TWO Q’ANJOB’AL TEXTS:

THE STORY OF THE RABBIT AND THE STORY OF THE CAT

DOS TEXTOS Q’ANJOB’ALES:

LA HISTORIA DEL CONEJO Y LA HISTORIA DEL GATO

Ann Michelle Acker

Narrator: Pedro García Pascual
Spanish Translation: Angélica García Pascual

Summary. Two texts narrated by Pedro García Pascual in Santa Eulalia, Guatemala in 2012 are presented
here with a morphological analysis and gloss, along with Spanish and English free translations. A brief back-
ground of the Q’anjobal language precedes the texts. “The Story of the Rabbit” tells of the experience of Saint
Eulalia domesticating animals and explains why the rabbit has a short tail. In the “Story of the Cat,” a man
throws his lazy wife out of the house because she never prepares his lunch. He discovers that the family cat has
taken on the task of preparing his food.
Keywords: Q’anjob’al, Mayan, Santa Eulalia, oral tradition, linguistic documentation.

Resumen. Se presentan dos textos narrados por Pedro García Pascual y recolectados en Santa Eulalia, Gua-
temala en 2012 con análisis morfológico y glosa, además de traducciones libres en español e inglés. Una
breve introducción precede los textos. La “Historia del conejo” trata de la experiencia de la Santa Eulalia con
la domesticación de animales, y explica por qué el conejo tiene la cola corta. En la “Historia del gato”, un
hombre echa a su esposa perezosa de la casa porque nunca le preparaba su almuerzo. Descubre que el gato de
la familia ha asumido la responsabilidad de preparar la comida.
Palabras clave: Q’anjob’al, lenguas mayas, Santa Eulalia, tradición oral, documentación lingüística.

Introduction

The following stories were told by Pedro García Pascual, a native Q’anjob’al speaker and
resident of Santa Eulalia, Guatemala, approximately 30 years of age. They were recorded in
MP3 format through the program Audacity at the speaker’s home in August 2012. I elicited
these two folktales, among others from the same speaker, during fieldwork funded by the Ha-
rry and Yvonne Lenart Graduate Travel Fellowship.1 I classify them as folktales because they
1 I am grateful to my Q’anjob’al consultants, Alejandra Francisco and Alejandra Juárez in Los Angeles,

and Pedro García Pascual, Angélica García Pascual, Sandra Yeraldiny, and Federico Juan in Santa Eulalia,
for teaching me their language. I am also indebted to Anaitté Vaccaro and Victoria Mateu for help with the

Tlalocan XXIII, pp. 133-162 / D. R. © 2018 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

134 tlalocan xxiii

are artifacts of popular culture passed down through the oral tradition. A folktale is a type of
story, along with, for example, personal anecdotes and historical narratives; the term story
refers to any text, written or oral, recounting events. A story is in turn one genre of text, as op-
posed to, for example, instructions or a persuasive speech. Pedro García Pascual’s narratives
are therefore folktales, stories, and texts, and I refer to them as such interchangeably, though
these terms are not synonymous.
The goal of my fieldwork in Guatemala was linguistic documentation of the Q’anjob’al
language as part of my dissertation research. Though my dissertation (Acker, 2016) deals
with Q’anjob’al grammar and syntax, specifically grammatical voice constructions, I deci-
ded to collect folktales in Guatemala because I realized that I would not have sufficient time
to collect useful elicitation data directly related to the subject of my research. Angélica García
Pascual, my initial contact in Santa Eulalia, referred me to her brother Pedro as a skilled
storyteller in the Q’anjob’al oral tradition, and I was able to record five of his folktales and
work on Spanish translations during the course of my fieldwork. Though Pedro is a bilin-
gual Q’anjob’al-Spanish speaker, he was not available to provide Spanish translations, and
Angélica provided translations, working from the recordings.
Like other folktales in my corpus, the two recounted below are about events yet payxa tu
or ‘in the old days’. They begin with the formula Okjal yabix’al, or ‘we tell the story’ and
end with chyun laqwi, ‘then it ends.’ The first folktale, “The Story of the Rabbit”, is about
the patron saint of Santa Eulalia, referred to as the “Virgin”, and her experience domesti-
cating animals. The story explains why the rabbit has a short tail, as it habitually tried to
escape, and one time Saint Eulalia tried to catch it by its tail, which broke off in her hands.
The second story, “The Story of the Cat,” tells of a man with a lazy wife who will never cook
his lunch. After he gets angry and sends her away, he finds a meal waiting for him every
day when he comes home for lunch. After investigating, he discovers it is the family cat who
has been cooking for him. These two stories are humorous and entertaining; two others in
the collection are frightening, with the abduction and murder of children as major themes,
while the fifth is a very long story about the ancient courtship and marriage practices of the
Q’anjob’al. I chose to present these two stories because of their similar thematic elements
and because their relative brevity allowed me to spend significant time developing an accu-
rate English translation and morphological analysis with the help of my Q’anjob’al consul-
tants in Los Angeles. To my knowledge these two stories have not been collected previously.

Spanish portions of this paper, and to Pamela Munro and Kathleen O’Flynn at UCLA, as well as attendees of
the UCLA American Indian Seminar, for invaluable advice and comments on earlier versions of this work. All
remaining mistakes are my own.
two q’anjob’al texts 135

The Spanish free translation is adapted from the translation provided by Angélica Gar-
cía Pascual in Santa Eulalia in August 2012 and does not always closely correspond to the
Q’anjob’al. Angélica García Pascual’s translation was recorded by hand. Portions of the
Spanish translation in brackets are my additions or adaptations. Close English translations
were prepared with the help of native Q’anjob’al speakers Alejandra Francisco and Alejandra
Juárez in Los Angeles, California, in 2012-2013. A version of the texts and the following des-
cription of Q’anjob’al appear in Acker, 2016.

Language and fieldwork background

Q’anjob’al (ISO code: kjb) belongs to the Q’anjob’alan subfamily of Mayan, spoken mostly
in the Huehuetenango district of Guatemala. There are about 88 200 speakers worldwide
(Lewis, 2009), including sizable communities in the United States in Los Angeles, California,
and Indiantown, Florida. The language features basic VSO word order and ergative verbal
agreement. The dialect exemplified in the texts represents the town of Santa Eulalia in the
Huehuetenango district of Guatemala.
The Mayan language family consists of 29 living languages and two extinct langua-
ges spoken mostly in Mexico and Guatemala (Campbell and Kaufman, 1985). Q’anjob’al
is most closely related to the Guatemalan languages Akatek and Jakaltek, and these three
languages form one branch of the Q’anjob’alan subfamily, with the other branch consisting
of the Mexican language Mocho’. The Q’anjob’alan subfamily is situated within the lar-
ger Q’anjob’alan-Chujean, or Greater Q’anjob’alan, subfamily, together with the subfamily
Chujean, consisting of Chuj, spoken around the Guatemala-Mexico border, and Tojolab’al,
spoken in Chiapas, Mexico. Campbell and Kaufman (1985) group Greater Q’anjob’alan
together with the Ch’olan (or Greater Tzeltalan) branch to form the Western branch. The
relationship of Q’anjob’alan to the other Mayan branches is shown in Figure 1. (None of the
individual languages within other subfamilies are shown.)

Figure 1. Q’anjob’alan within the Mayan family

136 tlalocan xxiii

Orthography

The practical orthography employed in these texts is that presented in the grammar (Barre-
no et al., 2005) and dictionary (Txolilal Ti’ Q’anjob’al, 2003) published by the Academia de
Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala (ALMG). There are 25 consonant phonemes and five vowel
phonemes, presented in Tables 1 and Table 2 below. The phonemes are given in the Inter-
national Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and when the practical orthography differs from the IPA
symbol, I have provided the orthographic letter or letter sequence in parentheses immediately
following the IPA. There is an additional letter in the Q’anjob’al practical orthography, h,
which does not represent a sound, but rather the absence of an initial glottal stop in an
orthographically vowel-initial word. The glottal stop is therefore not represented by any letter
at the beginning of a word in Q’anjob’al, but is represented by an apostrophe anywhere else
in the word.

Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Retroflex Velar Uvular Glottal

Stop/ p t ts (tz) tʃ (ch) tʂ (tx) k q ʔ (‘)
Affricate
Ejective t’ ts’ (tz’) tʃ’ (ch’) tʂ’ (tx’) k’ q’

Implosive ɓ (b’)

Fricative s ʃ (xh) ʂ (x) x (j)

Nasal m n
Lateral l
Flap ɾ (r)
Approximant w j (y)

Table 1. Q’anjob’al consonant phonemes

i u

ɛ (e) o

ɑ (a)

Table 2. Q’anjob’al vowel phonemes

two q’anjob’al texts 137

Morphosyntax

There are two sets of agreement morphemes in Q’anjob’al, ergative/genitive or A-class mar-
kers, and absolutive or B-class markers, as shown in Table 3.

Ergative Ergative Absolutive

(vowel-initial (consonant-initial
verb stems) verb stems)
1s w- (h)in (h)in
1p j- ko (h/k)on
2s (h)V (h)a (h)ach
2p (h)ey- (h)e (h)ex
3 y- (s)- Ø
Table 3. Agreement markers

The basic active verbal complex follows the order Aspect-B (A) verb-suffixes. Aspect mar-
kers can be max or x- for completive, chi or ch- for incompletive, hoq or q- for potential
(irrealis), or null; the short forms are cliticized to the first pronounced agreement morpheme
or, when no agreement markers are present, to the verb. Ergative markers always form a unit
with a vowel-initial verb, as in (1), but appear as separate words when the verb is consonant-
initial, as in (2). Absolutive markers are always distinct from the verb, as illustrated in both
(1) and (2), as well as the intransitive (3). Aspect markers cliticize to independent absoluti-
ve, as in (1)-(3), or ergative markers (4), but they cliticize to the verb in the absence of such
independent agreement markers (5).

1. Ch-ach w-oche-j
inc-2sa 1se-like-tv
I like you.

2. Ch-ach hin maq’-a’
inc-2sa 1se hit-tv
I hit you.

3. Ch-ach way-i
inc-2sa sleep-itv
You sleep.
138 tlalocan xxiii

4. X-in maq’ jun naq winaq

com-1se hit one cl man
I hit a man.

5. X-maq’ ix Malin naq winaq

com-hit cl Mary cl man
Mary hit the man.

Verbal suffixes include directional markers, sentence final status markers reflecting the
transitivity of the verb, and detransitivizing passive or antipassive markers, among others.
Transitive sentences with pronominal agreement are shown with a vowel-initial verb
in (1) and a consonant-initial verb in (2), while an intransitive is exemplified in (3).
Note that the object of the transitive sentences and the subject of the intransitive are both
expressed with absolutive agreement. There are no ergative or absolutive markers when
the subject and object are both third person, and Q’anjob’al has no case marking, as
exemplified in (4) and (5).
YAB’IXAL YIB’AN NO’ TXITX

THE STORY OF THE RABBIT

140 tlalocan xxiii

THE STORY OF THE RABBIT

(1) We tell the story of the rabbit. (2) In that time, the Virgin lived in her house. (3) She
dreamt that she should domesticate animals, (4) that they could abound and multiply
in her hands. (5) That’s how she was told. (6) She started to buy all different kinds of
animals: (7) she bought a pig, she bought a chicken, (8) she bought a turkey, she bought
a dog, (9) a cat, she bought a duck, (10) and she bought a rabbit. (11) Then she put all
the types of animals together in a pen. (12) All the animals couldn’t make themselves live
together (13) because they would eat each other and fight. (14) So different pens were
built by her, and when the pens were already built, (15) every day she let the animals out
into the grass and they ate on the ground, we say. (16) When it got dark the animals were
locked up. (17) And then one afternoon, (18) when she checked in the pen, (19) the rab-
bit wasn’t there. (20) Maybe he went out or he left somewhere. (21) Then she said, “I’d
better not let this rabbit out. (22) What we’re going to do now is close this pen. I will just
gather fodder,” she said. (23) Maybe she said she wasn’t going to let that rabbit out. (24)
The next day when she let the animals out, (25) the horse came out, the cat came out,
(26) the dog and the chicken came out, the turkey and the duck came out. (27) Then
she didn’t want to let the rabbit out. (28) It tried to escape from its corral. (29) Then she
grabbed it by its tail. (30) When she grabbed it by that tail, (31) it pulled itself away, (32)
and half the rabbit’s tail was left in her hand. (33) That’s why the rabbit has a cropped
tail now. (34) This is how the story ends.
two q’anjob’al texts 141

YAB’IXAL YIB’AN NO’ TXITX

(1) Ok jal yab’ixal yib’an no’ txitx – la historia del conejo. (2) [E] yet jun tiempo tu axal
xal Virgen [e] ay xal b’ay yatut. (3) Kax xok jun wayich xal tolta x’job’ xal no’ no’, (4)
[e] chi sipoj no’ yul q’ab’ xal ma ay yaxilal yul q’ab’ xal. (5) Kay xyun yallay b’ay xal.
(6) Tay xman no’ xal masanil klase no’ no’: (7) man no’ [no’] txitam, manlay no’ kax-
hlan, (8) manlay no’ ak’ach, manlay no’ [no’] tx’i’, (9) no’ mis, [e] manlay no’ [no’]
petx, (10) kax manlay [e] no’ [no’] txitx. (11) Axa xyunxin xwajb’onoktoq xal masanil
no’ no’ tu yul jun koral. (12) Tay maj [maj] cha’ b’a kajay no’ masanil (13) porke ay
no’ [ij] chilejaytoq b’a ay no’ chya’lej owal. (14) Entonses ch’okch’ok k’al b’ay xaq koral
no’ yuj xal axa yet mal watx’ji koral no’ tu, (15) entonses jujun k’al k’u xbeq’layeltoq
no’ xol ak’un kax low no’ b’ay sat tx’otx’ chyun jaloni. (16) Axa yet ch’q’eqb’ikanayoq
kax chmaqlayoktoq no’. (17) Axa yet mayal [e] yay k’ual jun tiempoal, (18) tay [e] yila-
yteq b’ay yul koral, (19) [no’ no’ no’ txitx tu k’am no’] k’am no’ txitx tu. (20) [E] yamta
tol x’ela’ no’ ma b’ay x-toq no’. (21) Tay axa xyalon xal xin, “Nani major maj xa hin
jaqiltoq jun txitx ti. (22) A jun jut nani mejor [e] maqay koral ti to’ol qin waj sakate,”
xab’ xal. (23) Yamta jun xab’ xal tay maj xa chjaqiltoq no’ txitx tu. (24) Axa yet jun xa
k’ual tay kax [e] jaqonelteq xal no’ no’ tu, (25) jaqlayelteq no’ [no’] tx’ej, jaqlayelteq
no’ [no’] mis tu, (26) jaqlayelteq no’ tx’i’, no’ kaxhlan, jaqlayelteq no’ ak’ach, no’ petx.
(27) Tay axa yet yun xal yochej xal maj jaqlayelteq no’ [no’ no’] txitx tu. (28) Axa yunej
yek’elteq turnaj no’ yul koral tu la. (29) Kax yok mitx’an xal yin ne’ no’. (30) Axa yet yok
mitx’an xal yin ne’ no’ tu la, (31) Kax tuqonel b’a no’, (32) xan [e] kankan nan ne’ no’
txitx tu yul q’ab’ xal. (33) Xan a no’ txitx tu nani kutix no’. (34) Tix chyun laqwi jun
ab’ix tu.
142 tlalocan xxiii

LA HISTORIA DEL CONEJO

(1) Vamos a escuchar la historia del conejo. (2) En aquel tiempo, la Virgen vivía en su
casa. (3) Soñó que podía domesticar a los animales, (4) que podía reproducir y multipli-
car la crianza de los animales en sus manos. (5) Así le dijeron a él [ella]. (6) Empezó a
comprar diferentes clases de animales: (7) compró cerdos, pollos, (8) chompipe, perros,
(9) gatos, patos, (10) y compró un conejo. (11) Entonces reunió a todas las clases de
animales en su corral. (12) No pudieron estar juntos (13) porque se comían entre ellos y
se peleaban. (14) Entonces los animales fueron divididos en cada corral, (15) y cada día
los soltaba del corral para que comieran. (16) A la noche los encerraba. (17) Pero pasado
un tiempo, (18) descubrió que entre los animales en el corral, (19) no se encontraba el
conejo. (20) Quizá salió o se fue a alguna parte. (21) Entonces la Virgen decidió no volver
a sacar el conejo de su corral. (22) Decidió juntar zacate para darle de comer a su conejo
en el corral. (23) Quizá dijo que no soltaría a ese conejo. (24) Al otro día, cuando volvía
[a] abrir el corral para que los otros animales salieran, (25) salieron el caballo, el gato,
(26) el perro, el pollo, el chompipe y el pato. (27) Entonces decidió no sacar al conejo
de su corral. (28) El conejo quiso escapar (29) y ella lo agarró de la cola. (30) Cuando
le agarró la cola, (31) el conejo se fue; (32) la mitad de la cola del conejo se quedó en
las manos de ella. (33) Por esto actualmente el conejo no tiene la cola larga. (34) Así
termina esta historia.
two q’anjob’al texts 143

THE STORY OF THE RABBIT

as told by pedro garcía pascual

1. Ok j-al y-ab’ix-al y-ib’an no’ txitx

enter 1pe-tell 3A-story-abst 3e-about cl rabbit

la historia del conejo.

la historia del conejo
We tell the story of the rabbit.
Vamos a escuchar la historia del conejo.2

2. [E] y-et jun tiempo tu axal xal Virgen [e] ay xal

3e-of one time dem prt cl Virgin exist
cl

b’ay y-atut.
prep 3e-house
In that time, the Virgin lived in her house.
En aquel tiempo, la Virgen vivía en su casa.3

3. Kax x-ok jun way-ich xal tol-ta x’-job’ xal

then com-enter one sleep-nmzr cl that-cond com-raise cl

no’ no’,
cl animal
She dreamt that she should domesticate animals,
Soñó que podía domesticar a los animales,

4. [e] chi sipoj no’ y-ul q’ab’ xal ma ay yax-ilal

inc abound cl 3e-in hand cl conj exist green-nmzr

y-ul q’ab’ xal.
3e-in hand cl
that they could abound and multiply in her hands.
que podía reproducir y multiplicar la crianza de los animales en sus manos.

2 The English translation in the glossed texts is directly related to the English glosses. The Spanish version

included is a freer translation from Q’anjob’al made by the speakers from Santa Eulalia.
3 The “Virgin” in this story is Saint Eulalia, the patron saint of Santa Eulalia, Guatemala.
144 tlalocan xxiii

5. Kay x-y-un y-al-lay b’ay xal.

like com-3e-do 3e-tell-psv prep cl
That’s how she was told.
Así le dijeron a ella.

6. Tay x-man no’ xal masanil klase no’ no’:

then com-buy cl cl all kind
cl animal
She started to buy all different kinds of animals:
Empezó a comprar diferentes clases de animales:

7. man no’ [no’] txitam, man-lay no’ kaxhlan,

buy cl pig buy-psv cl chicken
she bought a pig, she bought a chicken,
compró un cerdo, un pollo,

8. man-lay no’ ak’ach, man-lay no’ [no’] tx’i’,

buy-psv cl turkey buy- psv cl dog
she bought a turkey, she bought a dog,
compró un chompipe, un perro,

9. no’ mis, [e] man-lay no’ [no’] petx,

cl cat buy-psv cl duck
a cat, she bought a duck,
un gato, ella compró un pato,

10. kax man-lay [e] no’ [no’] txitx.

then buy-psv cl rabbit
and she bought a rabbit.
y compró un conejo.

11. Axa x-y-un-xin x-waj-b’-on-ok-toq xal

then com-3e-do-intns com-gather- inch-dep-dir-dir cl

masanil no’ no’ tu y-ul jun koral.

all cl animal dem 3e-in one pen
Then she put all the types of animals together in a pen.
Entonces reunió a todas las clases de animales en su corral.
two q’anjob’al texts 145

12. Tay maj [maj] ch-a’ b’a kaj-ay no’ masanil

then neg inc-give rflx live-dir cl all
All the animals couldn’t make themselves live together
Los animales no pudieron estar juntos

13. porke ay no’ [ij] chi-lej-ay-toq b’a ay no’

because exist cl eat-rec-dir-dir rflx exist cl

ch-y-a’-lej owal.
inc-3e-give-rec fight
because they would eat each other and fight.
porque se comían entre ellos y peleaban.

14. Entonses ch’ok-ch’ok k’al b’ay xaq koral no’ y-uj

so different-rdpl always prep build pen cl 3e-by

xal axa y-et mal watx’j-i koral no’ tu,

cl next 3e-of already prepare-itv pen cl dem
So different pens were built by her, and when the pens were already built,
Entonces se construyeron distintos corrales y cuando los corrales estaban listos,

15. entonses ju-jun k’al k’u x-beq’-lay-el-toq no’ xol

so rdpl-one always day com-leave-psv-dir-dir cl among

ak’un kax low no’ b’ay sat tx’otx’ ch-y-un j-al-on-i.

grass then eat cl prep face earth inc-3e-do 1pe-say-dep-itv
every day she let the animals out into the grass and they ate on the ground, we say.
y cada día los soltaba del corral para que comieran.

16. Axa y-et ch’-q’eq-b’i-kan-ay-oq kax ch-maq-lay-ok-toq no’

next 3e-of inc-black-inch-dir-dir-inf then inc-close-psv-dir-dir cl
When it got dark the animals were locked up.
En la noche los encerraban.

17. Axa y-et mayal [e] y-ay k’u-al jun tiempo-al,

next 3e-of already 3e-exist day-abst one time-abst
And then one afternoon,
Pero entonces, una tarde,
146 tlalocan xxiii

18. tay [e] y-il-ay-teq b’ay y-ul koral,

then 3e-see-dir-dir prep 3e-in pen
when she checked in the pen,
cuando revisó el corral,

19. [no’ no’ no’ txitx tu k’am no’] k’am no’ txitx tu.
cl cl cl rabbit dem neg cl neg cl rabbit dem
the rabbit wasn’t there.
no se encontraba el conejo.

20. [E] yamta tol x’-el-a’ no’ ma b’ay x-toq no’.

maybe that com-go.out-itv cl conj prep com-leave cl
Maybe he went out or he left somewhere.
Quizá se salió o se fue a alguna parte.

21. Tay axa x-y-al-on xal xin, “Nani mejor maj xa hin
then next com-3e-say-dep cl then now better neg prt 1se

jaq-il-toq jun txitx ti.

open-dir-dir one rabbit dem
Then she said, “I’d better not let this rabbit out.”
Entonces decidió no volver a sacar el conejo de su corral.

22. A jun j-ut nani mejor [e] maq-ay koral ti to’ol

foc one 1pe-do now better close-dir pen dem only

q-in waj sakate,” x-ab’ xal.

pot-1se gather fodder com-say cl
“What we’re going to do now is close this pen. I will just gather fodder,” she said.
“Lo que vamos a hacer es cerrar el corral. Voy a juntar zacate”, dijo.

23. Yamta jun x-ab’ xal tay maj xa ch-jaq-il-toq no’

maybe one com-say cl then neg prt com-open-dir-dir cl

txitx tu.
rabbit dem
Maybe she said she wasn’t going to let that rabbit out.
Quizá dijo que no soltaría ese conejo.
two q’anjob’al texts 147

24. Axa y-et jun xa k’u-al tay kax [e] jaq-on-el-teq

next 3e-of one prt day-abst then then open-dep-dir-dir

xal no’ no’ tu,

cl cl animal dem
The next day when she let the animals out,
Al otro día, cuando dejó que los otros animales salieran,

25. jaq-lay-el-teq no’ [no’] tx’ej, jaq-lay-el-teq no’ [no’] mis tu,
open-psv-dir-dir cl horse open-psv-dir-dir cl cat
dem
the horse came out, the cat came out,
salió el caballo, salió el gato,

26. jaq-lay-el-teq no’ tx’i’, no’ kaxhlan, jaq-lay-el-teq no’

open-psv-dir-dir cl dog cl chicken open-psv-dir-dir cl

ak’ach, no’ petx.

turkey cl duck
the dog and the chicken came out, the turkey and the duck came out.
el perro, el pollo, el chompipe, y el pato salieron.

27. Tay axa y-et y-un xal y-oche-j xal maj jaq-lay-el-teq
then next 3e-of 3e-do cl 3e-want-tv cl neg open-psv-dir-dir

no’ [no’ no’] txitx tu.

cl rabbit
dem
Then she didn’t want to let the rabbit out.
Entonces decidió no sacar al conejo en su corral.

28. Axa y-un-ej y-ek’-el-teq turnaj no’ y-ul koral tu la.

next 3e-do-tv 3e-cross-dir-dir suddenly cl 3e-in pen dem ev
It tried to escape from its corral.
El conejo intentó escapar de su corral.

29. Kax y-ok mitx’-an xal y-in ne’ no’.

then 3e-enter touch-pos cl 3e-at tail cl
Then she grabbed it by its tail.
y ella lo agarró de la cola.
148 tlalocan xxiii

30. Axa y-et y-ok mitx’-an xal y-in ne’ no’ tu la

next 3e-of 3e-enter hold-pos cl 3e-at tail cl dem ev
When she grabbed it by that tail,
Cuando le agarró la cola,

31. Kax tuq-on-el b’a no’,

then pull-dep-dir rflx cl
it pulled itself away,
el conejo huyó;

32. xan [e] kan-kan nan ne’ no’ txitx tu y-ul q’ab’ xal
conj stay-dir half tail cl rabbit dem 3e-in hand cl
and half the rabbit’s tail was left in her hand.
y la mitad de la cola del conejo se quedó en las manos de ella.

33. Xan a no’ txitx tu nani kutix no’

why foc cl rabbit dem now cropped.tail cl
That’s why the rabbit has a cropped tail now.
Por esto actualmente el conejo no tiene larga la cola.

34. Tix ch-y-un laq-wi jun ab’ix tu.

this com-3e-do finish-api one story dem
This is how the story ends.
Así termina esta historia.
YAB’IXAL Y’IBAN NO’ MIS

THE STORY OF THE CAT

150 tlalocan xxiii

THE STORY OF THE CAT

(1) We tell the story of the cat. (2) Once there was a couple of people. (3) That man told
his wife, (4) “Now I’m going to work. Make me some good food,” (5) he said to her [and
left]. (6) And then she always gets lazy; (7) she didn’t make his food. (8) Then he went to
work. (9) When he came home for lunch, (10) his good food made by her wasn’t there.
(11) Then he got mad. (12) And then they went to sleep that night. (13) The next day,
(14) “I’m going to work again, (15) but make me some good food. If not, (16) I will
get mad at you and I will send you back,” (17) he said to her. (18) But because she was
always lazy, (19) then he went to work. (20) She didn’t prepare his food in the morning
again. (21) He was supposed to come home for lunch. (22) The cat was sitting. (23)
That cat is near the fire and he listens. (24) When the man came again, (25) for lunch
the next day, (26) his food was not there. “All right!” (27) Then he got mad (28) and he
made his wife go back. (29) Now his wife went back. (30) “I’ll see how I’ll feed myself,”
he said. (31) Then she left. (32) Then, the next day, (33) he got up and went to work.
(34) When he came home, his food was there. (35) There was a stack of tortillas, his tor-
tillas were in the tortilla warmer, (36) his meat and his atole were ready. (37) Everything
was ready and he was shocked. (38) He went to make food for himself and everything was
ready. (39) The next day he left. (40) Then, “What’s happening?” he said. (41) The next
day, (42) when he came home for lunch, there was good food. (43) There were tamales,
there were tortillas, he saw there was everything, (44) there was atole, what he usually
eats, we say. (45) So that night he started worrying. (46) “Who is coming and making my
food? (47) I’m going to find out,” he said. (48) He couldn’t figure out that it was the cat.
(49) When the cat saw that he left, (50) he would put on his apron and knead, (51) and
he [the cat] made his [the man’s] food, and he [the man] didn’t know. (52) On that day,
he left in a hurry. (53) The next day he went to work, (54) he left before lunch. (55) “I’m
going to see what woman is making my food,” he said. (56) He slowly came home. (57)
He came very slowly, among the grass next to the window. (58) He stared in the window.
(59) The cat was making his food. (60) The cat was wearing an apron, making tortillas
(61) and making the food. (62) This is the story of the cat in the old days. (63) This is
how it ends.
two q’anjob’al texts 151

YAB’IXAL Y’IBAN NO’ MIS

(1) Ok jal yab’ixal no’ mis – la historia del gato. (2) Ay jun mojan heb’ anima yet tu.
(3) A naq winaq tu yal naq b’ay yistil, (4) “Anani hintoj mulnajil. Watx’ chot hin lob’ej,”
(5) xhi ta naq b’ay ix xin. (6) Ax xyunej isaq k’al chyut b’a ix, (7) tay k’am chwatnej
ix lob’ej naq tu. (8) Tay xtoj naq mulnajil. (9) Axa yet jay naq yet chuman, (10) k’am
lob’ej naq watx’ yayji yuj ix. (11) Tay tit yowal naq. (12) To kax waykan ay yet aq’b’alil
tu. (13) Axa yet jun xa k’ualil, (14) “Qintoj junelxa mulnajil, (15) pero watx’ chot hin
lob’ej. Ta k’amaq, (16) hoq tit wowal hen qach wuqtej paxoq,” (17) xab’ naq b’ay ix.
(18) Pero komo isaq k’alta ix, (19) tay toj naq mulnajoq. (20) Tol maj watx’joq ta ay
lob’ej naq q’inib’alil. (21) Tay chuman t’inan chjay naq lowoq. (22) Tay xan a no’ mis
tu tol chotanoktoq. (23) No’ mis tu ti q’a tol chyab’ no’. (24) Axa yet jay naq winaq tu
junelxa, (25) yet chuman yet jun xa k’ual, (26) k’am pax lob’ej naq. “Bweno!” (27) Tay
tit xa yowal naq (28) xyuqton pax naq ix yistil tu. (29) Nani paxan yix b’a. (30) “Xa wil
tzet hoq wut low hin b’a,” xab’i. (31) Tay mal toj ix. (32) Tay axa yet jun xa k’ualil, (33)
yaj wahan naq toj naq mulnajoq. (34) Axa yunej ax jay naq, ay xa ay lob’ej naq. (35)
Paqaqi yayji; pat naq yul motx, (36) i mal watx’ji chib’ej naq i yuk’ja naq. (37) Watx’xa
yayji to xa k’ayaj k’ul naq. (38) Tay toj to watnej lo b’a naq to watx’xa. (39) Tay axa yet
jun xa k’ual toj pax naq. (40) Tay, “tzet tu yayji?” xhi pax naq. (41) Axa yet jun xa k’ual,
(42) jay naq yet chuman, watx’ yayji lob’ej naq. (43) Ay tx’ix, ay pat-ej, ay yiloni, ay ma-
sanil, (44) ay uk’ja, tzet chlo ta pax jaloni. (45) Entonses x’ok pensar naq yet aq’b’alil tu.
(46) “Tzet makweltxel ch’ul watnon hinlob’ej? (47) Qwa’ wal aberigwar,” xab’ naq. (48)
Tay nich chnachajel yuj naq tol a no’ mis tu. (49) Chyil no’ mis tu tol chtojkan naq, (50)
tay chya’onok no’ gab’acha kax xkawi no’, (51) kax chi wanton no’ lob’ej naq, ni yoqtaq
pax naq. (52) Axa yet jun tiempoal tu la tay choliltoq naq. (53) Jun xa k’ual toj naq mul-
najil, (54) ay tok’al yok chuman tay tit naq. (55) “Toj wal wila’ maktxel jun ix chwatnon
hinlob’ej,” xab’ naq. (56) Tay tit naq k’ojon k’ulal ch’an jay naq. (57) Mok’ok’i ch’an
jay naq kawil b’entana xol ak’un. (58) Ay yok tukan naq yul wentana. (59) Yan watnen
no’ mis tu lob’ej naq. (60) Ayik’ gab’acha no’ mis tu yan patli no’, (61) lanan watnen
lob’ej no’. (62) Tix yab’ixal no’ mis yet payxa tu. (63) Kax chyun laqwi.
152 tlalocan xxiii

LA HISTORIA DEL GATO

(1) Vamos a escuchar la historia del gato. (2) Había una vez una pareja. (3) Ese hombre
le dijo a su esposa, (4) “Ahora me voy a trabajar. Quiero que me prepares bien la comi-
da.” (5) Así le dijo él a ella (6) y ella era muy perezosa (7) y no le preparaba su comida,
(8) y se fue a trabajar. (9) Cuando él regresó [para el almuerzo], (10) ella todavía no le
preparaba su comida. (11) Él se enojó. (12) Durmieron esa noche. (13) [Al otro día,]
(14) [“Voy a trabajar.] (15) Quiero que me prepares bien la comida esta mañana. Si no,
(16) me voy a enojar y demandaré a tus padres,” (17) [él le advirtió.] (18) [Pero como
ella era perezosa,] (19) se fue a trabajar (20) sin desayunar bien. (21) [Se supone que él
había regresado a las doce.] (22) Mientras tanto el gato estaba sentando (23) cerca de la
hoguera y el gato nomás escuchaba. (24) Y cuando regresó el hombre, (25) a las doce del
otro día (26) no encontró su comida. [“¡Bueno!”] (27) Entonces se enojó (28) e [hizo
a su esposa volver]. (29) [Ahora su esposa regresó.] (30) Y le dijo, “Ahora voy a ver qué
puedo hacer para preparar mi comida.” (31) [Entonces se fue.] (32) Al otro día, (33) él
se levantó y se fue a trabajar. (34) Y lo que pasó cuando él regresó, fue que encontró su
comida, todo arreglado. (35) [Había tortillas en el tortillero] (36) y estaba la comida, el
atole. (37) [Todo estaba preparado y] se quedó extrañado. (38) [Fue a hacer su comida
y todo estaba arreglado.] (39) Al otro día se fue (40) y se preguntó, “¿Que extraño lo que
está pasado?” (41) Al otro día, (42) regresó a las doce y estaba su almuerzo todo arregla-
do. (43) Todo estaba preparado. Había tamales, tortillas, (44) vio que había de todo lo
que comían. (45) Entonces él empezó a analizar y a pensar (46) “¿[Quién] estará [vi-
niendo y] preparando mi comida? (47) Voy a averiguar.” (48) [No podía saber] que era el
gato el que hacía la comida. (49) Cuando él se iba, el gato (50) amarraba su gabacha y
molía el maíz. (51) [el gato preparaba su comida] y él no lo sabía. (52) En ese tiempo, él
decidió regresar temprano. (53) Al otro día, él se fue a trabajar, (54) y antes de las doce se
regresó (55) y dijo, “Voy a ver quién es esa mujer que arregla mi comida,” (56) y se vino,
(57) y se acercó despacio, cerca de la ventana, (58) y miro por la ventana. (59) El gato
la estaba haciendo su comida. (60) Estaba moliendo el maíz, el gato, tortillando, (61)
estaba trabajando. (62) Esta es la historia del gato. (63) Así termina.
two q’anjob’al texts 153

THE STORY OF THE CAT

as told by pedro garcia pascual

1. Ok j-al y-ab’ix-al no’ mis – la historia del gato.

enter 2pe-tell 3e-story-abst cl mis – la historia del gato.
We tell the story of the cat.
Vamos a escuchar la historia del gato.

2. Ay jun mojan heb’ anima y-et tu.
exist one couple 3p person 3e-of dem
Once there was a couple of people.
En ese entonces había una pareja.

3. A naq winaq tu y-al naq b’ay y-istil,

foc cl man dem 3e-tell cl prep 3e-wife
That man told his wife,
Ese hombre le dijo a su esposa,

4. “Anani hin-toj mulnaj-il. Watx’ ch-ot hin lob’ej,”

“Now 1sa-go work-abst good inc-2se .make 1se food
“Now I’m going to work. Make me some good food,”
“Ahora me voy a trabajar. Quiero que me prepares bien la comida”.

5. xhi ta naq b’ay ix xin.

say prt cl prep cl prt
he said to her [and left].
Así le dijo a ella.

6. Ax x-y-une-j isaq k’al ch-y-ut b’a ix,

prt com-3e-do-tv lazy always inc-3e-do rflx cl
And then she always gets lazy;
y ella era muy perezosa

7. tay k’am ch-watne-j ix lob’ej naq tu.

then neg inc-make-tv cl food cl dem
she didn’t make his food.
y no le preparaba su comida.
154 tlalocan xxiii

8. Tay x-toj naq mulnaj-il.

then com-go cl work-abst
Then he went to work.
Entonces, se fue a trabajar.

9. Axa y-et jay naq y-et chuman,

next 3e-of come cl 3e-of lunch
When he came home for lunch,
Cuando él regresó para el almuerzo,

10. k’am lob’ej naq watx’ y-ay-ji y-uj ix.

neg food cl good 3e-exist-der 3e-by cl
his good food made by her wasn’t there.
la buena comida no estaba hecha.

11. Tay tit y-owal naq.

then come 3e-fight cl
Then he got mad.
Él se enojó.

12. To kax way-kan ay y-et aq’b’al-il tu.

still(?) then sleep-dir exist 3e-of night-abst dem
And then they went to sleep that night.
Durmieron esa noche.

13. Axa y-et jun xa k’u-al-il,

next 3e-of one already day-abst-abst
The next day,
Al otro día,

14. “Q-in-toj jun-el-xa mulnaj-il,

pot-1sa-go one-dir-already work-abst
“I’m going to work again,
“Voy a trabajar.

15. pero watx’ ch-ot hin lob’ej. Ta k’amaq,

but good inc-2se.make 1se food if neg
but make me some good food. If not,
Quiero que me prepares bien la comida esta mañana. Si no,
two q’anjob’al texts 155

16.
hoq tit w-owal hen q-ach w-uqte-j pax-oq,”
pot come 1se-fight 2se.at pot-2sa 1se-chase-tv return-inf
I will get mad at you and I will send you back,”
me voy a enojar y demandaré a tus padres,”

17. x-ab’ naq b’ay ix.

com-say cl prep cl
he said to her.
él le advertió.

18. Pero komo isaq k’alta ix,

but as lazy always cl
But because she was always lazy,
Pero como ella era perezosa,

19. tay toj naq mulnaj-oq.

then go cl work-inf
then he went to work.
se fue a trabajar

20. Tol maj watx’j-oq ta ay lob’ej naq

intns neg prepare-inf pot exist food cl

q’inib’-al-il jun-el-xa.
morning-abst-abst one-prt-again
She didn’t prepare his food in the morning again.
sin desayunar bien.

21. Tay chuman t’inan ch-jay naq low-oq.

then lunch supposed.to inc-come cl eat-inf
He was supposed to come home for lunch.
Se supone que él había regresado a las doce.

22. Tay xan a no’ mis tu tol chot-an-ok-toq.

then intns foc cl cat dem intns sit-pos-dir-dir
The cat was sitting.
Mientras tanto el gato estaba sentando
156 tlalocan xxiii

23. No’ mis tu ti q’a tol ch-y-ab’ no’.

cl cat dem dem fire intns inc-3e-listen cl
That cat is near the fire and he listens.
cerca de la hoguera y el gato nomás escuchaba.

24. Axa y-et jay naq winaq tu jun-el-xa,

next 3e-of come cl man dem one-prt-prt
When the man came again,
Y cuando regresó el hombre,

25. y-et chuman y-et jun xa k’u-al,

3e-of lunch 3e-of one prt day-abst
for lunch the next day,
a las doce del otro día

26. k’am pax lob’ej naq. “Bweno!”

neg as.for food cl exclm
his food was not there. “All right!”
no encontró su comida. [“¡Bueno!”]

27. Tay tit xa y-owal naq

then come prt 3e-fight cl
Then he got mad
Entonces se enojó

28. x-y-uqt-on pax naq ix y-istil tu.

com-3e-chase-af return cl cl 3e-wife dem
and he made his wife go back.
e hizo a su esposa volver.

29. Nani pax-an y-ix b’a.

now return-pos 3e-woman rflx
Now his wife went back.
Ahora su esposa regresó.

30. “Xa w-il tzet hoq w-ut low hin b’a,” x-ab’-i.
prt 1se-see what pot 1se-do eat 1se rflx com-say-itv
“I’ll see how I’ll feed myself,” he said.
Y le dijo, “Ahora voy a ver qué puedo hacer para preparar mi comida”.
two q’anjob’al texts 157

31. Tay mal toj ix.

then already go cl
Then she left.
Entonces se fue.

32. Tay axa y-et jun xa k’u-al-il,

Then next 3e-of one prt day-abst-abst
Then, the next day,
Al otro día,

33. y-aj wahan naq toj naq mulnaj-oq.

3e-go.up standing cl go cl work-inf
he got up and went to work.
él se levantó y se fue a trabajar.

34.
Axa y-un-ej ax jay naq, ay xa ay lob’ej naq.
next 3e-do-tv prt come cl exist prt exist food cl
When he came home, his food was there.
Y lo que pasó cuando él regresó, fue que encontró su comida, todo arreglado.

35. Paqaqi y-ay-ji; pat naq y-ul motx,

stack.of.tortillas 3e-exist-der tortilla cl 3e-in tortilla.warmer
There was a stack of tortillas, his tortillas were in the tortilla warmer,
Había tortillas en el tortillero,

36. i mal watx’-ji chib’ej naq i y-uk’ja naq.

and already good-der meat cl and 3e-atole cl
his meat and his atole were ready.
y estaba la comida, el atol.

37. Watx’-xa y-ay-ji to xa k’ayaj k’ul naq.

good-already 3e-exist-der prt prt shocked stomach cl
Everything was ready and he was shocked.
Todo estaba preparado y se quedó extrañado.

38. Tay toj to watne-j lo b’a naq to watx’-xa y-ay-ji.

then go prt make-tv eat rflx cl prt good-already 3e-exist-der
He went to make food for himself and everything was ready.
Fue hacer su comida y todo estaba arreglado.
158 tlalocan xxiii

39. Tay axa y-et jun xa k’u-al toj pax naq.

then next 3e-of one prt day-abst go return cl
The next day he left.
Al otro día se fue

40. Tay, “tzet tu y-ay-ji?” xhi pax naq.

then what dem 3e-exist-der say as.for cl
Then, “What’s happening?” he said.
y se preguntó, “¿Qué extraño lo que está pasando?”

41. Axa y-et jun xa k’u-al

next 3e-of one prt day-abst
The next day,
Al otro día,

42. jay naq y-et chuman, watx’ y-ay-ji lob’ej naq.

come cl 3e-of lunch good 3e-exist-der food cl
when he came home for lunch, there was good food.
regresó a las doce y estaba su almuerzo todo arreglado.

43. Ay tx’ix, ay pat-ej, ay y-il-on-i, ay masanil,

exist tamale exist tortilla-aln exist 3e-see-af-itv exist everything
There were tamales, there were tortillas, he saw there was everything,
Todo estaba preparado. Había tamales, tortillas,

44. ay uk’ja, tzet ch-lo ta pax j-al-on-i.

exist atole what inc-eat if as.for 1pe-say-1p-itv
there was atole, what he usually eats, we say.
vio que había de todo lo que comían.

45. Entonses x’-ok pensar naq y-et aq’b’al-il tu.

so com-enter worry cl 3e-of night-abst dem
So that night he started worrying.
Entonces él empezó a analizar y a pensar

46. “Tzet makweltxel ch’-ul watn-on hin-lob’ej?

what who.intns inc-come make-af 1se-food
“Who is coming and making my food?
“¿Quién estará viniendo y preparando mi comida?
two q’anjob’al texts 159

47. “Q-w-a’ wal aberigwar,” x-ab’ naq.

pot-1se-give intns find.out com-say cl
I’m going to find out,” he said.
Lo voy a averiguar”.

48. Tay nich ch-na-chaj-el y-uj naq tol a no’ mis tu.
then can’t inc-think-psv-dir 3e-by cl comp foc cl cat dem
He couldn’t figure out that it was the cat.
No podía imaginarse que sería el gato el que hacía la comida.

49. Ch-y-il no’ mis tu tol ch-toj-kan naq,

inc-3e-see cl cat dem comp inc-go-dir cl
When the cat saw that he left,
Cuando él se ha ido, el gato

50. tay ch-y-a’-on-ok no’ gab’acha kax x-kaw-i no’,

then inc-3e-give-af-dir cl apron then com-knead-itv cl
he would put on his apron and knead,
amarraba su gabacha y molía el maíz.

51. kax chi watn-on no’ lob’ej naq, ni y-oqtaq pax naq.
then inc make-af cl food cl neg 3e-know as.for cl
and he [the cat] made his [the man’s] food, and he [the man] didn’t know.
y él [el gato] preparaba su comida y él [el hombre] no lo sabía.

52. Axa y-et jun tiempo-al tu la tay ch-olil-toq naq.

next 3e-of one time-abst dem ev then inc-roll?-dir cl
On that day, he left in a hurry.
En ese tiempo, él decidió regresar temprano.

53. Jun xa k’u-al toj naq mulnaj-il,

one intns day-abst go cl work-abst
The next day he went to work,
Al otro día, él se fue a trabajar,

54. ay tok’al y-ok chuman tay tit naq.

exist only 3e-enter lunch then come cl
he left before lunch.
y antes de las doce se regresó
160 tlalocan xxiii

55. “Toj wal w-il-a’ maktxel jun ix ch-watn-on

go intns 1se-see-tv who one woman inc-make-af

hin-lob’ej,” x-ab’ naq.

1se-food com-say cl
“I’m going to see what woman is making my food,” he said.
y dijo, “Voy a ver quién es esa mujer que prepara mi comida”.

56. Tay tit naq k’ojon k’ul-al ch’an jay naq.

Then come cl slow stomach-abst dim ? come cl
He slowly came home.
y se vino,

57. Mok’ok’i ch’an jay naq kawil b’entana xol ak’un.

very.slowly dim? come cl close window among grass
He came very slowly, among the grass next to the window.
y se acercó despacio, cerca de la ventana,

58. Ay y-ok tukan naq y-ul wentana.

exist 3e-enter stare cl 3e-in window
He stared in the window.
y miró por la ventana.

59. Yan watne-n no’ mis tu lob’ej naq.

prog make-af cl cat dem food cl
The cat was making his food.
El gato la estaba haciendo su comida.

60. Ay-ik’ gab’acha no’ mis tu yan patli no’,

wear-dir apron cl cat dem prog make.tortillas? cl
The cat was wearing an apron, making tortillas
Estaba moliendo el maíz, el gato, tortillando,

61. lanan watne-n lob’ej no’.

prog make-af food cl
and making the food.
estaba trabajando.
two q’anjob’al texts 161

62. Tix y-ab’ix-al no’ mis y-et payxa tu.

this 3e-story-abst cl cat 3e-of old.days dem
This is the story of the cat in the old days.
Esta es la historia del gato.

63. Kax ch-y-un laq-wi.

then inc-3e-do finish-api
This is how it ends.
Así termina.
162 tlalocan xxiii

Abbreviations

1/2/3 first/second/third person inch inchoative

a absolutive agreement inf infinitive
abst abstract intns intensifier
af agent focus itv intransitive status
aln alienable neg negative
api antipassive of incorporation nmzr nominalizer
cl classifier p plural
com completive aspect pe plural and ergative
comp complementizer pos positional
cond conditional pot potential
conj conjunction prep preposition
dem demonstrative prog progressive
dep dependent prt particle
der derivation psv passive
dim diminutive rec reciprocal
dir directional rdpl reduplicant
e ergative agreement rflx reflexive
exclm exclamation s singular
ev evidential tv transitive status
foc focus [ ] repeated elements
inc incompletive aspect

References

Acker, Ann Michelle

2016 “Voice and Valence in Q’anjob’al”. PhD dissertation, University of California, Los
Angeles, California.
Barreno, Baquiax, Modesto Cresencio, Rigoberto Juárez Mateo, et al. (Comunidad Lingüística
Q’anjob’al)
2005 Yaq’b’anil Stxolilal Ti’ Q’anjob’al (Gramática Descriptiva Q’anjob’al). Guate-
mala City: Academia de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.
Campbell, Lyle, y Terrence Kaufman
1985 “Mayan linguistics: Where are we now?”, Annual Review of Anthropology 14: 187-
198.
Txolilal Ti’ Q’anjob’al (Comunidad Lingüística Q’anjob’al)
2003 Jit’il Q’anej Yet Qanjob’al (Vocabulario Q’anjob’al). Guatemala City: Academia
de Lenguas Mayas de Guatemala.