, they departed in search of gods to worship, and came to Tulan-Zuiva, the Seven Caves, where gods were given them, Tohil, Avilix, Hacavitz, and Nicahtagah. Tohil was also the god of Tamub and Ilocab, and the three tribes, or families, kept together, for their god was the same.[877 - The fourth god, Nicahtagah, is rarely named in the following pages; Tohil is often used for the trinity, Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz; and Balam-Quitzé for the band of the first four men or high-priests.] Here arrived all the tribes, the Rabinals, the Cakchiquels, the Tziquinaha, and the Yaqui; and here their language was confounded, they could no longer understand each other, and they separated, some going to the east and many coming hither (to Guatemala). They dressed in skins and were poor, but they were wonderful men, and when they reached Tulan-Zuiva, long had been their journey, as the ancient histories tell us.

Now there was no fire; Tohil was the first to create it, but it is not known exactly how he did it, since it was already burning when it was discovered by Balam-Quitzé and Balam-Agab. The fire was put out by a sudden shower and by a storm of hail, but the fire of the Quichés was rekindled by Tohil. Then the other tribes came shivering with chattering teeth to ask for fire from Balam-Quitzé, which was at first denied them; and a messenger from Xibalba appeared, a Zotzil, or bat, as it is said, and advised the high-priests to refuse the petition of the tribes until they should have learned from Tohil the price to be paid for the fire. The condition finally named by the god was, that they consent to "unite themselves to me under their armpit and under their girdle, and that they embrace me, Tohil," a condition not very clearly expressed, but which, as is shown by what follows, was an agreement to worship the Quiché god, and sacrifice to him their blood, and, if required, their children. They accepted the condition and received the fire. But one family stole the fire, the family of Zotzil, of the Cakchiquels, whose god was Chamalcan, and whose symbol was the bat; and they did not submit to the conditions of Tohil. Here they began to fast and to watch for the sun. It was not here that they received their power and sovereignty, but there where they subdued the great and the little tribes, when they sacrificed them before the face of Tohil, offering him the blood, the life, the breast, and the armpit of all men. Thus at Tulan came to them their majesty, that great wisdom which was in them in the obscurity and in the night. They came then and tore themselves away from there and abandoned the regions of the rising sun. "This is not our home; let us go and see where we shall establish it," said Tohil. Truly he spoke to Balam-Quitzé – and the others. "Make first your thanksgiving, prepare the holes in your ears, pierce your elbows, and offer sacrifice; this will be your act of gratitude before god." "It is well," they replied, piercing their ears; and these things are in the song of their coming from Tulan; and their hearts groaned when they started, after they had torn themselves away from Tulan. "Alas! we shall no longer behold here the dawn at the moment when the sun comes up to illumine the face of the earth," said they as they set out. But some were left on the road; for some remained asleep, each of the tribes arising so as to see the morning star. It was the sign of the morning that was in their thoughts when they came from the land of the rising sun, and their hope was the same in leaving this place which is at a great distance, as they tell us to-day.

THE QUICHÉS AT MT HACAVITZ

They arrived and assembled on the mountain now called Chipixab, the Quichés, Tamub, Ilocab, Cakchiquels, Rabinals, and Tziquinaha. They took counsel one with another, and were very sad, and hungry too. Then, at their own request, were the gods concealed in different ravines and forests,[878 - The names of the localities named as the hiding-places of the gods are said to be still attached to places in Vera Paz.] except Hacavitz, who was placed on a pyramid on Mt Hacavitz, and there all the tribes waited in great trouble for the coming of the dawn. "Now behold lords were made, and our old men and our fathers had their beginning; behold we will relate the dawn and the appearance of the sun, moon, and stars." The account of the dawn and its attendant ceremonies, which follows in the Popol Vuh, would seem, in connection with the preceding quotations, to refer vaguely to the election of rulers, the establishment of temporal and spiritual government, the birth of Quiché institutions. Here they sang the song of lamentation for their separation from their kindred in Tulan, already referred to.[879 - See p. 182 (#Page_182), of this volume.]

Under Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah, and Iqi-Balam, they lived together on the mountain, and the tribes of Tamub and Ilocab lived near by in the forests of Dan, under the same god Tohil, the god of the people of Rabinal being the same under the name of Huntoh, while the god of the Cakchiquels was different, Tzotziha Chamalcan, as was also their language. Their hearts were heavy because Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz were still hidden in the grass and moss, although it has been stated before that the latter was on the pyramid of Hacavitz. They went to thank Tohil for the sunrise, and to make offerings of resins and plants; and he spoke and made known a rule of conduct for the sacrificers; and they called upon him to aid them and said, "here shall be our mountains and our valleys;" and the gods predicted their future greatness. They still suffered from hunger, and the places where the wives abode were not clearly known.

And now many towns had been founded, apparently by other than the Quiché tribes, but as to Balam-Quitzé and his three companions they were not clearly seen, but cried like wild beasts in the mountains and on the roads, coming each day before Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz, offering them the blood of beasts, and blood drawn from their own bodies. Afterwards began the slaughter of the surrounding people who were overtaken on the roads, either one by one or in small groups, and slain, as was supposed, by wild beasts. After many had perished, suspicions were aroused of the four sacrificers and of their gods, but it was hard to track the pretended animals on the fog-enveloped summits of the Guatemalan heights. Now the gods Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz assumed the appearance of three young men, and were wont to bathe in a certain river, vanishing at will whenever they were seen by the people; and a council was held to devise means for effecting their death, and to escape the destruction caused by these Quichés of Cawek. They deemed themselves a great people and those of Cawek only a handful; yet if the power of the three gods was really so great that it could not be overcome, then would they call upon Tohil also to be their god. It was decided to send to meet the three young men at the bath two of the most beautiful of their virgins, that the passions of the former might be excited. These virgins, in obedience to the commands of their elders, went to the river to wash linen, and both removed all their clothing as soon as the three bathers appeared, and began to talk with them, saying that their parents had sent them to speak to the young men and to bring some token of having had an interview with them. But the young men did not, as was expected, so far descend from their godlike dignity as to take liberties with the fair Xtah and Xpuch, but after consultation with Balam-Quitzé and his brother sacrificers, gave the girls their painted mantles as tokens to carry to those that had sent them. One of the mantles was covered with painted wasps and bees which came to life and stung the lord who put it on, and thus was Tohil victorious over the princes, by the aid of Balam-Quitzé and his companions. Then an assault was determined upon by the numerous tribes against the small forces of the Quiché sacrificers on Mount Hacavitz, but Tohil knew of all their plans, as did Balam-Quitzé. The invaders were to make the attack by night, but they fell asleep on the route, and their eyebrows and beard were shaven and all their ornaments stolen by the valiant Quichés as they slept. The Quiché leaders fortified their position with palisades and fallen trees, and stationed on them manikins of wood armed like soldiers and decorated with the gold and silver stolen from the sleeping foe. The sacrificers were sore afraid, but Tohil re-assured them. They filled the shells of gourds with hornets and wasps and placed them about the defences of their town. Spies came from the enemy and looked upon the wooden soldiers and rejoiced that they were few in number, and at the victory their countless armies were soon to win.

THE THREE TEMPTERS

The hostile forces, armed with bows and arrows, and bearing shields, ascended the mountain and surrounded the Quiché retreat, shouting and striving with fearful clamor to strike terror into the hearts of their foes, who meanwhile looked calmly on. At the fitting moment the winged allies of the Quichés were released from the gourds and in countless hordes attacked the invaders right valiantly, fastening themselves on the eyes and noses of the foe, who threw down their arms in their agony, threw themselves on the ground, and were slaughtered by the followers of Tohil, both men and women joining in the bloody work. Barely half of the invading army escaped to their homes. The tribes were thus humiliated before the face of the sacrificers, begged for mercy, and were made subjects; the victors were filled with exultation, and multiplied, begetting sons and daughters on Mount Hacavitz.

The sons of the sacrificers were as follows; Balam-Quitzé begat Qocaib and Qocavib, ancestor of the Cawek, or first Quiché royal family. Balam-Agab begat Qoacul and Qoacutec, from whom sprang the family of Nihaïb. Mahucutah had but one son Qoahau; and Iqi-Balam had none.[880 - Another document consulted by Brasseur, Popol Vuh, p. 286, places four generations between Balam-Quitzé and Qocaib and Qocavib mentioned above as his sons.] The four sacrificers, the first leaders and fathers of the Quiché people, were now old and ready to die, and after many words of counsel to their sons they disappeared suddenly, leaving to their people what is called the 'enveloped majesty' as a most precious relic, the form of which was not known for the envelope was not removed; and thenceforth the Quichés from their home on the mountain ruled all the surrounding tribes now thoroughly subjected.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MONARCHY

The three elder sons, Qocaib, Qoacutec, and Qoahau, were married long after the death of their fathers, and they determined to go as their fathers had ordered to the East on the shore of the sea, whence their fathers had come, 'to receive the royalty,' bidding adieu to their brothers and friends, and promising to return. "Doubtless they passed over the sea when they went to the East to receive the royalty. Now this is the name of the lord, of the monarch of the people of the East where they went. And when they arrived before the lord Nacxit,[881 - Brasseur insists that this was Acxitl Quetzalcoatl, the last Toltec king, who had founded a great kingdom in Honduras, with the capital at Copan. Popol Vuh, p. 294.] the name of the great lord, of the only judge, whose power was without limit, behold he granted them the sign of royalty and all that represents it; hence came the sign of the rank of Ahpop and of that of Ahpop Camha, and Nacxit finally gave them the insignia of royalty, … all the things in fact which they brought on their return, and which they went to receive from the other side of the sea, the art of painting from Tulan, a system of writing, they said, for the things recorded in the histories."

The three princes returned to Mount Hacavitz, assembled all the tribes, including the people of Ilocab and Tamub, the Cakchiquels, Tziquinaha, and the tribe of Rabinal, assuming the authority over them to the great joy of all. Then the wives of the original sacrificers died, and many of the people left Mount Hacavitz and founded innumerable other towns on the neighboring hills,[882 - Brasseur, in Popol Vuh, p. 297, gives a list from another document of many of these new settlements, many of which as he claims can be identified with modern localities. The chief of the new towns was Chiquix, 'in the thorns,' possibly the name from which Quiché was derived. This city occupied four hills, or was divided into four districts, the Chiquix, Chichac, Humetaha, and Culba-Cavinal.] where their numbers were greatly multiplied. The three princes who went to the East to receive the royalty, had grown old and died, but before their death they had established themselves in their great city of Izmachi.[883 - Popol Vuh, pp. 205-99; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 83-118.]

The narrative of the Popol Vuh condenses in the preceding paragraphs, the history of the Quichés during the whole time that elapsed between the scattering of the Nahuas from Tulan before the fifth century, and the final establishment of the Quiché empire, an event whose exact date is unknown – for we have nothing but approximate dates in the aboriginal history of Guatemala – but which, judging by the number of kings that are represented as having occupied the throne afterwards down to the coming of the Spaniards, is thought not to have been earlier than the thirteenth century. The record implies, in fact, that the Quichés lived long in their new home before they acquired power among the surrounding tribes. All this time they were directed by their trinity, Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz, acting through their four chief sacrificers, or high-priests, Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah, and Iqi-Balam, the same who had led them in their migration from the region of Xibalba, and even in their migration to that region from the east. Of course many generations of priests bearing these names or these titles must have succeeded each other in the direction of Quiché affairs during this period; but the record admits the succession of sons to the ecclesiastical and temporal power only after the nation had risen to power. It has been noted, however, that another document mentions several generations between Balam-Quitzé and Qocavib. The surrounding peoples are continually referred to in the Popol Vuh, but for the most part simply as 'the tribes,' although the tribes of Tamub and Ilocab, of Rabinals, of the Cakchiquels, and several others are frequently named, sometimes in a manner that would lead the reader to suppose that these were 'the tribes' subdued, but oftener as if these were from the first connected with the Quichés. From the records of other Guatemalan nations which have never been published, the Abbé Brasseur attempts to throw some light on the history of the tribes among which the Quichés lived so long in a subordinate position, and on the period over which the Popol Vuh passes so rapidly.

MIGRATION FROM TULAN

The many tribes that left the central region of Tulan did not probably do so simultaneously, but migrated at irregular intervals, so that the final destruction of Tulan may not have occurred before the sixth or seventh century. Juarros even gives a list of four kings, Tanub, Capichoch, Calel-Ahus, and Ahpop, who ruled in that city, although his account taken from that of Fuentes is not worthy of great confidence. According to the records followed by Brasseur, the first tribes to migrate southward towards Guatemala, were those of Tamub and Ilocab together with the thirteen clans of Tecpan, the ancestors of the Pokomams. We have seen, however, that Guatemala was already more or less in possession of the Nahuas before the overthrow of Xibalba, and the vague references to the tribes of Tamub and Ilocab – the oldest Nahua tribes in the country according to all authorities – are insufficient to show clearly whether they were already in Guatemala in the time of Hunahpu and Xbalanque, or like the Quichés proper migrated thither after the fall of Xibalba. The chiefs of Tamub held the highest rank in a kind of confederacy that seems to have been established at this early time. Their capital was Amag-Dan, a few leagues north of Utatlan. The family of Ilocab, the second in the confederacy, had its capital, Uquincat, at a short distance north-west of Utatlan, and was divided into two branches called Gale-Ziha and Tzununi-ha. The third chief of the alliance has escaped the abbé's researches. The thirteen tribes of Tecpan, under the names of Uxab and Pokomam, occupied Vera Paz and the region south of the Motagua, their capital, Nimpokom, being near where the modern town of Rabinal now stands. The western country towards Chiapas was held by the Mames, one of the ancient peoples of Guatemala who were probably found in the country by the first tribes from Tulan. This nation was divided into many bands, whose names and towns are given, the latter including those afterwards known as Quezaltenango and Huehuetenango. One document mentions a succession of nine sovereigns in the Tamub dynasty before the Quiché power began.

The Quichés entered the country at about the same time as the tribes of Ilocab, Tamub, and the Pokomams, but as we have seen in their own record, they had no influence for many centuries among the nations that preceded them. During this period, with the Cakchiquels, the band of Rabinal, and the Ah-Tziquinaha, they constituted a group of small tribes, dwelling on the barren heights of Vera Paz, or the Lacandon country. It is not probable that they were yet known as Quichés, or 'men of the woods,' and all that is known of them is the names of their gods, Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz; of their chief priests, whose names, or titles, were Balam-Quitzé, Balam-Agab, Mahucutah, and Iqi-Balam; and of leaders mentioned by the MS. Cakchiquel, and named Xurcah and Totomay. According to our only authority on early events, excepting the Popol Vuh, the time which was occupied by the Quichés under Balam-Quitzé and his companions in their long struggles as animals against the other tribes, is not that which elapsed between their arrival from Tulan at Mt Hacavitz in the sixth or seventh century, and the establishment of their monarchy in the thirteenth, but rather that between their first coming prominently into notice in the mountains of Vera Paz in the twelfth century, and the founding of their empire. According to this version, the annals of the whole preceding period are included by the author of the Popol Vuh in those of the migration to Mt Hacavitz; Balam-Quitzé and the other sacrificers were not their leaders when they left Tulan, but were given to them much later by their god Tohil to guide the unfortunate people out of their difficulties; in fact, these sacrificers, so called, were Toltec chieftains who fled from Anáhuac at the fall of their empire, joined the partisans who accompanied their flight to the forces of the Quichés, gathered the scattered tribes on the heights of Vera Paz, and were enabled after a century of contest – during which the Quichés were regarded as a nation of brigands, much like the Aztecs at the same time, or a little later, about the Mexican lakes – to subdue the surrounding nations, and thus become masters of Guatemala. There are probably no sufficient reasons to deny that the empire was founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; – although it should be noted that this gives to the following kings down to the Conquest, as will be seen later, an average reign of only twelve or fifteen years; – the Quichés are known to have claimed relationship with the Toltec sovereigns; and it is quite likely the exiled chiefs and priests of Tollan had an influence on the Quiché institutions; but that the Quiché empire was thus founded by the Toltec exiles, there is, as I have repeatedly shown, every reason to deny.

EMBASSY TO ANÁHUAC

The first tribes conquered by the followers of Tohil were five of the thirteen Pokomam bands, which were forced to pay tribute. Ahcan was now the high-priest and leader of the bands who were gathered about Mt Hacavitz, and he was the great-grandson of Balam-Quitzé, and the father of Qocaib and Qocavib, mentioned by the Popol Vuh as the founders of the monarchy, and represented by that record as the sons of Balam-Quitzé. It was at his command, expressed just before his death, that the three princes undertook a journey to the East, to obtain from the great monarch of that region, the authority and insignia which should render legitimate the power they were about to assume. Other documents differ from the Popol Vuh in stating that while one of the brothers, Qocaib, thus visited the East, the other brother, Qocavib, directed his course northward to Anáhuac to seek the royal investiture at the hands of the Toltec princes who had remained at Culhuacan. He reached the valley, but such was the state of anarchy he found prevailing there, that he was forced to return without having attained his object, and reached his home long before the return of his brother. He even took advantage of Qocaib's absence to dishonor his wife, who bore him a son. Qocaib, when he came back from his successful mission and was congratulated by the assembled chieftains, saw the child in its mother's arms, and was not a little surprised at its existence, but he seemed perfectly satisfied with the assurance of his wife that the child was of his own blood, and taking it in his arms, he named it Balam Conache, who was the founder of the house of Conache and of Iztayul, and the first to bear the title of Ahpop Camha, or heir apparent to the throne. It is not explained why the younger brother, unsuccessful in his mission, was allowed to become the head of the government instead of the older and more successful Qocaib. A second journey to the East by the two princes is also recorded before their right to the throne was definitely established.

This subject of an eastern monarchy ruled by Nacxit is shrouded in impenetrable mystery. Brasseur claims confidently that the kingdom cited was in Honduras with its capital probably at Copan, and ruled by Acxitl Quetzalcoatl, the last of the Toltec kings, or by his son; the sea alluded to as having been crossed in the journey, must then have been the gulf of Amatique or that of Dulce. The only authority that I know of for this assumption is the vague report by Ixtlilxochitl that Acxitl went southward and established a great empire in Tlapallan, where he died in the twelfth century; and the slight resemblance in the names Acxitl and Nacxit. I need not say that the authority is altogether insufficient, and that it is much safer to give the tale of the mission to the East some mythologic meaning, or to admit that its meaning like that of many of the traditions of this early period in Guatemalan history is wholly unknown.

REIGN OF QOCAVIB

The monarchy as thus first established seems to have included, besides the Quichés proper of the house of Cawek, the Cakchiquels, Rabinals, and Ah-Tziquinaha, as the principal Quiché branches or allies. During the reign of Qocavib, the territory of the kingdom was considerably extended by the conquest of large portions of Vera Paz, which were taken from the Pokomams in the south. At the assault of Qoxbaholam, the stronghold of a powerful people called the Agaab, the prince of that nation is reported to have been captured, and to have made his nation tributary to the Quiché king and worshipers of the Quiché trinity, Tohil, Avilix, and Hacavitz. This and succeeding events, down to the foundation of Izmachi, already alluded to in the account from the Popol Vuh, I quote from the only writer who has had access to the other Guatemalan records.[884 - Brasseur, in Popol Vuh, pp. ccliii-cclxxi. The manuscripts referred to by this writer for this and the preceding information, are: —Título Territorial de los Señores de Totonicapan; Título Territorial de los Señores de Sacapulas; MS. Cakchiquel; Título Real de la Casa de Itzcuin-Nehaib; and Título de los Señores de Quezaltenango y de Momostenango.]

"Already masters of Pachalum, and on the point of entering Zquina, the Quichés found themselves checked by strong forces, when an unexpected ally was offered them; this was Cotuha, prince of Cakulgi, hereditary guardian of the sacred stone of Tzutuha in the temple of Cahbaha, whom they had just made a prisoner. Like a skillful politician, Qocavib took advantage of this occurrence so providential for him. The annals reveal that in the midst of their conquests the Quichés were divided by family rivalries; and it seems probable that Qocavib, whose name takes the place of that of his older brother, had as enemies all the princes of the house of Ahcan, sprung from Qocaib. Placing little reliance on the support of his relatives, he sought to strengthen himself by making allies among the conquered chiefs; and thus Cotuha having become his captive, he offered him in the order of the Ahqib and Ahqahb the fourth rank, vacant at the time by the death of the incumbent who had no offspring; so that this prince was assured of eventually rising to the command of the whole nation. Cotuha, proclaimed by the nobility, soon proved his worthiness of that high honor. After having powerfully aided the Quichés in the conquest of Zquina, Bayal, Chamilah, Ginom, Tocoy, and Patzima, returning to the Rio Chixoy with his new allies and subjects, he guided them by passes known only to himself to the centre of the great city of Cawinal on the bank of the river, an event soon followed by the submission of the whole Agaab nation, to which it belonged. The Quiché kings finding themselves pressed for room on Mount Hacavitz, left this city for that of Cawinal, where they established the seat of government. This was not, however, the permanent capital. At the death of Qocavib, Balam Conache, his successor, crossed the river southward, probably even before his coronation, and fixed his residence at Izmachi; and there he had himself proclaimed Ahau Ahpop and consecrated with all the Toltec ceremonial, conferring the title of Ahpop Camha on his son Iztayul."

MIGRATION FROM THE NORTH

Here should be given such scattered items of information respecting this primitive period of Guatemalan history, given by the same author in an earlier work,[885 - Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., pp. 73-150. The authorities referred to besides those already named are the following: Fuentes y Guzman, Recopilacion Florida de la Hist. de Guat., MS.; Ximenez, Hist. de los Reyes del Quiché, MS.; Chrónica de la Prov. de Goattemala, MS. The chief authority, however, is the MS. Cakchiquel, or Mémorial de Tecpan-Atitlan.] as are additional to or differ from those already presented. The famous mythical queen Atit is said by Fuentes to have lived four centuries, and from her sprang all the royal and noble families of Guatemala. The oldest nation, or tribe, in the country was that of Tamub, whose son Copichoch had come from the east with Cochochlam, Mahquinalo, and Ahcanail, brought the black stone afterwards venerated at Utatlan, and reigned for a time at Tulan. The tribe of Ilocab ruled after that of Tamub, or perhaps at the same time, over the adjoining provinces. Brasseur seems here to favor the idea that the tribes of Tamub and Ilocab were the Nahuas who occupied Guatemala before the overthrow of Xibalba in the time of Xbalanque and Hunahpu, who refused to receive the former at his return from the conquest, yet among whom he introduced human sacrifice. A Zutugil document makes the Seven Caves an earlier station on the Quiché migration than Tulan, and speaks of wars that drove the people from the latter place into the mountains of Vera Paz. The worthy abbé finds room in his capacious imagination for a theory that the Pokomams, Quichés, Cakchiquels, and other kindred peoples, originated in the regions north of Mexico, stayed a while with the Toltecs at Tollan, but not long enough to be influenced to any great extent by them, and then migrated to the Guatemalan highlands. It does not seem to occur to this author that there are no arguments in favor of such a theory, that there is no necessity for such a conjecture, and that it disagrees radically with nearly all that he ever wrote before or afterwards. The same writer notes that the Pokomams were bitter foes of Acxitl, the last Toltec king, while the other Quiché tribes were friendly to him, and he infers from Nuñez de la Vega and other authorities that the kingdom of Xibalba was still existing, though with greatly diminished power, at the time when the Quiché tribes came into notice in Guatemala and Acxitl established his southern empire. The Cakchiquels on their way are even said to have been employed to defend the Xibalban frontiers, and their chieftains, the Tukuches, took their name of Zotziles, or bats, from that of Tzinacantla, their residence at the time, which has the meaning of 'city of bats.' In fact the tribes are here represented as having gathered in the Xibalban region before they mounted to their later homes in the highlands.[886 - The tribes named as having gathered here, are the Quichés, Rabinals, Cakchiquels, Zutugils, Ah-Tziquinaha, Tuhalaha, Uchabaha, Chumilaha, Tucurú, Zacaha, Quibaha, Batenab, Balaniha, Canchahel, Balam Colob, Acul, Cumatz, Akahales, and Lamagi.]

The accounts of this gathering are chiefly from the Cakchiquel record. The locality is called Deozacuancu, apparently in the tierra caliente of Tabasco; but war was declared against some neighboring power, and the tribes went to Oloman – perhaps the Tepeu and Oliman, mentioned in a preceding chapter.[887 - See p. 182 (#Page_182), of this volume.] The cities against which this expedition was directed were Nonualcat and Xulpiti, the former suggesting the Nonohualcas, whose home was in the Tabascan region. The leaders were the Cakchiquel, or Zotzil-Tukuche, chiefs Hacavitz (Gagawitz) and Zactecauh; the enemies were defeated in a battle fought chiefly on the water; their cities were taken and their people massacred. But even while engaged in the massacre, their foes rallied, attacked them in the rear, and in their turn routed the Quiché tribes with great slaughter, not without the aid of magic arts, as we are informed by the record. The remnants of the vanquished were re-united on Mt Oloman, but the influence of Hacavitz and Zactecauh was destroyed, the tribes could be no longer kept together, and they resolved to separate and each for itself to seek the regions of the interior. No particulars are preserved of their wanderings, but Brasseur believes that the Quichés proper were the first to reach the heights of Vera Paz, after a generation at least had passed since they left the Xibalban region of Tabasco, and the sufferings from cold and the giving of fire by Tohil, are by him applied to the period immediately following their arrival. Then the other tribes arrived one by one and applied for fire, as has already been stated, their languages having become different one from another during that interval. The envoy from Xibalba also appeared among them, a circumstance that indicates to Brasseur that the Xibalban empire still existed in the eleventh or twelfth century; but which may, I think, be taken much more reasonably as a proof that these events took place at a date as early as the fifth or sixth century. The Cakchiquels were the last to arrive, and they stole the fire of Tohil without submitting to the required conditions, coming, as it is said, like bats, another derivation of their name of Zotziles.

MAMES AND POKOMAMS

The Cakchiquels are said to have applied, on their arrival, the name Mem, or as the Spaniards afterwards called it, Mames, or 'stutterers,' to the Maya-speaking aboriginal tribes whom they found in possession of the country, on account of their peculiar pronunciation, although the Cakchiquel was also a Maya dialect. The Mames in later times occupied the north-western part of the country towards the Chiapan frontiers, where they were never entirely conquered by the Quiché nations down to the time of the Conquest, their capital being Zakuléu, near Huehuetenango.[888 - See vol. iv., pp. 128-30 , for notice of ruins.] Besides the Mames, probably the most ancient of the Guatemalan nations, the tribes of Tamub and Ilocab also occupied the country before the later Quiché tribes. According to Fuentes the capital of the Tamub was Utatlan, or Gumarcaah, and it is stated that the Ilocab were bitter enemies of the Quichés, and were only conquered when nearly annihilated. The Pokomams and Pokonchis, kindred tribes or divisions of the same tribe, are here estimated by Brasseur to have arrived something more than a half century before the other Quiché tribes, and are said to have conquered or allied themselves with the Uxab, elsewhere[889 - See p. 555 (#Page_555) of this volume.] spoken of as a division of that tribe. Nothing is known of Pokomam history, but some remains of their language and of their towns may yet be studied. These people, together with the Tamub and Ilocab, were perhaps the chief foes of the Quichés in the earlier days of their power.

In their wars against the Pokomams the Quiché tribes made use of the ancient chieftains who had been subjected by that people, among whom are mentioned Zakbim and Huntzuy on the Chiquimula frontier. The first battle and the first Quiché victory was in the valley of Rabinal and brought into the possession of the Cakchiquels – for these events are taken from the Cakchiquel record – the stronghold of Mount Zactzuy, and also made allies of Loch and Xet, chieftains of the Ahquehayi, who afterwards became almost identical with the Cakchiquels. The next point against which Hacavitz proceeded was Mount Cakhay; but the allied Quiché forces were repulsed with great loss, and so weakened that it was long before they were able again to attack the warlike Pokomams. Then they retired from a hopeless contest, and took refuge in the inaccessible mountain fastnesses about Utatlan, now Santa Cruz del Quiché in the department of Totonicapan. The mountain where they established themselves is called in the Cakchiquel record Tohohil, 'clashing of arms,' but in the Popol Vuh is known as we have seen as Mount Hacavitz. All that is known of their stay at Mount Hacavitz, of their oppression by the neighboring tribes, their gradually increasing power, their final victory over those tribes, and the establishment of the Quiché monarchy with its capital at Izmachi, related by Brasseur in the work from which the preceding notes have been extracted, is taken by him from the Popol Vuh, and is substantially the same that I have already given on the same authority.

VERSION OF JUARROS

To conclude this primitive period of Guatemalan history, it only remains to present a few notes given on the subject by the Spanish writers, chiefly by Juarros, who follows the manuscript writings of Fuentes y Guzman, founded as is claimed on native documents, but full of inconsistencies, and doubtless also of errors. Juarros, or the authority followed by him, was fully imbued with the belief that the Quichés were the Toltecs who left Anáhuac after the fall of their empire, and his efforts to reconcile the native records to this theory perhaps account for many of his inconsistencies. I translate from this author that part of his work which relates to this primitive period. "The Toltecs referred to were of the house of Israel, and the great prophet Moses freed them from the captivity in which they were held by Pharaoh; but, having passed the Red Sea, they gave themselves up to idolatry, and persisting in it notwithstanding the warnings of Moses, either to escape the chidings of this law-giver or for fear of punishment, they left him and their kindred and crossed the sea to a place called the Seven Caves on the shores of the Mar Bermejo (Gulf of California) now a part of the Mexican kingdom,[890 - This is evidently taken by Juarros, from the Spanish version of the Mexican traditions.] where they founded the celebrated city of Tula. The first chief who ruled and conducted this great band from one continent to the other, was Tamub, ancestor of the royal families of Tula and of Quiché, and first king of the Toltecs. The second was Capichoch; the third Calel Ahus; the fourth Ahpop; the fifth Nimaquiché,[891 - The reader is already aware that no such kings ever reigned over the Toltecs in Anáhuac. It is evident that the author has confounded the Tulan of the Guatemalan annals with Tollan, the Toltec capital in Anáhuac, and the Nahua migration from the Xibalban region in the fourth or fifth century, with that of the Toltecs in the eleventh.] who, being the best beloved and most distinguished of all, at the order of his oracle, led these people away from Tulan, where they had greatly increased in numbers, and guided them from the Mexican kingdom to this of Guatemala. In this migration they spent many years, suffered unspeakable hardships, and journeyed in their wanderings for many leagues over an immense tract of country, until, beholding a lake (that of Atitan), they determined to fix their habitation at a certain place not far from the lake, which they named Quiché, in memory of the king Nimaquiché (or, the 'great' Quiché), who had died during their long wanderings. There came with Nimaquiché three of his brothers, and by an agreement between the four they divided the region; one founding the province, or seigniory, of the Quelenes and Chiapanecs; another the department of Tezulutan (Tezulutlan), or Vera Paz; the third became the ruler of the Mames and Pokomams; while Nimaquiché was the father of the Quichés, Cakchiquels, and Zutugils. The latter having died on the journey, Acxopil, a son of Nimaquiché, entered Quiché at the head of his nation, and was the first to reign at Utatlan. This prince, seeing the great increase of his monarchy in numbers and influence, appointed three captains, or governors, with whom he shared the burden of the administration of affairs. It is also added in the manuscripts referred to, that Acxopil, at a very advanced age, determined to divide his empire into three kingdoms, that of the Quichés, that of the Cakchiquels, and that of the Zutugils. Retaining for himself the first, he gave the second to his oldest son, Jiutemal, and the third to his second son, Acxiquat; and this division was made on a day when three suns were seen, which has caused some to think that it took place on the day of the birth of our Redeemer, a day on which it is commonly believed that such a meteor was observed."[892 - Juarros, Hist. Guat., (Guat., 1857) pp. 7-9. The extract that I have made extends a little beyond the point at which I have left the other records. I give here also a list of the Quiché kings, who were according to Juarros: 1, Acxopil; 2, Jiuhtemal; 3, Hunahpu; 4, Balam Kiché (Balam-Quitzé); 5, Balam Acam (Balam-Agab); 6, Maucotah (Mahucutah); 7, Iquibalam (Iqi-Balam); 8, Kicab I.; 9, Cacubraxechein; 10, Kicab II.; 11, Iximché; 12, Kicab III.; 13, Kicab IV.; 14, Kicab Tamub; 15, Tecum Umam; 16, Chignaviucelut; 17, Sequechul or Sequechil.The list of the Quiché princes of the royal house of Cawek, according to the order of the generations, is given in the Popol Vuh, pp. 339-40, Ximenez, pp. 133-4, as follows – the list apparently includes not only the Ahpop, or king, but the Ahpop Camha, heir apparent to the throne. And, as is indicated by the course of the history, and as Brasseur believes, each Ahpop Camha succeeded the Ahpop on the throne, so that the whole number of the Quiché kings, down to the coming of the Spaniards, counting from Qocavib, was twenty-two instead of eleven, as the list might seem to imply and as Ximenez evidently understands it: – 1, Balam-Quitzé; 2, Qocavib, (although we have seen that, by other documents several generations are placed between the first and second of this list); 3, Balam Conache (the first to take the title Ahpop); 4, Cotuha and Iztayub; 5, Gucumatz and Cotuha; 6, Tepepul and Iztayul; 7, Quicab and Cavizimah; 8, Tepepul and Xtayub; 9, Tecum and Tepepul; 10, Vahxaki-Caam and Quicab; 11, Vukub Noh and Cavatepech; 12, Oxib-Quieh and Beleheb Tzi (reigning when Alvarado came, and hung by the Spaniards); 13, Tecum and Tepepul; 14, Don Juan de Rojas and Don Juan Cortés.The princes of the house of Nihaïb given by the same authority, p. 343, Ximenez, pp. 135, were as follows: – 1, Balam-Agab; 2, Qoacul and Qoacutec; 3, Qochahuh and Qotzibaha; 4, Beleheb-Gih; 5, Cotuha; 6, Batza; 7, Ztayul; 8, Cotuha; 9, Beleheb-Gih; 10, Quema; 11, Cotuha; 12, Don Christóval; 13, Don Pedro de Robles.List of the princes of the Royal House of Ahau Quiché, Popol Vuh, p. 345, Ximenez, pp. 136-7; 1, Mahucutah; 2, Qoahau; 3, Caklacan; 4, Qocozom; 5, Comahcan; 6, Vukub-Ah; 7, Qocamel; 8, Coyabacoh, Vinak-Bam. These lists, however, do not seem to correspond altogether with the Quiché annals as given by the same authority, as the reader will see in the succeeding pages.]

PRIMITIVE QUICHÉ PERIOD

Torquemada[893 - Monarq. Ind., tom. i., p. 38, tom. ii., pp. 338-40. See also Helps' Span. Conq., vol. iii., pp. 246-9.] briefly mentions a few of the points in early Quiché history, agreeing with Juarros. Orozco y Berra's reasoning from a linguistic point of view respecting the primitive inhabitants of this region, is not very clear, or at least it is difficult to determine what are his conclusions on the subject. In one place he says that Utatlan was founded at the time of the Toltec migration southward; and elsewhere, that the Toltecs could not have been the ancestors of the Quichés, Cakchiquels, and Zutugils.[894 - Geografía, pp. 97-9, 128, et seq.] Gallatin accepts the popular theory that the Quichés were a Toltec colony, but does not explain the linguistic difficulties in the way of such a supposition.[895 - Gallatin, in Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact., vol. i., p. 8.] Waldeck rejects the Toltec theory on account of differences in language and physique; but states that the Guatemalan tribes came originally from Yucatan[896 - Voy. Pitt., pp. 41, 646.].

I have now given all the information accessible respecting Quiché history preceding the establishment of the empire, which began in the twelfth or thirteenth century and endured with some modifications down to the coming of the Spaniards. It has been presented in the form of fragments, for the reader will readily perceive that to form from the authorities a connected narrative would have been an utter impossibility. I have in a preceding chapter presented the evidence of the existence during a few centuries before and after the beginning of the Christian era, of a great aboriginal empire in Central America, narrating all that may be known of its decline and fall resulting from the contentions of the great Maya and Nahua powers. In the sixteenth century the Spaniards found two powerful empires, the Aztec in the north, the Quiché in the south, both of which doubtless were offshoots of the great primitive monarchy. The annals of the northern branch have been traced more or less clearly back to the parent trunk, with only a blank of one or two centuries at most, during which the Nahua power was transferred northward; but in the annals of the southern branch, whose connection with the primitive empire was of precisely the same nature, the blank is lengthened to some eight centuries at least. From the Xibalban times and the tribal separation at Tulan down to the establishment of the Quiché empire we have only the fragments of the preceding pages. These fragments represent the history of many peoples for many centuries; they are not necessarily contradictory, for in the absence of all chronology we have no means of knowing to what epoch each refers. The apparent contradictions and inconsistencies result for the most part from the efforts of authors through whose writings the traditions are handed down to us to reconcile them with the Toltec theory; to apply to one people the traditions of many, to a modern people the traditions of a remote antiquity; to compress the events of eight or nine centuries into one. We shall still find the Quiché annals fragmentary and far from satisfactory, but from the foundation of Izmachi I shall attempt to carry along the tale as told by the different authorities together. By far the most complete of these are the Quiché records as given in the Popol Vuh and that of the Cakchiquels contained in Brasseur's works.

EARLY CAKCHIQUEL HISTORY

I begin with the adventures of the Cakchiquels after the defeat of Hacavitz and Zactecauh by the Pokomams, already mentioned.[897 - Mem. de Tecpan-Atitlan, in Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 155-75.] They seem not to have continued in the company with the Quichés at Izmachi, but to have retired to other localities in the country of the Mames somewhat further west, among the Mames of Cholamag, as the record states it. They found the people very friendly, but only remained long enough among them to learn their language, which they found most difficult. Leaving this place they approached the Valley of Panchoy, in the region of the volcanos, and twice they penetrated the mountain of fire, Hunahpu, where a most wonderful and unintelligible interview with Zakiqoxol, the phantom or guardian of the fiery abysses is related, all being possibly the account of a volcanic eruption. Having reached the shores of Lake Atitlan the Cakchiquels wished to settle there permanently although the chief, Hacavitz, seems to have opposed the settlement. Tolqom, a powerful chieftain and a most wonderful magician, lived on Mount Qakbatzulu, which extended like a promontory into the lake; but the bold Hacavitz took him prisoner and became master of his domain. The Cakchiquels, or the Cakchiquel nobility, seem to have been divided in four families, the Zotzil-Tukuches, the Cibakihay, the Baqahol, and the Gekaquchi. All united in giving to Hacavitz and Zactecauh, of the house of Zotzil-Tukuche, after the victory over Tolqom, the supreme power, the former having the first rank. The conquered chieftain, Tolqom, was sacrificed at the coronation of Hacavitz, in the midst of great festivities, and a part of his body was thrown from the summit of Qakbatzulu, his former home, into the waters of the lake. Many of the Cakchiquels decided to remain here and chose a site which they named Chitulul; others built houses on a point called Abah, afterwards the site of the city of Atitlan. But Hacavitz was not pleased, and a violent wind arose and an extraordinary white cloud hung over the surface of the lake; the new dwellings were destroyed and great damage was done. The Cakchiquels accepted this as a warning to obey the will of the gods, except the Ah-Tziquinihayi who decided to remain with the Zutugils.

The other tribes retired under their leaders into the mountains, and became much scattered. In passing a deep ravine Zactecauh missed his footing and was dashed to death on the rocks below, the record hinting that his colleague and superior was not wholly free from the suspicion of having caused his death. This suspicion destroyed much of the prestige of Hacavitz, but he regained it all and more by extinguishing the fire of a volcano which by its lava and flames had hemmed in and threatened with total destruction all his followers. Zakitzunun aided him and was given the second place in the government. They then seem to have returned to the lake shores, conquering and making allies of several aboriginal tribes, including the people of Ikomag, with a lady of which people Hacavitz seems to have married. In the meantime the Gekaquchi, the Cibakihay, and the Baqahol, three of the four principal Cakchiquel families, had settled on the mountains in the region of Iximché, or Tecpan Guatemala, and the ambitious chief of the latter family had succeeded in obtaining the allegiance of his companions, who crowned him as supreme king of the three bands.

Hacavitz was filled with wrath, but being unable to overthrow his rival, Baqahol, was obliged to be content with establishing himself and his own band of Zotziles on the shores of the lake, where their dwellings were erected and the Cakchiquel god, Chimalcan, had his altars. A little later Hacavitz is reported to have aided Baqahol in overcoming certain foes that had attacked him, and as having received, at the end of the campaign, the voluntary allegiance of that chief, thus regaining the supreme power over the Cakchiquel tribes, whom he ruled from his residence at a place known as Chigohom, where he seems to have settled after his new accession to power, somewhat away from the shores of the lake. Here he died at a ripe old age, not long after his wife gave birth to Caynoh and Caybatz, his successors in later years.

REIGN OF COTUHA AND IZTAYUL

Returning to the Quiché record as given in the Popol Vuh,[898 - Pp. 299-307; Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 475-99; Ximenez, Hist. Ind. Guat., pp. 119-21.] we find nothing recorded of the reign of Balam Conache,[899 - In his Hist. Nat. Civ., tom. ii., p. 478, Brasseur seems to regard Balam II. and Conache as two kings, one succeeding the other, but in his notes to Popol Vuh, p. cclxxiii., he unites them in one.] son of Qocavib, in his new capital of Izmachi. He was succeeded early in the thirteenth century, as it seems, by Cotuha, with Iztayul as Ahpop Camha, and under this monarch many improvements were made in the city, including many houses of stone and mortar and three royal palaces, one for the house of Cawek, one for the house of Nihaïb, and a third for the house of Ahau Quiché. "Now all were of one heart in Izmachi; there were no enmities; there were no difficulties; the monarchy was in a state of repose, without disputes or troubles; peace and felicity were in all hearts." But their power was yet confined to narrow limits; they had as yet achieved no great success. The Rabinals, the Cakchiquels, and the mingled Zutugils and Ah-Tziquinihayi of Atitlan are spoken of as being at this time allies and friends of the Quichés; but the descendants of the ancient Ilocab were yet powerful, and became hostile, although hitherto represented as joined to the house of Cawek; their capital was but a short distance from Izmachi. When Ilocab – the tribal name being used, as is often the case, for that of the ruling monarch – perceived the prosperity of the Quichés, "war was kindled by Ilocab, who wished to kill this king Cotuha, his people being unwilling that there should be any king but their own. And as to the king Iztayul, they desired to punish him also, to put him to death, in the cause of Ilocab. But their jealousy was not successful against the king Cotuha, who marched against them. Such was the origin of the revolt and of the war. At first they entered the city (Izmachi) by assault, spreading death in their way, for what they desired was the ruin of the Quiché name, that they alone might rule. But they came only to die; they were taken captives, and but few escaped. Then their sacrifices began; the people of Ilocab were immolated before the god, and that was the penalty of their crime, which was inflicted by the order of Cotuha. Many also were reduced to slavery, now that they had brought ruin upon themselves by kindling the flames of war against the king and against the city. What they had desired was that the name of the Quichés should be ruined and disgraced, but nothing could be done. Thus originated the usage of human sacrifices before the god at the declaration of war; and this was the origin of the fortifications which they began to erect in Izmachi."

Another document[900 - Título de los Señores de Totonicapan.] is said to give some additional information respecting the immediate cause of the war, which is reported to have been connected in some way with Cotuha's marriage. He married Hamai-Uleü, 'rose of the earth,' a daughter of one of the friendly Zutugil princes whose territory was on Lake Atitlan, annexing that prince's domain to his own, and giving his father-in-law, Malah by name, high rank at the Quiché court. The favor thus shown to Malah, with other acts of like nature, seem to have excited the jealousy of other Zutugil lords, who at last marched against Cotuha and were utterly defeated. It was while Cotuha had this war on his hands that the Ilocab engaged in the desperate effort above recorded to check the Quiché monarchs in their rapid progress to supreme power, and were enabled, perhaps during the absence of Cotuha, to penetrate his capital. After their final defeat, Uquincat, the Ilocab capital, was taken and destroyed, and many other towns fell into Cotuha's possession.

TRANSFER OF THE CAPITAL TO UTATLAN

The Quiché record narrates no further historical events down to the time when Izmachi was abandoned. It dwells, however, on the greatness of the kingdom after the overthrow of the Ilocab, and mentions the power and number of the surrounding princes yet unsubdued as the strongest proof of Quiché valor, since the new people even in the face of such environment had been able to establish and extend their monarchy. After the immolation which followed the Ilocab's defeat, the practice of human sacrifice was carried to such an extent that the surrounding tribes were filled with terror at the number of captives slain by order of Cotuha and Iztayul. At this period the system of government was perfected by measures, the exact nature of which is not clearly given, and magnificent festivities with complicated ceremonial rites were instituted. "Long they remained in Izmachi, until they had found and had seen another city, and had abandoned in its turn that of Izmachi. After that they departed and came to the capital called Gumarcaah (Utatlan), which was so named by the Quichés, when the kings Cotuha and Gucumatz came together with all the princes. They were then in the fifth generation (of kings) from the commencement of civilization and from the origin of their national existence."

The same document already referred to[901 - Título de los Señores de Totonicapan, in the introduction to Popol Vuh, pp. cclxxv-vi.] disagrees with the Quiché record respecting the peace and harmony that followed Cotuha's victory, while the people were yet at Izmachi. According to this authority dissensions arose between the heads of the government. Certain parties interested in fomenting the dissatisfaction, constantly reminded ambitious nobles that Cotuha was a foreigner,[902 - See p. 529 (#Page_529), of this volume.] and Iztayul the son of a bastard, both occupying the places that belonged to more legitimate princes. Then going to the Ahpop, Cotuha, they said, "the Ahpop Camha looks with scorn upon thee; he says thou art a miserable wretch, feeding only on the foam of the chiquivin and other vile food unworthy of a great king." Then to the Ahpop Camha, Iztayul, they said, "the king Cotuha is filled with disdain for thee; to him thou art but a useless man, who livest upon dung and the eggs of flies and other insects, while his own table is always loaded with excellent fresh fish and other viands fit for a great prince." The perfidy of these counselors was afterwards brought to light and they were driven in disgrace from the court after an attempt to assassinate Cotuha by suffocation in a steam bath. Yet the king afterwards, according to the same authority, fell a victim to another conspiracy. Iztayul succeeded to the throne, with Gucumatz as Ahpop Camha, and continued the conquests of his predecessor, but no details of his reign are given in the Quiché record.

In the Cakchiquel annals,[903 - Mem. de Tecpan-Atitlan, in Brasseur, Hist., tom. ii., pp. 483-9.] however, Brasseur relates certain events which would seem to belong to the period of Iztayul's reign, although he is always called in the record of this nation, Tepeuh, 'the dominator, or conqueror.' We left Caynoh and Caybatz, infant sons of the deceased Hacavitz, under the guardianship of Baqahol and Gekaquch, who became practically monarchs of the whole nation, having their capitals on the mountain plateaux of Pantzic and Paraxone.[904 - See p. 570-1 (#Page_569), of this volume.] The Zotzil-Tukuche branch of the nation were naturally unwilling that the sons of the great Hacavitz, the former head of their family, should occupy a secondary rank, and they were not slow to urge Caynoh and Caybatz as soon as they reached a proper age to declare their independence and resume their legitimate place at the head of the nation; but the aged chieftain Baqahol, who, it will be remembered, had been for a time supreme monarch, even before the death of Hacavitz, haughtily refused to surrender his scepter; and the young princes must perforce await a more favorable opportunity to assume their due position. The Cakchiquels seem at this time to have been tributaries to the Quiché throne, now occupied by Iztayul, or Tepeuh, of whom it is said, "he was the first to reign with majesty; he dwelt in the castle of Chixnal; his mysterious power spread abroad terror; he caused to tremble the place where he had his dwelling, and all people payed tribute before the face of Tepeuh."

THE STOLEN TRIBUTE