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 Ancient Nahuatl Poetry
AN OTOMI SONG OF SADNESS
Translated by Daniel G. Brinton; language: english and nahuatl
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IX. OTRO TLAOCOLCUICA OTOMITL. |
IX. AN OTOMI SONG OF SADNESS. |
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1. In titloque in tinahuaque nimitzontlaocolnonotzaya, nelcicihuiliz
mixpantzinco noconiyahuaya, ninentlamati in tlalticpac ye nican
nitlatematia, ninotolinia, in ayc onotechacic in pactli, in
necuiltonolli ye nican; tlezannen naicoyc amo y mochiuhyan, tlacazo
atle nican xotlacueponi in nentlamachtillia, tlacazo zan ihuian in
motloc in monahuac; Macuelehuatl ma xicmonequilti ma monahuactzinco
oc ehuiti in noyolia, ninixayohuatzaz in motloc monahuac
tipalnemohuani.
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1. To thee, the Cause of All, to thee I cried out in sadness, my
sighs rose up before thy face; I am afflicted here on earth, I
suffer, I am wretched, never has joy been my lot, never good fortune;
my labor has been of no avail, certainly nothing here lessens one's
suffering; truly only to be with thee, near thee; may it be thy will
that my soul shall rise to thee, may I pour out my tears to thee,
before thee, O thou Giver of Life.
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2. Quemachamiqueo in motimalotinemi co y in tlalticpac in ayac
contenmatio in atlamachilizneque o tlacazo can moztla cahuia on in
ămitztenmati in titloque in tinahuaque inic momatio ca mochipa
tlalticpac, nemizqueo ninotlamatli motlaliao niquimittao, tlacazo
mixitl tlapatl oquiqueo ic nihualnelaquahua in ninotolinia o tlacazo
ompa in ximohuayan neittotiuh o, cazo tiquenamiqueo quiniquac ye
pachihuiz ye teyolloa.
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2. Happy are those who walk in thy favor here on earth, who never
neglect to offer up praise, nor, leaving till to-morrow, neglect
thee, thou Cause of All, that thou mayest be known in all the earth;
I know that they shall live, I see that they are established,
certainly they have drunk to forgetfulness while I am miserable,
certainly I shall go to see the land of the dead, certainly we shall
meet where all souls are contented.
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3. Ma cayac quen quichihuaya in iyollo in tlalticpac ye nican in
titlaocaxtinemi in tichocatinemia, ca zacuel achic ontlaniizoo,
tlacazo zan tontlatocatihuio in yuho otlatocatque tepilhuan, ma ic
ximixcuiti in tinocniuh in atonahuia in atihuelamati in tlalticpac o;
ma oc ye ximăpana in tlaocolxochitl, choquizxochitl, xoyocatimalo
o xochielcicihuiliztlio in ihuicpa toconiyahuazon in tloque in
nahuaque.
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3. Never were any troubled in spirit on the earth who appealed to
thee, who cried to thee, only for an instant were they cast down,
truly thou caused them to rule as they ruled before: Take as an
example on earth, O friend, the fever-stricken patient; clothe
thyself in the flowers of sadness, in the flowers of weeping, give
praises in flowers of sighs that may carry you toward the Cause of
All.
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4. Ica ye ninapanao tlaocolxochicozcatlon, nomac ommanian
elcicihuilizchimаlxochitlon, nic ehuaya in tlaocolcuicatloo,
nicchalchiuhcocahuicomana yectli yancuicatl, nic ahuachxochilacatzoa,
yn o chalchiuhuehueuhilhuitl, itech nictlaxilotia in nocuicatzin in
nicuicani ye niquincuilia in ilhuicac chanequeo zacuantototl,
quetzaltzinitzcantototl teoquechol inon tlătoa quechol in qui
cecemeltia in tloque, etc.
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4. I array myself with the jewels of saddest flowers; in my hands are
the weeping flowers of war; I lift my voice in sad songs; I offer a
new and worthy song which is beautiful and melodious; I weave songs
fresh as the dew of flowers; on my drum decked with precious stones
and plumes I, the singer, keep time to my song, as I take it from
those dwellers in the heavens, the zacuan bird, the beautiful
tzinitzcan, the divine quechol, those melodious birds who give joy to
the Cause of All.
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NOTES FOR SONG IX.
The title does not necessarily mean that this song is a translation
from the Otomi language, but merely that the time to which it was
chanted was in the Otomi style; or, the term Otomi may have
reference to the military officer so called. The word is perhaps a
compound of otli, path, and mitl, arrow.
The bard sings the vanity of earthly pleasures, and the reality of
earthly pains; he exhorts himself and his hearers not to neglect the
duties of religion, and lauds his own skill in song, which he
compares to the sweet voices of melodious birds. There is nothing in
the poem which reflects European influence.
1. xotlacueponi; the meaning of this compound is obscure. It is not
found in the dictionaries.
2. The terminal o is inserted several times in the passage to
express emotion and fill the metre.
mixitl tlapatl. A phrase signifying the stupor or drunkenness that
comes from swallowing or smoking narcotic plants. See Olmos,
Grammaire de la Langue Nahuatl, pp. 223, 228; oquiqueo is from
i, to drink, or cui, to take, the o terminal being euphonic.
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UnCopyrighted©Sam, 2003-2009
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RUS ver.