Texts

Kiunij panuk miak shiwit, wan kwak nikpiatuya 47 shiwit nitekitik tik ne Kalpuli. Né ninemik ume shiwit, wan ka tesu nechtashtawat yek, nikiski wan ninakak nitekiti tik ne kojtan.

Many years passed, and when I was 47 years old I worked for the Town Council. I was there for two years, but as it didn’t pay well, I left and went to work in the fields.

Niktaya ne tal pal niktuka ne mil, pal tik nukal muchi nupijpilawan wan nusiwaw te kiseliat mayan. Kiunij panuk sujsul shijshiwit.

I worked the land and grew corn so that my children and wife wouldn’t go hungry. So the years went by.

Né ajsiket ne ipal Kulalmumachtiani. Ajsiket inat ka kimatitiwit ka ne tiupan kipia tay yejemet nejnemitiwit kitemuat. Kiunij inak ne Palej:

One day some people came from the Students’ Circle. They said they had heard that the church had just what they had been looking for. The priest said:

—Kia, nikan tikpiat se tuikaw ka yaja weli taketza Nawat. Su te ankinekit techishtiliat, kunij kia welit antaketzat iwan, wan su amejemet kinekit mumachtiat, welit anwitzet pal annemit tuwan.

“Yes, we have a brother here who can speak Nawat. If you don’t take him away from here, then you can talk to him, and if you want to learn you may come and study with us.”

And that is what happened.

Panuk ka nechilwijket ma niajsi ka Kulalmumachtiani pal nechishmatit. Kiunij panuk, pejki niajsi pal nechishmatit, wan kwak nechishmatket, ne nantzin Vicky de Amaya nechilwij:

Then they invited me to visit the Students’ Circle. So along I went, and when they met me, Mrs. Vicky de Amaya said to me:

Nechilwij ne tunal keman yawi muchiwa ne congreso pal naja niajsi. Wan kiunij kichiwket pal nechishmatit ne ishmatijket. Kitaket ka naja niweli nitaketza Nawat wan nusan nitawawasua. Anka yajika ka ne nawi congreso nechilwijket ka yawit nechmakat nutekiw.

She told me the date of the conference so that I would come. And that is how the specialists met me. They saw that I could speak Nawat and write it too. Maybe that is why they told me I would have work in four conferences.

Achtu nitekitik iwan ne Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades Indígenas de El Salvador (ACCIES). Wan tik ne shiwit 1993, nipejki nitekiti iwan CONCULTURA. Ashta tik ini shiwit nitekitiuk iwan.

First I worked for the Asociación Coordinadora de Comunidades Indigenas de El Salvador (ACCIES). And in 1993, I started working for CONCULTURA. I am still working for them now.

Né nechishmatijket ka naja niweli taketza Nawat ka tik ne tiupan ipal Santa Catarina Masawat nitakwikak se takwikalis ka ina “Melka Kwak Taja Tinejnemi, Tesu Musel Tinemi”, wan kikakik ne Palej. Kunij inak:

There it became known that I could speak Nawat, because at the church in Santa Catarina Masahuát I sang a hymn that goes “Though You Walk, You Are Not Alone”, and the priest heard it. Then he said:

“Who is that brother who sings like that?”

So the brethren told him that the brother who was singing was from Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Then he said:

So they called me over and I went to talk to him, and he said to me:

Naja nikilwij ka kia niaw nipewa niwitz muchi ne dojdomingo pal nikinmachtia. Kiunij nipejki nitekiti tik ne Nawataketzalis.

I accepted and said I would come on Sundays to teach them. That is how I started working on Nawat.

Kunij walajtuya se nawataketza ipal Meshikal pal tamachtia ne Nawataketzalis, wan kenhayuk kinetuya kaj kipalewia iwan muchi ne tajtamachtiani. Né ninemik kashtuli tunal iwanmet. Né nechishmatijket ka naja niweli nitaketza Nawat, wan kwak nemik ukseseyuk senputzuat teya nechajkawket ma te niu.

Then a Nahuatl speaker from Mexico came to teach the language, and once more he wanted somebody to help him with the teachers. I was there with them for two weeks. There I was recognised for my knowledge of Nawat, and afterwards I got invited to all the meetings.

The Way My Village Used To Be

This is how they began:

Father Sun, we thank you for having risen to stay with us all day to give us light and warm us so that we will not suffer cold because without your warmth we could die of cold.

River God, we love you because you bathe us to keep us cool and wash our body clean of soil and we need you to wash our clothes, and to cook our food.

Father Corn, we ask you never to abandon us in our home, for if you are absent from our home we shall endure hunger.

We ask you, Lord Fire, not to abandon us, because if you are not with us then we shall not be able to cook the food that accompanies our tortillas.

Padiush, Nan Tal, ka taja tikitak kwak ninesik, tikitak kwak nipejki niweya, kwak nimuchiwki takat. Mupanpa naja niwelik nikchiwa muchi tay niwelik tik ne tunal, ninemik wejwey takapiltzin, nechmunekiket pal nitekitik iwanmet. Panu sujsul tunal wan nimuchiwki chulet, kunij teya akaj nechneki kwak nikukuya, maya nuiknuwan, kenhayuk nechnekit pero ajsi keman teya akaj nechneki, nan nuiknuwan, ajsi se tunal ka naja nimiki, kunij nan nusiwaw nan nupilawan nechnekit, yawit nechmimat ken kimimat ne kupajsul tik ne kupajsultal, maya taja, Tunan Tal, ashta kwak timikit titechneki ka kunij tiktapua mumajmajkul pal titechnamiki. Yajika timetzilwitiat padiush, Tunan Tal!

Thank you, Mother Earth, because you saw when I was born, you saw when I began to grow, when I became an adult. Thanks to you I was able to do everything I did today, I had a long youth, I was needed for work. After many days I grew old, then nobody wants me when I am ill, only my brothers, they still love me but the day will come when nobody wants me, not even my brothers, the day will come when I die, then not even my wife and my children will want me, they will throw me out as they throw out rubbish, only you, Mother Earth, want us even when we die, for then you open your arms to receive us. For that I thank you, Mother Earth!

Thus concludes what we say to everything that God has given us on this earth.

Kwak se siwat kiwetzi yek kinutza. Wan su te kineki, kunij yawi ka tayua, wan ne kan kuchi ajsi kinapalua wan kichiwa ma isiwaw.

When he fancied a woman he called to her. If she wasn’t interested, then he would come at night to where she was sleeping to hold her and make her his wife.

The ant, when there are other animals about that can eat it, does not go out to look for food. It waits until nightfall to start going out to look for its food.

Kiunij panu iwan miak takamet wan siwatket. Kiseliat mayan ka tesu kinekit tekitit.

So it is with some men and women. They go hungry because they don’t want to work.

Achtu ne tutut tapishua ne teksisti, nemanha kipachua ashta ma puni, wan puntuk kenhayuk kipachua. Wan pewa kitakwaltia ne shulut tutut ne inan ne tutuchin, ashta ma weya pal kitzkia iujumiyu wan weli patani pal kitemua itakwal.

First the bird lays the egg, then it sits on it until it hatches, and once it is hatched the mother of the baby bird continues to sit on it. She starts to feed the young bird, until it grows feathers and is able to fly to look for food.

Yajika inan achtu kitakwaltia. Wan kwak kita ka ne tutuchin welia patani, kunij kichiwa ka kiselia mayan, pal pewa patani. Ka su te kichiwa kiunij, ne tutuchin te keman patani, maya kichia ne takwal tik ishumul.

So first the mother feeds it, and when it sees that the baby bird is already able to fly, it makes it go hungry so that it will start to fly. Because if it doesn’t do that, the baby bird will never fly, it will just wait for food in its nest.

Yajika inan achtu kitakwaltia. Wan kwak kita ka ne tutuchin welia patani, kunij kichiwa ka kiselia mayan, pal pewa patani. Ka su te kichiwa kiunij, ne tutuchin te keman patani, maya kichia ne takwal tik ishumul.

So first the mother feeds it, and when it sees that the baby bird is already able to fly, it makes it go hungry so that it will start to fly. Because if it doesn’t do that, the baby bird will never fly, it will just wait for food in its nest.