Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
To this day many Indians here believe that white men are
hijos del sol
(sons of the sun)
andthat they,the Indians, are
hijos de la luna
(sonsofthe moon).They saythat the sun,being
more powerful than the moon, the whites, being its children, must necessarily rule over the
Indians.
When we came outside the church, the beating of drums called together the people, and a
government proclamation was then read out, both in Spanish and Kachikel. The Indians were
being reminded that taxations were due, and ofwhat would happen to them should they fail to
answerthecall.IhadbynowsooftenseenbothChurchandStateofficialsoppressthenatives
by abusing their authority that it no longer made me sick at heart as it had done before. I had
become so used to it that I could look on as I learned to do at bullfights when the defenceless
horses are ripped open and gored to death, sights that made me feel bilious and ill the first
time I went to a bullring whilst in Lima.
FromLakeAtitlanItookashortcuttowardsQuez-altenango.Thistrailledovermountains
and was rough in parts, and we had to pass through the village Nahuala, which I had been
warned to avoid. It is inhabited exclusively by Indians, who will not tolerate the presence of
a white overnight. In Guatemala, as in most Central American countries, the sale of liquor is
State monopoly, but the Indians of Nahuala pay the government a certain sum each year for
not sending alcohol into their district. This is about the equivalent of what the government
would collect as liquor tax were it not a 'dry' place!
When I arrived, I immediately went to visit the priest in order to see if he would give me
hospitality and shelter for the night. He and the schoolmaster are the only whites the Indi-
ans allow to stay in their village after sundown. The priest's house stood alongside the church
and was surrounded by high adobe walls. At the entrance gate stood two Indians who acted
as guards, two being on duty day and night. I found the priest to be an excellent person and,
strange to say, his opinion about the majority of his kind in these countries coincided with
mine. When he took me outside to show me the place, two Indian guards followed us like
shadows,withtheirarmscrossedovertheirchests.Thepriesttoldmethattheseguardsfollow
him wherever he goes within the district of the village.
The language of this district is Quiché, which sounds pleasant to the ear. More out of curi-
ositythannecessityIlearntafewwords,andusedthemasoftenasIcould.
Tabaná jum topoc
,
for instance, means 'do me the favour,' and
jagüé uimac be Xelajú
*
means 'which is the way
to Quezaltenango?'
