Nahuatl text from Guerrero

[Mark David Morris]

Susana,

So far, it looks like you're doing well with the translation.  I am almost
wholly unfamiliar with the particulars of Nahuatl in Guerrero.  I will
offer a couple of tips that might help resolve your questions about the
text.  First, it is always helpful to put the text into semantic order,
i.e. make word divisions.  Second, I think you'd want to translate
ihiyotia as "suffer" as in suffering the cares and fatigues of this
world.  I don't know why timoyolitih has a final aspiration but I think
the context would best suggest second person singular (you) as the
subject. The -ko is the singular (usually) "come" that modifies the verbs
of lines 1-3, as you noted in your translation.  I think the "mo" is more
reflexive than reverential, although I, personally, don't really recognize
a fast distinction between the two, but think instead of different
connotations of indirectness.  Consider, for example, that often the
over-use of the reflexive in Mexican Spanish is not exactly to describe
the type of action, but to give the speech courtesy, e.g. "se solto el
alambre del poste y los cochinitos se metieron en la milpa."  In this
case, however, I think it mostly is signaling the action in the subject.
Finally, I think the text plays with the double sense of nemi as live and
walk/move, nenemi usually being used to talk about walking around while
yoli refers to being quick with life, animate, so there is some kind of
metaphysical significance in juxtaposing the two.   Mark Morris


On Wed, 27 Oct 2004, S. Moraleda wrote:

>   I would apreciate it if someone could help me with the translation of the following (apparently XVII century, I am told) Nahuatl text from Guerrero. I've given it a try, but would like a detailed analysis of etymology et al.
>   The transliteration is exactly as it was given to me.
>
>   Tleno o tik temimikiko pan in tlaltikpaktli?
>   San o ti mo ijiyotiko?
>   San oti nemiko?
>   Tlenika o ti nemiko?
>   Keno o ti moyolitij?
>
>   I've come up with:
>
>   Que veniste a soñar en la tierra?
>   Solo veniste a (resollar?) tomar aliento?
>   Solo veniste a vivir?
>   Para qué veniste a vivir?
>   Como fuiste a vivir?
>
>   Is the second and the fourth line a reverential construction? or a reflexive one?
>   What are all those "ko" at the end? locative?
>
>   Thank you.
>   Susana
>



















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La muerte tiene permiso a todo

MDM, PhD Candidate
Dept. of History, Indiana Univ.