Saqi Nim Aq Sis

Translators of the Popol Wuj do not agree on how to interpret the role of this aged figure, who is sometimes called "nimac" or "zaquínímac" (Ximénez 4r, 7r), for the masculine element ("el viejo"), and "nima sis" or "zaquíníma zíz" for the feminine ("la vieja"). Here we gloss two major interpretations by translators Sam Colop and Alan J. Christenson.

En cuanto a la primera mención del divino Saqi Nima Aq, el lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop (2008: 201n4) observa que "los adjetivos saqi nim, 'blanco grande', están omitidos del segundo verso paralelo; pero líneas más adelante aparecen completos. Aquí la referencia zoomórfica es más directa y aclara que son la pareja de ancianos (tiempo) que acompañal el proceso de creación. Son los mismos que acompañan a Junajpu y Xb'alamq'e a vencer a Wuqub' Kak'ix. Recinos (1953: 82) relaciona a Saqi Nim Sis como 'diosa madre' y a Saqi Nim Aq como su 'consorte'". En la versión poética publicada en k'iche', Colop (1999: 30) vincula los términos así: "Nim Aq, / Nima Sis."

For his part, anthropologist Allen J. Christenson (2007: 52n17) translates the name Saqi Nima Aq as "Great White Peccary", noting, in literal poetic translation (2008: 39n26), that "This is also a chiastic arrangement of the titles of the creator couple, rather than a pair of separate couplets." In other words, Christenson treats Nim Aq and Nima Sis as separate but related references for Xpiyacoc and Xmucane. He explains the etymologies and symbolism as such: "The word saqi may be translated as 'light, bright, or white.' Later in the text (2007: p. 98; line 1055), this same god is described as having very white hair due to his advanced age; thus 'white' is the most likely translation here. In that same passage, 'Great White Peccary' is given as one of the names or titles of the patriarchal creator god Xpiyacoc mentioned in the next paragraph. There are two species of peccary, or wild pig, living in Central America—Peccari angulatus yucatanensis (Collared Peccary) and Tayassu pecari (White-lipped Peccary). The latter is perhaps intended here because it is the larger of the two and is decorated with white facial markings." In his next note, Christenson (2007: 52fn18) adds that Sis (Coati) is another name for Xmucame. "The coati, or coatimundi, which inhabits tropical Central America is Nasua narica yucatanica. It is a raccoonlike animal with a long tail and a long, pointed, flexible snout." Images of female coatis appear in Pre-Columbian artwork from the Maya world, such as the glyph of Hix (Coati) that is detailed in a cylindrical vessel held at the Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia (#1980.56.2).