Mayan
Folktales
translated by Fernando Peñalosa
These stories were told to Fernando Peñalosa1 by
don Pedro Miguel Say2, a famous
Q'anjob'al storyteller from San Miguel Acátan, Huehuetenango,
Guatemala, who now lives in Los Angeles, California, in the
Hollywood area.
Permission to reproduce these stories
not for profit is hereby granted, provided all copies contain
the following notice: "From Tales and Legends of the Q'anjob'al
Maya, published by Yax Te' Press, copyright 1995." In
February of 1997 Yax Te' Press was reorganized as a 501(c)3
tax-exempt non profit organization known as the Yax Te’ Foundation.
The
Rabbit & the Coyote |
Rabbit & Coyote |
This
is a story of Uncle Rabbit and the coyote. The rabbit
came to a big rock, and there he deceived the coyote.
He was leaning on the rock when the coyote came by... |
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The
Rabbit Throws Out His Sandal |
Rabbit
Throws Out His Sandal |
The
rabbit was in the cave that was the abode of all the
animals: the snake, the turkey vulture, the buzzard,
the deer, the lion, the skunk and the coyote. They began
to get together there to discuss how they could kill
the rabbit mayor (the rabbit is often called the "mayor").
But the rabbit mayor was very clever... |
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The
Jaguar & the Little Skunk |
Jaguar & the
Little Skunk |
Once
there was a gentleman jaguar and a lady skunk. Mrs. Skunk
had a son, who was baptized by Mr. Jaguar, so Mrs. Skunk
became his comadre (godmother). And as Mr. Jaguar had
baptized the little skunk, he was Mrs. Skunk's compadre
(godfather)... |
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the
Disobedient Son |
Disobedient
Son |
There
was once a boy who was rude and wouldn't obey his mother.
He would go out for a walk, without having eaten. He
wouldn't come back until late, about ten or eleven o'clock
at night. At ten o'clock his mother was still waiting
up and worrying about him. |
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A
Mayan Life |
A
Mayan Life |
The
first novel ever by a Mayan writer, and thus the first
in which the Maya themselves tell their own story. Through
the eyes of Lwin, living in the hamlet of Jolomk'u, in
the municipio of San Pedro Soloma, high up in the isolated
Cuchumatán Mountains of Guatemala (about six hours
by dirt road from the nearest town), we live the drama
of an oppressed people struggling to survive and maintain
their dignity five centuries after the Spanish invasion.
Rich in personal and ethnological detail, the reader
comes away knowing better just what it means to be a
contemporary Maya |
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1. Fernando Peñalosa
Fernando Peñalosa is a retired
sociolinguist who most recently taught sociology, linguistics
and Chicano studies at California State University, Long Beach.
For over twelve years he has been working with Maya in Guatemala
and the Los Angeles area, studying their languages and oral
literature. He founded Yax Te' Press to publish books by and
about the contemporary Maya, mostly in Spanish, so the Maya
themselves can read what has been written by or about them.
In February of 1997 Yax Te' Press was reorganized as a 501(c)3
tax-exempt non profit organization known as the Yax Te’ Foundation.
In March 2003 the operations of the Foundation were transferred
to the K'inal Winik Cultural Center at Cleveland State University
yaxte@csuohio.edu.
These stories were told to Fernando Peñalosa
by don Pedro Miguel Say, a famous Q'anjob'al storyteller from
San Miguel Acátan, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, who now
lives in Los Angeles, California, in the Hollywood area.
Fernando Peñalosa es sociolingüista
jubilado de la Universidad Estatal de California en Long Beach,
CA, USA. Durante más de un lustro ha estudiado los idiomas
y las tradiciones orales de los mayas de Centroamérica,
especialmente las del grupo maya-q'anjob'al del Departamento
de Huehuetenengo, Guatemala. Fundó Ediciones Yax Te'
para que los mayas mismos pudieran tener acceso a lo que ellos
han escrito o lo que se ha escrito sobre ellos. Puede comunicarse
con la editorial por medio de correo electrónico: yaxte@csuohio.edu.
2. don Pedro Miguel
Say
Don Pedro Miguel Say, better known as
Pel Say, is a person who knows the old Mayan stories, and he
is always ready to tell them with charm and good humor to whomever
will listen. He was born in Sai, San Miguel Acatán,
January 24, 1924. Don Pedro was a merchant in Guatemala and
still follows this occupation in Los Angeles, California. He
learned many stories during the journeys he made from San Miguel
Acatán to San Francisco El Alto, Totonicapán.
At night he and the other merchants would gather around a fire
and tell stories which have been passed down among the Mayas
by word of mouth for centuries.
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Hay una persona quien sabe viejas historias
mayas, y que está dispuesta a contarlas con gracia y
buen humor a todo aquel que quiera escuchar. Esta persona es
don Pedro Miguel Say, mejor conocido como Pel Say. Nació el
24 de enero de 1924 en Sai, San Miguel Acatán. Don Pedro
fue comerciante en Guatemala por muchos años y en Los
Angeles, California aún practica este oficio. Don Pedro
aprendió muchas historias durante los viajes que emprendía
desde San Miguel Acatán hasta San Francisco El Alto,
Totonicapán. En las noches él y otros comerciantes
se reunían alrededor de una fogata y empezaban a contar
historias, las cuales han pasado de boca en boca por siglos
entre los mayas.
"Al servicio de la cultura maya"
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