1881.] 641 [Brinton. 



"This was the Hbalam. He gave her two more blows and disappeared, 

 "and she bore the marks of the four cuts the rest of her life. 



"At another time, in the province of Tihosuco, an Indian had forgotten to 

 "offer the Hbalam a gift when the corn was planted. As the ears were 

 " about ripening he visited his held to look at them. He found in it a 

 "tall man who was engaged in picking the ears one hj one, and placing 

 "them in a xuxac, or large basket, which, according to the custom of 

 "the country, he carried fastened to his shoulders. The Indian saluted 

 "him with some mistrust. The other, who was, in fact, the Hbalam, 

 "answered the salute curtly and added : 'I am here gathering in that 

 "which I sent.' Shortly afterwards he took from his pouch an immense 

 "cigar, 'such as the Hbalamob are accustomed to smoke' parenthetic- 

 " ally added the narrator, and picking up his flint and steel began to 

 "strike sparks. But the sparks he struck were flashes of lightning, and 

 "the sound of his blows was terrible thunderclaps which shook the very 

 "earth, and the Indian fell to the ground unconscious with terror. 

 "When he came to himself, a hail storm had destroyed his corn. On 

 "his return he fell sick with a fever which nearly cost him his life. 



"It is a general belief among the Indians that the shooting stars are 

 "nothing else than the stumps of their huge cigars thrown away by the 

 "Hbalamob." 



Returning to the myth of Xbalanque, it is evident that in the Popol Yuh 

 one important part of it is omitted, that is, the portion describing his 

 actions after returning from the underworld, and we can but meagrely 

 supply this omission from other sources. According to the earliest authori- 

 ties, his egress was made at Cohan in Vera Paz, and after he had come 

 forth he stopped up the aperture or cavern, so that no other one could de- 

 scend.* 



The divinities Hun Batz and Hun-choven are represented in the Popol 

 Vuh as skilled in painting, singing, playing the flute, in working gold and 

 jewels, and in cutting stones. Several meanings can be given to each of 

 these names. Hun-Batz is translated by Ximenez a thread ; its proper 

 form is Baq, in Cakchiquel, from the verb to spin, weave, and I presume 

 refers to Hun-Batz as presiding over the textile arts. Hun-choven is 

 stated by Ximenez to mean one lolio is neat (uno que esta en orden) ; hj 

 Brasseur, un qui s'em^ellit. The verbal form cJiove is rendered by Varea 

 "blanquearse," to whiten, bleach or polish up. This, too, seems to bear 

 a distinct reference to the arts. Their mother is Xbakiyalo, from x, female 

 prefix, baJc, bone or bones, and yaloh, to keep together. Ximenez trans- 

 lates it literally tied hones (huesos atados), but it should be "She who pre- 

 serves the bones," and probably has reference to the general care with 

 which the bones of the dead were preserved with religious respect by 

 various members of the Red Race. 



*Hieronimo Roman, De la Rspub'ica cle las Inclias Occidentales, Lib. ii, cap xv. 

 (Salamanca, lodo). 



