Nim Aq

En la larga lista de los nombres alternativos de Xpiyakok e Ixmukane, Nim Aq ("anciana madre" en la traducción española del lingüista k'iche' Sam Colop [2008: 35]) está en la quinta posición, inmediamente antes de la invocación de su par, Nima Sis ("anciano padre"). En cambio a la identidad femenina que Colop da a la deidad, el antropólogo Allen J. Christenson (2007: 80) interpreta la invocación de "Nim Aq, / Nima Sis" como un ejemplo del quiamo poético en la tradición k'iche'. Conforme a la interpretación de Christenson, Nima Aq no es la abuela sino el abuelo. Aquí vemos un ejemplo claro de cómo la poética k'iche' resulta en diversas interpretaciones de los personajes, los sistemas de género y el mensaje del texto en sí.

In the long list of alternative names for Xpiyakok and Ixmukane, Nim Aq ("Great Peccary" in the words of anthropologist Allen J. Christenson [2007: 80]), appears in the fifth position, immediately before the invocation of their pair, Nima Sis ("Great Coati"). In his literal poetic translation, Christenson (2003: n26) explains that here, after presenting the first two pairs of names in grandfather-grandmother/grandmother-grandfather order, the K'iche' authors invert the third pair as part of a "chiastic arrangement of the titles" that characterizes K'iche' poetics. Later in the text, the K'iche' authors "specifically associate the Great Peccary with the Grandfather, and Great Coati with the Grandmother deities," whereas in the previous pair of names, "Kamul Alom, / Kamul K'ajolom," the grandmother is invoked before the grandfather. Unlike Christenson's reading, K'iche' linguist Sam Colop (2008: 35) identifies Nim Aq as the "ancient mother" and Nima Sis as the "ancient father," reversing the gendered associations ascribed by Christenson. This example suggests how the poetic structure of the K'iche' text leads to different interpretations of key characters, gender systems, and the very message of the story.