Texts

Yejemet tesu kimatit, ken an tejemet tikmatit, ka nemi se Tiut ka te tikishmatit. Yejemet kishmatit katka tay kitat, ken ne tunal, ne at, ne tal, ne tawial, ne kwajkwawit, ne kojtan: ipal itakwal, ipal ne tapewil, wan ne kwajkwawit pal kisaluat itakil pal tikwat pal te tikseliat mayan.

They didn’t realise, as we now know, that there is a God whom we didn’t know. They recognised the things they could see, such as the sun, the rain, the land, maize, trees, and nature, which provided their food, game, and fruit-bearing trees for food so as not to endure hunger.

An tikitakan ne tzilintuk. Yaja panu muchi ne tunalku takwika. Yajika kwak witz ne shupan miki ipal sesek wan mayan.

Now let’s look at the cicada. It spends the whole summer singing. So when winter arrives, it dies of cold and hunger.

— ¿Entonces, hoy todo está igual que antes?

— Te muchi. An miak kipatatiwit ikwajkwach wan tea kinekit taketzat Nawat, o kielkawtiwit.

— No todo. Hoy muchos han cambiado su vestimenta y ya no quieren hablar náhuat, o lo han olvidado.

That's what my grandfather and grandmother told me, and big storms always come, but we never saw if one came to fall. So, today I am telling this to my friend so he can take this story with him as a remembrance.

Today, the 13th of July and St. Anthony's day, I am here in my house together with my friend who comes from far away. He likes to hear stories about what has taken place in my town.

Today I'm going to tell him that there is an old man here who himself has told me that his mother and his father are there in the arch. (There is a natural rock-arch very near Santo Domingo de Guzmán.)

I'm going to ask them for something to eat, because they have to give it to me now that I'm hungry.

Nuamikuj ikustuj na nikchiwa kontar cuentos de cosas ke chiwki suceder nin tik nutechan, an nikchij kontar una cosa ke nutatanoy nechiwki kontar Ya nechilwij ka nin tik tutechan kaj de mala suerte kimutiat, kisa se animal ke yejemet kilwiat "Tzuntekumat". Yajika nutatanoy nechchiwki akonsejar kaj te ma ninejnemi tayua porke tamutiat.

My friend likes me to tell him stories about the things that have taken place in my town. Now I'm going to tell him something that my grandfather told me. He told me that in our town unfortunately one can be frightened. There's a creature they call the "skull". So, my grandfather advised me not to walk at night because they terrify you.