1898-99.] DECIPHERING HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 157 
Quiche MS. of Chichicastenago, It was discovered at St. Thomas 
Chichicastenago, otherwise called Chuila, where the descendants of a 
great part of the ancient nobility of the Quiche Kingdom are found. 
“Tt is composed of four thoroughly distinct parts ; the first has for its 
subject the creation of things, the appearance of legislators or creators, 
and ideas more or less cosmogonic of a flood ; the second contains the 
romantic epic of Hunahpu and Exbalanque, preceded by the history of 
the pride and chastisement of Wucub-Caquix ; the third relates the 
origin and dispersion of the tribes in America; and the fourth is an 
abridged history of the Kings of Quiche. The book terminates with a 
list of the sovereigns of three royal dynasties, and the nomenclature of 
titles and offices of the court. This manuscript, the most precious for 
what concerns Central American origzves, is written in very elegant 
Quiche, and its author seems to have been one of the princes of the royal 
family ; he composed it a few years after the arrival of the Spaniards, at 
the time when all their ancient books disappeared.” 
Quoting the document, Brasseur says: “The chief of the House of 
Cawek received the title of Ahau Ahpop, which his successors continued to 
bear until the destruction of the Guatemalan monarchy by the Spaniards, 
with the privilege of conferring upon the first prince of his blood the 
title of Ahau Ahpop Camha. The lord of Nihaib was decorated with 
that of Ahau-Galel, and the lord of Ahau-Quiche with that of Ahtzic 
Winak.” Ahau Ahpop consists of akau, chief or king, ah, possessor, 
and fof, carpet or mat, and denotes supreme royalty. The chief 
names in the inscriptions are not those of Quiche monarchs, but of 
Cachiquels, hence the Quiche MS. must be compared with Cachiquel 
documents, if such exist. Such an one is the Cachiquel MS. or Me- 
morial of Zecpan Atitlan. “This curious document begins with 
memorials and some genealogical notices of the princes of the Cachiquel 
royal family. Afterwards, the history opens up with the creation of 
mankind, which seems to be simply an abbreviation of the Quiche 
manuscript, but with certain details not found in it. The long para- 
graphs that follow are partly transposed, and evidently belong to 
different works, of which they are only extracts. The history of the 
Cachiquel princes, and of the revolution which compelled them to 
secede from Quiche in order to constitute a separate kingdom at 
Iximche or Tecpan-Guatemala, occupy a great part of it. The 
author gives strange details regarding the entrance of the Spaniards 
into the capital, of which he was an eye-witness, as well as regarding 
subsequent events down to the complete establishment of Christianity. 
The style of the work is varied and picturesque, and includes at times 
