Texts

Since they couldn’t read and write, I only spoke Nawat.

Nipejki niaw ka tamachtiluyan kwak nikpiatuya majtakti shiwit. Maya nimumachtij ume taksaya.

I started going to school at the age of ten. I only studied up to second grade.

Yajika kwak naja nichikitik maya niksajsajsaka kumal pal niknamaka. Iwan ipatiw chupi naka pal nikua tay nimuneki, wan chupi pal nimukwepa nikua senpa kumal.

So when I was a boy I just carried kumals to sell (in the market). What I earned was hardly enough to pay for what I needed and to buy more kumals.

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

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!

— ¿Solamente eso?

Kwak tiajsiket ichan ne tapajtiani, yaja nechitak pero inak ka te kiajsik tatka. Inak ka naja te nikukuya, maya nisutawa. Nechmakak se pajti pal nikuni wan nechilwij ma nimukwepa nimuteka nimusewia hasta ma nimumati yek.

Cuando llegamos donde el médico, él me miró pero dijo que no halló nada. Dijo que yo no estaba enfermo, sólo cansado. Me dio una medicina para tomar y me dijo que volviera a acostarme y descansar hasta que me sintiera bien.

— Maya niweli chiupichin. Wan taja?

— Puedo un poquito no más. ¿Y vos?

Her body remains and only her head goes.

She no longer gave the food to her grandchildren; she only ate together with her lover.

Soon it thrundered. When it thundered he saw that it just turned around. In the turn that it made it raised and disappeared.

They are the ones who have money. That's why they went there to end up in the arch. And they didn't leave me money, just poverty.

He said to the two boys, "you are a steward, but only you. Your brother is smarter; he is a wizard.