Sisimito I--Ox Witz Ha
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Kuts or Ucutz Ilchican is Maya for the Ocellated Turkey, Agriocharis ocellata, also known as Guajolote Ocelado (Spanish), Of note is that Belize is one of the last places in the world where this beautiful bird exists. The bird is threatened throughout its range.
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Juun Ixim may be the ancient Maya name for the Maize God.
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Figurine ocarinas are musical instruments that produce a piccolo like sound. Some scholars suggest that they were used in hunting to produce bird or animal calls.
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Xihuitl is a unisexual Nahuatl name meaning ‘year’ or ‘comet’.
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Kinich Ahau, also known as Ah Kin, is hard to distinguish from Itzamná, whose aspect he may be. In the sky he is the familiar sun, who brings warmth or drought. In the Underworld he be- comes the night sun, with features of the jaguar.
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For the Maya, the Ceiba tree, called Yaxché, is the Tree of Life. The tree is tall with large buttressed roots, a straight trunk, and a high horizontal crown. Bats, symbolic of the underworld, shelter in the roots. Insect life is abundant on the trunk and attracts animals and birds that feed on them. The crown spreads wide over the jungle canopy, often with four branches that would suggest the four car- dinal directions. The eagles that roost there represent the celestial realm. A Yaxché could be found at the center of most pre-Columbian Mesoamerican villages and represents the passage from subterranean to heavenly realms. See Note 102
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Lahun Chan: The important celestial bodies are deities: the sun, the moon, and Venus are the most prominent. Venus, Lahun Chan, sometimes the sun’s brother, has a plethora of named aspects. Most are malevolent and dangerous, particularly when the planet first rises as the morning star
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Tlanextic is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘the light of dawn’ or ‘western light’.
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Tlazohtlaloni is a Nahuatl name, the masculine form of Tlazohtzin, meaning ‘one who is loved’ or ‘man’.
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Huitzilihuitl is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘feather from hungry bird’ or ‘pen from a hummingbird’.
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Tonalnan is a Nahuatl female name meaning ‘mother of light’.: Mother of Light
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Ix-oop or moo or ah-k’ota are Maya names for the Scarlet Macaw, Ara macao, also known as Guacamaya Roja (Spanish).
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Yoltzin is a Nahuatl female name meaning ‘small heart’.
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Citlalmina is a Nahuatl female name meaning ‘comet tail’ or’greatest of our female heroes’.
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Koolnáal is Maya for ‘milpero’.
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Oc is Maya for the King Vulture, Sarcoramphus papa, also known as Carroñero Rey and Zopiloto Rey (Spanish).
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Ch’om is Maya for the Black Vulture, Coragyps atratus, also known as Carroñero Común (Spanish).
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Ch’o’ is Maya for ‘mouse’ or ‘rat’.
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Ikox is Maya for ‘mushroom’.
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Aqaj is Maya for ‘wasp’.
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He’ is maya for ‘egg’.
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Ixtama’al is Ke’kchi for ‘tamales’.
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Atole is a sort of porridge made from corn (maize).
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Chayote, Sechium edule, is also known as sayote, tayota, choko, chocho, chow-chow, christophine or merliton, and is an edible plant that belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae along with melons, cucumbers and squash. The plant has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruit. The vine is grown on the ground or more commonly on trellises.
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Ox Witz Ha (Caracol), is located in West Central Belize, and was found in 1939 by Rosa Mai, a logger looking for mahogany. That year, A. H. Anderson visited the site and named it “Caracol”, Spanish for “snail”. In recent years, the emblem glyph, a hieroglyphic site identification symbol, has been translated to mean ox witz ha or “place of three hills”. An alternate translation of the emblem glyph is ku kau tu mak, the meaning of which is not yet known. In 1950, Linton Satterthwaite (University of Pennsylvania) excavated and recorded thirty-two stone monuments within five plazas.
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The Alux is only one foot high, but has the appearance of a robust, arrogant Maya. Milpa owners who wanted someone to take care of their lands often requested an Alux from the oldest and most knowledgeable man in the Maya community. After receiving a suitable payment, the man would create an Alux through a complicated process lasting seven weeks. The Alux guards the milpa from human and animal intruders and also ensures a good crop even if it means exchanging bad produce for better ones from a nearby milpa.
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Obsidian is a dark volcanic rock formed from rapidly chilled hardened lave. Aztec and Maya warriors used weapons like knives, clubs, and spears on which the very sharp volcanic glass was attached as blades. Knives made wholly from obsidian were also used for human sacrifices.
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Wi-k’an is Maya for ‘uncle’.
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Maxam: This is the ancient name for Naranjo. “Naranjo” in the Spanish language means “Orange Tree.” The emblem glyph of the polity is rendered as Sa’aal, thought to mean “the place where maize gruel abounds.” Another ancient Classic Maya language name associated with the city site is Maxam. Wak Kab’na or Wakabnal could be an alternative place name, but it is not specifically linked to the site but rather its lords. (Wikipedia.)
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Ch’ab is Maya for ‘arrow’.
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Ox Te’ Tuun is the ancient name for Calakmul and is used in the Sisimito Series.
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Achalal is the Maya noun for ‘older brother’ of male parent. It may also just refer to ‘brother’ or ‘family member’.
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Sak Witzil Baah was K’an II’s boyhood name.
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Alaxel is Maya for ‘prince’.
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Chichu’ Ajawinel is Maya for ‘queen’.
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Abix is Maya for ‘corn plant’ or ‘cornfield’.
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Tun is a Maya year of 360 days.
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Kaán is Maya for ‘Sky’, one of the three levels of Yaxché in Maya cosmology. The other two are Cab (Earth) and Xibalbá (Underworld).
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The Batab headed municipal organization; the Halach Uinic himself served as batab of provincial capitals. In Sisimito, however, the K’an II gave this position to his brother. This office was principally political and military, charged with general admin- istrative and judicial oversight, particularly of farming and public construction activity. Townspeople provided the batab with food and domestic service.
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The Ahau Can Mai is the High Priest of a kingdom. The position was hereditary, usually passed on to sons or close relatives. The high priest lived from the contributions of his town priest and the gifts of the lords. The responsibilities of the Ahau Can Mai included the writing of books, the teaching of Maya script and the Maya calendar to the novices, examining and appointing new priests and providing them with books, performing the more important rituals, and advising the lords.
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Q’än-jal is Ke’kchi for ‘soft yellow corn on the cob’.
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The Ah-Cuch-Cab was the local administrative head of each ward or municipal subdivision. Collectively, these officials formed a sort of town council that served the batab in an advisory capacity.
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The Ah Holpop, head of the most prominent local lineage, often served as Batab or filled some other powerful office. Locally, lineag
es constituted functioning corporate groups, with their own council chambers. Local lineages were ranked. Even though differences in social and economic status cut across lineage lines, high political offices and wealth tended to concentrate in the hands of the male leaders of powerful families in high-ranking lineages. Here, K’an II is also being referred to as Ah Holpop.
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U Wach Ulew is the Maya name for the Surface World. The Maya gods created the Face of the Earth, U Wach Ulew, as a propitious place for human life.
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Oxwitik is the ancient name for Copan.
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Töt is Maya for ‘conch shell’. It is not to be mistaken with t’ot’ which is Maya for ‘vagina’.
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Nabeal Mial is Maya for ‘firstborn daughter’. Mial is Maya for ‘daughter’.
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Alixel is Maya for ‘princess’.
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Ukab Atan is Maya for ‘second wife’.
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Tijoxel Ja refers to the Barrio, an elite residential plaza, accompanied by three palaces and a religious building. Tijoxel Ja is Maya for ‘Student House’ and in the Sisimito Series refers to the University level of studies.
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Ka’ah is Maya for 200 years.
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Óox is Maya for 300 years.
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Surprisingly untouched by looters, a well-hidden burial chamber found at the archaeological site of Nakum in northeastern Guatemala may have been the tomb of a female ruler from the second or third century A.D. The eastern-facing tomb held a 1,300-year-old skeleton, a jade pectoral, and a decorated vessel in the Tikal Dancer style, among other items. Through a crack in the tomb’s floor, archaeologists uncovered an even older tomb with female remains bearing two vessels atop the head, along with other, more precious items. The tomb’s quality and location suggest it was a burial chamber for a royal lineage that lasted half a millennium. (Jessica Woodard. Archaeological Institute of America.)
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Al-ch’utin-nan is Maya for ‘cousin’.
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Cho is Maya for ‘lake or pond’. Aguada is Spanish for ‘reservoir’. Later, in the Sisimito Series, cho refers to a ‘water reservoir’. Aguada is not used.
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Pay-che (Mopan Maya), Chiocca alba (L.) Hitche, is also known as skunk root, rat root, zorillo (Spanish).
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Sink-in, (Mopan Maya), Ruta graveolens L, is also known as ‘rue’, and ruda (Spanish).
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Aguada is Spanish for ‘reservoir’. Cho is Maya for ‘lake or pond’. Later, in the Sisimito Series, cho refers to a ‘water reservoir’. Aguada is not used
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K’ix-che’ is Maya for ‘tree with thorns’ or ‘cactus’.
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Noxti’ is Maya for Prickly Pear, Opuntia ficus-indica,. It is a sweet cactus fruit native to the arid regions of America.
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Tz’i’ means ‘dog’.
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Pozolli is the Nahuatl word for ‘pozol’ which is the name of both fermented corn dough and the drink made from it. Cocoa and other ingredients may be added. It is a thirst-quencher which has been used to fight disease and also provides sustenance on long trips across the jungles.
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Maaga is Kriol for ‘thin or meager’.
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Nacon is the general term for military officers.
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Chilans or Chilams were the priests who specialized in interpreting prophesy. They may have used mind-altering substances.
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Áayin is Maya for ‘crocodile’.
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Pitz is the name of the ballgame played by the Maya. The action of play is Ti Pitziil in Classic Maya, and Chaaj in Ke’kchi.
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Tz’ono’ot is Maya for ‘sinkhole’ or ‘cenote’. Ch’ajch’oj Tz’ono’ot is used for ‘Sacred Cenote’ in the Sisimito Series. Cenote (Spanish) is a natural sinkhole found in limestone areas.
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Halaw is Maya for the ‘ballcourt’.
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Brought-upsy is West Indian/Caribbean for ‘scruples, to have manners, to have good upbringing’.
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Ya’ax-chich is Maya for ‘jade’.
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Tepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names “Tepeyacac” and “Tepeaquilla”, is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost delegación or borough of the Mexican Federal District. According to the Catholic tradition, it is the site where Saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December 1531, and received the iconic image of the Lady of Guadalupe. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe located there is one of the most visited Catholic shrines in the world. Spanish colonists erected a Catholic chapel at the site, Our Lady of Guadalupe, “the place of many miracles.”
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The maguey plant: of the genus Agave, with rosettes of narrow spin- ney leaves and tall inflorescences. Ke’kchi Maya for the maguey plant is ki-che’.
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Xch’úup Xma’ K’aaba’ is Molly’s Maya name translated as ‘Woman With No Name’. Xch’úup is ‘woman’. Xma’ is ‘without’. K’aaba’ is ‘name’.
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Xicohtencatl is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘angered bumblebee’.
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Ehecatl is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘wind serpent’.
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The Caana, “sky place” complex rises forty-three meters above the northern plaza (Group B) and is still one of the tallest man-made constructions in modern day Belize. Consisting of four residential complexes and three religious buildings, this is one of the most elaborate architectural constructions known from the Classic Peri- od in the Southern Maya Lowlands. Rooms on the summit probably housed the royal family compound.
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Ti Pitziil is the Classic Maya word for the ‘action of play’ of the ballgame; it is Chaaj in Ke’kchi. Pitz is the name of the ballgame.
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Ol is the Maya name for the gameball which is made from a mixture of kik (rubber) and the Guamol tree.
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As the oldest and largest protected forested area in Belize, Mountain Pine Ridge covers 300 square miles of area in the Cayo District, and visitors are surprised to find a sharp contrast to the tropical landscape; here, pine needles rather than palm fronds, fill the landscape. This pine tree-dominated forest is more than just a vast wooded area: visitors find deep ravines, traverse dramatic granite expanses atop the Maya Mountains and observe meandering rivers, streams, waterfalls and pools amid the sweet fragrance of the evergreens.
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Moho, (White Moho), Heliocarpus popayanensis Kunth is a tall tree growing 6 - 30 meters in height.
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Köj is Maya for ‘mountain lion’ or ‘puma’.
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Baläm is Maya for ‘jaguar’.
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Tlacaelel is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘diligent person’. Uetzcayotl: Essence Of Light..
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Uetzcayotl is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘essence of light’.
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Tepiltzin is a Nahuatl male name meaning ‘priviledged child’.
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Shadowing is guarding an opponent closely.
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Heading is propelling the ball with the head.
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Iztāc-octli (White Pulque) was an alcoholic drink used by Mesoamericans and made from the sap of the maguey plant. The sap was sucked from the thick fleshy leaves.