Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers/Antología de escritores actuales en lenguas indígenas de México, Volume One/Tomo uno: Prose/Prosa » (1st Edition)

Carlos Montemayor is an award-winning Mexican creative writer, political analyst, and expert on indigenous cultures. He is based in Mexico City.

Donald Frischmann is Associate Professor of Spanish and Latin American Studies at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth and Researcher at the Universidad de las Américas-Puebla.

As part of the larger, ongoing movement throughout Latin America to reclaim non-Hispanic cultural heritages and identities, indigenous writers in Mexico are reappropriating the written word in their ancestral tongues and in Spanish. As a result, the long-marginalized, innermost feelings, needs, and worldviews of Mexico's ten to twenty million indigenous peoples are now being widely revealed to the Western societies with which these peoples coexist. To contribute to this process and serve as a bridge of intercultural communication and understanding, this groundbreaking anthology--to be published in three volumes over the coming years--gathers works by the leading generation of writers in thirteen Mexican indigenous languages: Nahuatl, Maya, Tzotzil, Tzeltal, Tojolabal, Tabasco Chontal, Purepecha, Sierra Zapoteco, Isthmus Zapoteco, Mazateco, Ñahñu, Totonaco, and Huichol.
Volume 1 contains narratives and essays by Mexican indigenous writers. Their texts appear first in their native language, followed by English and Spanish translations. Frischmann and Montemayor have abundantly annotated the English, Spanish, and indigenous-language texts and added glossaries and essays that trace the development of indigenous texts, literacy, and writing. These supporting materials make the anthology especially accessible and interesting for nonspecialist readers seeking a greater understanding of Mexico's indigenous peoples.

Acknowledgments/Agradecimientos
Abbreviations/Abreviaturas

Past and Present Writing in Indigenous Languages
Pasado y presente de la escritura en lenguas indígenas
Carlos Montemayor

The Indigenous Word in Mesoamerica: Orality, Writing, and Contemporary Prose
La Palabra indígena mesoamericana: Oralidad y escritura y la prosa contemporánea
Donald Frischmann

1. María Luisa Góngora Pacheco (Maya)
X-ootzilil
Poverty
La Pobreza
2. Jorge Echeverría Lope (Maya)
X-La'-Boon-Suumij
Ancient Rope Marks
Vieja huella de soga
3. Miguel Ángel May May (Maya)
Jump'éel tzikbaal yo'olal Yum Tzilo'ob
A Story about Yum Tziles
Una narración sobre Yum Tziles
4. Santiago Domínguez Aké (Maya)
U pa'ak'al Ixi'im
The Sowing of Corn
La siembra del Maíz
5. Isaías Hernández Isidro (Tabasco Chontal)
U ch'ujlom k'ajalin ta Zutz'baläm
The Secret of the Zutz'baläm
El secreto del Zutz'baläm
6. Enrique Pérez López (Tzotzil)
K'ox xchi'uk yajval vo'
K'ox and the Lord of the Water
K'ox y el Dueño del agua
7. Jacinto Arias Pérez (Tzotzil)
Xch'unel sk'op kajvaltik ta ch'ul na xchi'uk li jtsotsil jtseltaletike
Catholic Beliefs among the Tzotziles and Tzeltales
Las creencias católicas entre los tzotziles y los tzeltales
8. Diego Méndez Guzmán (Tzeltal)
Lok' ta beel te Kajkanantike
Saint Ildefonso's Pilgrimage
Peregrinar de San Ildefonso
9. Domingo Gómez Gutiérrez (Tzeltal)
Bats'il Ajaw Jwan Lopes, Kanan Chij (JmanEnantes, Swijlibja, Chilon)
Juan López, the Tzeltal Ajaw and Shepherd (Manuel Hernández, Swijlibjá, Chilón)
El Ajaw Tzeltal Juan López, el Pastor (Manuel Hernández, Swijlibjá, Chilón)
10. María Roselia Jiménez (Tojolabal)
Jas lo'il ja statawelo, jtatawelotikoni
A Tale from Our Grandfathers and Great-Great-Grandfathers
Lo que contaron nuestros abuelos y tatarabuelos
11. Javier Castellanos Martínez (Sierra Zapotec)
Wila che be ze lhao
Songs of Bezelhao
Cantares de los vientos primerizos
12. Joel Torres Sánchez (Purepecha)
Ji no xukuamiska, ¡ji xurhijkirhiska! (Mindakata)
I'm Not a Witch, I'm a Healer! (Selection)
No soy hechicera, ¡soy curandera! (Selección)
13. Gabriel Pacheco (Huichol)
Tatei Yurienaka
Our Mother Yurienaka
Nuestra Madre Yurienaka
14. Librado Silva Galeana (Nahuatl)
In temazcalli
The Temascal
El temascal
15. Román Güemes Jiménez (Nahuatl)
Chikomexochitl: Ne konetsij tlen tiopamitl kikuajki
Chikomexóchitl: The Child the Church Devoured
Chikomexóchitl: El niño devorado por el templo

Appendices/Apéndices

Appendix A. The Jmeno'ob, Traditional Mayan Priests
Apéndice A. Los Jmeno'ob, sacerdotes mayas tradicionales
Appendix B. Cháak, the Mayan God of Rain
Apéndice B. Cháak, Dios maya de la lluvia
Appendix C. The Mayan Alux
Apéndice C. El Alux maya
Appendix D. The Mayan P'uus
Apéndice D. El P'uus maya
Appendix E. The Owners, Lords, or Guardians of the Earth and Water
Apéndice E. Los Dueños, Señores o Guardianes de la tierra y el agua
Appendix F. The Xut and the K'ox of Chiapas
Apéndice F. El Xut y el K'ox de Chiapas
Appendix G. The Nahuales or Tonas
Apéndice G. Los Nahuales o Tonas
Appendix H. The Huicholes and the Celestial Deer
Apéndice H. Los Huicholes y el Venado Celeste

English Glossary
Glosario español