Texts

—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.”

“Are you the fellow who sang a song that time in the church in Santa Catarina?”

How We Prayed

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.

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.

Lord Fire

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.

Therefore, Lord Fire, we need you so that we will not eat all our food raw, and suffer from indigestion.

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!

In my village we make pottery, kumals are for sale, and we come to buy our food and other things too.