in this mountain of Siha Raxquin; come, ye holy spirits of Juan Vachiac, of Don Domingo Vachiac, of Juan Ixquiaptap, the holy souls of Francisco Excoquieh, of Diego Soom, of Juan Fay, of Alonzo Tzep; I call the holy souls of Diego Tziquin and of Don Pedro Noh: you, O priests, to whom all things are revealed, and thou, chief of the genii, you, lords of the mountains, lords of the plains, thou, Don Purupeto Martin, come, accept this incense, accept to-day this candle.[129]
"Come also, my mother Holy Mary, the Lord of Esquipulas, the Lord of Capetagua, the beloved Mary of Chiantla, with her who dwells at San Lorenzo, and also Mary of Sorrows, Mary Saint Anna, Mary Tibureiw, Mary of Carmen, with Saint Michael the Archangel, the captain St. James, St. Christoval, St. Sebastian, St. Nicolas, St. Bonaventura, St. Bernardin, St. Andrew, St. Thomas, St. Bartholomew, and thou my beloved mother St. Catherine, thou beloved Mary of the Conception, Mary of the Rosary, thou lord and king Pascual, be here present.
"And thou, Frost, and thou, excellent Wind, thou, God of the plain, thou, God of Quiac-Basulup, thou, God of Retal-Uleu, thou, lord of San Gregorio, thou, lord of Chii-Masa. [These are mountains and localities, and in the original there follow the names of more than a hundred others. The prayer concludes as follows:]
".... I who appoint myself godfather and godmother, I who ask, I the witness and brother of this man who asks, of this man who makes himself, your son, O holy souls. I ask, do not let any evil happen unto him, nor let him be unhappy for any cause.
"I the priest, I who speak, I who burn this incense, I who light this candle, I who pray for him, I who take him under my protection, I ask you that he may obtain his subsistence with facility. Thou, God, canst provide him with money; let him not fall ill of fever I ask that he shall not become paralytic; that he may not choke with severe coughing; that he be not bitten by a serpent; that he become neither bloated nor asthmatic; that he do not go mad; that he be not bitten by a dog; that he be not struck by lightning; that he be not choked with brandy; that he be not killed with iron, nor by a stick, and that he be not carried off by an eagle; guard him, O clouds; aid him, O lightning; aid him, O thunder aid him, St. Peter; aid him, St. Paul; aid him, eternal Father.
"And I who up to this time have spoken for him to you, I ask you that sickness may visit his enemies. So order it, that when his enemies go forth from their houses, they may meet sickness; order it, that wherever they go, they may meet troubles; do your offices of injury to them, wheresoever they are met; do this that I pray, O holy souls. God be with you; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit; Amen, Jesus."
Most
of such invocations are expressed in terms far more recondite and symbolic
than the above. We have many such preserved in the work of Jacinto de
la Serna, which supply ample material to
acquaint us with the peculiarities of the sacred and secret language
of the nagualists. I shall quote but one, that employed in the curious
ceremony of "calling back the tonal,"
referred to on a previous page. I append an explanation of its obscure
metaphors.
Invocation for the Restitution of the Tonal.
"Ho there I come to my aid, mother mine of the skirt of precious stones!1 What keeps thee away, gray ghost, white ghost?2 Is the obstacle white, or is it yellow? See, I place here the yellow enchantment and the white enchantment.3
"I, the Master of the Masters of enchantments, have come, I, who formed thee and gave thee life.4 Thou, mother mine of the starry skirt, thou, goddess of the stars, who givest life, why hast thou turned against this one?5
"Adverse spirit and darkened star, I shall sink thee in the breadth and depth of the waters.6 I, master of spells, speak to thee. Ho there! Mother mine, whose skirt is made of gems, come, seek with me the shining spirit who dwells in the house of light,7 that we may know what god or mighty power thus destroys and crushes to earth this unfortunate one. Green and black spirit of sickness, leave him and seek thy prey elsewhere.
"Green and yellow ghost, who art wandering, as if lost, over mountains and plains, I seek thee, I desire thee; return to him whom thou hast abandoned. Thou, the nine times beaten, the nine times smitten, see that
[129] The "holy souls" who are here appealed to by name are those of deceased ah-kih or priests of the native cult.
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