‘Ca xaquin-Vuch,’ ca cha vinak vacamic.”
This may be rendered freely:
“‘Is the dawn about to be?’
‘Yes,’ answered the old man.
Then he spread apart his legs.
Again the darkness appeared.
Four times the old man spread his legs.
‘Now the opossum spreads his legs,’
Say the people.”
It is obvious that many of these lines possess the well-known quality of savage dance-poetry, which displays itself in a rhythm of one long foot followed by two short ones. We know that the Kiche were very fond of ceremonial dances, and of repeating long chants which they called nugum tzih, or “garlands of words,” and the Popol Vuh, along with other matter, probably contained many of these.