The ''Annals of the Cakchiquels'' (in es, Anales de los Cakchiqueles, also known by the alternative Spanish titles, ''Anales de los Xahil'', ''Memorial de Tecpán-Atitlán'' or ''Memorial de Sololá'') is a

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

written in Kaqchikel by Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá in 1571, and completed by his grandson, Francisco Rojas, in 1604. The manuscript — which describes the legends of the Kaqchikel nation and has

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

and

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

components — is considered an important historical document on post-classic Maya civilization in the highlands of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The manuscript, initially kept by the Xahil

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

in the town of

Sololá __NOTOC__ Sololá is a city in Guatemala. It is the capital of the department of Sololá and the administrative seat of Sololá municipality. It is located close to Lake Atitlan. The name is a Hispanicized form of its pre-Columbian name, one spel ...

in Guatemala, was later discovered in the archives of the ''San Francisco de Guatemala'' convent in 1844. It was subsequently translated by the abbot

Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (8 September 1814 – 8 January 1874) was a noted French writer, ethnographer, historian, archaeologist, and Catholic priest. He became a specialist in Mesoamerican studies, travelling extensively i ...

in 1855 (the same translator of the

Rabinal Achí The ''Rabinal Achí'' is a Maya theatrical play written in the Kʼicheʼ language and performed annually in Rabinal, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala. Its original name is ''Xajoj Tun'', meaning "Dance of the Tun" instrument also known as wooden drum. Thi ...

), and then passed through several more hands before being published in an English translation by

Daniel G. Brinton Daniel Garrison Brinton (May 13, 1837July 31, 1899) was an American surgeon, historian, archaeologist and ethnologist. Biography Brinton was born in Thornbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Yale University in 1858, ...

in 1885. The mythical and legendary part of the manuscript, which must have been orally preserved for centuries, was finally collected and preserved by members of the Xahil ''tinamit'' or lineage. The historical narrative continues with the exploits of kings and warriors and their various conquests, the founding of villages, and the succession of rulers up to the time of the Spanish Conquest. Like the ''

Popol Vuh ''Popol Vuh'' (also ''Popol Wuj'' or ''Popul Vuh'' or ''Pop Vuj'') is a text recounting the mythology and history of the Kʼicheʼ people, one of the Maya peoples, who inhabit Guatemala and the Mexican states of Chiapas, Campeche, Yucatan and Q ...

'', the ''Annals'' also identifies the almost legendary Tulan as the place from which they all set out, at least at one point in their various migrations. The texts differs from the other sources, such as the '' Historia de los Xpantzay de Tecpán Guatemala'' and ''

Título de Totonicapán The ''Título de Totonicapán'' (Spanish for "Title of Totonicapán"), sometimes referred to as the ''Título de los Señores de Totonicapán'' ("Title of the Lords of Totonicapán") is the name given to a Kʼicheʼ language document written around ...

'', but mainly from the ''Popol Vuh'', in that it relates that the Kaqchikel ancestors came to Tulan, ''chʼaqa palow'' "across the sea", from ''r(i) uqajibʼal qʼij'', "where the sun descends, the west." The Kaqchikel narrative is quite gloomy, describing the forefather's departure from Tulan accompanied by a negative omen and the presaging of death and dismay. It also refers to the Kʼicheʼ rulers forcing the King Qʼuicab the Great to leave ''Chaiviar'' (

Chichicastenango Chichicastenango, also known as Santo Tomás Chichicastenango, is a town, with a population of 71,394 (2018 census), and the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name in the El Quiché department of Guatemala. It is locate ...

), and migrate to the ''Ratzamut Mountains'' to found Iximché, which remained the new Kaqchikel capital until the arrival of the ''

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

es''. The Kaqchikel document continues with an account of their journeys and the places through which they passed along the way, ending with a sober, factual account of the Conquest. This is the native story of the Conquest of

from the point of view of the vanquished.

References

External links

Facsimile of the original manuscript. Now in the Brinton Collection at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries, UPenn Ms. Coll 700, item 221
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090210034950/http://literaturaguatemalteca.org/memorialdesolola.htm ''Memorial de Sololá''A section of text from ''Memorial de Sololá'' in Spanish, located at Página de Literatura Guatemalteca. * {{Maya Mayan literature 16th-century books Kaqchikel