Annals of the Cakchiquels
Encyclopedia
The Annals of the Cakchiquels (in , also known by the alternative Spanish titles, Anales de los Xahil, Memorial de Tecpán-Atitlán or Memorial de Sololá), is a manuscript
written in Kaqchikel
, by Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá in 1571, and completed by his grand son, Francisco Rojas in 1604. The manuscript — which describes the legends of the Kaqchikel nation and has historical and mythological components — is considered an important historical document on post-classic Maya civilization in the highlands of Guatemala
.
The manuscript, initially kept by the Xahil lineage in the town of Sololá
in Guatemala, was later discovered in the archives of the San Francisco de Guatemala convent in 1844. It was subsequently translated by the abbot Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg
in 1855 (the same translator of the Rabinal Achí
), and then passed through several more hands before being published in an English translation by Daniel G. Brinton in 1885.
The mythical and legendary part of the manuscript, which must have been orally preserved for centuries, was finally collected and preserved by members of the Xahil tinamit or lineage. The historical narrative continues with the exploits of kings and warriors and their various conquests, the founding of villages, and the succession of rulers up to the time of the Spanish Conquest.
Like the Popol Vuh
, the Annals also identifies the almost legendary Tulan as the place from which they all set out, at least at one point in their various migrations. The texts differs from the other sources, such as the Historia de los Xpantzay de Tecpán Guatemala and Título de Totonicapán but mainly from the Popol Vuh, in that it relates that the Kaqchikel ancestors came to Tulan, ch'aqa palow "across the sea", from r(i) uqajib'al q'ij, "where the sun descends, the west." The Kaqchikel narrative is quite gloomy, describing the forefather's departure from Tulan accompanied by negative omen and the presaging of death and dismay. It also refers to the K'iche' rulers
forcing the King Q'uicab the great to leave Chaiviar (Chichicastenango
), and migrate to the Ratzamut mountains to found Iximché, which remained new Kaqchikel capital until the arrival of the conquistador
es. The Kaqchikel document continues with an account of their journeys and the places through which they passed along the way, ending with a sober, factual account of the Conquest. This is the native story of the Conquest of Guatemala
from the point of view of the vanquished.
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
written in Kaqchikel
Kaqchikel language
The Kaqchikel, or Kaqchiquel, language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language and a member of the Quichean–Mamean branch of the Mayan languages family. It is spoken by the indigenous Kaqchikel people in central Guatemala...
, by Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá in 1571, and completed by his grand son, Francisco Rojas in 1604. The manuscript — which describes the legends of the Kaqchikel nation and has historical and mythological components — is considered an important historical document on post-classic Maya civilization in the highlands of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
.
The manuscript, initially kept by the Xahil lineage in the town of Sololá
Sololá
Sololá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Sololá and the administrative seat of Sololá municipality.The name is a hispanicized form of its pre-Columbian name, one spelling variant of which is T'zolojy'a...
in Guatemala, was later discovered in the archives of the San Francisco de Guatemala convent in 1844. It was subsequently translated by the abbot Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg
Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg
Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg was a noted French writer, ethnographer, historian and archaeologist...
in 1855 (the same translator of the Rabinal Achí
Rabinal Achí
The Rabinal Achí is a Maya theatrical play performed in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Its original name is Xajooj Tun meaning, Tun Dance. Rabinal Achí is a dynastic Maya drama from the fifteenth century and a rare example of pre-Hispanic traditions...
), and then passed through several more hands before being published in an English translation by Daniel G. Brinton in 1885.
The mythical and legendary part of the manuscript, which must have been orally preserved for centuries, was finally collected and preserved by members of the Xahil tinamit or lineage. The historical narrative continues with the exploits of kings and warriors and their various conquests, the founding of villages, and the succession of rulers up to the time of the Spanish Conquest.
Like the Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh
Popol Vuh is a corpus of mytho-historical narratives of the Post Classic Quiché kingdom in Guatemala's western highlands. The title translates as "Book of the Community," "Book of Counsel," or more literally as "Book of the People."...
, the Annals also identifies the almost legendary Tulan as the place from which they all set out, at least at one point in their various migrations. The texts differs from the other sources, such as the Historia de los Xpantzay de Tecpán Guatemala and Título de Totonicapán but mainly from the Popol Vuh, in that it relates that the Kaqchikel ancestors came to Tulan, ch'aqa palow "across the sea", from r(i) uqajib'al q'ij, "where the sun descends, the west." The Kaqchikel narrative is quite gloomy, describing the forefather's departure from Tulan accompanied by negative omen and the presaging of death and dismay. It also refers to the K'iche' rulers
K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj
The K'iche' Kingdom of Q'umarkaj was a state in the highlands of modern day Guatemala which was founded by the K'iche' Maya in the thirteenth century, and which expanded through the fifteenth century until it was conquered by Spanish and Nahua forces led by Pedro de Alvarado in 1524.The K'iche'...
forcing the King Q'uicab the great to leave Chaiviar (Chichicastenango
Chichicastenango
Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town in the El Quiché department of Guatemala, known for its traditional K'iche' Maya culture. The Spanish conquistadors gave the town its name from the Nahuatl name used by their soldiers from Tlaxcala: Tzitzicaztenanco, or City...
), and migrate to the Ratzamut mountains to found Iximché, which remained new Kaqchikel capital until the arrival of the conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
es. The Kaqchikel document continues with an account of their journeys and the places through which they passed along the way, ending with a sober, factual account of the Conquest. This is the native story of the Conquest of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
from the point of view of the vanquished.
External links
- Download The Original Annals of the Cakchiquels, by Daniel G. Brinton in Guatemala, Cradle of the Maya Civilization
- Memorial de Sololá A section of text from Memorial de Sololá in Spanish, located at Página de Literatura Guatemalteca.
- The Annals of the Cakchiquels by Daniel Garrison Brinton, in various eBook formats at Project Gutenberg