Umul

Umul (conejo) es uno de los animales que aparece frecuentemente en el texto k'iche', típicamente acompañado por kej (venado) en las listas de los animales. Dennis Tedlock (1996) señala una conexión tentativa entre el conejo (umul) y la figura astronómica de los cuatro cientos muchachos (omuch' k'ajolab'), basada en parte en la mitología nahua. En el texto k'iche', tal vez como parte de una más amplia tradición mesoamericana, los jovenes intentan matar a Sipkana con su bebida sagrada, ki' (el pulque, balche', o licor del maguey). Cuando fracasan en tal esfuerzo, se convierten en la constelación de las Pléyades (motz).

Umul (rabbit, Sylvilagus floridanus yucatanicus) is one of the animals who frequently appears in the Popol Wuj, generally accompanied by kej (deer) when they are named in a list form. Dennis Tedlock (1996) suggests a tentative connection between rabbits and the astrological end of the Four Hundred Boys, based in part on Nahua mythology. In the Popol Wuj, perhaps as part of a broader Mesoamerican tradition, the boys who attempt to kill Sipkana with their sacred drink, ki' (pulque), are, upon their failure, converted into the constellation Pleiades (motz). Mayanist scholar Allen J. Christenson (2007: 103n197) explains this connection further. He writes, "Ki'y may refer to an alcoholic beverage, something sweet, medicine, poison, or even snake or insect venom. In this context, ki'y refers to an intoxicating drink, likely some form of chicha, a home-made fermented drink popular in the Guatemalan highlands made from various fruits, berries, cane, or maize. Alternatively it may be pulque, made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave, or century plant). Pulque is viscous, milky-white, and slightly foamy. It ferments very quickly, generally within twelve hours and has an alcohol content of 6%, approximately the same as the average beer. A distilled form of this ancient drink is sold today as mezcal or tequila, although the distillation process was not known prior to the Spanish conquest. In Aztec mythology, pulque is personified by gods known as the Centzon Totochtin (400 Rabbits), who appear frequently in painted manuscripts such as the Codex Magliabechiano. These gods are also associated by the Aztecs with the four hundred youths slain by the god Huitzilopochtli as ritual sacrifices. The deaths of the four hundred youths in the Popol Vuh account may thus have had ritual significance. The beverage referred to could also possibly be balche, made from fermented honey and the bark of the balche tree. Alcohol is a prevalent part of highland Maya society, used both socially as well as a necessary component of ceremonial observances."

Image credit: Gareth Raspberry (Wikimedia Commons).