Chicahuaxtla Triqui | International Journal of American Linguistics

[IJAL Texts Online, vol. 2, number 1, May 2017]

In the Hole of White Dirt¹

told by Felipe Santiago Rojas

A. Raymond Elliot

University of Texas at Arlington

The text documented here recounts a popular Triqui legend written and recited by Felipe Santiago Rojas, a native speaker of TRS. The legend was originally told to him by his father, José Venancio Santiago who was born and raised in San Andrés Chicahuaxtla. The text was recorded in an area called La Cañada Tejocote located on the outskirts of San Andrés Chicahuaxtla in July, 2011 at the home of Felipe Santiago Rojas. The legend is titled, “In the Hole of White Dirt” and features the “plumed serpent”—a mythological creature that is half-serpent and half-bird. Neil Baldwin (1998) states that the plumed serpent is one of the most pervasive symbols in all of Mexican history and has existed from primordial times to the present. He adds that the serpent symbolizes the passing of time while the bird represents the four elements—earth, wind, fire and water. The plumed serpent thus symbolizes creation.

According to this Triqui legend, the Hole of White Dirt used to be a lake where the plumed serpent once lived. The legend describes the area as rainy with gushing brooks, pine trees, green foliage and pristine waters. During the day, the plumed serpent would come out to rest in order to soak up the heat of the sun’s rays. The villagers, however, avoided walking near the lake for fear that the plumed serpent would swallow them. As time passed, the plumed serpent became annoyed with the overpopulation of the village and mankind’s destruction of the environment. Consequently, the plumed serpent abandoned the lake to seek out a better place to live. Once the plumed serpent left, the rains no longer returned so the lake dried up leaving in its wake what is now known as the Hole of White Dirt.

The text was recorded with Audacity 1.3.9 using a Zoom H4n portable digital recorder connected to a MacBook Pro computer at a sampling rate of 44.1 KHz and a quantization of 16 bits—CD quality.

Ruhuâ ruˈman hioˈó gatsìi

ruwa⁴ ruʔmã³ joʔo⁵ ɡatsi¹³

ruwaː⁴

ruʔmãː³

jo̰ʔ̰o̰ː⁵

ɡat͡siː¹³

hole

dirt

white

‘In the Hole of White Dirt.’

Ruhuâ ruˈman hioˈó gatsìi,

ruwa⁴ ruʔmã³ joʔo⁵³ ɡatsi¹³

ruwaː⁴

ʐuʔmãː³

joʔoː⁵³

ɡat͡siː¹³

hole

white

dirt

‘There is a hole of white dirt’

guinun dahue asij nâ

ɡinũ³ dawe² asi²h na⁴

ɡi–nũː³

d̪aweː²

asi²h

naː⁴

pst–be

lake

for

long.ago

‘where a lake used to be long long ago’

gataj nuguanˈ gananï̂n nej yîˈ,

ɡata³h nuɡwã²ʔ ɡananɯ̃⁴ ne³h ʒiʔ⁴,

ɡa–t̪a³²h

nuwã²ʔ

ɡa–nãnɯ̃ː⁴

ne³h

ʒi⁴ʔ

pst–say

word

pst–tell

elder

‘our ancestors told us.’

ni gananï̂n nej sôˈ si kïj hiaˈanj an gahuin nï̀nˈ gachraˈ kïj yinûnˈ,

ni² ɡananɯ̃⁴ ne³h so⁴ʔ si³–kɯ³h j̃ã²ʔã²hã² ɡawĩ³ nɯ̃¹ʔ ɡa²tʂa³ʔ kɯ³h ʒinũ⁴ʔ,

niː²

ɡa–nanɯ̃ː⁴

ne³h

so⁴ʔ

siː³–kɯ³h

j̃ã²ʔã²ʰã²

ɡa–wĩː³

nɯ̃¹ʔ ɡa²t͡ʂa³ʔ

kɯ³h

ʒinũ⁴–ʔ

and

pst–tell

poss:mountain

god

pst–be

everywhere

mountain

town:incl

‘and they told us that in all of God’s mountain and in our region,’

ni ûta guimân chrun ruguchrïïn ni ûta ganachi nita nnee.

ni² u⁴ta³ ɡimã⁴ tʂũ³ ruɡutʂɯ̃³ ni² u⁴ta³ ɡanatʃi³ nita³ nːe³²

niː²

u⁴t̪aː³

ɡi–mãː⁴

t͡ʂũː³

ruɡut͡ʂɯ̃ː³

niː²

u⁴t̪aː³

ɡa–nat͡ʃiː³

nit̪aː³

nːeː³²

and

many

pst–be

tree

pine

and

many

pst–flow

fountain

water

‘there were many pine trees and many water springs’

Ni daranˈ diû gamanˈ gumàan,

ni² darã³ʔ diu⁴ ɡamã³ʔ ɡumã¹³,

niː²

d̪’rã³ʔ

d̪iuː⁴

ɡ–amã³ʔ

ɡumãː¹³

and

all

time

pst–rain

rain

‘and it was always raining’

ni ruhuâ dahue nânj guinun Yukuá to hiaˈa,

niː² ruwa⁴³ dawe² nã⁴h ɡinũ³ ʒukwa⁵ to² jaʔa³,

niː²

ruwaː⁴³

d̪aweː²

nã⁴h

ɡi³–nũː³

ʒukwaː⁵t̪oː²jaʔaː³

and

lake

that

pst–be

snake plumed

‘and in the lake lived a feathered serpent’

ni nga gahuin guïn neˈ güi ni gahui yôˈ ruhuâ dahue nânj güendâ ganahuin ni yôˈ nân,

ni² ɡa³ ɡawĩ³ ɡɯ̃² ne³²ʔ ɡwi³ ni² ɡawi³ ʒo⁴ʔ ruwa⁴ dawe² nã⁴h ɡwenda⁴ ɡa²na²wĩ³ ni² ʒo⁴ʔ nã⁴,

niː²

ŋɡaː³

ɣa³–wĩː³

ɡɯ̃ː²

ne²ʔ

wiː³

niː²

ɡ–awiː³

ʒo⁴ʔ

ruwaː⁴

d̪aweː²

nã⁴h

ɡwen̪d̪aː⁴

ɡa²–na²wĩː³

niː²

ʒo⁴ʔ

nãː⁴

and

when

pst–be

warm

toward

sun

and

pst–come.out

he.animal

into

lake

that

for

fut–become

and

he.animal

heat.of.sun

‘who would come out in the warmth of the day so he could soak up the heat of the sun’

nitaj si gachîn nìchrùnˈ nej güiì hian nun dahue nânj,

nita³h si³ ɡatʃi⁴ ni¹tʂrũ¹ʔ ne³h ɡwi³¹ j̃ã³ nũ² dawe² nã⁴h,

nit̪a³h siː³

ɡ–at͡ʃĩː⁴

ni¹t͡ʂrũ¹ʔ

ne³h

ɡwiː³¹

j̃ãː³

nũː²

d̪aweː²

nã⁴h,

there.be.no

pst–pass

near

the

people

where

be.in

lake

that

‘but nobody could walk near the lake’

dadinˈ nga gachin nìchrùnˈ ninj ni gayamânj gue yukuá to hiaˈa

dadĩ³ʔ ŋɡa³ ɡatʃĩ³ ni¹tʂũ¹ʔ nĩ³h ni² ɡaʒamã⁴h ɡe² ʒukwa⁵ to² jaʔa³

d̪ad̪ĩ³ʔ

ŋɡaː³

ɡ–at͡ʃĩː⁴

ni¹t͡ʂũ¹ʔ

nĩ³h

niː²

ɡa–ʒamã⁴h

ɡeː²

ʒukwaː⁵ t̪oː² jaʔaː³

because

when

pst–pass

near

they

and

pst–swallow

surprise

snake plumed

‘because when they came near, the plumed serpent would surprisingly swallow them’

dânj ninj gataj nej sachij i nga gananï̂n nej sôˈ,

dã⁴h nĩ³h ɡata³h ne³h satʃi³hi ŋɡa³ ɡananɯ̃⁴ ne³h so⁴ʔ,

d̪ã⁴h

nĩ³h

ɡ–at̪a³h

ne³h

sat͡ʃi³ʰi

ŋɡaː³

ɡa–nanɯ̃ː⁴

ne³h

so⁴ʔ

that.one

they

pst–say

ancestor

when

pst–pass

‘when they passed by, our ancestors told us.’

rayiˈî dânj ni ûta ganˈ gachîn nej sôˈ,

raʒi³ʔi⁴ dã⁴h ni² u⁴ta³ ɡã²ʔ ɡatʃĩ⁴ ne³h so⁴ʔ,

raʒi³ʔiː⁴

dã⁴h

niː²

u⁴t̪aː³

ɡã²ʔ

ɡ–at͡ʃĩː⁴

ne³h

so⁴ʔ,

therefore

that

and

very

far

pst–pass

‘For that reason, people would stay far away from the lake.’

sani nga guiyinanj güiì ni gaˈman ruhuâ yôˈ dadinˈ gudurëˈ nï̀nˈ nej güiì hian nun yôˈ, ni gahui yôˈ ni gaˈanj yôˈ aˈngô neeˈ hioˈóo,

sani² ŋɡa³ ɡiʒinã³h ɡwi³¹ ni² ɡaʔmã³ʔ ruwa⁴ ʒo⁴ʔ dadĩ³ʔ ɡudurə³ʔ nɯ̃¹ʔ ne³h ɡwi³¹ jã³ nũ² ʒo⁴ʔ, ni² ɡawi³ ʒo⁴ʔ ni² ɡaʔã³h ʒo⁴ʔ aʔŋɡo⁴ ne³²ʔ joʔo⁵³,

saniː²

ŋɡaː³

ɡi–ʒinã³h

ᵍwiː³¹

niː²

ɡ–aʔmã³ʔ ruwaː⁴

ʒo⁴ʔ

d̪ad̪ĩ³ʔ

ɡu–d̪urə³ʔ

nɯ̃¹ʔ

ne³h

wiː³¹

j̃ãː³

nũː²

ʒo⁴ʔ,

niː²

ɡ–awiː³

ʒo⁴ʔ

niː²

ɡ–aʔã³h

ʒo⁴ʔ

aʔŋɡoː⁴

ne³²

joʔ̬oː⁵³,

but

when

pst–multiply

people

and

pst–heat.up inside–anger

he.animal

because

pst–destroy

completely

people

where

be.in

he.animal

and

pst–leave

he.animal

and

pst–go

he.animal

another

toward

land

‘But when the population kept growing, the plumed serpent became so angry because they were destroying everything so he decided to abandon that lake to go live in another land’

huê danj ni ganakò dahue guinun ruhuâ ruˈman nânj dadinˈ nitaj si gamanˈ niko gaˈ gataj nej sachij i nanj anj.

we⁴_dã³h ni² ɡanako¹ dawe² ɡinũ³ ruwa⁴ ruʔmã³ nã⁴h dadĩ³²ʔ nita³h si³ ɡamã³ʔ niko³ ɡa²ʔ ɡata³h ne³h satʃi³hi nã²hã³h

weː⁴d̪ã³h

niː²

ɡa–nakoː¹

d̪aweː²

ɡi–nũː³²

ʐuwaː⁴

ʐuʔmãː³²

nã⁴h

d̪ad̪ĩ³²ʔ

nit̪a³h siː³ si

ɡ–amã³ʔ

nikoː³

ɡa²ʔ

ɡ–at̪a³h

ne³h

sat͡ʃi³h

nã²hã³h

therefore

and

pst–dry.up

lake

pst–be

inside

hole

this

because

there.be.nothing

pst–rain

much

now

pst–say

ancestor

PART ( . )

‘and after that, the lake dried up because the rain never returned, our elders told us.’

Notes

Partial funding for this research was provided by the McDowell Center for Critical Languages and Area Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington. I would like to thank Dr. David Beck, co-editor of the International Journal of American Linguistics and the anonymous reviewer of this manuscript for his or her insightful recommendations and suggestions. I am indebted to Mr. Felipe Santiago Rojas for serving as our consultant and enabling us to document this historically important Triqui legend. A special thank you to Christian DiCanio for sharing his Itunyoso Triqui online database with me and to Hilaria Cruz for her help in formatting the ELAN template. The following undergraduate and graduate students participated in this research: Ramiro Valenzuela, Paul Jacob Kinzler, Aaron Lansford and Humberto Rodríguez. I would be remiss without thanking the leaders of San Andrés Chicahuaxtla for welcoming us into their village and for making us feel right at home. Ûta guruhuâa nej e rè’. A PDF version of these materials can be found here. [back]