The following comes from:
Dennis Tedlock, Rabinal Achi: A Maya Drama of War and Sacrifice
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003)
Examples from Rabinal Achi:
Has Sky really given you up?
Has Earth given you up?
So now you’re under the power of my weapon
under the power of my shield
and my upraised ax handle
my upraised ax blade
my snail-shell bracelet
my armband (p. 30)
I have thrown a lasso
I have thrown a lariat
with my henequen rope
my henequen cord
and my upraised ax handle
my upraised ax blade (p. 75)
if he has fallen
under the power of your weapon, sir
the power of your shield, sir (p. 77)
I must therefore leave
my weapon here
my shield here. (p. 81)
Translator’s notes:
. . . in range of my weapon /
in range of my shield. The literal meaning of chupam ral nuch’ab’ /
chupam ral nupakob’ is “inside the weight (or power) of my weapon) / inside
the weight (or power) of my shield,” and in other contexts I have chosen “power”
or “strength” instead of “range.” Al is “weight” (DB, FX, FV, MX, AG) or
“power,” as in “the power of God” (DB); ralib’al is “lasso” and ralim
is “tied together” (FT). “Weapon” translated ch’ab’, which is “arrow”
or “dart,” while ch’ab’ij is to shoot with the same (FX, FV, TC).
(pp. 280-81)
before the helmet / before the
lance: “Helmet” is to’j, which appears as “too” in the texts
(including o followed by a glottal stop); my reading is based on a
dictionary entry for to’j, “helmets of war” (DB). “Lance” translates ch’amiy,
which is usually glossed as “staff” but also means “lance” (PG). (p. 317)
