The Jolja’ Cave Project

The Nature of Don Juan

The concept of a mountain god who owns the earth and controls the rains is found throughout the highlands and southern lowlands. Although many of these mountain gods are also thought to be Catholic saints, their primary attributes are rooted in the pre-Columbian creator grandfather who was called Itzamna in the lowlands, and Xpiyacoc in the Popol Vuh. Itzamna and his wife Ix Chel were the deities of medicine, and the priests and healers invoked them in their prayers (Tozzer 1941:153-55; Taube 1992). Ix Chel was the first woman to spin cotton, weave, bear children and be a mid-wife. Itzamna was considered to have been the first priest and rainmaker. In the Postclassic Period, he was the principal deity to whom petitions were made to avert agricultural disasters. During the New Year ceremonies of Kan, Muluc and Ix years, offerings were made to him to prevent scarcity of water, locust infestations and famine (Tozzer 1941:144-47). Itzamna is portrayed in Maya art as a very old man with a bald head (see K1991). In his God N manifestation, he is the mountain lord (see Bassie 2001).

The mountain god Don Juan has Itzamna’s attributes. Don Juan is known by a variety of names like our father, the cave lord, the spirit of the water, and owner of the earth (Whittaker and Warkentin 1965, Aulie and Aulie 1978). He is said to look like a very old, bald man. In other words, he looks very much like the portraits of Itzamna and the mam "grandfather" portrait found in the Group 5 text. Like Itzamna, Don Juan is associated with sickness and healing. It is said that Don Juan captures the souls of people and takes them to his cave. When he grabs a soul, it makes the person sick. To regain the person’s health, a shaman must petition Don Juan and retrieve the soul.

Many of the traditional stories that focus on petitions for rain involve Don Juan. San Miguel who is the patron saint of Tumbalá often plays an important role in these stories as well. A Ch’ol story recorded by Aucencio Cruz Guzmán discusses a drought that occurred in the Tulijá Valley in the mid-sixties (Spero 1987:135-42). Ch’ol farmers from Salto de Agua asked the tatuch of Actiepa Yochib to petition Don Juan on their behalf. They all journeyed to the Cerro Norte Cave and entered its inner recesses. After hearing their petition, Don Juan is said to have conversed with San Miguel who agreed to order the rain to fall. The farmers received corn seed from Don Juan to plant in their parched milpas, and before they even descended the mountain, the rain began to fall.

The importance of Don Juan is noted in a story told by Miguel Meneses Peñate (Miguel Meneses López 1986:205-207). He explains that during a drought his grandfather and the other tatuches of Tumbalá made a pilgrimage to petition for rain at the churches in Tumbalá, Yajalón, Petalcingo and Tila. They were given a divine message to go to Jolja’ and make offerings to Don Juan who would provide the necessary rain. They did as they were instructed, and Don Juan sent the rain.

In addition to the parallel attributes between Itzamna and Don Juan, there are also other contemporary Ch’ol myths that are a rich source of information about pre-Columbian beliefs. As an example, the bird manifestation of the creator grandfather Itzamna is based on a species of falcon called the waco or laughing falcon (Bassie 2001). This bird makes two kinds of calls: a "wa co" sound and a "ha-ha-ha" sound like laughter. The laughing falcon feeds almost exclusively on snakes including poisonous ones, and this ability must have been viewed by the Maya as an indication of enormous spiritual power. He is, thus, an appropriate manifestation for the powerful Itzamna. The call of the laughing falcon is said to bring the rain (Dickey and Van Rossem 1938:131; Lowery and Dalquest 1951:555). The Chorti say that:

And when we hear the waco singing, we say, "The waco is calling. It is going to rain." Because that waco is calling for rain. Because it is said that the waco is a padrino, or a rain-maker. (Fought 1972:388)

In the Chorti area, the padrino is the prayermaker in the village who conducts the ceremonies for rain, and Itzamna was the first rainmaker. The Maya word for water is ha’, and the laugh of the laughing falcon makes this sound (ha, ha, ha) (Alonso Méndez, personal communication). On the Tablet of the Foliated Cross which replicates the eastern cave, the laughing falcon manifestation of Itzamna appears in a prominent position. There is also a laughing falcon nesting at the mouth of Jolja’ Cave. When these birds call out ha ha ha from these caves, they are literally calling for the rain.

Several contemporary Maya groups view the laughing falcon as a healer which was one of the principal functions of the creator grandfather. For example, the Tzotzil believe that if a person can return the call of this bird without tiring, he will become a bonesetter (Laughlin 1975:362). At Joloniel we recorded a number of stories about the laughing falcon. The Ch’ol Maya believe that the laughing falcon can kill poisonous snakes because he knows how to cure himself if he gets bitten. It is said that the first woman to spin cotton (the moon goddess) was bitten by a poisonous snake, but a laughing falcon came and cured her. In pre-Columbian belief, the first woman to spin cotton was Ix Chel (the waning moon goddess), and she even wears the cotton spindle in her headdress. She is also directly associated with Itzamna for she is his wife. Furthermore, the laughing falcon story is likely related to the production of rain because there is a wide spread belief that the spinning of cotton produces rain clouds.

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