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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.

—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.”

—Yawi nemi se congreso ipal ne Nawataketza. Nimetzilwia ka su tikneki, weli titechpalewia iwan muchi ne tajtamachtiani.

“There is going to be a conference about the Nawat language. I am telling you because if you like, you can come and help us with all the professors.”

Né nipanuk nitekiti iwan ne Kulalmumachtiani. Nemanha, tik ne shiwit 1987, nitekitik wan ASID ne nitekitik yey shiwit. Wan kwak nipejki nitekiti ka né, pejket ajsit ne ipal CONCULTURA pal nechilwiat su nikneki niaw tik se muputzuat miak tamachtianit ka kinekit mumachtiat Nawat.

I went on working for the Students’ Circle. Then, in 1987, I worked for ASID for three years. And when I started working there, the people from CONCULTURA came and invited me to a meeting of a number of professors who wanted to study Nawat.

They say that when the village started, there were not many houses, only thirty-two, and the houses were surrounded by trees.

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.

We ask you, oh Tlaloc! when you see that Father Sun is very angry with us, to come and spray us so that he doesn’t kill us in his anger,

and we also ask you never to abandon us for if you leave us Father Sun may kill us in his anger.

Taja, Tiut Tlalok, timetzmunekit pal tiijyukwit ka su te tiijyukwit, su te tinemi tuwan, tesu tiwelit tinemit yultuk. Yajika padiush, Tiut Tlalok.

Oh Tlaloc! we need you to breathe for if we do not breathe, if you are not with us, we cannot live. Therefore we thank you, Tlaloc.

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.

And as for the tortilla, if it were not for you, how would we make it?

Therefore, Lord Fire, we love you and we thank you.

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!

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.

Wan su se takat kimujmuchteki, yaja kiejtakua wan kimiktia. Yaja kitalia isala wilisnaj, pal su se kimujmuchteki nemanha kimiktia.

And if anybody tried to rob him, he destroyed and killed them. He put on his torn trousers so that if anybody robbed him he could kill them straight away.

Wan su se takat kimujmuchteki, yaja kiejtakua wan kimiktia. Yaja kitalia isala wilisnaj, pal su se kimujmuchteki nemanha kimiktia.

And if anybody tried to rob him, he destroyed and killed them. He put on his torn trousers so that if anybody robbed him he could kill them straight away.

Muchi tikmatit ka se tutut patani. Pero ken kichiwa pal weya, tesu akaj kimati. U su kimatit ka nesi ipal se teksisti, kaj kitakwaltia? Tay mumati, ka inan kitakwaltia.

Everybody knows that a bird flies. But nobody knows how it grows up. Or if they know that it comes from an egg, who feeds it? What is known is that its mother feeds it.

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.