The riddles in Mayan that I will leave you next will allow you to have fun, whether you are a child or an adult, and learn about this language that began to develop more than a thousand years ago. The Mayan culture developed and had its splendor between 600 and 1000 BC and is one of the richest and most developed ancestral indigenous cultures in Mesoamerica.
The Mayan language is a family composed of about 30 other languages that are still spoken mainly in Guatemala; secondly, in Mexico and slightly less in Belize and Honduras.
Copy of the painting of Bonampak in Chetumal. This is an artist's copy of a mural at the Temple of Murals at Bonampak, a Mayan archaeological site.
The riddles (Na'at) are cultural expressions that represent very well the customs and ways of life of the peoples and, in the case of the Mayan people, the riddles were an important communication resource between the elderly and the new generations, as well as a valuable way of preserving language.
An antecedent of the Mayan riddles is found in the book Chilam Balam, written in a somewhat complicated way since it is thought that its function was to transmit and preserve certain secret knowledge of the Mayan culture.
However, many original riddles and riddles have been deciphered there. This tradition was continued during the time of the viceroyalty, thus completing the list of riddles, some of which are listed below.
Below you can find the list of riddles. At the end of the article are the answers.
List of riddles in Mayan
one-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Na'aj ku na'akal, wi'ij ku lúubul.
…
Guess guesser:
Full belly flying.
Hungry he comes down whistling.
two-
Na'at le ba'ala'paalen:
Kéen xi'ike'sal kéen suunake'aal.
…
Guess guesser:
When he goes he does not weigh. That's when it comes back.
3-
Na'at le ba'ala'paalen:
U paache 'u táane' u paach.
…
Don't burn your mind!
Your front is your back. Your back is your front.
4-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
U paache'láaj tso'ots, u ts'u'e 'laaj chak.
…
Hanging hair, red inside.
In the end he leaves us a message.
5-
Wa na'atun na'ateche 'na'at you ba'ala:
Chowak, nojoch, polok buuk tso'ots yéetel utia'al iit.
…
What do you guess boy:
It works for the rear.
It is big, long, hairy and thick.
And even light!
6-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Kéen xi'iken si'e'yaan juntúul jooykep k'éek'en tu beelili '.
…
What do you guess boy:
If you are going to cut firewood,
a very lazy pig,
it will look for you on the way.
7-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Juntúul wa'ala'an máak saansamal tu sóolankil, u paach
…
Guess the guessers:
He is always standing.
And day by day, your skin goes away.
8-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Juntúul máak ya'ab u xikin utia'al u yu'ubik tuláakal tsikbal
…
Guess guesser:
A little boy who is all ears.
Listen to twenty tips
9-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Bak'u ts'u 'che'il u wíinklil.
…
Boy, see if you give:
Stuffed meat.
Wood in front and behind
10-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Juntúul book jupa'an ichil k'i'ik '.
…
Guess it boxito (little boy),
What fruit is blood colored,
with a busy nigga?
eleven-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Wi'ij tu jalk'esa'al, na'aj tu jáala'al
…
Guess, guessing:
They are taking her hungry, Full they bring it loading
12-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
U táane'sak, u paache'boox.
…
Guess this thing kid:
His forehead is white.
His back is black.
13-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Chaak u paach, sak u ts'u
…
What do you guess child:
Of red skin.
Inside bleached.
14-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
Jump'éel u joolil.
Ka'ap'éel u jóok'olil.
…
Guess guesser:
Two their exits.
Just one entry.
fifteen-
Na'at le ba'ala 'paalen:
N'aach a taale'táan a wilik u ch'íicho'obil u najil reey
...
From afar you have to see
To the king's birds
16-
Wa na'atun na'ateche 'na'at you ba'ala:
Jump'éel ts'ool wukp'éel u jool
…
Guess guesser:
Seven holes.
A single pumpkin.
17-
Wa na'atun na'ateche 'na'at you ba'ala:
Juntúul chakts'iits'ib w'ala'an chúumuk kool.
…
Guess this thing kid:
Standing in the middle of the cornfield.
Spicy red cardinal bird.
18-
Wa na'at na'ateche 'na'at le na'ata:
Yaan u yich ba'ale 'mina'an u yook, yaan u le',
teech to wojel u ts'ook.
…
I only tell you once:
It has eyes, but it does not see.
Its sheets are not made of paper.
He is standing but has no feet.
In the end, you know what it is.
19-
Tilla ni, tillan, saya ni Sayán, purini, purín.
…
I sit down, sit down.
I stop, stop.
twenty-
U pool jumpe oon, U ni 'chúup yeetel juchpil sikil
…
His head is an avocado, His nose is full of ground nugget.
twenty-one-
Na'a te, na'ate ba'ala '
Paalen kawili kila santixtik,
Ba¿axe ma'atan ú beytal amachik.
…
You feel it, you see it
You can't grab it.
22-
Yax k'ine 'tikin ka'anal bey xa'an ya'anal
Ti ha'ha'le 'ch'uul u chun.
…
At one point it is a dry season
And in the other it is the rainy season.
2. 3-
Ten k'axke 'ku bin
Have wachke 'mun bin.
…
When it's parked it goes
and when it breaks out it stays.
24-
Jum'eel jili'sum box jilikbaj ti jump'éel noj bej.
…
A strip of black rope is on a road.
25-
Chen tabin ken awil u kum jo'oykep nonokam.
…
You only leave when you see his pot of lazy stuffed.
Answers
1- Bóolador wa ka'anal waak '- The rocket
2- Xi'ok wa xúuxak - The sack
3- K'áan - The hammock: made of interwoven thread or rope, it is the same on any of its sides and does not have a “front” or a “back”.
4- Kiwi 'wa k'uxu' - Achiote: fruit of the tree of the same name, in the form of a capsule covered with flexible thorns. It is composed of two valves and inside it has many edible seeds of an intense red color that are used to dye certain foods. It is used as a substitute for saffron. It is also used as a medicinal plant. Other names given to achiote: onoto, bija, urucú.
5- Tsíimin - The Horse
6- Xuux - The hornet's nest
7- Chajak - The mulatto stick: small or medium tree native to the tropical regions of America, characterized by the very smooth texture and the coppery color of its trunk, whose cuticle is easily detached. Hence its name and others it receives in different regions such as "cuajiote" (which in Nahuatl means mangy tree), "naked" or "naked Indian".
8- Piich - El huanacaxtle (Mexico) or Guanacaste (Honduras): the term is of Nahuatl origin and means “green ear”. This name is given to a very large tree whose fruit resembles a human ear, which is why it is also commonly known as “orejón”.
9- So'oy - The chicken coop: in the Mayan custom the chickens are kept at night in a kind of enclosure made of wood.
10- Chakal ja'as - The mamey: edible fruit with reddish and fleshy pulp and a shiny black seed inside.
11- Ch'óoy - The bucket
12- Xamach - El comal: large plate, made of clay in its origins, where corn tortillas were cooked. Currently it is usually made of iron and is still used for the same functions.
13- Radish wa lis - Radish or sweet potato
14- Eex - The pants
15- Xuux - The wasps
16- Pool - The head
17- Chak iik - The habanero pepper: a kind of very hot pepper.
18- Junkúul che '- The tree
19- The shadow
20- Weech - The armadillo
21- Chu 'uk - Coal
22- Chamal - The cigar
23- Xana'ab ke'wel - The espadrille
24- Sakal - Big ants
25- U muul bajl - The gopher
References
- José Antonio Flores Farfán (2007). Riddles in Mayan languages: Ch'ol, Mocho ', Tzeltal and Q'anjob'al. Center for Research and Higher Studies in Social Anthropology. Mexico.
- Fidencio Briceño Chel (2001). Na'at ba'ala'paalen (Guess Illuminating). Recovered from mayas.uady.mx.