IN the olden time. 
233 
seven days. He transformed himself into a serpent, a 
tigre, an eagle, and a mass of clotted blood, each change 
lasting seven days, — that mystic number of the Cabala 
and of European black art. “ And surely,” says the 
Spaniard,“ great was the respect he gained by these mira¬ 
cles before all the lords and all those of his kingdom.” 
Nothing puzzles the student more than the duplication 
and interchange of names; but let it be remembered that 
the Quiche names that have come to us are rather titles, — 
and this is especially the case with Gucumatz, a word 
equivalent to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, which is applied to 
any distinguished reformer or leader of his people. Cad¬ 
mus and George Washington might both claim the title. 
I will translate from the “ Popul Vuh,” using generally 
the Spanish version of Ximenes, as less influenced by the 
theories of the translator than the later one of Brasseur 
de Bourbourg. I begin with the creation of the world 
and of man. 
“ Then the word came to Tepeu Gucumatz 1 in the 
shades of night; it spoke to Gucumatz and said to him : 
It is time to consult, to consider, to meet and hold coun¬ 
sel together, to join speech and wisdom to light the way 
and for mutual guidance. And the name of this is 
Huracan, the Voice which sounds: the Voice of Thunder is 
the first; the second is the Flash of Light; the Lightning 
is the third. These three are the Heart of Heaven, and 
they descended to Gucumatz at the moment when he was 
1 The signification of these names, as given by a distinguished scholar, is as 
follows : Hunahpu, the one master of supernatural power; Vuch, opossum ; 
Gucumatz , decorated with feathers ; Xmucane , female vigor ; Xpiyacoc, mem- 
brum virile ( xiphil , and ococ, to enter) ; Huracan , one very great (hun, one, 
and racan , great) ; Gabracan , second great one ; Chirakan, ostium vaginae ; 
Tepeu, high. 
