The Indigenous History of El Salvador

The Fall of Teotihuacan, the massacre at Durango, and the Origin of the Tanoan and Kiowa

Eight miles southwest of Durango, Colorado, was the scene of one of the most gruesome massacres in the Americas prior to the arrival of the Europeans. It is estimated that the massacre occurred between 803 CE and 810 CE. By 810 CE the buildings and trees of the site, called Sacred Ridge, had been burned. The site was occupied from about 700 CE to the time of the massacre. Archeologists have found the bones of dozens of people cut into small pieces - 425 pieces per person according to the sample. The conclusion of the archeological study:

Two of the pit houses contain 14,882 identified human body fragments, belonging to about 35 people, about half the estimated population of the village. The victims show signs of extreme torture and mutilation, including beating on the feet, scalping, and eye gouging. Because of biological and dietary differences between the residents of the village and other villages in the same area, some scientists believe that this provides evidence of ethnic cleansing.[1] [2]

The timeline is helpful as it fits within the timeframe of the massacres that occurred in the aftermath of the halt of Mayan development in Mexico and Guatemala in or very near to 800 CE. The name Durango is the main clue tying the massacre to the massacres in Mexico, as Durango, Mexico, was directly on the route of the Kakchiquel as they chased the Guanajuato Purepecha northwest and into the Barranca del Cobre. Names around Durango, Mexico, indicate that many Purepecha died there. Durango is tu ur ra an k’o or “blades on the corpses of the explainers who were tired of running.” “Explainers” is an ethnic marker for the Purepecha and some of their relatives like the Cuscatlan. This indicates the Cakchiquel and perhaps others committed the massacre at Durango, Colorado, and that the Purepecha were the victims.

Historians indicate that people had been living at Sacred Ridge, southwest of Durango, since around 700 CE. Why would a group of Purepecha have run from central Mexico to Colorado in about 700 CE. Likely to hide. But hide from what? The major event of 700 CE in Mesoamerica was the collapse of Teotihuacan upon a major attack. The Purepecha certainly had the capability, as one of the few groups with knowledge of explosives, which were usually reserved for stonework on the pyramids and other public works. The Purepecha would have been motivated by the desire to end the sacrifice regime at Teotihuacan and to end the support of Teotihuacan for Mayan polities in Mexico and Guatemala. This provides a context for a small group of Purepecha to be hiding in the mountains of Colorado. They likely interacted frequently with their cousins, the Keresan, fellow Sky people.

Several members of the Purepecha remnant survived the Sacred Ridge massacre, mainly because they were not present at the village at the time. This includes at least three persons or families which would become the Tanoan pueblos. Tanoan is ta an no an or “remnant who ran, ran from the Great Ones.” The name says that they ran twice, first from central Mexico, and later from the Great Ones, that is the Kiche/Kakchiquel, at or near Durango. Perhaps these survivors were away from the Sacred Ridge camp at the time that the Kiche/Kakchiquel arrived. Within the Tanoan pueblos are the Tiwa, the Tewa, and the Towa. All three share the ending wa “beings” with the Kiowa. The similarity of these names likely indicate that the founders may have been related.

The Tiwa or Tigua is ti wa or ti ik’ wa, which is “opened beings” or “opened Sky beings”. This identifies them as Sky people, i.e. Purepecha or Keresan. Two northern Tiwa towns are Taos and Picuris. Both names are instructive. Taos is ta os or “remnant of those set down.” The double meaning is Tao which implies “from China.” The ones who set them down were from China. Of the Native American peoples, one of the five original ethnicities was from China, including the Kiche/Kakchiquel and the Osage. The use of tao in Taos is the same use of tao in the Salvadoran municipality of Arcatao, referring to a very early Kiche leader who killed an early Sky (Cuscatlan) leader over the issue of first-child sacrifice. The Tiwa naming Taos was meant to recall their ancestor from 9,000 years earlier who had been killed by the same line of people as who committed the massacre at Durango. Picuris is pi ik’ k’ur ri is or “move beside the Sky companions with the points.” This is a direct reference to the Keresan people. The Keres or Keresan were Iroquois people who were forced to flee the Missouri River area by the early Osage. When they fled west they encountered the Clovis points of another people at Clovis, New Mexico. The Tiwa moving beside the Keres was natural since they came from the same Sky people, although had likely lived apart for 12,000 to 13,000 years, the Keres primarily in North America and the Purepecha primarily in Mesoamerica.

The Southern Tiwa moved along the Rio Grande River at Isleta and Sandia. Isleta is is le et ta or “remnant that moved to the river after the challenge of the paddlers.” They used the let or ret syllable which was somewhat common in Purepecha names such as Queretaro and Loreto. Sandia is tza an ti a or “run from the bloody openings at the water.” They ran from the Durango massacre. In the case of Sandia it is possible that it is a later colonial era name.

The Tewa remained further north, north of present-day Santa Fe. Tewa was meant to sound like Tiwa and Towa. It is te er wa or “beings sticked by the foreigners,” referring to the massacre by the Kakchiquel and other Toltec. It has a double meaning of “ridge beings.” The Tewa name Tesuque has a similar meaning. It is te etz su uk’ k’er or “sad upon observing the slashing of sticks on the plain.” I believe that sticks in this case refers to bones. This makes it clear that the Tewa Purepecha were not at the lake at the time of the massacre but witnessed it from a distance. The name has a double meaning of “bats opened up,” indicating the ethnicity of those who committed the massacre – the symbol of the Kakchiquel is the bat.

Three other names associated with the Tewa refer not to events at Durango but rather to the earlier history of around 700 CE when the Purepecha ended the reign of Teotihuacan. Nambe is nam ber or “disappearance of the workers.” The Purepecha were the workers, i.e. the pyramid workers, of Teotihuacan. Not only did the leaders of the Teotihuacan rebellion leave but the other Purepecha workers left too, likely to other places in Mexico like Puebla, Guanajuato, or Michoacan. The ones most responsible for the fall of Teotihuacan, disappeared to southwest Colorado. Pojoaque, a Mesoamerican style name, is po och cho ak’ k’er or “slashed the skin of the esteemed ones at the entrance of the hole.” Teotihuacan laid at the entrance to the lake of central Mexico. The esteemed ones, in the context of Teotihuacan, was an ethnic marker for the Totonac. This provides a clue that the Totonac were the lead ethnicity at Teotihuacan and that the workers of Teotihuacan, the Purepecha, rebelled and killed the leadership of the Totonac. Ohkay Owingeh, another name associated with the Tewa, is ok’ ka yor wi in k’er or “first ones hit and slashed the source at the beginning splitting.” First ones would be the first Tewa. The source is an ethnic marker for the Totonac. Here to split is used much the same way it is in contemporary English – to leave quickly. Like Pojoaque, it identifies the Totonac as the target at Teotihuacan at the time that the Tewa/Purepecha left central Mexico to hide in southwest Colorado.

The Towa are the third group of Tanoan. Other names associated with the Towa are Jemez and Pecos. Towa is to wa or “sacrificed beings.” Jemez is che em etz or “descendants observed the handling,” where handling is a euphemism for the massacre, with the che syllable recalling the Kiche. However, the name Jemez contains a hidden double meaning which seems to contain guilt. With the hidden meaning it is “descendants failed to handle observing the foreigners.” Here we learn that the Towa were the lookouts for the Purepecha at Durango but failed to observe the stealthy entrance of the foreigners, which is an ethnic marker for the Kakchiquel. Pecos is pek’ k’o os or “greeting of being set down by the blades.” This indicates that the Kakchiquel did not provide the customary greeting given even to enemies. There is a double meaning in Pecos: “foreigners set down the workers with the blade under the stars.” This indicates that the Kakchiquel attack occurred at night-time.

The Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa all have a common language base with the Kiowa. The Kiowa are the survivor(s) perhaps of the leader of the Purepecha village at Durango. Kiowa is ki or wa or “dear beings and leader.” By dropping the ‘r’ in ‘or’ (leader - or) it indicates a difference with the leader warriors of the Kakchiquel. But the name Kiowa is also meant to rhyme with Iowa. The Kiowa were linking their fate with that of their prominent cousins in North America, the Iroquois. The attack that the Iroquois suffered in Iowa at the hands of the ancestors of the Osage, cousins of the Kakchiquel, occurred in about 10,000 BCE. The Kiowa were linking histories on the North American continent that were separated by about 11,000 years.

The names in western Colorado indicate that the Kiowa family or lone survivor fled north through the mountains. First along the Animas River which flows south through Durango. It is an ni im matz or “surrounded, ran through the hills.” It has a double meaning which tells of the story of running from central Mexico originally: “run from the bad practice at the mounds (pyramids) at the foam.” North of Durango is the town of Hermosa. This is er mo os ha or “trapped and set down by the foreigners at the water.” It is fair to ask how the Kiowa names stuck to various places on the journey. It is likely that generations of Kiowa revisited the trip to re-tell the story. In addition, the permanent residents of the region, the Utes, kept the names alive for the Kiowa.

Further north near Silverton is Sultan Mountain or su ul ta an or “remnant of the explainers runs from the plain.” Explainers is an ethnic marker for the Purepecha and plain is an ethnic marker for the Kakchiquel. The proximity of Sultan to Usulutan, the origin point for the male side of the Purepecha, should not be lost.

Anvil Mountain, also near Silverton, is an bi il or “see the companion(s) run.” It was likely named by the Ute who were in this area. Vil or pil was an ethnic marker for the Purepecha, seen later in Pipil. At Silverton the massacre survivor(s) headed northwest. Next, we see the path at Trico Peak about 20 kilometers northwest of Silverton. Trico is ti ir ri ik’ k’o or “see the blade opening the sky beside.” It has a double meaning of “see the Sky person(s) beside opened by the blades.” Sky person would have indicated a Purepecha. The only other Sky people within 500 miles were the Keresan.

Once crossing the pass here, the Purepecha survivor(s) followed the nascent Uncompahgre River, ensuring that they had a fresh water source. Uncompahgre is un k’o om pa ak’ re or “blade of the paddlers on the skin of the bodies of the children.” It is graphic in its recounting of the massacre at Durango. It has a double meaning which matches very closely the account of the archeologists of the massacre, which is “splice the bones.” The spelling of paddler used in the name only could refer to the Serpent people, i.e. the Kakchiquel.

Sixty-five kilometers north of Silverton is Dallas or tal la as or “arrival of those tired of the practice.” With the beginning tala referring to the place of the (bad) practice, Tula. Another 30 kilometers north is Colona or k’o ol lo on ha or “free of the blades of the Na warriors, previously.” It was at this point that the fleeing survivor(s) felt free of the potential pursuing by the Kakchiquel. It has a double meaning of “transport in the river” which seems to indicate the journey here was by canoe.

North of Montrose 15 kilometers is Olathe and then Delta. Olathe is ol la ach che or “turtles handled the tired warriors.” This is likely copying the Keresan name of Olathe (Kansas) when the Keresan were fleeing the Osage warriors 11,000 to 12,000 years earlier. Both the Keresan and the Purepecha were Turtle/Sky people. The route north is not so clear from there, although it is likely the survivor crossed the Colorado River near Grand Junction. From this point on, it is likely that the Ute sent a young person to accompany the survivor all the way to the end of the journey. The path may have been to continue northwest to Vernal, Utah, and then north to Rock Springs, Wyoming. In present-day Utah along the Green River is Manila or ma an nil la or “healing for the tired one(s) running from the badness.” Much further north, before arriving to the Tetons, is Tosi Peak or to os si or “many set down and sacrificed.” The next signs of the Purepecha survivor(s) is next to the Blackfoot Reservation, east of Glacier National Park in northwest Montana, their new home.

Twenty kilometers west of Browning, Montana, center of the Montana Blackfeet, and next to the edge of Glacier National Park is Kiowa, Montana. The Purepecha survivor(s) fled to the Blackfeet because it was sufficiently far from the reach of the Kakchiquel and because the Blackfeet were also Turtle people like the Purepecha. They were cousins. Kiowa, Montana, is the first mention of Kiowa. I think that the name Kiowa implies that there was one lone survivor at Durango and that it was a woman. This is because the name Kiowa has two parts: Ki and Iowa. Ki or “dear one” was usually used to describe a woman or children. In this case, a woman makes more sense.

Iowa was a reference to the place Iowa. As mentioned earlier, it featured prominently in the retreat of the Iroquois and Cherokee from the Osage at the Missouri River near present-day Sioux City in about 10,000 to 11,000 BCE. They were fleeing for their lives. Names there indicate that one small group of Iroquois separated from the rest and fled down the Missouri River, pursued by the Osage. This gave rise to the name Iowa “see the beings free of the warriors.” These Iroquois floated or paddled down the Missouri, down the Mississippi, and then up the Arkansas River, until the junction with the Canadian River about 60 kilometers west of present-day Fort Smith. They paddled up the Canadian River until they passed the present-day border of New Mexico. Here they settled, becoming the Keresan. The Iroquois and by extension the Keresan were Turtle people, like the Purepecha. It seems likely that the Blackfeet and perhaps the healed Purepecha woman made the journey back to New Mexico to find her a Keresan man, the “Iowa” man, who would become the founder of the Kiowa with the survivor Purepecha woman. This explains the name Kiowa.

While the area on the east side of Glacier National Park is clearly Blackfeet, the Blackfeet hosted their cousin(s), the Kiowa, and several names clearly are indicative of the Kiowa. My estimation is that the Kiowa stayed in Montana until the fall of the Toltec in the mid-12^th Century. This would indicate a stay among the Blackfeet of about 350 years. Five kilometers east of Kiowa is the small town of Star. While this appears to be an English name, if it was originally Setar, it would mean “arrival of the slashed.” Twenty-five kilometers southwest of Kiowa is Two Medicine Lake. While the name is in English it could indicate the initial recovery spot of the two Kiowa founders.

Above Two Medicine Lake to the south is Appistoki Peak which is ap pi is to ok’ ki or “movement (to here) of the companion and the dear one who split from the sacrificing swings.” Appistoki Peak and Creek are just a few kilometers east of the continental divide which gives reason for the double meaning of “measure the split,” i.e. the split of the continent’s water. Pitamakan Lake is 25 kilometers west of Kiowa. Pitamakan is pi it ta am mak’ k’a an or “remnant of the companions trapped and received blows from the spiders, relieved to have run.”

Twenty kilometers northwest of Kiowa is Kupunkamint Mountain, which is kur up pu un ka am mi in ni it or “one listened to the spiders’ points cutting up the children of those who blew up the hills of the cats at the beginning.” This indicates the haunting feeling of having to listen to the children being slaughtered, asymmetrical punishment for destroying the hills – the pyramids – of the Maya at Teotihuacan.

Five kilometers to the northwest is Kakitos Mountain. This is k’ak’ k’i it to os or “dear ones set down and sacrificed by the blows of the fire.” The name repeats the use of ki found in Kiowa. The phrase “fire” – k’ak’ – refers to the Kakchiquel. Otokomi Mountain is on the north side of Saint Mary Lake. It is ot to ok’ k’o om mi or “shelter for those who split from the sacrificing of the cats at the foam.” The name has the double meaning of “spliced,” referring to the way the bones were sliced into small pieces at Durango. The name also implicates the Otomi, another member of the Toltec, in the massacre, with oto at the beginning and mi at the end of the name.

Closeby is Matahpi Peak which is ma at ta ap pi or “remnant of the companions swung at by the evil ones from the bath.” From the bath is a reference to the large lake in central Mexico. It has a double meaning of “arrival of the tired ones.” On the south side of Saint Mary Lake is Mahtotopa Mountain or ma at tot to op pa. This translates as “sacrificed by the evil dancers from the bath who tapped on the bodies.” This name implicates the Totonac, the third member of the Toltec, just at Otokomi Mountain implicates the Otomi. The mountains of Glacier National Park make it clear that all three ethnicities that would become the Toltec were involved in the Durango massacre. This was likely the first “military” operation of the Toltec.

Fifty-five kilometers north of Kiowa, Montana, is Apikuni Mountain. It is just north of Lake Sherburne. Apikuni is ap pi ik’ k’un ni or “hill of the Sky companions swung at by the tender.” Tender is an ethnic marker, which dates back to Asia, for the Kiche and Kakchiquel and other Serpent people.

It is interesting that Montana is called the Big Sky Country. While it would appear to be a name given by white settlers, Big Sky, i.e. chic, is an ethnic marker for the Purepecha, one of the two founders of the Kiowa.

Perhaps around 1150 CE the Kiowa moved to eastern Colorado, western Oklahoma and western Texas. Anadarko, Oklahoma, is a current center for the Kiowa. It is an nat tar k’o or “arrival after running from the blades in a distant place.” It shares the syllables of anat with the Canadian River, an important name for the Keresan, one half of the Kiowa founders. In 1833, the Kiowa were camped alongside the Washita River, east of Cooperton. While nearly all the men were out of camp, the Osage attacked the Kiowa women, children, and elderly. It was mass murder. About 150 people died. The Osage are cousins of the Kakchiquel - they are both Serpent people. Ironically, 900 years after the Kakchiquel killed almost everyone in a Purepecha/Kiowa village near Durango, Colorado, the Osage did the same thing in western Oklahoma. This is called the Cutthroat Gap Massacre.

It is likely that the Washita River, named after Wichita, was named following this massacre. It is wa ach chi it ta or “remains of the large turtles from the blows of the beings.” Both “large” and “turtles” were ethnic markers for the Kiowa.

Meanwhile, it was a tradition in the Americas that, after a long journey, a group of people would stay at their destination point rather than return home. This occurred with the Toltec warriors who carried out the massacre at Durango. This provided a benefit for the Toltec in Mexico of expanding their military, political, and cultural reach. This makes it clear that whole families made the journey north from central Mexico, not just warriors.

The purpose of this article is not to say what they did or who they battled in present-day New Mexico and Arizona. Rather, I will identify who they are and where they ended up. The Totonac were the easiest to absorb alongside their neighbors, many of whom were their cousins, like the Ute, Yuman, Apache, Navajo, and Comanche. They became the Hopi, op pi, the “dancing companions.” With a double meaning of “loose ones trapped at the hole.” The hole referred to the Grand Canyon. It is notable that someone sent for the Navajo/Apache, the Hopi’s cousins, from Canada to essentially surround the Hopi to keep them in check – hence the double meaning of their name. The Hopi descend from the long-time leaders of Teotihuacan.

The Cahuilla were the Otomi/Toltec who moved to the Coachella valley after they and all the Toltec in the north were defeated. Cahuilla is kar wi il ha or “see the Source detained at the river.” The Source were the Hopi. The Otomi/Cahuilla saw that the Hopi were detained and instead of becoming detained themselves moved into the desert hundreds of miles to the west. A name that they give for themselves Ivilyuqaletem tells the same story. It is ib bil yuk’ k’al le et ter em or “challenge of the descendants of the paddler spirits to join and be retained at the ridged waterway.” They responded to the challenge, the pressure to join the Hopi at the Colorado River and be retained in the process, by moving to the west to remain free. The Cahuilla name for person is Taxliswet or ta ach li is wet or “neighbors beside, remnant of the Turtles who moved.” This refers to the Tanoan people.

The defeated Kakchiquel/Toltec were forced to live the furthest away from the Colorado River area. On the other hand, they moved to the advantageous Pacific Ocean of the present-day Los Angeles basin. Like the Cahuilla they speak an Uto-Aztecan language which had been common in central Mexico in the 9^th century when they traveled north to massacre the Purepecha at Durango. Tongva is to on ba or “previously sacrificed the body.” This indicates that the Tongva gave up the practice of human sacrifice soon after migrating to the area. Some Tongva call themselves Kizh which is a shortened Kiche, which itself meant “handle the hearts.” Both the Cahuilla and the Tongva are part of the Takic, which is essentially a northern Kakchiquel-Otomi Nahuatl language grouping. Takic is ta ak’ ki’ ik’ or “skinned the remnant of dear Sky people,” with the ki syllable recalling the Kiowa. It has a double meaning of “dry sky” which describes their desert home.

 

[1] Bower, Bruce (6 November 2010). "Massacre at sacred ridge: A violent pueblo incident sparks debate regarding prehistoric genocide". Science News. 178 (10): 22–26. doi:10.1002/scin.5591781023. Retrieved 2 November 2014.

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Ridge

Some of the Pre-Hispanic History of Nicaragua

To tell the story of pre-Hispanic Nicaragua is to tell of two ancient stories and two relatively modern stories. The first ancient story is that of various peoples running away from the beginning of the first-born sacrifice regime in the Gulf of Fonseca from about 8300 BCE to 8200. Many ethnicities and several generations ran, but two ran for Nicaragua, including the Miskito who had been early Kiche people and the Chibchab people who had been early Olmeca people. Some of the Chibchab remained in Nicaragua, including the Poto and Rama, while others migrated further south. The second ancient story occurred in about 7200 BCE, and while it was a global event, it affected the Poto along Nicaragua’s northwest coast, among others. Many coastal Poto were swept out to sea; most perished, but two women survived all the way to Mexico’s central coast, one to Guerrero and one to Michoacan. The woman who landed near Acapulco, Guerrero, landed near where a few days earlier a sole Kiche man from El Salvador washed ashore. These two together became the Otomi. When the beginning Otomi culture initiated a first-born sacrifice regime, like the Kiche, the Poto side of the Otomi rebelled. Some ran into the hills to escape and became the Tlalpaneco. Much later the Tlapaneco would re-enter Nicaraguan history.

The next major migration into Nicaragua was the result of the end of Mayan development in 800 CE. The Kiche/Kakchiquel forces in Mexico and Guatemala attacked their enemies without restraint, including the peoples of Puebla, centered at Cholula, mainly the Purepecha and Cholu. Some of the Cholu fled overland to Chiapas while others fled by boat to Nicaragua, becoming the Chorotega or Choluteca people. The Chorotega settled along the Pacific coast in Nicaragua. About 250 years later events in Mesoamerica took a turn when the Pipil overturned the Toltec-Cihuatan in El Salvador. The Pipil attempted to live together with the defeated Toltec but in the case of the Kiche/Kakchiquel members of the Toltec, it was not easy. In about 1200 CE, the Kakchiquel warriors left to settle the less controlled Nicaragua, becoming the NIcarao.

The Nicarao were likely the aggressors in Nicaragua, forcing many Chorotega to flee north to Honduras and others to flee south the Costa Rica. But more than the Chorotega, it is likely that the Miskito were the primary target of the Nicarao, as they were former Kiche/Kakchiquel, albeit from 10,000 years earlier. At that time the Kiche were enforcing a first-born sacrifice regime on all other groups as well as themselves. The Miskito were a group of Kiche who rejected the sacrifice regime and fled from the Gulf of Fonseca to northeastern Nicaragua. But memories were long in the Americas. The Nicarao knew that the Kiche/Miskito had fled Kiche violence rather than conform to the norms of Kiche sacrifice culture. The Miskito heartland on the north Atlantic coast of Nicaragua was quite distant to the Nicarao in southeastern Nicaragua. For the Nicarao, the most accessible Miskito were the Matagalpa, those who much earlier had discovered cacao. It appears that the Matagalpa were heavily victimized by the Nicarao. Some Matagalpa fled to eastern El Salvador and became the Cacaopera. Cacaopera is cacao op per ra is “Cacao workers tired of the dancers.” Matagalpa is the origin of cacao. Dancers in the name refers to the Nicarao, carrying on an ethnic marker from the Kiche/Kakchiquel. The Cacaopera insist that they are Mayan and it is their Kiche roots from 10,200 years ago that they remember.

The Nicarao also were the aggressors against the Poto people of northwestern Nicaragua. Most of Poto fled to east-central El Salvador, next to their half-cousins, the Lenca, sometime between 1200 and 1500 CE. They became the Poton Lenca. The Poton Lenca were also half-cousins to the Quelepa Lenca who had fled from Mexico to eastern El Salvador several hundred years earlier.

While various people were fleeing the Nicarao, one group migrated to Nicaragua in order to detain the plans of the Nicarao. These were the Subtiava, who moved from Mexico to northwest Nicaragua, which, in part, was their ancestral home. The Subtiava were a group of Tlapaneco, who in turn were a split off from the Otomi, who in turn were a mix of Poto and Kiche from the time of the tsunami (~7200 BCE). The Subtiava were returning to their Poto origin area. The Tlapaneco split from the Otomi very early, likely before 6000 BCE, opposing the first-born sacrifice regime of the early Otomi. The Tlapaneco continued living in the mountains of Guerrero while the Otomi migrated further north in Mexico. Subtiava is su ub ti av va or “listen on the plain for those who open with the swings at the body.” Both su and ub are ethnic markers for the Kiche/Kakchiquel, indicating the Kiche origin (in part) of the Tlapaneco.

The Subtiava lived in present-day Leon. While the name Leon likely does date from the time of the Spanish, it likely does not refer to a place in Spain but rather refers to the Subtiava. In the first language it is le on or “former paddlers,” with the spelling of paddlers could only refer to the Kiche/Kakchiquel in the Americas. Or, as things work out, the name Leon could refer both to a place in Spain and to the Subtiava. The Subtiava were likely referring to the Spanish settlers of Leon.

Telica is an active volcano that has been erupting for at least the last 500 years. Telica is an example of several names that the Subtiava gave to the first Spanish settlers of Nicaragua. Telica is tel li ik’ ka or “beside the beginning of the ridge to the sky.” This indicates the beginning of the Telica eruptions, the first two of which were 1527 to 1529. “Ridge to the sky” seems to indicate the Telica eruptions. The dates coincide closely with the arrival of the Spanish in 1524 when they founded Leon. Telica has a double meaning referring to the Spanish, which is te el li ik’ ha or “foreigners from the trees by the river next to the Sky.” The origin place of the foreigners is not Spain but rather where the Spaniard Indo-Europeans came from before the massive Indo-European migration to Spain and Europe generally between 1800 and 1200 BCE. Common in Russian and European names is the phrase “trees by the river,” which refers to the early “Indo-European” culture based along the Yenesei River. Further consolidating this meaning is the additional phrase “next to the Sky.” At the beginning, in about 7500 BCE, a Sky man (Cuscatlan) accompanied a Wall man (Itza) against his will from Canada to Siberia to begin the Indo-Euporean culture. It was the descendants of the Sky man who later freed many Indo-European people from the bondage of their leaders. The name Telica cleverly proclaims that the Subtiava knew who the Spaniards were and where they came from – a history that the Spaniards themselves had long forgotten.

It appears that the Subtiava also named Esteli at about the same time, to the northeast. Esteli shares the teli two syllables with Telica. Esteli is es te el li or “observe beside the ones from the trees at the river.” It uses the same “trees at the river” as Telica, referring to Siberia. But Esteli also had a cleverer double meaning. The Subtiava combined a Spanish meaning with first language meanings, much the same way that Nahuatl meanings were at times combined with first language meanings. With Esteli it is este el li or “beside the foreigners from the east.”

Telica would indicate that the arrival of the Subtiava coincided with the beginning of the eruptions – the “ridge to the sky” – of Telica. The name Telica has a double meaning – te el li ik’ ha, which is “beside the lake of the foreigners from the trees of the Sky.” This would appear to refer to Lake Managua, lake of the Nicarao (foreigners). The trees of the Sky would indicate El Salvador, where the Sky people (Pipil) lived. The name Telica is similar to Esteli, indicating that these two names were likely named at the same time by the Subtiava. Esteli is es tel li which is “observe the ridge beside.” But it is also es te el li or “observe the trees of the foreigners beside.” The trees beside would indicate the cacao trees of the Matagalpa nearby. The Subtiava used Esteli as a place from which to prevent the Nicarao from attaching the Matagalpa.

A name for the mountains that begin at the northern edge of Lake Managua with the Mombotombo is the Maribios range. Mombotombo is a prominent volcano. Its primary meaning describes the volcano – mo om bot to om bo or “trapped foam forced out of the sacrificed foam hole.” However, the double meaning speaks to the origin of the Subtiava people. It is “force out those trapped in the hole.” There is a history from Guerrero of the early history of the Otomi where a rebel group that rejected the sacrifice regime was captured and placed in a cage-like structure. The neighboring Purepecha came to the assistance of the rebel group and helped them to escape. This rebel group became the Tlapaneco, one part of which became the Subtiava. Contained within the name Mombotombo are the letters otom, a shortened version of Otomi. Otomi is a combination of the Poto (Oto) and the Kiche, represented by Mi. By leaving off the last syllable in Otomi, i.e. Otom, in the name Mombotombo, the Subtiava were rejecting the Mi (cat) ideology, the sacrifice regime of the Maya.

Maribios, the mountain range that includes Mombotombo, is mar ri ib bi os or “beside the ocean where companions (spirits) were set down.” This is in recognition of the many Poto (Rama) who were killed in the tsunami of about 7200 BCE, in contrast to the Poto woman who survived floating all the way to Acapulco and became the female founder of the Otomi and Tlapaneco.

La Chimbarona is a village about ten kilometers southwest of Leon. The name describes the arrival of the Spanish and makes it clear that the Subtiava, and others in Mesoamerica, knew the history of the Spaniards. La Chimbarona is la ach chi im bar ro on ha or “large boats of the tired ones previously freed at the river by the Turtles.” The river is referring the Yenesie River of Russia. The Spaniards, like most Indo-Europeans, were freed from very difficult conditions at or near the Yenesie River by the Phoenicians between 1900 and 1200 BCE. The Phoenicians were Sky people, which would also make them Turtle people. The Subtiava knew the history of the Spaniards that the Spaniards themselves had forgotten. What might make the name La Chimbarona even more amazing is the letters chimb or chimp and the syllables baron. The Subtiava embedded two Spanish phrases to insult the Spaniards – the “chimp barons.”

The Chupicuaro, key central Mexican culture prior to Teotihuacan

The area around Acambaro and Queretaro, Mexico, became a center for the Purepecha and Otomi in the Pre-Classic era. The settlement of this area northwest of the central valley of Mexico may have started shortly after the Kiche arrived to the west coast of Mexico in 2300 BCE (+/- 200) from El Salvador. The motivation for the Purepecha and Otomi to form a culture there would have been to provide shelter and safety to Kiche women escaping the sacrifice practice of the Kiche. The descendants of these women became known as the Mazahua. These three ethnicities, Purepecha, Otomi, and Mazahua, became the founders of the Chupicuaro culture. The Kiche arrived to Mexico because they were forced out of El Salvador due to the pellagra crisis.

Numerous names provide evidence of this narrative in northern Michoacan, southern Guanajuato, and Queretaro. Chupicuaro is a name of a town in southern Guanajuato and the name of an archeological site now under the water of a reservoir. The name of the Chupicuaro culture was given in modern times based on this site. Chupicuaro is chu up pi ik’ kur ra ar ro or “time of Sky companions listening for the beings, tired of the points, free from the guards.” The phrase “tired of the points” refers both to violence and a sexual connotation. The Sky companions in this region could only be the Purepecha - the next closest Sky people at that time were the Zapoteca. The Purepecha were listening for those freeing themselves from the guards, probably coming up the Lerma River. The name has a double meaning of “observe for the suckers (bees).” The Kiche were long known as bees, going back to the early history recorded in the Popol Vuh. Not only did the Purepecha have to listen for those escaping the Kiche, they had to watch for the Kiche guards trying to take back or kill those who escaped.

The nearby town of Acambaro is consistent. Acambaro is ak’ k’a am bar ro or “boats to free the skin of the beginners from the spiders.” This provides evidence that the Kiche continued the practice of first-born (beginners) sacrifice and that, like in ancient times in El Salvador, it was pregnant Kiche women escaping the Kiche men. The use of boats in the name helps confirm that the Purepecha had boats in the Lerma River waiting to pick up escaping Kiche women to bring them upriver to safety.

The Paredones, a neighborhood of the town of Chupicuaro, tells that the Chupicuaro culture was not just Purepecha.  Paredones is par re et to on ne es or “challenge of the previous sacrificers observing the tail (river) for the boats of the paddlers (Kiche). It uses a spelling for paddler, re, that was used to describe the Kiche. The phrase “previous sacrificers” could refer to several people, such as Chola, Totonac, or Huasteca, but those groups would have more likely used the syllable kon rather than ton. This seems to point to the Otomi in the name Paradones.

The town of Jerecuaro is 25 kilometers northeast of Chupicuaro, with the same suffix, indicating a close relationship between the towns. Jerecuaro is che er re ek wa ar ro, which means “time of handling the women under the stars who freed themselves from the paddler beings.” The spelling of paddler - re - indicates the Kiche. The name - “under the stars” - indicates that the women often escaped at night. It has a double meaning of “spread out to observe,” indicating that the Purepecha were observing various points along the river for the Kiche women.

Tarimoro, Guanajuato, is a town 30 kilometers north of Chupicuaro. It is tar ri im mo or ro and means “time of the remnant free of being trapped and blasted by the men beside.” It also appears to refer to the escaping Kiche women. It has a double meaning of “structure for those arriving.” Structure could refer to temple or pyramid.

The Purepecha also named the Lerma River after the escaping Kiche women. It is le er ma or “others (women) of the bad paddlers.” The Purepecha, who have roots on one side with a group of Cuscatlan along the Lempa River, appear to have named the Lerma River after the Lempa River, which was named, ironically by the Kiche. As already discussed Lempa means “descendants of the corn paddlers” or “paddler descendants of corn.”

The escaping Kiche women impacted the place names (history and culture) of a broader region including Morelia to the southwest and Toluca to the southeast. Morelia is mo or re el li ha or “beside the others (women) on the river, who were trapped by the paddler men.” Toluca is to ol lu uk’ ha or “sadness for the sacrifice of the swimmers in the river by the leaders,” with the tol prefix a reference to the Kiche. Tenango, near Toluca, is te er ren nan k’o or “women to the trees from the bladed paddlers,” indicating that the Kiche women settled in the mountains to try to escape notice of the Kiche men.

Another center of the Chupicaro culture was Santiago Queretaro. The taro suffix is similar to the tar prefix of Tarimoro, linking the two areas. Names in this area convey a similar story about the Kiche women but also indicate that the Otomi were a third group to integrate the Chupicuaro culture. Queretaro is about 80 kilometers northeast of Chupicuaro.

Santiago Queretaro is tza an ti ak’ k’o ok’ k’er re et tar ro, which means “challenge of the arrival of those running from the opening of skin, split from the slashing paddlers along the wetness.” The women split (separated) from the paddlers of the river (Lerma) and arrived at Queretaro because they tired of the sacrifice practice.

Several nearby towns provide a similar meaning. Jurica is chu ur ri ik’ ka or “beginners explain about the guards to the sky people.” The sky (or wind) people were the Purepecha (like the Cuscatlan). Beginners refer to first born Kiche survivors. The name Jurica has a double meaning of “sacred river.” San Pedro Tenango is tza an per re et tar ro ot ten nan k’o or “The challenge of clearing to provide shelter for the harvester women who ran to be free of the blades of the paddlers at the wetness.” The ped or pet syllable is an ethnic marker for the Purepecha. Tenango borrows from Chalatenango and Tenango, El Salvador, which was named prior to the Tenango place names in Mexico. El Vegil is 15 kilometers south of Queretaro. It is el pech chi il or “large orphans see the women,” where women is referring to the Kiche women. Large orphans refers to the Otomi: large corresponds to the Poto woman founder of the Otomi while orphan refers to the Kiche man founder, orphaned on the beach after the tsunami of ~7250 BCE. This helps clarify that the Otomi were present and likely an active part of the Chupicuaro culture.

Many of the neighborhoods in Santiago Queretaro also provide meaning around the Chupicuaro neighborhood. Zenea Gardens or Zenea is tzen ne ha’ or “knowledge of the tails (rivers) and waters (oceans).” The Purepecha were originally ocean sailors and probably never lost the ability to sail as well as to navigate the rivers of Mexico.

Other names reflect the plight of the Kiche women, including Bahamas or ba am ma as - bodies from the bad practice of the spiders. This name recalls the Kiche women and first-born who escaped to Bahamas 6000 to 8000 years earlier.  The name has a double meaning of “tired ones in the boat.” El Rocio neighborhood is el ro os si or in the first language or “many women freed of being set down by the dancer men.” The Kiche were considered dancers, just like the Itza. It has another meaning of “guided on the foam,” referring to the Lerma River. The Bugambilias neighborhood is pu uk’ k’am bil li as or “useful on the waterway for those from beside (Kiche), sad from the cutting up practice.” It has a double meaning of “reeds of the waterway” which seems to indicate that the escaping women would hide in the reeds.

On the south part of Queretaro is a neighborhood called Rincon de Guadalupe. While it sound like it derives from Spanish, Guadalupe was a pre-Hispanic name. I believe the name come from the original language, where it would be ri in k’o on de ek’ wat tal up per. This means “harvesters arriving through the trees under stars beside those who previously sacrificed the first-born, make a home at the hole listening.” The harvesters arriving through the trees would have been the escaping Kiche women. These women formed the ethnicity known as Mazahua. Mazahua is ma as tza wa or “beings from the bad practice at the wetness.” It has a double meaning of “circle,” most likely indicating the guards who tried to prevent women and first born from escaping. The Guadal prefix is shared with Guadalajara, indicating where the women came from. Rincon de Guadalupe has a second ethnic marker from the phrase “swimmers who previously sacrificed the first-born,” which could have referenced the Huasteca or Totonac, but here seems much more likely to refer to the Otomi, who were related to the Mazahua. The Otomi had practiced child sacrifice when they first arrived in Mexico thousands of years earlier but in a confrontation with the Purepecha had stopped the practice. Swimmers would also refer to the Otomi founders who survived a long swim after the ~7250 tsunami. This seems to indicate that the Chupicuaro included the Otomi and Mazahua in addition to the Purepecha, as other names have suggested.

There is a small set of pyramid and temples on the southwest side of Queretaro. There are several names associated with the pyramid and the neighborhood there: de las Ranas, El Cerrito, and Toluquilla. Ranas is ra an na as or “run tired of the practice of the Na.” Na is an ethnic marker for the Kiche and others in their ethnic family that goes back to Asia, ultimately to China. El Cerrito is the most common name for the pyramid near Queretaro. The name seems like it came from Colonial era Spanish, but I would suggest it could be in the original language, where it would be el ser ri it to or “beside the women who were bound and sacrificed by the blows.” This name is consistent with Ranas and indicates that the Chupicuaro were waiting for the Kiche women escaping from being bound and sacrificed along the Pacific coast (Jalisco and Nayarit). Toluquilla is to ol lu uk’ ki il la or “See those sad, tired of the leaders sacrificing the dear ones.” It also refers to the Kiche women as well as the practice of sacrificing first born (the dear ones).” It shares most of its name with Toluca, which may indicate that the Chupicuaro helped escaping Kiche arrive and settle in the mountains above Toluca, 200 kilometer southeast of Queretaro. Toluca is along the upper Lerma River.

Left: By Michel wal (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The artwork of the Chupicuaro reveals the Purepecha, Mazahua, and Otomi components of the culture. For example, the ceramic figurine to the left represents the Otomi (400BCE-100CE). The original Otomi were a mix of a Poto woman and a Kiche man, hence the half-and-half nature of the figurine. The legs represent the Poto (Chibchab/Olmeca) woman, the Poto known as chi or large. The painting of the temple structures on the hips shows that the Olmeca were the first to begin to build temples. The upper body and head represent the original Kiche man, who used the red paint on the body. I think that the partial split in the skull represents the sacrifice practice that the Otomi man forced on the Poto woman when they met on the shore of Guerrero. The patterns on the face to me represent snakes. The Kiche were known as serpent people.

Other figurines represent the Mazahua people. The key clue is the eyes. The Kiche, and therefore the Mazahua, had slanted eyes, given their origin in China. There are ceramic figurines from Lago Coatepeque - the original home of the Kiche - with nearly identical eyes (2nd photo below). Directly below, there is a male and female and both could be young children, representing the first born that their mothers saved from the sacrifice practice (500BCE to 0BCE).

y Madman2001 (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo by author (2012): Casa Amacuilco collection, Lago Coatepeque.

Finally, the last set of figurines are two women of a very different style than the previous figurines and date from 400BCE to 100BCE. The woman on the left with the slanted eyes probably represents the Mazahua. The woman on the right would represent the Purepecha. With her short hair and earrings, she has a much more modern or urbane sense.

By Lfurter [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

When the Purepecha were first confronted with the challenge of responding to Kiche women running away from the human sacrifice practice, they formed a new culture to respond to the crisis. The new culture, we call Chupicuaro, included the Kiche women and their newborn, who came to be called Masahua, the Purepecha, and the Otomi. The Otomi connection was important because it helped the Chupicuaro have control over much of northern Mexico. In addition, for the moment it kept the Otomi, who were part Kiche, from joining the Kiche’s human sacrifice practice when the Kiche arrived from El Salvador to the west coast of Mexico in about 2300 BCE.

 

Set Down by the Itza, Massacre in Chalatenango

After the Itza settled in the balsam forest near the coast of present-day La Libertad, most likely at Teotepeque and then Tamanique, they continued the practice of first born sacrifice. Just as with the Cho before them, Itza women, pregnant with their first child, began to flee. Because the Itza lineage started with just two people, the rest dying in the Guija flood, it took several generations for the Itza to have a population which allowed them to begin to guard against the women running away. Perhaps 120 to 160 years passed following the Lago Guija flood, about 7700 to 7660 BCE, before the Itza could effectively begin pursuing the women who escaped.

The escaped (rebel) Itza women and their first born children began to form a community, which likely spanned several generations. The place names indicate that this first rebel Itza community was located above the Sumpul River, on or around the mountain called La Montañona between Las Vueltas and Ojos de Agua, Chalatenango.

The Itza organized an assault, perhaps military in nature, on the rebel community. Several dozen place names record the assault. Nearly all names were named by the Itza guards and reflect the cruelty of the perpetrators of a massacre. The trail of the assaulting campaign begins along the Lempa River at San Jose Cancasque. It is tza an cho os tze ka an k’as k’er or “current at the beginning of esteemed ones slashing those who broke away running from being set down by the upright at the shiny.” The phrase “set down by the upright” suggests that women were being raped at the Itza community in La Libertad. This phrase is used repeatedly by the Itza in the sequence of place names of the assault.

The Itza stayed near the river reaching Hacienda - as si (p)en ta - “remains of many spirits practiced on in the wild.” A little further north along the river seems to be where there was a group of Cuscatlan protecting the women. A battle broke out between the Cuscatlan and Itza but the Itza were able to break through the Cuscatlan. Yurique is yur ri ik’ k’er or “Beside where the slashers broke through the wind (Ik’),” where Ik’ signifies the Cuscatlan. The main group of Itza seems to have broken off here to the west toward Las Vueltas. A smaller group went north/northeast toward Ojos de Agua. Ironically this area is within a kilometer of the Sumpul (Las Aradas) Massacre of May 14, 1980, in which 600 civilians were killed by the Salvadoran military, with assistance from the Honduran military and the U.S. government.

Following first the Ojos de Agua route, we find El Portillo, four kilometers north of Yurique, is el po or ti il lo or “see the women free of openings of the hole by the men.” While this name could refer to sacrifices by the Itza, it seems more directly to talk about the rapes that took place in the Itza homeland. The Itza warriors saw up in the hills the women who had freed themselves from being raped. El Portillo has a double meaning of “squeeze,” indicating that the Itza pinched the women - had men on each flank - as the men drove the women forward. Five kilometers later at Ojos de Agua the killing started. Ojos de Agua is och cho os sak wa or “entrance of the esteemed ones (Cho) setting down beings they searched for.”[1] [1] The ‘j’ in Spanish nomenclature is equivalent to a ‘ch’ in Mi nomenclature.

Other women continued to run north-northeast, some being caught at El Tablon: el ta ab bel lo on, meaning “remains from swinging at other (women) harvesters who were previously free.” A kilometer to the east is El Sitio - el si it ti or - “several women opened by the blows of the leaders.” It has a double meaning of “dancers from the foam (balsam),” linking the massacre again to the Itza. Two kilometers west is La Montañita or la am mo on ta an ni it ta, meaning “remains in the hills of those trapped by the spiders, previously a remnant that had run tired of the blows.” It is likely from this village that the mountain, La Montañona, between Las Vueltas and Ojos de Agua took its name. La Montañita has a double meaning of “powder” indicating that the Itza may have chopped the bones into powder to keep the beings from reincarnating, a practice mentioned in the Popol Vuh.

Still some of the women and their offspring escaped and continued north two kilometers to La Trinidad, reaching safety. Here the surviving Itza women borrowed from the name Nueva Trinidad, Chalatenango, a name given by the famous Cuscatlan woman who escaped the Cho and Kiche leaders more than 500 years earlier. Here La Trinidad is la at tar ri in ni it tat or “woman/women and first born offspring arrive from the hills beside tired of/from the blows of the fathers.” The survivors - there were at least two - continued west through the mountains until reaching a place they would name Comalapa. Their story will be rejoined later.

While one group of Itza warriors ran north pursuing the Itza women to Ojos de Agua, the other group ran to the west, first arriving at Coyolar. This name recalls Coyolito found both on Zacate Grande island near Isla Tigre and in far southeast El Salvador, linking this massacre to the beginning of human sacrifice practice by the Cho/Itza perhaps 600 years earlier in the Gulf of Fonseca.[1] Coyolar is koy yol la al or “time of those tired of the strikes of the chewers.” Chewers refers to tobacco users, but it also refers to tobacco being linked to human sacrifice on Isla Tigre. While the Kiche were more commonly called “chewers,” both Itza and Kiche were the traditional tobacco users. El Zapotal is two kilometers further northwest, el tza ap pot tal, meaning “arrival of the swingers from the wetness (La Libertad wet forest) to squeeze the women.” Like with El Portillo, it appears that the military strategy here was to pinch (squeeze) the movement of the women from each side and behind to force them into the center of the valley. [1] At least the beginning of this phase of human sacrifice. It is possible that their ancestors had a similar practice from time to time in the Aleutian Islands, on the journey to Monte Verde, and in Chile itself.

The south side of the pincher went to Conacaste or k’o on nak’ k’as te or “at the tree, blade to the sperm of the ancestors who practiced on the beginners.” This indicates that a child of an escaped Itza woman was killed here. Its double meaning of “break through the trees” indicates that most of the group was able to escape, perhaps due to the sacrifice of the one killed. This name also lends itself to the conacaste tree, a western El Salvador variation of the more common name guanacaste tree. The Itza caught up to some of the women and their offspring at Las Vueltas: la ab bu el ta as or “remains of the broken apart women tired of the practice of swinging.”

Those of the rebel group who survived at Las Vueltas seemed to separate into various groups here. One group went southwest while another went south and east. This group reached San Jose - tza an cho os tze - “upright ones set down those who ran from the esteemed at the wetness.” Using upright and set down together seems to indicate a woman or several women was/were raped before being killed. Some also reached La Laguna - al la ak kun na - “disappear and forget about the tender skin of those tired of the corn people.” And finally, Aldea Vieja - al te ab bi etz cha - “time of two companions who had observed the swinging at the trees.” The women had observed the sacrifice practice at the balsam trees of La Libertad and run away. Companions would seem to indicate as spouses or partners of two of the Izta pursuers. The two husbands killed their wives here.

Another group of survivors ran southwest from Las Vueltas down the Tumulasco valley followed by Itza pursuers. Arriving at La Ceiba one or more were killed. La Ceiba is la as tze eb ba - “body (ies) of those who separated due to the practice of the upright.” And then at Las Minas an offspring(s) of an Itza rebel women was killed: Las Minas - la as mi in as - “cats practice on the first born tired of the practice.” This suggests that the Itza warriors took out the heart(s) of the offspring - the sacrifice practice. The Rio Tumulasco which begins above Las Vueltas and flows past Las Minas and down to the Lempa was named for this event. Tumulasco is tu mul la as ko’ and means “mound(s) of corpses of those tired of the practice of the blade.” This name gives an idea of the magnitude of the Ojos de Agua / Las Vueltas massacre.

The north side of the pincher from El Zapotal caught some of the rebels at Los Naranjos: lo os nar ra an cho os or “esteemed ones set down those who freed themselves running, tired of being set down by the corn people.” This name implies that women were raped (set down) at Libertad and then again before the Itza killed them near Las Vueltas. The Itza called themselves corn people because they first hybridized corn not far from here. Next, some of the women made it west two kilometers to El Sicahuite. The Itza were borrowing a name referring to their discovery of teosinte near Arcatao at least 500 years earlier as they chased a Cuscatlan woman. This probably means that the Itza discovered teosinte at this spot, although not clear if it was at the time of this massacre. However, the name El Sicahuite has meaning in this context: el sik ka wi it te, meaning “blow from the source searches for the women and first-born in the trees. Blow (it) and source (wi) are both ethnic identifiers for the Itza.  Since the Itza warriors were searching for the women, the name El Sicahuite indicates that a group of women and their offspring continued running west through the mountains toward Comalapa.

This group of surviving women and offspring made it to El Llano Verde, although it appears that some Itza warriors were still pursuing them. El Llano Verde, named by the Itza, is el la an no op per te or “women harvesters tired of the dancers run to the big trees.” The women and offspring split up here into at least three groups, with one (or more) running toward Concepcion Quezaltepeque and being caught at Conacaste. Like the previous Conacaste, it is “at the tree, blade to the sperm of the ancestors who practiced on the beginners.” Here or nearby the Itza warrior encountered one or several Olomeca man/men who probably paddled up from the Lempa, given the name nearby Olosingo. Olosingo is ol lo os si in k’o and means “blade to the man who set down many free first-born.”[2] The Olomeca killed the Itza and then continued north to gather survivors of the massacre. Next to Olosingo is a colonial era name, Concepcion Quezaltepeque. [2] There is no subject-object rule in Mi, so this could also be the Itza killing an Olomeca man. However, given that this name repeats in Honduras just north of the escaping point of the women, it seems more likely to refer to the Olomeca killing an Itza warrior.

Concepcion Quezaltepeque, given its obvious Spanish and Nawat meanings, seems to be a colonial era name. However, it seems to be named by someone explaining the events of the massacre and this end point of the massacre to a Spanish official, who together with the indigenous person(s) gave it the name Concepcion to mark the beginning of the military precision of Itza campaigns throughout history - as the indigenous would have explained. It is paired with a village of Concepcion in San Isidro Labrador, a beginning point of this massacre. Concepcion Quezaltepeque is ko on tze ep si on k’er etz tza al te ep ek’ k’er and means “time of the blade of the several ancestors who observed under the stars those who previously separated to the upright trees, slashed those who separated from the slashing at the wetness.” “Several ancestors” - cion - refers to the Cho and Xinca ancestry of the Itza. The conception of the Quezaltepeque. A double meaning is “wall,” a nickname of the Itza stemming from the tsunami at Guija.

From El Llano Grande another Itza woman (or women) ran to the west toward El Rosario where one (or more) was caught by an Itza warrior. El Rosario is el ro os sar ri op/or/om or “dancing man from the foam (balsam) sets down the free woman beside the wall (cliff).” The wall (sar) is one of the nicknames of the Itza. At least one Itza offspring ran straight north from El Llano Grande toward Las Pacayas, where they were caught. Las Pacayas is la as pa ak ka ya as or “time of pain due to practicing on the body(ies) of beginner(s) who was/were tired of the practice,” indicating that the heart of the offspring was taken out. It also has a double meaning of “bones.” Pacayas is meant to rhyme with Maya to indicate who was responsible.

A different group of at least two - a woman and an offspring - arrived safely to Candelaria, two kilometers north of El Rosario. Candelaria is ka an te el la al ri ha and means “time of tired woman/women and beginner(s) run to trees beside the stream.” Given that this name was repeated by the Cuscatlan near Lago Ilopango, it seems possible that a Cuscatlan man met the survivors here to help them. Perhaps he survived the attack at Yurique and ran to this point seeking survivors. This name and the remainder from here on were made by the survivors not by the Itza attackers who named the previous names.

One kilometer northwest of Candelaria is Comalapa - k’om ma al la ap pa - “join those tired of the bad ones swinging at the bodies.” It was here that they joined the Ojos de Agua survivors, signifying that there were at least four survivors in total. Comalapa has double meanings of “the sea” and “rub” - indicating that hands were lain on the wounded to help them heal and the decision was already made to take them by ocean to a refuge far away from the Itza. Just north of Comalapa is El Morro: hel mo or ro or “women free of being trapped by the leaders.”

Three kilometers northeast of Comalapa is La Laguna, a second instance of this name. The survivors began to move northward together to reach safer territory deeper into the mountains. La Laguna is not near a lake or lagoon. Its name comes from Mi, the ancient language. La Laguna: la al la ak’ k’un nar, meaning “tired of the corn people, tired of points on the skin of the young ones.” It has a double meaning of “tender” indicating some of the survivors were injured. It has another second meaning of “disappeared,” which was probably a message for the Itza that they couldn’t be found. The name also indicates that some of the survivors heard the name La Laguna given by the Itza warriors earlier. The survivors used it again but with a different meaning, to link the massacre with their escape.

Four kilometers further northeast is Vainillas or ba in nil la as, which is “heal the bodies of the first born and those tired of the practice.” It has a double meaning of “see in the hills.” This name was likely given by the Olomeca who saw the survivors in the hills, helped them descend, and began to heal the injuries of the Itza women and offspring. Four kilometers to the east is El Carrizal, a name which may have been given as the northern group of Itza rebel survivors left La Trinidad. El Carrizal is hel k’ar ri is sal or “movement of the detained women beside wall.” “Wall” is a nickname for the Itza - the wall of wetness at Lago Guija. Carrizal also contains the destination of the women who had been detained: Cari or Cali - California.[3] For the Itza attackers, the phrase “movement beside” may have thrown them off - looking for the survivors in Honduras. [3] The ‘r’ and ‘l’ are interchangeable in the ancient language.

But for a few days the survivors did go to present-day Honduras. Potrerillos is one kilometer north of Vainillas. Potrerillos is pot tar re er ri il lo os or “see the arrival of the women, free from being set down, who were squeezed out by the paddlers.” Like Vainillas, Potrerillos was named by the Olomeca who happened to arrive there, probably after hearing about the massacre.[4] Two kilometers north of Potrerillos at the Sumpul River is Petapa. This name comes from the Itza survivors not the Olomeca. Petapa is pet ta ap pa and means “remains poured from the swinging at the bodies,” describing the horror of blood and body parts pouring out of the bodies attacked by the Itza. It has a double meaning of “covering” referring to the blood covering the ground. The Peta- prefix is unusual and would be repeated by the survivors once they reached their destination in California. [4] The syllable re would normally have been rep to describe Itza paddlers, however the Olomeca, and related ethnicities, alone among the Mesoamericans, used the syllable ren. Re was a suitable compromise for the Olomeca when speaking of the Itza. Later the Otomi, partially related to the Olomeca, used a similar approach when naming the state of Guerrero.

The survivors and those who accompanied them crossed the Sumpul River at Petapa and went three kilometers northeast to Olosingo. It appears that at least one of the Itza warriors still pursued the survivors because Olosingo means “blade to the man/men who set down many free first-born.” The Olo prefix tells us that it was the Olomeca who killed the pursuer. At this point the survivors and the Olomeca who accompanied them appeared to no longer have much fear of being pursued because they turned east parallel to the Lempa River and then eventually southeast to the Lempa.

Eleven kilometers east of Olosingo and slightly north is the village of Coyolillo. It is k’oy yol li il lo or “see those beside, free of the strikes of the chewers.” The chewers could refer to either the Kiche or the Cho (Itza) who were the two original tobacco users. In fact, this name references Coyolito, found on Isla Grande de Zacate right next to Isla Tigre where the early Mesoamerican people lived. Coyolito, from about 600 years earlier, speaks about the Kiche and Cho gaining tobacco from the Xibalba in exchange for a human sacrifice. Here, Coyolillo links the massacre in Chalatenango to the first human sacrifice in the Gulf of Fonseca. It also references Coyolar, the beginning point of the Las Vueltas portion of the massacre. Because Coyolillo contains the syllable for “beside”, it seems that it was named by people already at the location, not by the Itza survivors themselves. These may have been Lenca but more likely were Ulua (Cuzcatlan) from nearby Arcatao.

Tomala is two kilometers southeast of Coyolillo. Tomala is to om ma al la or “time of those tired of the evil sacrifices at the foam (balsam).” It has a double meaning of “open space of water” or “ocean,” indicating that there was already knowledge that the survivors were to be transported by ocean. At this point, 15 kilometers from the Ojos de Agua massacre, the survivors and their Olomeca companions turned to the southeast to meet the Lempa River. Tambla is one kilometer south of Tomala. Tambla is ta am bel la or “remnant of the harvesters tired of the spiders.” It has a double meaning of “boats on waterway to deep water,” again indicating that they were on their way to an ocean retreat. Tambla was meant to signal the name Tamanique, the home base of the Itza in the balsam hills of La Libertad, El Salvador - original home for both those who escaped and the warriors who pursued them.

San Francisco del Aceituno is three kilometers southeast of Tomala. It provides an indication where the Itza survivors were going to - San Francisco or what we now call northern California.[5] San Francisco del Aceituno is tza an bar ra an si is k’o ot te el as tze et it tu un no or “challenge of the women and children tired of the practice of the upright on the children at the large trees, who ran from many corpses from the blades and blows, movement to the boats.” The name references the first-born sacrifice practice at the balsam trees and the massacre in Chalatenango. The name has a double meaning of “tired of running on the stones of the uprights (steep hills),” describing the difficult journey through the mountains of southern Honduras. The name also makes two references to the Olomeca, indicating that they accompanied the Itza women and children. [5] San Francisco (California), would have been named later, when this group of Itza survivors arrived in the San Francisco Bay. Therefore, the name of San Francisco del Aceituno was named after news came back of the safe arrival of the Itza refugees to northern California, to a place they named San Francisco.

Gualcixe is four kilometers southeast of San Francisco del Aceituno. Gualcixe is wal si is che or wal si ik tze - the x can be either a k’, ch, or s. It means “Sky observe many who handled the movement uprights - hills.” Sky is an ethnic identifier meaning Ulua (Cuscatlan). It has a double meaning of “guides” or “Olomeca”. Valladolid is two kilometers south of Gualcixe. While it might be a colonial era name coming from Spain, its meaning fits here. It is ba al la at to ol li it or “time of being beside the bodies tired of the blows and sacrifices of the leaders,” with a double meaning of “loaded onto boats.”

Eleven kilometers south of Valladolid is Guajiniquil, seven kilometers east of Arcatao. It takes its name in part from Manaquil, one of the names of the river that flows through Arcatao. Guajiniquil is wa ach chi in ni ik’ ki il or “Sky see the dear ones and turtle beings in the large hills.” Turtle beings refer to pregnant women. Putting the qualifier “large” with “hills” is another indicator for the Olomeca accompanying the dear ones and turtle beings. The name recalls the Ulua’s own ancestral woman who escaped the Itza (Cho) of her day by the Manaquil River.

Less than three kilometers south of Guajiniquil is La Virtud. It is la ap pi ir tu ut or “see the companions tired of the swinging and the opened corpses.” This unusual name confirms that the Itza warriors dismembered bodies after they killed them. La Haciendita is four kilometers southeast of La Virtud. It takes its name from Hacienda near San Jose las Flores, so it may have been named a little later. It is la as si ir ren ti it ta or “see the (Olomeca) paddlers with the several remaining of those tired of the practice of opening by the blows.”

Finally, the Itza survivors together with Olomeca reached the Lempa River near where the Rio Mocal joins it.  Mocal is mo ok’ Cal or “those trapped split for Cal (California).” K’al - “retained” - has basically the same meaning as mo - “trapped”, which indicates that cal is meant to be a geographic identifier. In addition, Mocal shares three of the same letters with Miwok, another clue who they became when they reached California. On the El Salvador side of the Lempa near the Mocal River is Santa Catarina, or tza an tak’ k’at tar ri in ha, which means “those who ran from the wetness and their firstborn crossed on dryness arriving beside the river.” To cross on dryness means that they arrived overland not by boat on the river.

Once the Itza survivors reached the Lempa River, they were likely taken by boat by the Olomeca downstream to the Pacific Ocean. At the mouth of the Lempa the Itza survivors, soon to become Miwok, were taken by sail raft, again by the Olomeca, up the Pacific Coast to the San Francisco Bay, where they would have been met by the Ohlone, relatives of the Olomeca.

The name that most links the Miwok to the survivors of the Ojos de Agua / Las Vueltas massacre is Petaluma, a Miwok village name near the center of the coastal Miwok area. Petaluma shares a prefix with Petapa, El Salvador, a village just northwest of Ojos de Agua. Petaluma is pet ta al lum ma or “the time of the bad ones pouring the remains on the ground,” nearly an identical meaning as Petapa, describing the massacre with the graphic phrase “pouring the remains.” In addition, Peta is a very rare indigenous prefix in the Americas, increasing the likelihood of a link between these two names. Petaluma has a second meaning which describes the way the tide comes up the Petaluma River all the way to the site of Petaluma, from pet tal lum ha or “arrival of the water pouring over land.”

Other names indicate the first arrival of the Olomeca and Itza survivors, now Miwok, into San Francisco Bay. At Sausalito they were greeted by the Ohlone who likely showed them where to settle. Sausalito is tza us sal li it to or “beside those capable under the blows and sacrifices of the Sal at the wetness.” Sal (“wall”) is a nickname for the Itza. Sausalito also describes the cliffs there. The Ohlone likely directed the Olomeca and Itza survivors to the San Pablo Bay and the Petaluma Bay. San Pablo is tza an pa ap lo or “wetness (bay) of those who ran, free of the swinging at the body.”

Towering above San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay is Mount Tamalpais. The name Tamalpais originated with this story. Tamalpais is ta am ma al pa is or “the time of moving from the remains of the bodies from the bad spiders.” The first syllable tam was meant to recall the Itza home in El Salvador, Tamanique, as well as Tambla, the name they gave a place in Honduras as they were fleeing Chalatenango and heading toward the Lempa River boats to freedom.[6] [6] Tamal might also be a much older name, referencing the Tamal of India and might indicate a similar flight by boat by their ancestors escaping the Tamal, perhaps to Burma, 45,000 to 50,000 years ago.

Olompali is a large hill on the west side of the Petaluma River, inland about five kilometers from the San Pablo Bay. Olompali obviously borrows from both Olomeca and Ohlone. It is ol lo om pal li or “boats beside those free from the leaders at the foam (balsam). Olo indicates that the boats were Olomeca. It has a double meaning of “the time of the crest beside those free of the bodies at the foam (balsam).”

Other Miwok names around Petaluma are consistent with this interpretation. Payran, a Petaluma neighborhood, is pa ar ra an or “time of those tired of running from the bodies.” The ‘y’ in the name gives it a partial rhyme with Maya, indicating who they were running from.  San Antonio, a creek south of Petaluma, is tza an nan to on ni or or “hills of the women ancestors who ran from the sacrifices of the leaders at the wetness (balsam).” Kastania is two kilometers south of Petaluma. It is kas ta an ni ha, meaning “river of those who broke away running from the remains in the hills,” with a double meaning of “breaking away from practice on the beginners (first-born).”

The name San Francisco also originates with the Miwok. It is sa an bar ra an si is k’o and means “movement by boat of several who ran, tired of the blade, on the swollen current (Pacific Ocean).” It has a double meaning of “the cold” indicating moving to a colder climate than they were used to. Another double meaning is “harvesters on the waterway” San Francisco would become a buzzword name in El Salvador and Honduras for Itza women escaping to the west coast of North America.

At the Pacific Ocean at the Salmon Creek mouth is Pulyalakum, which has a double meaning. On one hand it is pu ul ya al la ak’ k’um or “at the rinse, time of explaining growing tired of the pain from the cutting the skin into pieces.” This describes their running away from the Itza guards. The second meaning describes the run of the salmon. It is quite possible that the Miwok named the salmon here. Salmon is sal mo on or “previously trapped by the Sal,” where Sal is an ethnic identifier for Itza. This name describes the Miwok situation. But Salmon also describes the movement of the salmon: sal mo on: “previously trapped by the wall.” The salmon jumps over the wall or barrier that it was previously trapped behind.

The Itza men did not just leave alone the Itza survivors (Miwok) at Petaluma. After some time - months or years - a group of Itza men sailed up the coast from El Salvador in search of the Itza women and offspring who survived the Las Vueltas / Ojos de Agua massacre. The first name that points toward the arrival of the Itza warriors is the name of a park, Big Sur. There is no convincing origin for the name Big Sur.[1] [1] For example, the wikipedia entry on Big Sur says that “the original Spanish-language name for the unexplored mountainous terrain south of Monterey, the capital of Alta California, was "el país grande del sur" meaning, "the big country of the south." It was Anglicized by English-speaking settlers as Big Sur.”

In Mi, Big Sur is bi ik’ sur or “foreign companions on the wind.” This indicates that the “foreigners” were sailing. It is interesting that they are called “foreign”. The Olhone, having arrived from Central America less than 200 years earlier, likely would not have called the Itza foreign. This likely makes the name have a Chumash origin. Further evidence of a Chumash origin comes from the syllable for foreign: sur. The Ohlone version of Mi would have used sun.

A few kilometers up the coast from Big Sur is Bixby. Bixby is bi is bi or “companions of the companions who moved.” I think that the first “companion” here means from the same ethnicity and maybe also partner. The second companion is a friendly way of referring to the Miwok. Given that this name also starts with bi, like Big Sur, I would guess that this is also a Chumash name.

Five kilometers north are the names Soberanes Point and Garrapata Creek. These names have a much more Mesoamerican sound to them, likely marking the change from Chumash to Ohlone territory. Soberanes is highly likely to be an Itza name that the Ohlone kept alive later. Soberanes is so ob ber ra an ne es or “dancers observing for the tail of the harvesters who ran since they were tired of the curves.” The use of the term harvesters is condescending and something the Itza men used to describe Itza women but that Ohlone would be unlikely to use. The syllable ran is a clue that the Itza were talking to Ohlone here since ran is an ethnic marker for Olomeca (and Ohlone). The “curves” relate to blades but could have a phallic double meaning. Garrapata is k’ar ar ra ap pa at ta is “time of the remnant in the bath (Pacific Ocean), here to detain those who grew tired of the swinging at the body.” Later this same word, double meaning of tick, was used by Poto women (relatives of the Ohlone) in Guerrero, Mexico, to describe Kiche men as part of the new Otomi ethnicity.

Further north is Point Lobos, which is lo ob bo os or “dancers in the hole (Pacific Ocean) to set down the free ones;” likely an Itza-given name. Carmel by the Sea is an usual name for the western U.S. It seems likely that is derives from an indigenous name given the consistent meaning with the remainder of this narrative. Carmel by-the-Sea or Carmel Bithese is k’ar mel bi ix che etz tze or “uprights observing for the companions who moved and that they (uprights) failed to handle detaining.” Uprights refer both to the sails on the sail raft(s) and to the Itza men. Carmel alone would be “failed to detain” - telling part of the story, but Carmel Bithese tells a more complete story and is likely the original name given by the Itza sailors.

More names along the Pacific Coast indicate that the Ohlone spotted the Itza search party and eventually detained them. Monterey is mo on te er re or “paddlers who previously trapped the women in the trees (balsam trees of Tamanique).” The Ohlone and the Itza used different syllables for paddlers but Monterey uses a neutral syllable re, consistent with the Ohlone seeing Itza paddlers. Further up the coast at present-day Half Moon Bay, the original name was San Benito. San Benito is tza an ben ni it to or “those who gave blows in the hills (Chalatenango) to those who ran from the sacrifices at the wetness (Tamanique).” It has a double meaning of “paddle to the lost harvesters,” indicating that the Itza were looking for the Itza Miwok, who were lost to them.

Continuing up the coast from San Benito (Half Moon Bay) is Miramar or mi ir ra am ma ar, “the time of seeing the bad cats tired from spidering.” The next name is El Granada or el k’ar ra an nat ta, meaning “tired remnant from a distance who detained the women who had run.” The name uses a syllable ran that is consistent with the Ohlone giving this name. In the hills above El Granada is Rancho Corral de Tierra. This is ra an cho ok’ k’o or ra al te et ti er ha or “time of the challenge in the water with the tired esteemed leaders who, in the trees, took the blade to the women who ran tired of the openings (injuries), then split.”

Above Rancho Corral de Tierra is Scarpet Peak. It is sak k’ar pet or “searching for those they had detained and poured.” This name reveals who the Itza were looking for - the pet - those “poured” were those who escaped through Petapa and found their way to Petaluma - the Miwok. Back near the coast a little further north the name Capistrano shows up. It is ka ap pi is ti ir ra an no - “No (Ohlone) see arrival of those who swing at the beginners and those who ran and moved, tired of the openings.” The no (“large”) syllable is one of the ethnic identifiers of the Olomeca (and Ohlone). The “swing-at-the-beginners” (double meaning “hold-in-mouths”) could refer to either the Itza or Kiche. This name has a double meaning of “women in the trees,” linking it to the events in Chalatenango.

Montara is a name along the coast just south of Pacifica and the name of a mountain about five kilometers inland. Montara is mo on tar ra or “arrival of those who previously trapped the tired ones.” The tired ones refers both to the physical state of the Itza survivors (Miwok) and that they were tired of the sacrifice practice. Montara was also known as Montoro originally. This name also fits the story. Montoro is mo on to or ro or “leaders who previously trapped those free of the sacrifices.”

San Pedro is located on the south side of Pacifica, where the story arrives to its climax. San Pedro is tza an pet tar ro or “arrival of those who poured those who ran from the wetness.” It has a double meaning of “women in the trees,” referring to the Itza women who were killed in Chalatenango. Nearby Linda Mar is li in ta am ma ar, meaning “time beside the remnant of spiders who were bad to the first born.” It has a double meaning of “one in the deep sea,” indicating that there was only one sail raft. The last two syllables of Linda Mar are tamar or tamal, referencing that the bad spiders were looking for those near Mount Tamalpais (the Miwok). Like Tamalpais, Linda Mar (Lintamar), with its middle syllable tam, also references the Itza home in Tamanique, El Salvador, where it is likely the Itza sailors came from.

Two kilometers further north in Pacifica is Calera or k’al le er ha or “retain the other paddlers in the water.” The use of “other” here means that by this time the Ohlone considered the Itza to be others or foreigners. The Calera Valley indicates where the Ohlone captured the Itza out in the ocean. The neighborhood a little inland here is called Vallemar. Vallemar is bal le em mar or “boat of the paddlers descended into the sea.” The Ohlone were able to submerge the Itza sailing raft and capture the Itza swimming in the water.

One kilometer north is Mori Point, a name that is neither English nor Spanish. Mori is mo or ri or “men (leaders) trapped beside,” with a double meaning of “mound (ridge) beside.” One of the main streets in Pacifica is Palmetto. In Mi it is pal mer re et to or “time of the sacrificers of the body failing the challenge of paddling” and a double meaning of “boats.” It indicates that the Itza could not out-sail or out-paddle the Ohlone. Lake Merced, a couple kilometers north, tells the same story. It is mer tze et or “upright (sails) fail in the challenge,” with a double meaning of “to slash.” Inland from Mori Point is Milagra Ridge, a name that sounds Spanish but would be Milagro. Milagra is mi il la ak’ k’er ra or “see the tired cats who slashed the skin of those who were tired,” with a play on “tired.” It has a double meaning of “detain,” indicating that the Itza were captured rather than drowned.

Names further inland indicate that the captured Itza were likely taken inland from the coast at Pacifica to the area near Serramonte and Colma, just south of present-day Daly City, perhaps because that is where the peninsula Ohlone leadership was located. Serramonte is ser ra am mo on te and means “bind the spiders who previously trapped the tired ones in the (balsam) trees.” Consistent with Mori Point, this name confirms that the Itza leaders were captured and bound and brought to Serramonte. Nearby Colma is k’o ol ma or “bad bladed leaders” with a double meaning of “transport the bad ones.” This seems to indicate that the Itza were tied to a lattice and carried that way. The syllable ma often indicates death so it is possible that the Itza leaders were killed here, ironic given Colma’s present status as a host of multiple cemeteries and almost no live people.

Finally, the name of the Ohlone on the peninsula indicates the fate of the Itza captives. The peninsular Ohlone are called the Ramaytush. This is ra am ma it tu ux or “corpses of the three bad ones who wished to give blows to those who were tired of the spiders (Itza).” By using the syllable may, the name indicates that it was three Maya corpses and the syllable it is associated with the Itza. The name also pays homage to the Rama of the Chibchab, relatives of the Ohlone, since both came from the Olomeca line. The Rama escaped from the Itza (Cho) at Isla Tigre about 600 years earlier. Tuch also has a meaning of “snub tail,” often associated with a rabbit, perhaps hinting at the form of death for the Itza.

The Miwok at Petaluma were no doubt afraid after the arrival of the Itza raft even though the Itza men were killed. They chose to move by boat to the San Joaquin Delta, by way of the Sacramento River, and the Sierra Nevada foothills. The former village name of Anizumne is located near the present-day town of Rio Vista on the west bank of the Sacramento River. Anizumne is an ni is sum ne or “move running to the hills on the winding tails.” The use of “running” indicates that they were pressured to move - the threat of Itza sailors.  The syllable zum is a reference back to their ancestors who ran from Tamanique up to the hills above Rio Sumpul.

From there the Miwok did not go up the more obvious Sacramento or San Joaquin Rivers. Instead they chose the winding and more hidden Mokelumne and Cosumnes rivers.  A very similar name to Anizumne is found at the confluence of the Mokelumne and Cosumnes, the village of Unizumne, which is un ni is sum ne or “move the children up the winding tail to the hills.” This name could not be any clearer about the reason that the Miwok moved up to the Sierra foothills from the coast - to keep the children safe from Itza threats. The use of the syllable zum again refers back to the massacre in Chalatenango.

Sakayak-unni on the Mokelumne River is sak ka ya ak un ni or “warriors pain in the skin search for the first born, to the hills.” The use of the syllables kayak reveals that the Miwok were transporting themselves by canoe or kayak and that they may have been the ones to invent the kayak, which would have been about 7600BCE. Mokelumne is mo ok’ k’el lum ne or “trapped and slashed ones split from the land (lum) for the tail.” Lum is mostly a geographic marker for Petaluma - they left Petaluma for the San Joaquin valley. Mokelumne also describes the river being formed after the Ohlone broke open the Carquinez Strait allowing the large lake to flow out of the San Joaquin valley. Mokelumne’s second meaning is “Tail after the constricted earth gashed and split open.” The downstream portion of the Mokelumne would not have existed if the Ohlone had not drained the central valley.

The Miwok also moved up the Cosumnes River to the Sierra foothills. Cosumnes describes the river coming down from the Sierra - ko os sum ne etz or “observe the winding tail setting down on blades (rocks). But the double meaning of Cosumnes also describes Miwok history: “observe the blades who set down the tails (first-born) at the Sum (Sumpul).” This indicates that they saw the Itza looking for them - most likely referring to Colma - and because of the Itza threat moved to the foothills. A village on the Cosumnes is Chuyumkatat. It is the most direct name describing the feelings of the Miwok toward the Itza. Chuyumkatat is chu yum k’at tat or “cross from the guards of the controlling (owner) father(s).” They crossed from Central America to northern California to get away from both the guards and the leader father(s) - describing a hierarchy.

An interesting name on the Cosumnes River, near the eastern border of present-day Sacramento County, is Michigan. While it is possible that it is a settler era name, it is likely that it is a name created here by the Miwok and later borrowed by their relatives, the Ojibwe, in Michigan (state). Michigan is mich chi ik’ k’an or “scrape the large yellow in the open air.” This would indicate that they were mining. Giver that this was in the middle of gold country, yellow likely indicated gold. Later in the state of Michigan it indicated copper.

The name Miwok uses the letter ‘w’ as a wild-card that is primarily an ‘r’ but with secondary meanings coming from ‘m’ and ‘p’. Miwok is mi ir ro ok and means “see the loose cats split open.” It matches the name Cosumnes in speaking about seeing the Itza warriors who sailed up from Central America looking for them. But Miwok is more specific in referring to the Itza who were captured by the Ohlone at killed at Colma. Using the ‘m’ and ‘p’ adds secondary meanings: “trapped in the hole (ocean) and blasted, the spirits.” Calling the Itza ‘loose’ means that they came up on their own rather than with a larger, organized group. Miwok is also an onamonapia - i.e. “cats wokked”.

The Miwok were just the start of Itza women and first-born escaping the Itza Maya of El Salvador to the west coast of North America, from the lower San Joaquin valley to Washington, between 7700 and 7400BCE. All the nations who speak a Penutian language, except the Ohlone, have their origin with escaping Itza women at this time. By perhaps 200 years later, by 7450BCE, the Itza finally stopped their practice of first-born sacrifice, likely in large part due to the resistance of the Itza women.

Escaping the Maya: San Bartolome of Arcatao

Between 8300 and 8200 BCE, the Cho and Kiche increased their repression on Isla Tigre, forcing all people there to comply with the first-born child sacrifice practice. This precipitated a move to the mainland of El Salvador, splitting into the four lineage communities, each by water. The leaders of the communities - Olomega, Tehuacan, Güija, and Coatepeque - decided to meet together in a central location perhaps once a year. They chose a spot that is roughly halfway (by water) between the mouth of the Lempa, the Cuscatlan base, and Lago Güija, where the Chorti/Chol/Itza were located. This was essentially where the Sumpul River enters the Lempa River. This is known from the name Arcatao, a name that used to be associated with a place along the Sumpul River a few kilometers upstream from the Lempa.

The first meaning of Arcatao in Mi is ar k’at ta or, “the time of the crossing of the leaders of the remnants.” The ‘a’ followed by the ‘o’ is an unusual construction, saved for a special place. It is likely that the early names Teotipa, Teopan, and teosinte were meant to mirror the ending of the name Arcatao.

The name Sumpul also explains a reason that the four remnants came together. On the surface the name is sum pul or “up and down twisting,” which does describe the motion of the Sumpul River as it comes out of the mountains of Chalatenango. However a double meaning is revealed by a hidden, dropped ‘r’, a somewhat common linguistic trick in Mi, in the first syllable. In this meaning Sumpul is sur rum pu ul, or “explain the land of the foreigner who slashes.” The foreigner was the Xibalba based in Corinto to the east. The four remnants came together to discuss what they had learned about the Xibalba and to defend themselves from the violent Xibalba. They probably hid this meaning so that the Xibalba themselves, who spoke the same Mi language, wouldn’t know the purpose of the Sumpul meeting place, which would be relevant if the four leaders planned to continue to meet regularly at the Sumpul River.

It may seem ironic for the Mesoamerican leaders to call the Xibalba “foreigners” since the Mesoamerican leaders were in the land of the Xibalba. But “foreigner” doesn’t relate to whose land but rather simply that the Xibalba were foreign to them, that is, from a different migration from Asia as them. This would seem to connect the Xibalba to the Zuni whose name means "foreigners of the hills (cliffs)".

Based in the east at Lago Olomega, the Olomeca were probably the ones explaining - they were the closest to the Xibalba at Corinto. If Sumpul was named at the first gathering of the four lineages since they left Isla Tigre, the Olomega might have needed a year or two, but not too much time, to scout out the trails, hunting and other routines of the Xibalba. This would place the Sumpul-Arcatao encounter right around 8200 BCE, a few years after the 8208BCE triple star event, which triggered the move to the mainland.

The place names around the Rio Sumpul tell the story of what happened next. At the confluence of the Sumpul and the Lempa is El Dique. In Mi this is ti ik’ k’er or “slashed and opened Ik’.” A member of the Ik’ party, from Tehuacan near the mouth of the Lempa, was killed. Next to El Dique is San Benito, tza an ben ni it to, “run from the sacrificing blows at the wetness to the wild hills.” San Benito may be the first use of the prefix “San” in a name in Mesoamerica, usually indicating the death of a person or people. This usage of San may stem from a visit by the Mesoamerican people to the San people of southern Africa, the first human dissident group to flee the main group of humans over 100,000 years ago, due to repression and killings. The San name uses “san” in a similar way - tza an or “run from the shiny (wetness).” This name suggests that the leaders at the Sumpul wished to sacrifice her young child and her partner intervened but was killed. It indicates that the men pursuing the woman still desired to carry out the sacrifice of the woman’s child.

Northeast a couple kilometers is El Candungo or hel ka an tu un k’o or “other (woman) and beginner (young child) run from the corpse from the blades.” The wife of the Ik’ man and their child(ren) fled from the river up into the hills toward Candungo.

Who was this Ik’ leader? The ethnic name Ulua tells us more. Ulua is ul uh ha’ or “explain to the sacred (shamans) at the river.” The Ik' leader was explaining the truth, what was sacred, to the sacred ("holy" leaders), with some sarcasm expressed in "holy" leaders. It seems that the Ik’ leader (Ulua) was stopping a sacrifice process by one or more shaman at the Sumpul River. This tells us that the sacrifice practice did not stop at Isla Tigre. A link between the Ulua and the Cuscatlan is the name Usulutan near the mouth of the Lempa River which has a similar, but rare, structure: ulu.

The surviving woman and her family were likely pursued, evidenced by her seeking a more remote hideout: Eramon Mountain to the north and nearby San Antonio de la Cruz. (Click to enlarge map.)

San Antonio de la Cruz provides some detail about events: tza an toh on ni ot te hel la ak’ k’er ruz, or “shelter for the woman in the trees on the hill tired of the slashing of the skin of the swimmer.” Calling her husband a swimmer indicates that he was trying to escape in the river when he was killed. Nearby Eramon echoes these events: her ra am mo on is “woman tired of the previous trapping by the spiders.” “Previous” indicates the events did not happen while she was resting at Eramon. “Spiders” refers to the paddlers (the "holy leaders") who killed her husband. Generally “spider” is used in a derogatory fashion. The wife of Ulua hid in the thick woods on Eramon Mountain.

Near the base of Eramon is El Zapote or hel tza ap po ot te, which means “shelter in the trees for the woman from the swings of those at the wet hole.” It has the double meaning of “rub” indicating that the woman rubbed her muscles from the difficult hiking. To the east a couple kilometers is the place name Tequeque, a curious name that indicates the woman played a trick on her two pursuers. Tequeque is te ek’ her k’er or “woman slashing the trees under the stars.” It repeats the slashing syllable twice to over emphasize it. I believe this name indicates the woman cut a false path through the trees to fool her pursuers and then doubled back toward the Sumpul River. Tequeque has double meanings of “strengthen” and “to flatten on the hills.” She flattened a false path through the brush.

About four kilometers northwest of Tequeque is El Zacamil. This indicates that the two pursuers continued going north following the false path made by the woman at Tequeque. It is hel sak’ k’a am mi il and means “Woman satisfied to see the searching cats spidering along.” The leaders - the cats - continued walking, spidering, on the false path. El Zacamil became a well-used name in indigenous El Salvador and this was very likely its first usage. El Zacamil has a complete double meaning, hel tza ak’ k’a am mi il, “woman satisfied to see the skin of the cat at the wetness.” The woman doubled back from near El Zacamil, going west to the Sumpul River and saw the body of her deceased husband there.

The woman arrived to the Sumpul River perhaps near where the Manaquil River pours into the Sumpul, about four kilometers southwest of El Zacamil. Manaquil is ma an ak’ ki’ il or “run from the badness, see the skin of the dear one at the current.” This name seems to indicate that for some of her journey she followed the Manaquil River and upon reaching the Sumpul River saw the body of her husband. This also seems to imply that the Olomega leader in the boat with the body moved the boat upstream to the Manaquil confluence. Manaquil uses the nak’ syllable for a double meaning with il of “see the planets,” indicating that the same leaders who saw the spectacular triple planet alignment on Isla Tigre in 8208 BCE seem to be the ones who killed her husband and who now pursued her. The Kiche day sign of Manik seems to have been named for this woman, playing off the name Manaquil. Manik would mean “Ik’ who ran from the badness into the hills.” The Mars retrograde calendar moved into the Manik’ position in 8199 BCE, nine years after the triple planet event.

The second name of the Manaquil River, the Guayampoque, tells more of the story of the woman fooling the pursuing men, wa ya am po ok’ k’er - “being who slashed (the brush) splits to the hole (Sumpul) from the painful spiders.” The prefix “Guaya” (Waya) was meant to sound like Maya, linking the name Maya (Cho-Itza and Kiche) to the two men who killed her husband. Guayampoque has double meanings of “night”, “circle”, and “rinse,” so during the night she circled back to the rinse of the Sumpul River.

The name of the patron saint of Arcatao, San Bartolome, tells us that the wife of the Ik’ (Ulua) leader attempted to secure the body of her husband at the river. San Bartolome is tza an ba ar to ol lo om mer or “time of the failure to free the shiny (bloody) body of the one sacrificed by the leaders at the foam.” In her first attempt and perhaps more, the Ik’ woman failed to secure the body of her husband. The name has a double meaning of “boat” indicating that the body was in a boat. Perhaps in a boat at the Manaquil.

The names Nombre de Jesus and Escalante on the Lempa River slightly downstream from the Sumpul confluence tell us that the body of the Ulua leader in the boat with the Olomega leader was also located there, probably after its Sumpul location. Nombre de Jesus is no om ba ar re et te che es su us or “the time of being capable of the challenge of observing the large paddler at the foam with the body from layer of trees.” The use of re at the end of Nombre helps to confirm it was an Olomega paddler since the Ulua women would have said rep while the Olomega man would have said ren; dropping the last letter - resulting in re - is consistent with one describing the other. A double meaning is “boat”. Another double meaning is "to sip," indicating that the Ulua woman took advantage of when the Olomega was vulnerable, taking a drink.

Escalante is es k’al la an te or “observe the retained in the fatigued current from the trees. “Fatigued current” - lan - is a specific ethnic marker for the Olomega, another indicator that it was an Olomega man with the body. The village just north of Escalante is Los Henriquez: lo os sen ri ik ker re ez or “beside the loose sky one (Ik’) who observed the (Olomega) paddler to free the gashed wise one.” This village is beside where the Ulua (Ik’) woman observed the boat with the body. It makes it clear she was attempting to free the body at the Lempa River.

And she did free the body! Patanera is six kilometers north of Nombre de Jesus and seems to indicate the direction that the woman fled with the body, into the steep hills. Pa at ta an ne er ra - is “other (woman) runs with remains of body from the tail bath (Lempa) tired.” Pat has the double meaning of “pod” or “husks” which seems to indicate how the woman drug the body.

To the east is Quipure, which is ki ip pu ur re or “explain to the paddler the splitting open of the dear one.” Quipure indicates that the woman used persuasion with the Olomega paddler to free the body. Quipure has a double meaning of “lever on the up and down,” which seems to indicate that the woman used branches as levers to move the body up and down the hills. Los Sitios, about 10 kilometers north of Nombre de Jesus, seems to indicate the first camp of the Ulua woman on the run with the body. It is lo os si it ti os and means “the one who freed the one set down and opened by the blows from several (more than one) sets down.” This indicates that both Maya leaders (Cho and Kiche) attacked the Ulua man at the Sumpul River. Gualcimaca is two kilometers east of Los Sitios, in present-day Honduras. It is wa al si im ma ak’ ka, meaning “time of the being with beginner and the one blasted several times on the skin by the bad ones.” This meaning helps to confirm that the woman was carrying a (first-born) child while she was dragging the body of her deceased husband. Gualsimaca has a double meaning of “observed the trapped (body) at the river,” linking the name to the events at Nombre de Jesus.

Continuing to move toward Arcatao, Hacienda Vieja probably comes from Asenda Vieja or as sen ta ap pi es cha or “companion with remains observes the two with knowledge of the swinging practices.” She saw the Cho and Kiche leaders from the heights of Hacienda Vieja.

The name Nueva Trinidad, north of Eramon Mountain, and six kilometers from Arcatao, confirms that the woman did succeed eventually in acquiring the corpse of her deceased husband. Nueva Trinidad is ne eb ba at te er ri in ni it ta at or “woman and first born separate from the tail at bath with blasted body remains beside into the dense trees of the hills.” It has double meanings of “husks”, “ridge”, and “father.” The father reference likely refers to patriarch, or the leader of the highest-held lineage, the Cho at Lago Guija, pointing the blame at this leader. Whether the Ik’ couple brought a young child with them to the gathering (Arcatao) or the woman gave birth at the Sumpul, Nueva Trinidad repeats that their child was threatened with sacrifice by the Cho and Kiche leaders.

A few kilometers northeast of Nueva Trinidad is Las Vegas, in the direction of Arcatao. Las Vegas is la as pek’ k’as or “the one tired of the practice broke away into the hills.” The name Arcatao has a second meaning that corresponds to its moved location, its current location, about 10 kilometers northeast of the Sumpul River. Its second meaning is ar k’at ta hor or “the time of crossing the crests with the remains.” The k’at syllable ties Arcatao to the Cuscatlan people. The moving of a place name, like happened in the case of Arcatao, was extremely rare, but the Ik’ woman won that privilege through her strength and bravery.

The changing of the place names, is echoed in the modern day story in Arcatao of San Bartolome. This story maintains that the town of Arcatao was originally along the Sumpul River near Eramon Mountain and its patron saint was San Bartolome. The statue of San Bartolome desired to be located at the current site of Arcatao, 10 kilometers away, and mysteriously moved to the current site. The townspeople found the statue there and moved it back to the river. Again the statue moved (or was moved) to the current site. Three times this happened, each time the townspeople moving the statue back to Eramon. Finally the fourth time the townspeople decided to follow the statue and relocate to the current Arcatao.

There are many similarities or at least consistencies between the community folk history and that portrayed in the place names of the region in the Mi language:

• The statue (the body) was moved clandestinely from the river to the hills of Arcatao.
• The community (place name) of Arcatao was moved from the Sumpul River to its current location, with Eramon Mountain figuring in both sources of the story.
• There were those opposing a move to Arcatao in both stories.
• The repeated moves of the statue seems to parallel the many attempts of the woman to secure the body.

The Sumpul-Arcatao incident shows that even though on the surface the Xibalba were the main enemy of the Mesoamerican people, the internal divisions would become the greater threat.

Many of the most common last names in Arcatao are likely indigenous rather than from Spain, with the meanings originating at the time of the Sumpul event. These last names include Guardado, Menjivar, and Dubon, which are rare - especially the latter two - in Spain.

Guardado is wa ar ta at to and means “time of the remains of the being sacrificed at the bath.” Guardado has a double meaning of “observe the fathers (elders)” - war tat, indicating that as the woman carried the remains she (the Guardado) was observing the Maya elders to ensure she and her family weren’t caught. The tat (father) syllable was also used in Nueva Trinidad.

Menjivar is men chi ba ar and means “time of the large one with the body in the shade (nighttime).” Large one in this name refers to the ethnic group, the Olomeka. The Olomeka leader was watching the body of the slain Cuscatlan leader. A double meaning of “boat” confirms the body was in a boat. A second double meaning is “chip,” perhaps indicating that the woman through a rock at the Olomeka man.

Dubon is tu ub bo on and means “listen with corpse previously at the hole (Sumpul River).” Dubon indicates that once the woman arrived to Arcatao she continued to listen for the two Maya leaders. People with the last name of Guardado, Mejivar, and Dubon are all likely descendants of the Ulua woman who grabbed the body of her deceased husband and ran for the hills.

The hill directly behind Arcatao is called La Cañada. This name also seems to originate from these early events. It is ka an ya at ta or “one who ran, beginner, and remains of one pained at the bath,” indicating the presence of the woman, her child (the beginner), and the remains of her husband. Within the flanks of La Cañada are small creases, some large enough to be caves. In Arcatao these are called “tatu.” This word seems to derive from the time of the woman hiding from the two leaders who searched for her. Tatu is ta at tu or “remains of the corpse from the bath.” It has a double mean of “father shaman” a slightly sarcastic expression for the Cho and Kiche leaders who were trying to kill her and her child.

The Ulua killed at the Sumpul was perhaps one of the better known martyrs in El Salvador until modern times. The Zapoteca, part of the Ik’ lineage like the Cuscatlan/Ulua, took the killed leader in this story as their deity, Pitao. Pitao means “remains of the companion from the blow of the leaders” or “companion of Arcatao.” Following this event the prefix “sum” became associated with the Cuscatlan/Ulua ethnicity. The name Chalatenango derives almost certainly from these events. It is cha al la at te er ren nan k’o or “time of the woman in the trees tired of the blades of the two and the paddler at the bath.” What especially links the name to these events in the inclusion of paddler, using a syllable en that refers in a hidden way (leaving off the ‘r’) to the Olomega. It also has double meanings of “horizontal” perhaps referring to the woman in the tatu and “load”. The name also links back to the Tenana River of Alaska and the two Sky women (like the Cuscatlan) who heroically broke away from the original migration from Asia to the Americas when it was at the Aleutian Islands in about 14000BCE.

 

Surviving the Tsunami Part 5: Soaking in the Lempa May Explain Hindu Soaking in the Ganges

Part 1 Cause of the Tsunami and First Impacts in El Salvador
Part 2 The Zapotec and Itza Float to Mexico
Part 3 The Battle for the Heart and Soul of the Otomi
Part 4 Long Distance Floaters - Tunica to Mississippi

Sand Burrowed in the Skin

The tsunami of 7200 BCE brought the pain of death and separation for many. Later some felt the joy of reunion like the Tunica. But the tsunami also had a lasting physical effect for some: severe physical pain to those who lived near the sandy coasts of present-day El Salvador’s San Vicente, Usulutan, San Miguel, and La Union. The extremely high winds of the tsunami broke open skin and pieces of sand burrowed into the skin.

The flat coastal area of eastern El Salvador, in today’s Usulutan department was one place the sand embedded in the skin, as already mentioned in the translation of Jiquilisco, located today about eight kilometers north of the Jiquilisco Bay: “see the movement of biting sand in the wind beside the tender ones.” The nearby town of San Dionisio tells us how people sought relief from the sand in the skin.

San Dionisio is located about five kilometers north of the Jiquilisco Bay. San Dionisio is also less than five kilometers from the Rio Grande de San Miguel. It seems to refer to this river in its name. San Dionisio comes from Mi, converted into a Spanish saint name, as happened with many of the San names in the region (Sandionisia to San Dionisio). San Dionisio is san ti on ni is si ha, meaning “movement of the river on many swollen bumps previously open.” This name indicates that people suffering from the sand in the skin would sit in the river for some relief. That river would likely have been the Rio Grande San Miguel. San Miguel also seems to come from this time over 9,000 years ago and relates to San Dionisia(o). It is san ni mi ik’ k’el and means “cats with swollen bumps from gashing wind.”

A similar process was going on among the survivors along the Lempa River 25 kilometers to the west of San Dionisio. Three “Lempa” villages tell the story of the sand in the skin: San Carlos Lempa, San Nicolas Lempa, and San Marcos Lempa. San Carlos Lempa, which is Sanakaros or san ak’ k’ar lo’ os in Mi and means “retained loose pieces set in place in the swollen skin.” The translation of Lempa is key though: leb em pah, which is “rub the body in the descent.” In Mi, the ‘b’ occasionally drops out in the middle of a word. The name Lempa makes it clear that the sand-in-the-skin ones sat in the river rubbing their body to get a little relief from the constant pain and irritation. The dropping of the ‘b’ in Lempa (Lebempa) also was political. The nearby Lenca/Olomeka would have spelled it Lenempa, so dropping the n/b letter altogether was a solution that worked for both the Cuscatlan and Lenca.

Twelve kilometers north of San Carlos Lempa is San Nicolas Lempa. It is san ni ik’ k’o hol la as leb em pah and means “tired of the swollen bumps from biting wind of the crest, practice of rubbing body in the descent.” In this name sitting in the river is called a practice, a habit done daily, but also similar to a religious practice. "Biting wind of the crest" refers to the tsunami. San Marcos Lempa is across the river from San Nicolas Lempa in Usulutan department. It is san ni im mar k’o os leb em pah, meaning “swollen bumps set in place from biting blasts from the sea, rub the body in the descent.”

Ten kilometers southeast of San Marcos Lempa is a town called California, the second town named California in Usulutan, the first close to Santiago de Maria. The names of each of these towns were meant to link Usulutan with California (U.S.). A few hundred years before the tsunami, a multi-ethnic migration took place to the San Francisco Bay Area, becoming the Ohlone, Miwok and related people. Each of the three California names has a different meaning. The California near the Lempa River is k’al li bor ni’ ha’ or “in the river beside for the swollen retained bumps.” Like San Marcos Lempa and related names, it refers to the practice of sitting in the river to relieve the pain from the embedded sand. It links to California (U.S.) in that both places suffered greatly from the tsunami. Alternately, those in California (U.S.) may have also sat in fresh water current to relieve their pain after the tsunami.

In the Lenca-Olmeca southeastern part of El Salvador there was also a problem with sand embedded in the skin. The small lakes in the southeast appear to have been used for soaking the skin of those with embedded sand, like the rivers in the center of the country. Laguna Maquigue is ma ak’ ki ik’ wer and means “dear ones with bad skin from the ripping wind.” It has a double meaning of “trapped in flesh.” Laguna Managuara is ma an ak’ wa ar ha’ and means “the time of the beings with bad skin in the wáter current.” A double meaning is "tired of the bad specks." Managuara was also the name of the more recent Lenca kingdom which could indicate they are the descendants of those who bathed their sore skin in the Laguna Managuara over 9,000 years ago. See Antonio Chevez in “The Royal House of Managuara.”

The name of the Lempa River and the names San Dionisio, San Miguel, San Carlos Lempa, San Nicolas Lempa, and San Marcos Lempa describe the problem of the sand burrowed in the skin from the tsunami and a partial solution of soaking in the river flow. The tsunami was found to have impacted both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the Americas. Impacts are found in the coastal names of South and North America. Similarly tsunami impacts are found in the names at the coasts of Europe, Africa, south Asia, and east Asia.

In some of these places where sand is abundant, sand likely burrowed into the skin, like in El Salvador. The mouth of the Ganges River, in Bangladesh, is one such place. The name Ganges suggests that after the tsunami, people went into the river to relieve the discomfort from the embedded sand. Ganges is k’a an che etz or “observe the flow handling the satisfying.” “Observe” in this name does not mean to see but rather a practice that is observed. This name recalls San Nicolas Lempa, in El Salvador. The Ganges was named after the soaking in the flowing river became a religious practice. Hindi follows this meaning. It is hi in ti and means “sand in the opening of the first ones" or "first ones in the sand at the mouth (of the river)." Together, Ganges and Hindi indicate that the Hindu practice began following the 7200 BCE tsunami.

The Tsunami and Mythology

The tsunami affected the mythology of the Maya and El Salvador. The most important characters in Salvadoran mythology are El Cipitio (Cipitillo) Alacran, Siguanaba, and Sihuehuet. Teotl also enters the myth. Who was Cipitillo Alacran? In mythology he is an 8 to 10 year boy with a wizard’s hat with his feet always pointed backward.

In the Mi language, the Cipitillo is si ip pi it ti il lo and Alacran is al la ak’ k’ar an. Putting the two together one gets “the time of seeing the companions in the current tired of the retentions in the opened skin from the loose blows.” El Cipitillo dates from the tsunami and specifically the time of people standing or sitting in the current of the Lempa River. Perhaps Cipitillo’s feet are backward because he ran backward looking at the arriving tsunami wave. Or while in the Lempa facing the current, one's feet were forced by the current to turn back the other way. Cipitillo’s hat may signify leadership; the orphan boy may have grown up to be a leader of the Cuscatlan.

Siguanaba is a shape-changing spirit who looks like a long-haired woman from behind with a skull (or horse) face from the front. Siguanaba is si ik’ wa an nab ha, meaning “many forgotten Ik’ beings in the water current.” It has a double meaning of “searching.” Siguanaba clearly refers to the Ik’ lineage that was based at the mouth of the Lempa River, consistent with the meaning of El Cipitillo. While some of the Ik’ lineage survived floating to Oaxaca, many did not. Siguanaba could be the search for a loved one, perhaps a woman with long hair, on the beach. You think she may be alive but when you turn her face around, she is clearly dead.

The mother of Cipitillo is Sihuehuet, si wer wet, which means “neighbors from the series of rips (the Great Lakes),” a reference to the Algonquin and the place of origin of the tsunami in North Dakota/Manitoba. This name was given after the Algonquin and Mesoamerican people determined the cause of the tsunami at Lake Winnipeg. The tsunami devastated the Atlantic coasts before it reached the Pacific coasts. Another name for Sihuehuet is Siquet or sik’ et, meaning “challenge of the search.”

Teotl is a god that is very common among the Pipil of El Salvador and who was likely brought to El Salvador by the Toltec, who were Totonac, Kakchiquel, and Otomi. The Otomi defected from the Toltec to join the Pipil, bringing, it would appear, Teotl. The prominence of Teotl among the Otomi was likely caused by the tsunami but not originating with the tsunami. Like many Mesoamerican gods, Teotl, or Teotal, seems to have originated in Africa at the time that the ancestors were leaving Africa. Teotal in the Mi of that time would have been te ot ta al and means “the time of shelter of the remnant from the sticks.” The sticks refer to the weapons of the dominant group at the Great Lakes of Africa. Teotal seems to be related to such words as Theos, Deus, and Dios. The Kiche, one of the ancestor groups of the Otomi, named their first home Teopan.

It is likely that Teotal (Teotl) gained special meaning for the Otomi when they washed ashore in Guerrero after the tsunami. In the tsunami context Teotl meant “time of shelter of sticks for the remnant,” with a double meaning of “arrival.” In more recent times the Otomi, as a member of the Azteca/Mejico alliance, may have been the ones to promote Teotl as teo tal, “arrival of the sacred,” the ever-flowing sacred energy. The Otomi would have been the only members of the Mejico alliance to have a tradition of using the syllables teo. These are just some of the examples of the impact of the tsunami on Mesoamerican mythology.

The Cuscatlan in the Bajo Lempa

After the flood, some of the remnants of the Ik’ lineage might have remained along the Pacific Coast, although likely more retired from the ocean. One could call them Lempa Maya, but I think Cuscatlan is more appropriate, given the department name of Cuscatlan along the Lempa River. Cuscatlan communities likely lived in the Jiquilisco and Usulutan areas of present-day Usulutan, the Tecoluca and San Nicolas Lempa area of present-day San Vicente, and the Zacatecoluca area of present-day La Paz, as well as areas to the north in present-day Cuscatlan and Cabanas departments and eastern Chalatenango.

Communities in the lower Lempa were important to continue to receive the logs floating down the Lempa, to be used for ocean-going rafts, but also in order to take advantage of the very good soils in the floodplain. However, while they may have planted close to the river, the post-tsunami communities were likely a long walk away at higher elevations to avoid both the ocean, in case it rose more, and the river which frequently floods. Tehuacan fits this description, rebuilt with the same name as the original Tehuacan near the ocean. The new Tehuacan may have become the spiritual center for the Cuscatlan.

The Zapotec ancestors found avocados in the Tehuacan valley of Mexico according to the archeological evidence. At some point they brought avocados back to their close relatives at the lower Lempa River. Evidence of this is the "West Indies" avocado, a lowland avocado, which developed separately from the Mexican highland avocado. It seems likely that the West Indies avocado was taken from the El Salvador-Guatemala coast at a later point to the Guatemalan highlands, creating the Guatemala variety of avocado, since the Guatemala avocado comes from the West Indies avocado.

But there is more convincing evidence for the avocado being brought to the Lower Lempa: the name of the village of Pacun near the Lempa River about 25 kilometers north of the current mouth. Pacun refers directly to avocado cultivation: pak’ un, “cultivation of avocado.” Pacun has a double meaning, pa ak’ k’un, or “skin over tender body,” describing the avocado. For more background, see Amanda J. Landon or Galindo-Tovar, etal.

One group of Cuscatlan moved about 50 kilometers northwest to the present-day department of Cuscatlan. There they named a hill Tecoluca, after their point of origin of Tecoluca in the lower Lempa. They named a nearby town Istagua – is tak’ wa’, meaning “movement of the beings to the dryness.” Another nearby name reveals their sailing heritage: San Martin (Sanamartin) or tza an nam mar ti in, which means “disappearance of the first ones in the current of the shiny open space (ocean) at the mouth (of the Lempa).” It has a double meaning of “spiders” (sailors). The name references those that were the first sailing in the ocean and the first ones lost in the tsunami (those that became the Zapotec and Triqui).

The names of San Pedro Perulapan and San Bartolome Perulapia, located close to Tecoluca hill, are revealing. San Bartolome Perulapia, is san bar to ol lo om mer Peru ul ap pi ha, and means “boat to Peru to explain to companions about those sacrificed loose by the swollen crest, failed in the foamy swinging water (ocean).” The name repeats San Bartolome from the Arcatao Ulua origin story, indicating that the Cuscatlan also explained that story to the Peruvians, if they didn’t know about it already, and seems to imply sharing the story of the origin of the Purepecha with the Peruvians, given the origin of the male side of the Purepecha quite near Arcatao. The placement of this name in Cuscatlan indicates that the companions there were those, or among those, who went to Peru to explain the tsunami and likely prior to that had traveled around to investigate the cause and effect of the tsunami.

The name San Pedro Perulapan seems to have originated about 8,000 years after the tsunami, in the post-Classic period, telling the story of the arrival of the Purepecha and Toltec to Peru and relating it to San Bartolome Perulapia and the tsunami. We will tell that story at a later time.

Surviving the Tsunami Part 4: the Atlantic: Tunica to Mississippi and the Mopan to Belize.

7200BCE Tsunami Part 1
Tsunami Part 2
Tsunami Part 3

The Poto women (Otomi and Purepecha) floating from Pacific Nicaragua to Mexico were not the only groups of people from the region of Nicaragua to float and paddle a very long distance in the aftermath of the tsunami. The same occurred to the Miskito living on the northeast Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua. Place names on the northeastern coast of Nicaragua indicate the tsunami:

• Nina Yari – ni in ha’ yar ri – “hill beside the first ones hurled into the water” (double meaning of “forgotten”)
• Krukira – k’ar uk’ ki’ ir ha’ – “sadness seeing the dear ones retained in the water”
• Tuapi – tu ap pi – “swinging corpses of companions.” Tuapi also has a double meaning referring to their ancestors who fled Isla Tigre: “remnant of companions swung at by the beings.”
• Kuri – k’ur ri – “beside the points (of the wave)”
• Iskri – is k’er ri – “beside the gashing motion”

The tribal names of most Native American peoples in the U.S. Southeast point to origins in the tsunami, specifically people who were pulled out to sea, survived, regrouped and floated to the present-day U.S. There is a strong current moving north from Nicaragua past the Yucatan to the northern Gulf of Mexico. In addition, there is current moving east around the Florida peninsula and then north along the coast. The Timucua seem to have landed in Georgia and northeast Florida, washed off of the Bahamas, with a strong current moving from the Bahamas toward Georgia. In addition, the prevailing winds between May and October are from southeast to northwest. The prevailing winds would have helped the Muskogean peoples land along the Alabama and western Florida coasts after being washed off of Cuba by the tsunami.

In Mississippi the Tunica are a language isolate group. Recently, they joined with the Biloxi to form the Tunica-Biloxi. However, the Biloxi are known to be a Siouxian (Dakota) group. The name Tunica provides a strong clue that the Tunica came from Nicaragua. As discussed earlier, Nicaragua was populated in about 8250 BCE by Chibchab and Miskito fleeing from Isla Tigre, with the Miskito going to the northeast (Atlantic) coast. The name Nicaragua was likely given by the first generation in the region.

Tunica is tu un ni ik’ ka in Mi and means “corpses of Ik’ youth on the hill at the beginning,” a clear reference to the sacrifice of the Ik’ youth at the Isla Tigre volcano, the survivors of which then fled to become the Miskito. It has a double meaning of “shakers,” referring to the Kiche who were the first to crave tobacco and led to the human sacrifice practice and the flight of the Miskito. Another double meaning is “corpses of youth in the wind and water,” referring to those who died in the tsunami and, probably, on the journey to Mississippi. The structure of the name Tunica is awkward, which stresses the intent to include nica as a marker for Nicaragua. The name also suggests that the Miskito (and Tunica) were from the Ik’ lineage of the pre-Maya – just like the Zapotec and Triqui who also were swept out to sea.

Three other names for the Tunica are Tonica, Yuron, and Koroa. Tonica is very similar to Tunica. It is toh on ni ik’ kah in Mi and means “Ik’ ancestors sacrificed on the hill at the beginning.” Yuron is yur ro’ on and means “ancestors forced out (by the wave) and loose.” Koroa may have been the first name that the Tunica gave themselves in Mississippi. In Mi it is k’or ro’ ha’ and means “transported loose on the water.” It has a double meaning of “free from the swinging blades of the leaders” referring to the Maya leaders their ancestors fled from at Isla Tigre.

The name of the Biloxi people comes from the time of the tsunami, when they saw the Tunica survivors. This would mean that this group of Dakota already lived on the Gulf Coast 9200 years ago, probably to coordinate Dakota transport efforts on the lower Mississippi and along the Gulf Coast. And they still used the Mi language. In Mi, Biloxi is bi il lo’ os si and means “see the series of loose companions set down.” It has a double meaning of “entrance to the waterway,” where entrance probably refers to the protected Biloxi Bay, although it could refer to the Mississippi River. A group of Biloxi Dakota were also likely located at Mobile to the east. Mobile is mo bi il lep/n in Mi, meaning “see the trapped paddler companions.” The name uses a neutral term for paddler le: the Miskito would have used lep while perhaps the Dakota used len. Dropping the ending consonant left the issue in neutral territory. The name has a double meaning of “rub” - to rub was a way of saying to treat and care for. The Dakota on the Gulf Coast saw the tsunami survivors float ashore and took care of them. The name also uses the expression “paddlers of the waterway” (Mississippi) to describe the Biloxi.

Other neighboring place names explain more of the story. Halfway between Biloxi and Mobile is the Pascagoula. It is pa as ka ak’ k’o ul la and means “explain growing tired of the practice of the blades on the body at the beginning.” It has double meanings of “retained” and “fire,” where “fire” - k’ak’ refers to the Kakchiquel. The surviving Tunica explained to the Biloxi about being repressed by the Maya at Isla Tigre. A few kilometers from the mouth of the Pascagoula River it is joined by the Escatawpa River. In Mi it is etz’ k’at ta’ ap pa, or “observe the remnant bodies who crossed (the Gulf of Mexico) the swinging.” The Escatawpa River also links the Biloxi-Dakota with the Catawba, a Siouxian nation, of North Carolina. There would have been a transport route, completely by water, from Biloxi to Catawba, around Florida and up the Catawba River. Escatawpa is a slightly awkward name indicating that Catawba was probably named first and that the Dakota-Catawba moved east before the tsunami principally to coordinate river transport. It uses the k’at syllable to refer to the Ik’ lineage. And it has a double meaning of boats to describe themselves. The name Escatawpa clearly links to the name Catawba in North Carolina, desiring to create a circular water transport flow of the Dakota from the upper Ohio River to the Atlantic Coast to the Gulf Coast to the Mississippi River.

A couple kilometers north of the conjunction of these rivers is the village of Helena. In Mi it is hel len ha’ and means “other water paddlers.” The Biloxi found the tsunami survivors to be other (foreign but similar) to themselves – also water paddlers. They recognized them as being from the same Monte Verde migration from Asia. The form of Helena would appear to link the Dakota linguistically to the Olmeca-Chibchab family. The close link between the (Miskito) Tunica and the (Dakota) Biloxi is seen in modern times - the two nations joined together to form one nation (see Jeffrey P. Brain and Frank W. Porter. The Tunica-Biloxi. Chelsea House Publishers, 1990).

After the Tunica recovered and settled in the lower Mississippi Valley, they made a return visit by sail raft to the coast of Nicaragua, probably with members of the Biloxi-Dakota community. Fifteen kilometers south of the Honduras border is the Bismuna Lagoon and the village of Bismuna Tara. Bismuna Tara is bi is muh un nat tar ha and means “arrival from a distance of the young companions who were in the motion of the water hole.” One double meaning is “remnant,” meaning remnant of the Miskito. An island that separates the Bismuna Lagoon from the ocean is Isla Sumpiki Dakura, which is sum pi ik’ ki’ t’ak’ ur ha’ and means “explain the Ik’ companion in the twisted river to dear Dak.” Dak or “dry” is a marker for the Dakota. The Ik’ companion in the twisted river refers to the early Ik’ leader killed at the Sumpul River near Arcatao. This could indicate that the Ulua or Cuscatlan were present for the visit of the Dakota to the Miskito. Dryness might also relate to a double meaning of “points,” indicating how the Tunica survivors drank water condensation.

Thirty kilometers south of Bismuna Tara and about 30 kilometers north of Puerto Cabezas is Dakura Lagoon and the village of Dakura near the coast. Dakura is tak’ k’ur ha’ and means “those who used points for water for the dryness,” with a double meaning of “remnant.” Another double meaning is “explain the water to the dry (those who stayed dry).” Yet another meaning is “remnant that became tired of the points on the skin,” describing the original escape of the Miskito. I understand this name to point to where the Tunica survivors originated from, since Dakura is used in three different names. Also, the prefix dak seems like a reference to the Dakota, a clue that the Biloxi-Dakota accompanied the Tunica on this trip. A little north of Dakura Lagoon is the village of Li Dakura, li tak’ kur ha’, or “beside those who made points for water in the dryness” or simply, “beside Dakura.” Just south of the lagoon is Pahra or par ha’, which means “lattice in the water,” likely referring to the raft of the Biloxi. Ten kilometers south of Dakura is Awastara – ab wa as tar ha’ – meaning “arrival of the beings who were swinging and played with in the water.” It has a double meaning of “gourd” (wax), indicating how they collected water when they were washed out to sea. It has a further meaning of “tired of the swinging practice of the beings,” referring back to Isla Tigre.

Five kilometers south of Awastara is Isla Mair Kayaska, which is ma ir k’a yatz’ k’ar and means “satisfying to see those who were squeezed and retained in the badness at the beginning.” It appears that the returning raft(s) went further south down the coast as well. Mihmi Ta is an island in Wouhnta Lagoon, 45 kilometers south of Puerto Cabezas. It is mi im mi ta’ and means “remnant cats in the blast with the cats.” “Cats” is used twice, once to name the Tunica remnant and once to name the Biloxi. The name is quite close to Miami (Florida) which would seem to indicate that the Biloxi-Tunica trip was after their participation in the coming together of the tribes mentioned by the name Miami. The name Mihmi is both similar and contrasting to the village name of Samil, located 23 kilometers south of Mihmi Ta. It is tz’a am mi il and means “see the water spider cats.” Like Mihmi Ta, this name calls the Biloxi cats but adds the descriptor “water spider,” leaving little doubt that they were describing ocean sailors and river paddlers. Along with the name Dakura, this is evidence that the Biloxi-Dakota accompanied the Tunica in the return visit to Nicaragua.

The Mopan

By the time of the tsunami, the Ulua had reached the Atlantic coast of Honduras around the mouth of the Ulua River, in part to facilitate the Atlantic Ocean travel of the Cuscatlan and themselves. Titabla near Puerto Cortez is a pre-tsunami Ulua name. It is ti it ta ab la and means “remnant at the (Ulua) mouth tired of the swinging blows,” with a double meaning of boats. Originally Ulua came to the coast tired of the blows of the (orthodox) Chorti and Kiche in El Salvador. Other names indicate that this area was a refuge for the renegade Kiche. Chufla is chu up la and means “tired of listening for the guards,” indicating that the Kiche guards would come looking for them closer to El Salvador. A little east is Rio Coto or k’o ot to and means “shelter for those sacrificed by the teeth (blades).” Its structure recalls Coatepeque, probably named by the renegade Kiche (Masahuat). At the important cultural name of Teguzigalpita is a second cultural name, Caracol, which is k’ar ra ak k’o ol and means “tired of retentions and the blade on the skin by the leaders.” A double meaning (perhap later) is “lime.” Its use later at the Caracol site and elsewhere likely marked both lime deposits and sites under control of the Ulua or their allies (Yucatec, Mopan, Cuscatlan). Other names indicate that the Lenca/Olomeca were also in the area.

Several names indicate coastal communities impacted by the tsunami. East of the Ulua River is Tela or te hel ha – “women in the water on branches.” Nearby San Juan is san wa an or “beings in the swollen current.” Laguna de los Micos is lo om mi ik’ k’o os or “loose cats set down by the biting wind of the foam,” with a double meaning of Ik’ lineage. Ten kilometers east of Tela is Hicaque, somewhat inland. Hicaque is hi ik’ ak’ k’er, meaning “skin slashes from the sand in the wind,” with a double meaning of “burning,” and a Kiche ethnic identifier, indicating a renegade Kiche community (Masahuat). Five kilometers further east is Esparta, etz pa ar ta – “the time of observing the remains of bodies,” with “boat” a double meaning.

West of Tela is Tornabe or to or nab ber, meaning “forgotten ones collapsed and sacrificed in the crest.” A double meaning is “disappearance of the collapses from the sacrificing swings of the bad leaders.” Just east of the Ulua mouth is Rio Tinto, which is ti in to or “one sacrificed at the mouth.” Nearby Crique Maria is k’ar ri ik’ k’er mar ri ha’ and means “gashed by wind beside those retained by the water of the sea,” with an Ulua ethnic identifier. To the west of the Ulua River mouth is Saraguama, or sar ra ak’ wa’ am ha, meaning “beings tired of the skin, spiders (sailors) in the wall of water.” This name links those who were tired of the bad practices, i.e. the Ulua and renegade Kiche, with those who were in the tsunami. Saraguama is on the Barra de Chamelecon or cha am mel ek’ k’o on, which means “failure under the stars of the two spiders whose ancestor was bladed.” There are double meanings of “death” and “women,” which seems to indicate that women were killed by the tsunami here. Chamelecon hints that the women may have been renegade Kiche.

Close to Puerto Cortez is Bajamar, which is ba ach cham mar, which means “turtle bodies of the dead in the ocean,” indicating that pregnant women died in the tsunami, a clear indicator of Kiche women who had escaped the first-born sacrifice practice. Barrio Suyapa is sur ya ap ha, meaning “pain from the foreign swinging water,” with a double meaning of “on the flat” and “pain from those swinging at the bodies.” This appears to be the origin of the first name Suyapa which is still found in Central America. Chivana is chi ib ba an ha and means “body-spirits in the current of the large water,” with double meanings of “disappearance” and “forgotten.” Southwest of Puerto Cortez is Omoa and the Bahia de Omoa, which is om mo ha and means “trapped in the foamy water.” Just south is Cuyamel, from k’ur ya am mel or “pain for the spiders who failed on the points,” although it could refer to a later sailing accident.

Those who survived the tsunami and floated to Belize appear to have landed near the Rio Grande in the southern portion of the country. Rio Grande is the Hispanicization of the indigenous name Karante or k’ar ra an te, which means “detained by the current, tired on the branches,” with a double meaning of “tired of the retentions, ran to the woods,” echoing the Ulua origin story as well as that of the renegade Kiche. Near the river is Cuxlin Ha, which is cus li in ha in Mi or “first ones come to life beside the (first) river. Borrowing the syllable cus from Cuscatlan is another indicator that some of these were Ulua, part of the Cuscatlan lineage. Using the phrase “first ones” seems to indicate that renegade Kiche made the float as well.

The nearby name of Jacinto could be a more recent Spanish name, but if it is an ancient name it would indicate that two of the survivors were renegade Kiche and one was Olomeka (Lenca), in addition to Ulua indicated by Cuxlin Ha. Jacinto is cha as tzi in to or “two from those that practiced sacrifice and one dog.” Dog or guide was a nickname for the Olomeka.

Punta Gorda, a little south, highlights the Ulua and Kiche heritage of many of the survivors. It is pu un ta k’o or ta in Mi, meaning “remnant of the youth that was slashed, remnant in the crest of the teeth.” The first phrase corresponds to the Ulua, while the second phrase can also be translated “remnant from the blade of the leaders,” which would point in the direction of renegade Kiche. Nearby Piebra is pi heb ra or “companions tired from the separating.” An alternate translation would be “companions separated on the lattice (branches) in the water.”

The name Belmopan, the capital of Belize, appears to come from the time of the tsunami. In Mi, it is bel mo pa an, meaning “trapped, collapsing bodies in the current.” Mopan, deriving from Belmopan, is the name of the ethnic group of the tsunami survivors and it means “trapped bodies in the current.” The name Belize, bel li is tse, probably comes from the time of the Yucateca arrival, about 5,000 years later, but would reference the Mopan, with “move to beside those collapsed in the upright (tsunami).” Dangriga also appears to be a Yucateca reference to the Mopan - ta an k’ar ri ik’ k’a - or “Ik’ remnant satisfied to be beside those retained in the current.”

Back in Honduras, south of Puerto Cortez is Teguzigalpita. I think that this name came first, before Teguzigalpa. It is te ek’ k’uz sik k’al pi it ha and means “search for the companions who gave birth after being retained by the blast and on branches under the stars in the water.” It succeeds in incorporating the refrain “on branches under the stars in the water,” familiar from the names Zapoteca and Mixteca and others, showing that this name came about after they had received knowledge of the survivors on the Pacific Ocean side. Cleverly, on the other side of the isthmus, the Ulua placed the teg/tek at the beginning of the name unlike in Zapoteca. Teguzigalpita has two syllables emphasizing the Ulua ethnicity of the Mopan survivors in Belize: guz and ig. Combining this overemphasis - usually one ethnic identifier would suffice - with the phrase “search for,” seems to suggest that Kiche’ guards came looking for the renegade Kiche’ survivors in Belize but the Ulua told them that there were no Kiche’ renegades among the survivors in Belize, only Ulua.

The other name present at Teguzigalpita provides support for this interpretation: Caracol, probably added much later. The tsunami version of the name, k’ar ra k’o ol, is “tired from being retained by the biting crest.” However, an obvious second meaning k’ar ra ak’ k’o ol is “tired of the retentions and the blade on the skin by the leaders.” At the time of the tsunami it seems that only the Kiche lineage were practicing human sacrifice, so the new community in Mopan must have included Kiche renegades, as the name Jacinto in Belize suggested. A third meaning of Caracol is “transport,” perhaps referring both to the journey from Honduras to Belize as well as transporting the renegade Kiche from the El Salvador mountains to the coast.

Conclusion

The tsunami of 7200 BCE had a great effect moving the population of Central America, creating the first permanent populations in Mexico and Belize. Other populations were transported by the tsunami waves in the Caribbean, North America, and South America. The Ik’ lineage communities along El Salvador’s central coast were impacted, with two groups paddling on branches under the stars to become the Zapoteca and Triqui. Two groups of the Totonac paddled to the Oaxaca coast becoming the Huave and the Choluteca (Itza). Two Kiche groups survived going from Sonsonate, El Salvador, to Guerrero: the Tlapaneca and, in part, the Otomi. Two groups of Poto/Chibchab women from Nicaragua survived paddling all the way to Guerrero, with one joining the Kiche’ man near Acapulco to found the Otomi. The other two women were found by an Ulua raft, with apparently two of the Ulua men joining the Poto women to found the Purepecha.

The history of Mexico began with drama, heartbreak, and victories with significant examples from the Huave, Mixteca, Zapoteca, Otomi, and Purepecha. The early victory of the Otomi rebels, with aid from the Purepecha, over the orthodox Otomi, was especially important for the history of Mexico, giving origin to important names/concepts like Mazatlan, Aztlan, and Cuauhtemoc.

On the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua, Miskito survivors at sea were carried north and made it to the Mississippi coast, becoming the Tunica. And a mix of Ulua, renegade Kiche, and Olomeca were swept out to sea from north Honduras and paddled to Belize, becoming the Mopan.

Surviving the Tsunami Part 3: The Tlalpaneca, Otomi, Amuzgo, Chatino, and Purepecha

Part 3 in a 5-part series on the tsunami of 7200 BCE in Mesoamerica. Part 1   Part 2

The Tlapaneca

The Kiche’ had extended beyond Lago Coatepeque over the years since their 8200 BCE beginning at the lake, including south toward the ocean and had sailing communities on the Sonsonate coast. Like communities elsewhere on the coast of El Salvador, some were swept out to sea in the tsunami of 7200 BCE and survived. The names on the southwest coast of Sonsonate indicate that there were Kiche’ communities there that also were swept out to sea. Cauta drops the ‘b’ consonant and would be kab bu ut ta or “remains of the hold-in-mouths gashed open.” Kab or "hold-in-mouth" was a designation for the Kiche'. Rio Suncita is su un si it ta and means “remains of many youth in the blowing layer.” It has a second meaning of “foreign,” indicated the belief that the tsunami came from somewhere else. Nearby Monzon is mo on soh on and means “previously trapped, previously the curve (blade),” indicating that it was the source of the Tlapaneca and the first hint that they decided not to continue the human sacrifice practice.

Sonsonate uses a similar structure as Monzon - a rare double on - so on so on nat te, meaning “previously on the curve (wave), previously with the curve (blade), distant on the branches.” It is named specifically for the Tlapaneca people. The Sonsonate River name was a longstanding reminder of hope for all Kiche people that human sacrifice could be a practice of the past. This means that those who named the Sonsonate River did so in defiance of the leaders of the Kiche based at Lago Coatepeque. Also, Tepetoro is tep pet to or ro and means “loose ones sacrificed by the hard crest of the pouring (tide).” It has a double meaning of “free from the sacrificing of the leaders,” indicating that it was named after word was received back from the survivors in Mexico that they didn’t practice sacrifice. Acajutla is ak’ ka ach chu ut la or “tired of the guards who open the skin of the turtle beginners.” Turtle beginners refer to the first born of the pregnant women (turtles). The Kiche’ (Tlapaneca) who left from this area were tired of the sacrifice practice.

This group of Kiche’ survivors who made it to Mexico seem to have arrived near Marquelia, Guerrero, 110 kilometers east of Acapulco. These survivors called themselves Tlapanec: tal la ap pa an ek’ – “tired bodies arrive from swinging on the current under the stars.” The tla prefix in Mexico would become indicative of the Tlapanec. It has a second meaning of “remnant tired of the swinging at the body,” indicating that they quickly decided to stop the human sacrifice practice, as indicated above. Marquelia is mar k’el li ha’ and means “the time of being beside the bad water that gashed.” It also indicates their position next to the Otomi. One kilometer west of Marquelia is Islaltepec. It is is la al te pek’ in Mi and means “time of being tired on hill after moving on the branches,” with a double meaning of “time of moving the tired ones on wood (dug-outs) to the hills.” This indicates that they helped the Otomi women who were escaping.

Copala is k’op pah al lah and means “time of gathering the bodies from the water,” referring to corpses on the shore from the tsunami. Its double meaning refers to helping the escaping Otomi women: “boats for those tired of the teeth (blade).” Cuautepec, a little inland, was meant to sound like Coatepeque, the original home of the Kiche’, and is ka wa ut tep pek’ in Mi and means “hard hills of the beings with openings at the beginning.” Coacoyulichan has coa referring to Coatepeque and coy referring to the chewers, making a clear reference to Lago Coatepeque in El Salvador and the Quiche. K’o ak’ k’oy ul li cha an is “chewers explain about running from the blade and double skin beside,” with a double meaning of “breaking through.” When the Tlapanec decided not to practice human sacrifice it also was a commitment to help those escaping from the practice.

The Tlapaneca seem to have moved to Laguna Chautengo soon after landing at Copala. Laguna Chautengo is distinctive for having two islands near the entrance of the lagoon to the ocean. Chautengo is cha ut ten k’o, which means “clearing on the two teeth at the opening.” “Clearing” has the implied meaning of a person-made living site. The second meaning of Chautengo is consistent with the nickname of the Tlapaneca, which is Yopi or yor ro pi, meaning “companions free of striking.” The name also employs a convention where an unusual syllable like ten is meant to convey extra meanings through the insertion of three “droppable” consonants, the ‘m’, ‘p’, and ‘r’. Undropping them, Ten then becomes temen, tepen, and teren. The extra meanings are “shade (nighttime),” “separate,” “descend,” “wilderness,” “women,” and “paddlers.” All of these refer to Otomi women separating at night paddling in the wilderness of the ocean, occasionally descending. The spelling of paddler, len, makes it clear it is referring to the Poto (female) portion of the Otomi. Maya-related people would spell it lep. At Chautengo the Tlapaneca helped the escaping women to move further east, becoming the Chatino.

The Otomi, part 1

The tsunami scattered people to places they never imagined living and brought people together who would otherwise never be together. Nowhere was this truer than with the Otomi. The Otomi landed near Laguna Coyuca, just west of Acapulco, Mexico. Actually it’s not that simple. The first to land it would seem was a single man from the Kiche’-Cakchiquel communities on the coast of southeast Sonsonate, El Salvador. The name Barra de Coyuca is ba ar ra at te ek’ k’oy yuk k’a in Mi and means “the time of the tired body(ies) on the branches in the bath under the stars, satisfied to the be joining the chewer(s).” The chewer is a clear reference to the Cakchiquel who were the main users of tobacco in early times. But Coyuca was named by the person joining the Cakchiquel man: a Poto woman, with Poto being indicated by other names. Coyuca has a double meaning of “sadness at the beginning,” indicating the mixed feelings of the woman.

The name Chinameca shows up near Acapulco and indicates that the second party to land here was from Olmeka (Poto) heritage. In this context Chinameka is chi in am ek’ ha, meaning “one spidering (swimming) in the large water under the stars.” It indicates one person of Olmeka heritage.

The name Otomi also gives a clue about who the woman was. Otomi is ot to om mi, meaning “shelter for those sacrificed by the cats in the foam (at Isla Tigre),” referring to one of the four groups that left Isla Tigre due to human sacrifice practice. The name Otomi repeats three of the letters of Poto, one of the Chibchab (Olmeka-related) groups in Nicaragua, indicating that it was a Poto person(s) who landed at Coyuca. The mi in Otomi frequently referred to the Maya, i.e. Cakchiquel, indicating that the Otomi were a combination of Poto and Maya.

Nearby on the coast is the name Luces en el Mar, which in Mi is luz tze etz zen hel mar and means “upright one observing the woman with knowledge of swimming in the sea.” The Kiche’ man was standing (already there), impressed that the Poto woman made it. “Upright” may also have a sexual connotation. After the Poto back in Nicaragua heard about this name, likely from a visit, they sarcastically named a place on the Nicaraguan coast Aposentillo, or ap po os sen ti il lo, which means “one set down (swimming) sees person with knowledge of swinging (a blade) and opening a hole (in the body),” implying that all the person could do was human sacrifice. Luces en el Mar helps to confirm that it was a Poto woman and a Cakchiquel man.

Los Mogotes also speaks of the moment when the two parties saw each other. From the Cakchiquel man’s perspective, it is lo os mo ok’ k’o ot te etz in Mi and means “observe the loose one on the branches who had been trapped, set down, of those who had sought shelter from being split open by the blade.” Like the name Otomi, it references those who fled human sacrifice at Isla Tigre. The Otomi were the most ironic of all possible combinations: the descendant of those who first started human sacrifice (Cakchiquel) and the descendant of the first ones to be sacrificed (Olmeka/Poto).

Espinalillo is etz pi in al il li lo and means “time of observing the one loose companion beside who is seeing.” This seems like it might be a name the woman gave when she saw the loose (unattached) man onshore. As she observed him, he observed her. Nearby Conchero seems to be a sexual reference, although not necessarily consensual. It is k’o on che her ro in Mi and means “previously from the tooth handles the loose woman.” “Previously from the tooth” is a reference to Coatepeque Lake with the tooth-like walls, the ancient home of the Kiche’ and Cakchiquel.

Tuncingo, near Acapulco, was probably named by the Poto woman at the time of the awkward moment of having a baby knowing that the Kiche’-Kakchiquel tradition was to sacrifice the first child. Tuncingo is tu un ci in k’o is “corpse of the first child of the tz’i (dog) and the tooth.” A nickname of the Poto (and Xinca) was dogs. The Kiche’-Cakchiquel were known as the teeth. This may have been when the Coyuca name was created, which on the surface is “joined to the chewer at the beginning” but has a second meaning of “with the chewer happy but sad.” Happy she didn’t die alone but sad that her first baby was killed. This may be the origin of the Central American saying, “Que yuca!”

Before the baby was sacrificed near Tuncingo, the Kakchiquel man explained the reasoning behind the practice. This is stated in the name Acapulco. It is ak’ k’ap ul k’o and means “hold-in-mouth explains the tooth (blade) on the skin.” Hold-in-mouth is an expression for the tobacco chewing Cakchiquel.

One name near the coast speaks about the bodies that began to wash ashore. Cobadonga, near Acapulco, is k’ob ba at to on k’ar and means “gather the retained bodies at the bath, those who used to sacrifice.” This indicates that the bodies were coming from the Totonac communities along the La Libertad coast. "Used to sacrifice" was an expression for the Totonac.

Aguacatillo, near Tuncingo, is ak’ wa ak’ k’at ti il lo and means “see the beings free from the opening of the skin cross the covering.” The name indicates that women began to escape along the ocean shore. The k’at syllable in the middle seems to indicate help from Cuscatlano persons, likely from the Amuzgo. Aguacatillo has a prefix -agua- it shares with Nicaragua’s suffix and a suffix -tillo-, like Ocotillo, that it shares with many names in northwest Nicaragua, including Somotillo, Jiquilillo, and Aposentillo. This indicates that Aguacatillo and the presence of the Amuzgo may have given great hope not only to Otomi women but also to Poto back in Nicaragua. Nearby Carabali is k’ar ra ab ba al li and means “time of the being tired of the swinging at the retained bodies beside.” A second meaning is “boat beside stroking.” An Amuzgo boat.

Tixtlancingo is somewhat inland. It is ti ix ta al la an si in k’o in Mi, meaning “the time of the remnant of several first ones moving from the mouth of the fatigued current (Laguna Coyuca) to the teeth (hills).” The phrase “several first ones” is not referring to a large origin group but rather more than one line or lineage. The name then says who those lineages were: the lan, “fatigued current,” a nickname for the Olmeca who lived near the nearly tide-less Gulf of Fonseca (of which the Poto were a part); and the k’o or teeth, the Cakchiquel, as explained above. The name also has a double meaning of “movement of several in the current tired of the opening of the first-born by the blade,” indicating the moment that pregnant women - descendants of the first two Otomi - began to attempt escape by sea.

Ocotillo, east of Tixtlancingo, is near the place of rebellion of the Otomi and seems to indicate the start of the rebellion. It is ok’ k’o ot ti il lo and means “see those sheltered from the opening blade splitting off free.” Like other names it has second meanings referring to the Chibchab and the Cakchiquel. Ocotillo also shares a prefix with Playa Ocosme in Nicaragua where the Poto woman may have been from. It’s not clear which came first but one of the names came after a visit by boat to the other place. Ocosme is ok’ k’o os mer and means “failure of the teeth to split open the one(s) set down,” expressing the lack of trust in the Kiche’-Cakchiquel and surprise that they had not killed the female survivor.

Where did the Cakchiquel side of the Otomi come from? In the southeast part of the Sonsonate coast, Playa Sihuapilapa is si wa ap pi il la pa: “see the swinging bodies of many tired beings.” This name seems to have been created after news came of survivors making it to Mexico because it has a double meaning of “continue in the waterway.” It has a third meaning that indicates it was the source of the Cakchiquel portion of the Otomi people: “companion who saw the Tzi being (Poto woman) who later grew tired of swinging at the body.” The name seems to also be part of the later inspiration for the Toltec name Cihuatan, El Salvador, built by the Otomi and Cakchiquel, as well as the Totonac. Not far from Sihuapilapa is Amatal. Amatal reuses the name of the first entry point of the Mesoamerican people 1400 years earlier, since the original Amatal, 60 kilometers to the east, was memorializing the person(s) who lost their life on the sea journey from South America to Central America. Amatal here is am ma at ta al or “the time of the remains of the spiders (sailors) in the bad bath.” But Amatal also indicated the source of the bad Otomi remnant, those that continued the sacrifice practice, just as Amatal, La Libertad, seemed to indicate the source of the Huave.

The Amuzgo

Among the westernmost of the Cuscatlan (Lempa Maya) remnants in Mexico are the Amuzgo, 260 kilometers west of the Triqui and 470 kilometers west of the Zapoteca, although they did not arrive directly to Guerrero. They first arrived to Oaxaca in the tsunami as either Triqui or Zapoteca, moving later to Guerrero. Coastal names do not indicate an arrival from the tsunami. The coastal town of Barra de Tecoanapa indicates an origin of Tecoluca, El Salvador, which is near where the Zapoteca originated at the mouth of the Lempa River, linking the Amuzgo to the Zapoteca. The name Amuzgo suggests they deliberately moved from Oaxaca to Guerrero as the best sailors among the Zapoteca. It is am mu us k’or – “capable spidering (sailing) transport in the hole (ocean).” It has a double meaning of “teeth” or “blades”, indicating that they were transporting people (pregnant women) escaping from the blades of the Otomi and perhaps the Huave as well. The name was a virtual advertisement to Otomi women - enter the water and we will transport you to safety.

The name Barra de Tecoanapa, Guerrero, indicates it was an early settlement site of the Amuzgo. The Teco prefix matches Tecoluca in San Vicente, El Salvador, along the lower Lempa River. Tecoluca was probably named just after the tsunami so Tecoanapa would have been named after a visit from lower Lempa people. Barra de Tecoanapa is bar ra te ek’ k’o an ap ba and means “boats for those tired of the swinging blade on the body, on wood (dug-outs) under the stars.”

The inland name Quetzalapa is also a reference to San Vicente. Laguna Talquetzal, in the lower Lempa, may have been the first place that the ancestors of the Maya saw a quetzal bird after they arrived from South America. Quetzalapa is kech tz’a al la ap pa, and means “the time of transporting in the wetness those tired of the swinging at the body.” It also has a double meaning: “tired of the swinging at the body by the possessors.”

San Luis Acatlan is san lus sak’ k’at la an and means “search for swimmers crossing the wet current tired of running.” The name contains the suffix lan, the typical expression for the Gulf of Fonseca and the Olmeca lineage, including the Poto women who in part founded the Otomi. The name Igualapa is ik’ wa al lap ha’ and means “time of beings stroking the water in the wind.” But it also seems to show amorous activity between the Otomi women and the Amuzgo. Its double meaning is “time of Ik’ (Amuzgo) and beings rubbing bodies.”

The Amuzgo appear to be responsible for the introduction of cacao to Mexico. Perhaps without the Amuzgo there would be no mole. Cuajinicuilapa is an important cultural name, it is ka wa hin nic wih il ap ba or “beings see satisfying hanging (fruit) food with origin in Jinotega, Nicaragua,” with a double meaning of “for tiredness.” The syllables jinic are a reference to Jinotega, Nicaragua, identified in Chapter 5 as the origin of cacao, along with Matagalpa. While the name could indicate that the Amuzgo found cacao in the wild, other names indicate it was brought by raft from Nicaragua. The Amuzgo were likely growing the cacao back in the lower Lempa before the tsunami. Otherwise the appearance of the cacao here seems quite random. In El Salvador they likely had received the cacao from the Miskito/Matagalpa who had discovered it. The Miskito are from the same lineage as the Amuzgo. The name indicates that the Matagalpa discovered cacao prior to the tsunami (~7220 BCE).

Maldonado is at the shore south of Cuajinicuilapa where the cacao was first brought in. Maldonado is ma al to on nat tob and means “the time of the pods from distant ones whose ancestors were sacrificed by the bad ones.” This would fit the Miskito. It has a double meaning of “sea” indicating how they were brought. San Nicolas is a town halfway between Maldonado and Cuajinicuilapa. San Nicolas – Sanicolach – is tz’a an nik’ k’ol lach and means “the shiny grooved one (cacao pod) from Nicaragua transported on the current.” This name likely also references San Nicolas Lempa in the lower Lempa valley, indicating it was named after a visit from the lower Lempa after the “Lempa” towns had been named.

Two names indicate that it was hard to grow cacao in the hard soil of the Guerrero-Oaxaca border area. San Antonio Tepetlapa is tza an to on ni ot tep et tal ap ha in Mi and means “shelter for the challenge of the hard hills for the shiny swinging one (fruit) arrived by water current from the ones previously sacrificed.” “Shelter” refers to the canopy of shade trees usually grown above the diminutive cacao trees. There is a second meaning of “pouring” referring to the hot water poured over the ground cacao. “The ones previously sacrificed” refers to the Miskito/Matagalpa. Huajintepec is wa hi in te pec and means “first beings sand the plants in the hills.” This seems to indicate that they carried sand up from the beach into the hills to try to loosen the soil. This name also references Jinotega, source of cacao, with the jin syllable.

Further up in the hills is Cacahuatepec. This name deceptively sounds like it is about peanuts but I don’t think it was initially. It is caca wat te pec or “cacao plant(er) makes a home in the hills.” It indicates a move of the Amuzgo cacao grower(s) further inland. The fact that the first four syllables of this place name became the name for peanut - cacahuate - would seem to indicate that it was the same Amuzgo who brought the peanut into Mexico from South America and it was named after this place, in part because the peanut shell, like the cacao, looks like caca. It was likely the Amuzgo communicating with their relatives, the Quechua, that is travelling to Peru, which facilitated the arrival of the peanut to Mexico. These names indicate the important role that the Amuzgo have played in Mexican agriculture.

A second group of Amuzgo seem to have settled even further west toward Acapulco at a lagoon called Tecomate. It means “bad teeth of the foamy ridge, on branches under the stars in the bath,” with a double meaning of “join Teco,” which seems to mean Barra de Tecoanapa. From Tecomate they were in good position to rescue escaping Otomi women and have them join other escaped Otomi at Tecoanapa.

The Chatino

In the first few generations of the Otomi, pregnant women attempted to escape, just like the Huave women did. According to names on the Oaxaca coast, two Otomi women paddled west to the Lagunas de Chacahua National Park along the western coast of Oaxaca, 260 kilometers east of the Otomi near Acapulco. Maybe the first escaped Otomi women, it seems that these two women became the Chatino. Chacahua is cha ak’ ka ap wa in Mi, meaning “two from the swinging at the skin of the beginning beings.” The name also makes reference to Chaac, the rain god, and to “holding in the mouth,” a reference to the Kiche’-Cakchiquel. They were escaping from the wearing of the skin associated with Chaac. The name Chatino also suggests that there were only two women who founded the Chatino: cha at ti in no – “two large ones from the bath where they opened the first ones.” Large ones refer to the Poto Chibchab who were larger people like the Olmeca. Bath ones refer to those originally from Coatepeque (“teeth at the bath”).

[click to enlarge] Very near to Chacahua on the coast is Galera, which is k’al her ra, and means “women tired of the retainings.” Galera is the first evidence that only women were among the Otomi escapee group who would call themselves Chatino. A double meaning of Galera is k’a al her rab, meaning “the time of women satisfied with their stroking (paddling).”

Another name on the coast 10 kilometers west of Galera is El Azufre. It is hel la as su ub ba ar rep and means “time of the similar ones (women) tired of the practice on the surface of the body, paddling while listening.” They listened as they paddled, sneaking away from the men in their community. El Azufre seems to link linguistically with the later Subtiaba, indicating a possible Chatino/Otomi origin for the Subtiaba. Chacaija is next to Chacahua. Chacaija is cha ak’ ka ir cha or “see the two from the double skin of the beginners,” making another reference to Chaac. Two (or double) is in the name twice, making it clear that in one instance it is reiterating that there were only two founders of the Chatino, although they each were likely to be pregnant.

To the east of Chacahua is Zapotalito, which is tz’a ap po ot ta al li to in Mi, meaning “time of shelter for the remnant beside, sacrificed by swinging blows by those from the wet hole.” It has double meanings of “arrival” and “Pot,” indicating that the women were Poto - Chibchab from Nicaragua, like the Otomi female founder. Like some of the other names, it has a second sexual meaning: sap pot tal li it to in Mi, which is “sacrifice ourselves rubbed, pressed by those next to us who arrived.” The Zap prefix indicates that it was the Zapoteca who arrived and found the women and helped them. The women had arrived alone with no partners but a raft arrived giving them hope they would not die alone along with the story of their journey. This may have been the location where the Zapoteca took their name, with its close similarity to Zapotalito.

Inland about 15 kilometers is Chacalapa. It is cha ak’ k’al la ap ba in Mi, “two tired of the swinging at the skin of the retained bodies.” This is another name referring to being tired of Chaac and the double skin ritual. This name might also have a sexual meaning, “time of being tired and happy, two swinging skin bodies.” The double sexual meanings indicate that while the Chatino are mostly Otomi, they might have a mix of Zapoteca as well. The Otomi themselves are a mix of Kiche and Poto (Chibchab).

A place name to the west of Chacalapa is Santa Maria Chicometepec, which is san ta am ma ar ri ach chi ik’ k’o om et tep ek’. This means “the time of the challenge of remnant of large swollen turtles spidering under stars of the sky in the current from the foam beside the bad hard blades.” The remnant is called large because the Poto, like the Chibchab and Olmeca, come in part from the Xibalba, a taller race of people. The bad hard blades are the Otomi guards. The name has a double meaning of “join Ik’ (Zapoteca) in hard hills of the interior.”

The Purepecha

Another Mexican indigenous group has roots in the flood, the Purepecha, like the Otomi and Chatino, partially from Nicaragua. Today’s Purepecha are primarily based in Michoacan. Purepecha is pur rep pech cha, which means “two orphans paddle on the up and down (ocean).” While the two survivors may have been orphaned by the storm, the use of “orphan” in the name is a clear reference to the Chibchab, who used the same name in the aftermath of the earlier human sacrifice episode at Isla Tigre. In addition, the word two could mean a group of survivors from two communities in Nicaragua. The second syllable rep indicates a second origin that is not Chibchab or Olmeka, but rather is from one of the other three lineages (Ch’orti, Kiche, or Cuscatlan). This will be revisited, but first we’ll look at the Nicaragua reference.

Beside the Otomi (female) origin of Chinandega, an examination of the Nicaraguan coast reveals a second location where people were swept out to sea – just west of Leon. San Juan Venado is san wa’ an ben nat toh is “beings sacrificed in the swollen current and lost in the distance.” Distance seems to refer to the Poto women who made it to Guerrero. Rio Telica is beside the town of Poneloya. It is te hel li ik’ k’a and means “women on the branches satisfied to be beside the wind (Ik’).” This name was clearly given after the Nicaragua communities heard about the survivors making it to Mexico. Ik’ seems a clear reference to the Ik’ lineage. The literal meaning “sky” or “wind” doesn’t really fit in the name. Finally, the female reference (hel) – literally “the other” – seems to indicate that all the survivors were women.

Poneloya, on the beach, is po on ne hel lo yar and means “the others (woman/women) formerly from the tail (river) hurled loose into the hole.” “Formerly from the tail” could be a reference to the Telica River. Poneloya also makes a female reference, so clearly it was also named after news of the survivors reached back to Nicaragua.

The names of the Guerrero coastal communities east of the mouth of the Balsas River tell the story of arrival of the Purépecha. They appear to have landed at Los Organos, which is or k’a an no os in Mi, meaning “happy to be set down by the large crest of the current.” Ixtapa may have been one of the first names given. It is ix ta ap ha’ or “remnant moved in the swinging water.”

Ixtapa-Zihuatenejo By Alejandro Linares Garcia (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Some of the bodies of the Sonsonate Kiche seemed to wash ashore near Ixtapa. East of Los Organos is La Majahua or ma cha wa, meaning “two bad beings,” seeming to refer to two bodies in the water. They called them bad because they seemed to recognize them as Kiche’ - those responsible for the sacrifice death of their own ancestors. A little further east is Pantla – pa an tal la or “arrival in the current of the tired bodies.” The ones who got tired in the journey did not make it.

The two women would have grown old and died alone, along with their story and their place names telling of their heroic journey on the ocean and telling of seeing the bodies wash upon the shore, except for what happened next. A sail raft appeared near the present-day town of Valentin. Valentin is bal len ti in and means “paddlers and boat from the first mouth.” Using the syllable len shows that the paddlers (women) were Poto (Chibchab), who like the Olmeca, used len rather than leb for “paddler.” Valentin also says where the boat was from. The first mouth refers to the first large river that the ancestors of the Mesoamerican people, including the Poto women, encountered as they started walking in the first days in El Salvador after arriving from South America: the Lempa River. The boat (raft) was from the mouth of the Lempa, making them Lempa Maya, i.e. Cuscatlan or Ulua, closely related to the Zapoteca. Ironically, the love relationship between the Cuscatlan men and the Poto women began at a place called Valentin.

About 10 kilometers inland from the present-day Zihuatanejo airport is the small village of La Boloncha. This has a double meaning. The first is bo ol lo on cha, which means “the two previously loose on the crest of the hole,” referring to the tsunami. The second meaning is simply two numbers. Bolon means 9 and cha means 2. So Boloncha is “the 9 and the 2,” indicating that there were two women and nine sailors who had arrived on the raft. It is possible that the number 9 (bolon) was named at this time.

But the women also knew that they needed men to survive and have future generations. Two place names indicate that this took care of itself, perhaps one name for each woman. Barra de Potosi is on the coast about 10 kilometers west of Valentin. The name has at least three meanings. The first is ba ar ra te po ot to os si or “The time of being set down tired, finding shelter, many sacrificed bodies in the hole (ocean).” This meaning seems to demonstrate the conversation that the women had with the sailors, telling of their tsunami experience. A second meaning is quite explicit in indicating an amorous relationship: ba ar at tep pot to os si and means “the time of sacrificing ourselves to the many, set down, hard bodies pressing.” The many here simply means plural, i.e. could mean two. The third meaning simply refers to the boat or raft.

The name Potosi, meaning “the Poto dogs (guides),” may have become an indicator of the presence of the Purepecha in Mexico, as well as a possible migration to Bolivia.

A second nearby name, San Jeronimito, refers to the Poto origins of the women who arrived in the tsunami. It is tz’a an che her ro on ni im mi it to and means “handle women loose in the wetness whose ancestors ran from the sacrificial blasts of the cats on the hill.” I believe that “handle women” was an expression for amorous relations.

The Poto women and Cuscatlan men continued to share stories. The women asked what happened on Isla Tigre after their people had fled the human sacrifice practice. This is known from the town of Coacoyul. It is k’o ak’ k’oy ul in Mi, which means “explain the smoking and teeth (blades) on the skin.” They especially wanted to know how the practice of human sacrifice turned out.

But the men also talked about their journey to assess the damage after the tsunami, probably offering help as they went. Their journey was likely deliberate, planned by the Cuscatlan/Ulua leadership. Two names near the coast, Petatlan and Petacalco, indicate that the men had sailed at least as far north as the San Francisco Bay on the Pacific Coast, at least as far north in the Atlantic as the Bahamas and the current state of Georgia, and at least as far south as the Amazon River also on the Atlantic Coast.

The best clue that the names indicate places is atlan in Petatlan. Atlan is a very Mesoamerican construction, similar to the itlan used by the Xinca in Guatemala. Atlan is most well-known for being part of the name Atlanta in Georgia and the fabled Atlantis. The Bahamas had a specific condition – it was sinking, and the Maya (Cuscatlan more likely) had helped to figure this out. The construction of Atlantis describes this: at la an ti is or “fatigued current of the bath, movement to the opening.” What had been land previously, was slowly sinking so that it was at some point, a fatigued current (very shallow waters). The “movement to the opening” is somewhat vague but I believe it refers to the Bermuda Triangle.

The Arawak who lived spread out in the Bahamas were very affected by the tsunami. At least some survived and floated and paddled on the current until reaching the coast of Florida from Miami up to Georgia. To indicate where they came from they named a place Atlantis in today’s Palm Beach County and another place Atlanta in Georgia (which means “remnant of Atlan”). Atlan in Petatlan refers to the remnants of the Arawak originally from the Bahamas, spread out by the tsunami to Florida and Georgia. Now called the Timucua. Petatlan indicates that the raft of nine men went to help the Arawak-Timucua survivors.

The Peta in Petatlan is a rare prefix in the Americas. The only coastal place where it shows up is Petaluma, California, north of current-day San Francisco. Most of the indigenous names in the San Francisco area relate to the tsunami, indicating serious effects there. One of the most dramatic and beautiful names in the area is Petaluma, meaning “arrival of the bad pouring (tide) over land,” describing the tsunami waters coming up the Petaluma valley. The San Francisco area had a direct connection with the Cuscatlan who had arranged for various ethnicities to settle there, including the Miwok who settled in Petaluma, a few hundred years before the tsunami. This is indicated by the two examples of the name California in the lower Lempa area. The name Petaluma both indicates the range of the sailing journey of the nine Cuscatlan men on the raft, but also acknowledges their Miwok relatives who suffered greatly in the tsunami. The name Petatlan helps to make this connection.

Petacalco repeats the Peta prefix, emphasizing its usage as a literary device. Like atlan and peta, calco is an unusual prefix or suffix within a place name in the Americas. The only Calco prefix along the coasts is Calcoene, Brasil, not far north of the Amazon River. Calcoene is k’al k’o ol len ne in Mi. It means “teeth (stones) for the tail (river) paddlers retained by the crest.” I think that river paddlers refers to people who lived along the Amazon River and were swept out to sea and washed ashore near Calcoene. Calcoene might seem like a random reference until one considers that the archeological site known as the Stonehenge of the Amazon resides there. While the stones are thought to be from a couple thousands ago, the seeming reference to the stones in Petacalco would indicate that they were placed soon after the 7220 BCE tsunami. The site is called Cromlech. In Mi this would be k’ar ro om lech and means “retained in the foam, freed, then climbed up.” One or more persons were trapped under water and where able to free themselves to get to the surface. Based on the name Petacalco the raft of nine Cuscatlan men were able to travel this far to help out after the tsunami.

By Yurileveratto (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

There are several place names that indicate that two of the men who traveled to North and South America and the two women began a life that was the start of the Purepecha people. East of Valentin and ten kilometers off the coast is the village of Cacanicua. It is k’ak’ ka an nik wa’ in Mi and means “ran from the shaking fire beings at the beginning.” The shaking fire beings were the ones lighting up and smoking tobacco on Isla Tigre or shaking when they didn’t have tobacco. The name Cacanicua is also a clear reference to Nicaragua, their place of origin. This name helps to establish that Nicaragua was named by its first residents soon after they left Isla Tigre in about 8250 BCE. The name also makes a reference to Ik’, an identifier of the Cuscatlan-Ulua people who made up the male component of the Purepecha.

El Parotal and La Parotita are 10 to 20 kilometers inland and seemed to be named for each other. El Parotal is par ro ot tal in Mi and means “shelter for the one(s) who arrived in a boat and the loose one(s).” It seems to be the site of one (or two) of the first houses of the new Purepecha families. The name emphasizes again the unattached status of the women who probably lost partners in the tsunami. La Parotita is almost the same: par ro ot ti it ta, meaning “shelter for the loose one(s) and the remnant from the blowing (sail) boats from the mouth.” This name indicates that only a portion of the men stayed (likely two) and that the men came from the river mouth (Lempa) or upstream from there.

It was probably sometime after this first generation settled in the hills that the place Zihuatanejo was named on the coast. Zihuatanejo is si wat ta an ne ho in Mi or “several happy remnants make a home on current of the tail (river),” with a double meaning of “interior.” The several remnants simply mean the two lineages (Poto, related to the Olmeca, and the Cuscatlan or Ulua, related to the Zapoteca).

About 70 kilometers southeast of Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo is Coyuquilla – there are several nearby places with this name. Without a doubt Coyuqilla is referencing Barra de Coyuca near Acapulco and the early home of the Otomi. It is k’oy yuk’ ki il la, which means “see the dear ones who had been joined to the chewers.” It seems to indicate seeing for the first time the Otomi women, or an Otomi woman, escaping from the Otomi men, because of the first-born sacrifice practice. The syllable koy or “chewer” refers to the Kiche, the original male component of the Otomi. The name has a double meaning of “sadness.”

Several other names in this area have a double meaning: on the one hand referring to the Kiche bodies washing ashore from El Salvador soon after the tsunami, but also many years later to the arrival of the escaping pregnant women from the Otomi.

• Papanoa or pa ap an no ha: “swinging bodies in the current of the big water.” It also refers to women escaping the Otomi: “large ones running, tired of the leaders who swing at the body.” The Poto were known as larger people due to their partial Xibalba heritage.
• Loma Bonita or lo om ma ab bo on ni ta: “loose remains in the foam of those whose ancestors were bad on the hill by the hole.” This refers to the volcano on Isla Tigre where the human sacrifices took place. “Those whose ancestors were bad” would be the Kiche. The second meaning is “remnant free from the bad ones who swung (a blade) up on the hill at the foamy hole” - also referring to Isla Tigre and the Poto who escaped.
• El Tular or hel tu ul la ar: “the time of the women who explain being tired of the corpses.” While this meaning is clear, the name is also a clear reference to Tulan, the ancient place on Isla Tigre, the Poto’s last reference point for those who would become the Kiche’ Maya.
• San Luis de la Loma (next to El Tular) or tza’ an lus te hel la al lo om ma: “women swimmers on branches in the wet foamy current, tired of the badness, free.” Some of the women (or at least one) escaping the Otomi swam all the way from Acapulco on branches, 110 kilometers. The lal syllable is an indicator for the Kiche, another clue this name involves the Otomi.
• San Luis San Pedro or san lus tz’a an pet tar ro: “arrival of the swimmers running to be free in the swollen pouring (tide).” The swimmers were the Otomi women escaping by swimming on branches. The name has a double meaning of “arrived to the Pet,” a syllable denoting the Cuscatlan, the male lineage of the Purepecha.
• Acapulquito or ak’ ka ap pu ul ki it to: “explain about beginners cut open with blow to skin to sacrifice heart.” “Beginners” refers to the first born who were sacrificed by tradition by the Kiche’. This name was clearly named after Acapulco, 110 kilometers to the southeast, an early home of the Otomi.

The various ethnicities in Mexico likely travelled back to El Salvador for corn seed stock, hybridizing it with the teosinte found in Mexico. The Purepecha may have been leaders in this process. Corn dated from 6700 to 7200 BCE was found in the Balsas valley, an area near the border of Michoacan, Guerrero and Mexico state. While this is closer to the Otomi landing location, the Purepecha landed near the mouth of the Balsas River and were much more likely to have reached this location near the Balsas River by 7200 BCE - the ancient Mesoamericans seemed to travel faster by river than over land. This area is within the current natural range of balsas teosinte and the Purepecha would have been capable of hybridizing corn from teosinte, given their knowledge base from El Salvador. It appears that they soon shared the hybridized corn with the Zapoteca in the area of Tehuacan, Puebla, where remnants of Balsas corn have also been found. The Purepecha and the Zapoteca were from the same lineage (on the male side of the Purepecha). It was necessary to continue hybridizing corn with teosinte to make it more drought and weed resistant and a stronger plant. By 7200 BCE it is possible that the range of balsas teosinte had shifted definitively northwest from Central America to southwest Mexico.

The name of the central Mexico volcano Popocatepetl indicates that the Purepecha traveled early to the region of the central valley of Mexico. Popocatepetl is pop (baking) po ok’ k’at tep pet ta al and means “the time of crossing to the baked residue from the hard split open pouring through hole.” Crossing refers to the move from the Pacific Ocean to central Mexico. Popocatepetl has two cultural markers for the Ik’ lineage, k’at and pet, indicating that it was likely named by the Purepecha, since pet is a syllable specific to the Purepecha and Ulua. The Choluteca named nearby Iztaccihuatl Mountain and Cholula. The phrase popo apparently was used later to indicate explosives, likening the gunpowder explosion to the volcanic eruption. This is seen in the name Popoluca and in the name of the Quiche history Popol Vu, which indicates the defeat of the Olmeca, some of the foremost explosive workers.

The names of the deities of the Purépecha are translatable using Mi. One deity is Kurikaweri and is the sky god, the god of war and the sun. It is k’ur ri ik’ k’a wer ri and means “satisfying beside-each-other points in the sky beside the rip (lake),” referring to the triple star event (points beside each other) of 8208 BCE, described in Chapter 3. But in the case of the Poto side of the Purepecha, they were likely beside Lake Managua not on Isla Tigre. The double “beside” in the name is probably meant to describe the three planets right next to each other. A second meaning of the name is quite sexual, describing the arrival of the Lempa Maya and a sexual partner: k’ur Ik’ ka wer ri is “point (penis) of Ik’ (lineage name) beside the tear of the woman/women at the beginning.” A third meaning of this name might come from Africa, meaning “points (spears) beside Ik’ at the beginning beside the rips (Great Lakes of Africa).” The Mesoamerican people seemed to recognize Ik’ (Sky) as the name of one of the leaders as early humans moved out of Africa to escape repression.

A second deity is Kwerawaperi and she is the creator and mother earth goddess. Kwerawaperi refers to the difficult journey that the two women made watching the people around them tire and die along the way. It is ka we her ra wa ap per ri and means “beings tired and collapsing in the swinging beside the flesh of other (female) at the beginning.” A second meaning also refers to Africa, like the first deity name, ka wer ra wa ap per ri: “beings tired of the collapsed ones from the swinging at the beginning beside the rips (Great Lakes of Africa).” The use of the syllable wer (“tear”) is rare in the Americas, while commonly used to describe the Great Lakes of Africa region. A third meaning of this name is “beings tired of the swings at the collapsed being (just born) at the side” which could refer both to the escaping Otomi women and what occurred earlier on Isla Tigre.

A third deity, Xaratenga, is the offspring of the first two and represents the west, perhaps indicating that it was the offspring who moved west and north to present day Michoacan. Xaratenga is the goddess of the sea and the moon and is cha ar ra at ten k'a in Mi. This means "time of the two (families) tired and happy to make a clearing at the bath." The structure of the name suggests that the two men who in part founded the Purepecha were from upriver on the Lempa River in Chalatenango. Xaratenga could also be written or pronounced as Chalatenga, a very similar sound as Chalatenango.

In fact, the name Potonico in Chalatenango indicates it was the source of the men who sailed throughout the Americas and then close to shore in Guerrero, finding the Poto women and staying there to found the Purepecha. Potonico is po ot to on ni ik’ k’or or “wind transport to those sheltered from the hole (ocean) whose ancestors were sacrificed on the hill (Isla Tigre volcano).” Embedded in the name are the phrases Poto (the ethnicity of the women they found), nic for Nicaragua (where the women were from), and Ik’ for their own lineage. The men would have been Ulua, closely related to the Cuscatlan.

Four other names in El Salvador, in Cuscatlan department, also speak about the events of the Ulua-Cuscatlan raft encountering the two Poto women. While two Potonico men stayed to found the Purepecha, it appears that at least some of the other members of the raft lived about 30 kilometers south of Potonico in the current-day department of Cuscatlan:

• Santa Cruz Michapa - tz’a an ta ak’ ruz mi cha ap ba - “two swimmers in the wetness from the remnant that ran from the Mi swinging at the skin of the body.” Mi refers to the Maya who started human sacrifice on Isla Tigre; the Chibchab (Poto) were one of four groups that ran. Two double meanings are “Ik’” - the Ulua who found the two swimmers and “Mich” referring to Michoacan and mining. It seems that the northwest coast of Guerrero was originally considered part of Michoacan.
• Tepechapa - te pech cha ap ha - “the two orphans on branches on the swinging water.” The clear use of orphans here is a clear marker for the Poto women. Only the Poto and Chibchab were called orphans.
• Tenancingo - te nan tzi in k’o - “dog women on branches, first in the blade.” Dog (Tzi) women was an expression for the various Olmeca ethnic groups, like the Poto because they were the first to take the place of dogs as sacrifice objects by the Kakchiquel and others, i.e. the first in the blade. Tenango has a similar meaning.
• San Pedro Perulapan - san pet tar ro per ul ap pa an - “explain (to Peru) the arrival to the loose collapsed bodies in the pouring (tidal), swollen, swinging current.” The positioning of Peru in the name is clear. The Cuscatlan-Ulua made a trip to Peru after the tsunami to see how people were, sometime after their encounter with the Poto (Purepecha) women. The neighboring town of San Bartolome Perulapia appears to have been named in the post-Classic period over 8200 years later. Its meaning fits events of that period in Peru much more than the post-tsunami time period. But a similarly structured name was used to link the two events.

The Otomi, part 2

Guerrero is named for the early Otomi. It is k’er her ro and has a double meaning. First, describing the Poto women who survived the tsunami: “loose and cut up others (women).” Guerrero indicates that the Poto survivor(s) was female. Loose has a double meaning – first, they were loose in the water and they were without men. Second, it describes the liberation of the Otomi women from the sacrifice regime of the Otomi men. In this context, Guerrero means “women free of the gashing.” This section tells the story of the liberation of the Otomi women.

As generations passed, the Otomi children (i.e. those not first-born) likely heard the narrative of both the Poto side and the Kiche side, creating a type of schizophrenia. During the first several generations, several pregnant women successfully left the Otomi, as evidenced by the Chatino and the name Coyuquilla in the Purepecha area. The practice of the first-born child sacrifice seems to have continued among the Otomi until a rebellion broke out, at Xaltianguis, 30 kilometers north of Acapulco. Xaltianguis is cha al ti an k’i is and means “time of the movement of the two who ran from opening of the heart.” This name presages the name Chalatenango, highlighting who would come to help. The two rebels from human sacrifice, most likely pregnant women, ran north more or less along the present-day highway from Acapulco to Chilpancingo. No doubt these were not the first pregnant women to try to escape the bad practice by running into the mountains. But what followed was unique.

Solapa is a little north: so ol la ap pa – “tired of the leaders who swing the curve at the body.” Curve refers to a blade. A double meaning is tz’ol, meaning “story,” indicating the beginning of names that would tell the story and also linking to the Ch’orti’ phrase tz’olkin - “story of the first dear ones (first-born).” Omitlan, 20 kilometers northeast, is om mi it la an and means “tired of running from the blows of the cats from the foam.” The lan suffix indicates it was the Poto (Olmeca) heritage that ran. Foam is likely a reference back to Lago Coatepeque but also in this context could indicate bloody. Omitlan is both a town name and the name of the downstream portion of the Papagayo River, which leads to a double meaning of “cats from the blowing foam.” It indicates the sailing path taken a little later by a group that would help out the rebels.

Moving north, Palo Gordo is pa al lo ok’ k’o or to and means “time of being free of the leaders splitting the body with the blade sacrifice.” It has a double meaning of “boats of the transporters,” referring again to those who came to help. Tierra Colorado is ti her ra ak’ k’o ol lo or ra to and means “crest (hill) of the women tired of the opening of the skin, loose ones tired of the sacrifices of the leaders’ blades.”

Garrapata, a nearby village, suggests that the Otomi rebels were captured. It is k’ar ra ap pa ta or “remnant that is tired of the swinging at the body is retained,” with double meaning, k’ar rap pat ta, or “retained ones rub the pod (large belly)” (as they descended). Nearby is where the Tehuacalco archeological site is located. It is te wa ak’ k’al k’o, or “blade-on-skins retain the beings in wood (cage)” Tehua at the beginning of the name makes it clear that it was the Purepecha men who came to aid the Otomi rebels, with a similar sound as Tehuacan, their original home. “Blade-on-skins” refer to the Otomi (Kiche) pursuers. The Purepecha assisted the Otomi rebels who were retained in some sort of wooden cage. The archeological site was a memorial both to the Otomi rebels retained in the fight to end human sacrifice among the Otomi and their rescuers, the Purepecha.

There are several Cuauhtemoc references in Acapulco and Chilpancingo. The origin of this Mexican heritage name seems to be here. Cuauhtemoc is k’a wa’ ut te’ em mo’ ok’ and means “break the small opening in the wood, trapped beings descend satisfactorily.” Perhaps the wooden cages had been placed up in a tree; in any case, the Purepecha were able to help the Otomi rebels break free from the cage.

Ocotito is where some of the remnant Otomi sought shelter. It is ok’ k’o ot ti it toh or “shelter for those who split from the blade opening sacrificers.” It uses the Oco prefix to play off of Playa Ocosme in Chinandega, Nicaragua, where the Otomi women were from. Ocosme is ok’ k’o os mer and means “blader (Kiche) failed to split open the one who set down,” saying a little sarcastically that when the woman arrived she wasn’t immediately killed. Ocotito is suggesting that Ocosme isn’t true anymore – they are willing to kill the ones who they set down. It also has a double meaning of k’ot or “arrival.” Cajelitos, five kilometers north of Ocotito, indicates that one (or more) of the Otomi rebel women was killed by the Otomi men. Cajelitos is k’a ach che hel li it to os, meaning “sacrificers handle turtle woman with blows; woman who was beside them at the beginning.” Turtle woman indicates a pregnant woman. This would mean a young woman pregnant with her first child; the child destined to be sacrificed according to Otomi/Kiche tradition. The young woman ran to save her unborn child. It probably wasn’t the same woman who arrived on the shore from Nicaragua but rather a later generation.

Acahuizotla indicates that those escaping from the blades sought shelter here. It is ak’ k’ap witz so ot la and means “shelter mountain for those tired of the curve to the skin by the hold-in-mouth.” Curve is another word for the cutting blade. Hold-in-mouth refers to the chewing tobacco used by the Kiche. The name has a double meaning of “movement of the origin,” referring to the first-born.

North a little and up in the hills is Chacotla. It is describing what happened below in Palo Blanco. It is cha ak’ k’ot la and means “arrival of the two-skins to those tired (of the two-skins).” The Chaac (two-skin) sacrifice is where the skin is peeled off of the sacrificed person and worn by the shaman. Chacotla has a double meaning of “shelter from the blades,” which seems to say that the families of the Otomi rebels were sheltered there. In the valley, Palo Blanco indicates the place where the Otomi leaders were killed by the Otomi rebels and Purepecha. It is pa al lo bel la an k’o and means “time of the collapse of the bodies by those tired of and free of the blades.” The syllables pal (boat) and lan (tired current) are associated with the Purepecha and the Poto, respectively, indicating that both the Purepecha and the Otomi rebels were involved.

Then, moving further north toward Chilpancingo, one arrives to Mazatlan, the most important name in this tz’ol (story). It is ma as sat ta al la an, which means “time of the disappearance among the remnant of the bad practice, tired of running.” It indicates where the Otomi decided to forego the practice of human sacrifice, with the proponents dead at Palo Blanco. It also references the masa, first used to describe those who ran from human sacrifice at Coatepeque in El Salvador, intimating that the Otomi had now become masa or deer. Lan is a cultural indicator which here indicates that the Poto side of the family was responsible for ending the practice. The name Aztlan later derives from Mazatlan. A name present in Mazatlan, as well as nearby Chilpancingo, is Tulipanes, which comes from this era. It is tul li ip pa an ne es and means “runners observe the body-spirits of the Tul beside the tail (river).” Tul refers to the Kiche, with a reference to Tulan (Isla Tigre).

A little north is Petaquillas or pet ta ak’ ki il la as, meaning “remnant of the pouring (pet) see those tired of the practice of the skin of the heart." The Pet prefix is a reference to the Purepecha and to Petatlan, indicating that the Purepecha had assisted the Otomi rebels. In Chilpancingo is Barrio San Agustin, which is san ak’ k’us ti in, or “birth of the first of the swollen one who ran from the opening of the skin.” One pregnant woman, who had fled, gave birth to her first child, free from the bad practice, her child lived. A new Otomi culture, free of the practice of human sacrifice, was born. The name refers to Cuscatlan as well, the heritage of the male-side of the Purepecha who assisted.

 

Surviving the Tsunami Part 2: the Huave, Zapoteca, Mixteca, Triqui, and Choluteca

Paddling on Branches in the Ocean under the Stars

The most important event in the ancient history of Mesoamerica was the tsunami which occurred in about 7220 BCE, caused by the bursting of a massive post ice age lake in Canada.

There were at least six groups that were washed out to sea and then floated and paddled from El Salvador to Mexico, following the water currents, after the tsunami: the Huave, the Zapoteca, the Triqui, Choluteca/Itza, Tlapanec, and Otomi (one part), and two groups that survived from Nicaragua to Mexico, the Otomi (other part) and Purepecha (one part). The water current flows from Nicaragua and El Salvador toward Mexico during the rainy season from May 1 to October 31 each year. Three other groups paddled from one of these original Mexican locations to a nearby place on the coast: the Mixteca, the Amuzgo, and the Chatino. All of the names that they took describe the tragic story of the tsunami. Most of these groups had a major impact on the history of Mexico. In addition there were two groups that survived the tsunami and paddled on the Atlantic from Central America: the Tunica and the Mopan. The story begins with the Zapoteca and the Huave.

The Zapoteca and the Huave

The Huave were likely the first people to land in Mexico from El Salvador, having been washed offshore by the tsunami. Various names indicate that they were Totonac from coastal present-day La Libertad. Probably several hundred years before the tsunami the Totonac had given up the human sacrifice practice. But for some reason - religious or power - the small group of Totonac who paddled in the ocean toward eastern Oaxaca decided when they landed to reintroduce first-born child sacrifice. Their name explains: Huave is wa ap per and means “beings who swing at the collapsed (newborns).”

It seems it was the Huave who named Oaxaca, or wa as tza ak’ ka, meaning “beings who practice on the skin of the beginners (newborn) at the wetness (the Laguna Superior).” The ‘x’ in Oaxaca likely had an ‘s’ sound. A ‘ch’ sound also refers to newborn sacrifice: wa ach cha ak’ ha or “double skin from the turtle beings at the water,” with double skin referring to wearing the peeled skin of the sacrifice victim. And turtle is an expression for pregnant woman. Oaxaca with the ‘x’ sounding like an ‘h’, as it is most commonly stated today, does not have a good translation with Mi.

Within a few days or weeks, the Cuscatlan (Zapoteca) survivors landed at the very same place as the Huave - they started from a more easterly point so it would have taken them longer to arrive. The Zapoteca would have heard the names Huave and Oaxaca and have known exactly what was going on and would have been horrified. They would have been living about 100 kilometers from the Totonac-Huave in El Salvador and likely knew them.

Like the others, the Zapoteca ancestors still spoke Mi when the tragedy happened. Zapoteca is tz’a ap pot te’ ek’ ha’ and means “pressed by the swinging wetness on branches under the stars in the water.” They survived on branches out in the ocean, the ocean current took them west-northwest and they paddled to move closer to shore until they landed at present-day eastern Oaxaca. Like the name Tecoluca, Zapoteca mentions navigating or being under the stars, and references the lineage name Ehecatl, leader of the migration from Chile to El Salvador about 1400 years before. This reference links the Zapoteca to the Tecoluca-Lower Lempa area of El Salvador and with the Ik’ (Ehecatl) lineage.

The name Zapoteca has a double meaning meant specifically for the Huave people: “shelter by wood (dugout) under the stars for the swung-at beginners (newborn) at the hole (Laguna Superior).” Not only did the Zapoteca name let the Huave know that they would be there to support them if they escaped but also told them the best way to escape - by canoe along the coast at night. This simple but clear invitation to Huave pregnant women existed for the thousands of years that the Zapoteca lived alongside the sacrifice-practicing Huave. No wonder that the Huave male leaders had so much enmity for the Zapoteca.

Salina Cruz is located near the ocean at the western edge of Laguna Superior, perhaps where the Zapoteca landed. It is sal li in nak’ k’er rus and means “beside the swimmers in the wall who gash the first sperm (firstborn).” This name indicates that the Huave decided from the beginning to practice sacrifice.

Further to the west, Tehuantepec is te’ wa an tep ek’ and means “beings on the hard logs in the current under the stars.” This name recalls the cultural name Tehuacan, El Salvador, where the Zapoteca had come from, making it clear that the Zapoteca, not the Huave, named this place. The double meaning here is te uh an tep pek or “those of the sacred plant (corn) run to the hard hills” - running away from the Huave.

While Tehuantepec talks about the floating journey to Oaxaca, Juchitan de Zaragoza, north of Tehuantepec, looks back at those who died in present-day El Salvador. This name also links Tehuacan, in the lower Lempa of El Salvador, with these tsunami survivors. It is an indicator that the name Tehuacan, El Salvador, came before the name Tehuacan, Puebla. Juchitan is huch’ ch’i’h it ta’ an and means “large blow of current pressed the remnant,” with remnant or remainder referring to those who didn’t make it to Oaxaca. Juchitan has a similar sound as Ojushtada, with both using the uncommon syllable huch’, indicating that the Cuscatlan in El Salvador likely named Ojushtada after they had visited Juchitan. Zaragoza was used by the Zapoteca to identify for others the ethnicity of the Huave, since Zaragoza refers back to Zaragoza in the present-day day department of La Libertad of El Salvador, where the Totonac were based. In this context Zaragoza is tza ar ra ak’ k’o os ha’ and means “tired of blades on skin on those set down at the water by the wall.” The Zapoteca left the lagoon area because they were tired of the sacrifice practice.

A little to the north, the town of Ixtepec Oaxaca is at the base of the mountains that lead to Oaxaca City. It is ix tep pek’ Oaxaca and means “moving to the hard hills, from the Oaxaca.” Oaxaca refers to the Huave. A double meaning of Ixtepec is “separate and move in the trees under the stars,” indicating that they snuck away at night, likely at risk of death.

One hundred sixty kilometers west of Ixtepec Oaxaca is Miahuatlan, which is mi ar wat la an and means “time of the cats from the fatigued current to make a home.” This may be the first place that the Zapoteca survivors settled upon arriving to the Oaxaca valley. The ending syllable lan or “fatigued current” is the same as that often used to describe the Gulf of Fonseca. But here it is referencing the Laguna Superior and is not meant to suggest that the Oaxaca people were of the same lineage as the Gulf of Fonseca people (Olmeca/Lenca/Anahuac). The hidden ‘r’ after ‘Mia’ could also be a hidden ‘p’, giving a meaning of “run to make a home, tired of the swinging of the cats (Huave),” which indicates that not only were the Huave practicing sacrifice but also were violently opposing those who challenged their sacrifice practice, like the Zapoteca.

Names on the north and west side of the lagoon are likely Huave names or were named by those who escaped from the Huave. Just like the Ch’orti’ earlier in Central America, the pregnant women of the Huave began to flee the first-born sacrifice practice, first going by canoe along the coast and later going to the hills to the northeast of the coastal lagoons. Santiago Niltepec is san ti ak’ k’o on ni il te’ pek and means “previously at the mouth, covered by the biting swelling, saw the knobby hills and trees.” It has a double meaning of “healing plant for skin,” indicating they found a healing plant. It has a third meaning of “run from the blades opening skin by wood on the wetness and trees to the hills.” This name was named by those running from the Huave and refers to escaping by canoe on the water or running through the trees to the hills to the north. It also has a meaning of "previously putting blade on skin" which refers to the Totonac who earlier had practiced human sacrifice but then stopped that practice before the tsunami.

San Francisco Ixhuatan is san ber ra an si ix k’o ix wa’ ta’ an in Mi and means “movement of beings tired of the blade on the collapsed, remnant running movement from the wetness of the fatigued current." It has a double meaning of "make a home in the interior.” This name speaks of the remnant of escaped Huave women who ran to Chiapas and became called Mocho. Ran is a cultural indicator for the Olmeca, suggesting that the San Francisco portion of the name was added after the Olmeca arrived along the Gulf Coast and Chiapas in about 1600 BCE, when the Olmeca began to assist the escaping Huave women.

The next town north is Reforma de Pineda. Using the whole name provides rep po or ma te hep pi in ne eht ta or “challenge of paddling from the bad leaders, remnant of the treed separated tailed first ones.” “Tailed first ones” refers to the firstborn who still were attached by the umbilical cord. This that after some time it became impossible for the Huave pregnant to escape by water toward the western Oaxaca coast and instead began to run by land to the north into the mountains, given the double meaning of “separating by the trees.

Xocotepec on the north coast of the Laguna Occidental, the lagoon to the east of Laguna Superior-Inferior, also speaks of the escaping Huave women. The obvious meaning of Xocotepec is cho ok’ k’o ot tep pek or “shelter in the hard hills for those splitting from the blades of the reputed ones (Huave - Totonac Ch’orti’) for the hard hills.” The name indicated to escaping women that Xocotepec was a place to go up to the hills. The Xoco- prefix was meant to mimic the Joco- prefix of Jocotan, Guatemala. And similar to Jocotan, Xocotepec had a hidden pronunciation. Like the ‘x’ used in much of Mexico, the ‘x’ here had a second pronunciation, a ‘z’. The hidden Zok prefix of Xocotepec refers to the Mixe-Zoque or Olmeca, which let women know that the Olmeca would shelter them in the hills, but in the more distance mountains of the Central Highlands rather than the coastal range. This would have been more than 5,000 years after the tsunami, after the Olmeca arrived from Central America.

Santo Domingo Zanatepec or san to om mi in k’o tza an aht tep ek’, which means “first ones sacrificed by the teeth of the swollen bath, cats in current of foamy wetness on hard pieces under the stars,” describing both those who perished and the journey on the hard branches. It also has a double meaning referencing the Huave women who ran up to the hills from here: “cats’ blades sacrificing first ones at the foamy wetness, run to the hard distant hills.” Inserting the adjective far into the meaning informed women to run to the more distant mountains.

The lagoon southeast of the Laguna Occidental is Laguna La Joya or la ach cho ya, meaning “turtles (pregnant women) tired of the pain of the Cho (Huave).” A double meaning is lach or “strip,” telling women to use the strip of islands on the south part of the lagoon for cover. These islands will be covered later. Cabeza de Toro is on the east coast of Laguna La Joya. It is k’ar ra ab etz tza at te eht to or ro and means “challenge of those tired of the swinging, observe the bath and trees to retain those freeing themselves of the sacrifice demanded by the leaders.” This place was named by the Huave as they watched the lagoon for women who tried to escape. It has a double meaning of “disappearance.” The women who did disappear called themselves Mocho, mo och cho or “trapped by the reputed ones at the entrance (Laguna Superior).”

The Huave likely originated from the Playa San Diego area east of present-day Puerto La Libertad. The name Playa Toluca, site of the ancient sailing stones from the journey from Chile, appears to be referring to the Huave. It is to ol uk' ka and means "sadness for the beginners (first-born) sacrificed by the leaders." The name Toluca is very similar to Tecoluca, indicating that it was the Cuscatlan, sister people of the Zapoteca, who named it. One kilometer from the sailing stones is the village of Santa Cruz, which is san ta ak' k'er rus or "remnant that swam in the swollen and gashed the skin," another reference to the Huave.

While the Zapoteca names at times refer to the mouth - the mouth of the Lempa River - as an origin point, it is also possible that they or a portion of them were from the peninsulas just west of the Lempa River. Peninsula La Colorada is k’ol lo or at ta or “remnant loose in the crest of the bath and transported.” Peninsula El Zapote, now called Costa del Sol, is west of Colorado and appears like it may have been named after the Zapoteca. Zapote is tz'a ap po ot te, meaning "pressed by the swinging wetness, on branches" with a double meaning of "shelter for those on wood (dugouts) from the swinging at the wet hole."

Monte Alban and the Zapoteca

Returning to the Zapoteca, soon the descendants of the survivors of the tsunami created a memorial on top of what they would call Monte Alban hill, perhaps with a few stones to begin with. Monte Alban is moh on ter ra al bah an in Mi and means “ridge for the time of the ancestors’ bodies which tired trapped in the current.” The use of the term “ancestors” seems to indicate that those who created the memorial were at least one generation beyond the survivors. Monte Alban has an alternate meaning as well: “the time of the ancestors who ran through the trees tired of the constricting of the bodies.” It seems to be a memorial both for those who died in the tsunami and for the ancestors who escaped the Huave by running through the woods at night. Another name for Monte Alban is Daniban, which, for the Zapoteca, has the meaning of “sacred hill of the dead.” Its original Mi meaning was similar to Monte Alban. Daniban is ta’ ni’ ib bah an and means “hill for the spirits of the remains of the bodies in the current.” An alternate meaning here is “run for the hills from the remnant at the current.” The presence of the Huave is a reason that the Zapoteca went up to the mountains so quickly and the continued pursuit of the Huave may also explain their later move to Tehuacan, Puebla.

Another name of a Zapotec-related people also seems to have its origin at the time of the tsunami: Ixcatec: ix k’at te’ ek’ – “cross (from El Salvador) moving on wood by the stars.” This name repeats k’at, a syllable found in Cuscatlan, the name for El Salvador, and was found in the name of founding ancestor Ehecatl. K'at was associated with the Ik' lineage.

Other ethnicities closely related to the Zapoteca include a group of Cuscatlan (Ik’ lineage) swept off the coast of present-day La Paz of El Salvador, landing ashore in western Oaxaca, the Triqui, and the Amuzgo, a group of Zapoteca who moved to eastern Guerrero.

The Date for the Tsunami

It would appear that the Zapoteca arrived at Tehuacan, Puebla, soon after they arrived to Oaxaca in the tsunami. The Tehuacan name indicates that it was likely the Zapoteca who arrived at Tehuacan, Puebla, since they were from Tehuacan, El Salvador. The nearby cultural name Coxcatlan cave indicates why. Coxcatlan is k’o och k’at la an, meaning “crossed because of the blades at the entrance of the fatigued current.” This indicates that the Zapoteca went to Puebla from Oaxaca in order to evade the Huave who had pursued them up into the Oaxaca mountains. Coxcatlan also refers obviously to Cuscatlan.

The 7220 BCE date for the tsunami is arrived at by the archeological record at Tehuacan, Puebla, which shows a consistent presence a little after that date and the dating of the end of Nipigon stage at Lake Agassiz, estimated to be 7150 BCE. MacNeish studied the history of habitation at the Coxcatlan cave and other sites near Tehuacan, Puebla. Douglas S. Byers and Richard S. MacNeish, ed. The Prehistory of the Tehuacan Valley, 5 vol. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1967. He found sporadic habitation or visits prior to 7200 BCE, some as early as 9000 BCE and others just prior to 7200 BCE. The earliest visits were likely made by the ancestors of the Xibalba, although after the arrival of the pre-Maya from South America, either group (Xibalba or pre-Maya) could have made long distance journeys to Mexico. MacNeish’s findings are consistent with a tsunami date between 7250 and 7200 BCE.

Like many other Mesoamerican people, the Zapoteca have a flood story as part of their story of origin. While some of the Zapoteca flood myth closely parallels the Biblical story, making it hard to know which parts were original and which were borrowed from the Spanish, one part of the myth states that Petela, a great Zapoteca chieftain, descended from flood survivors. Petela is pet tel ha’ and means “water pouring over the ridge.” It has a double meaning of pet te hel la or “women tired of the tree (position) at the pouring.” The pouring refers to the tides pouring in and out of the Laguna Superior. This indicates that the earliest Zapoteca leaders assisted Huave women to leave. Petela also contains the cultural prefix pet- which is found in Purepecha and Miwok names as well, linking these ethnicities.

The Triqui and the Mixteca

The Triqui may have been from the Rio Jiboa area of present-day La Paz, El Salvador. They appear to have landed near the southernmost point of Oaxaca, Puerto Angel - just east is Salchi, tza al chi, or “time of the large wetness,” with “wall” as a double meaning. One link to Rio Jiboa is the name Tilapa, a very early name next to Rio Jiboa in El Salvador which appears to identify a mastodon in the very first weeks that the Mesoamerican ancestors were in Central America. There is also a Tilapa close to the Triqui center of San Juan Copala. In addition, with ik’ in their name, the Triqui identifed as an Ik’ lineage, like the Zapoteca. They landed west of the Zapoteca, which would likely mean that they were from an area to the west of the Zapoteca Lempa River origin in El Salvador. The Rio Jiboa mouth is the most likely place of their origin. A further reference to the area currently named La Paz, El Salvador, is the town of Zacatepec in western Oaxaca, a reference to Zacatecoluca, El Salvador, named in the aftermath of the tsunami.

Soon pregnant women from the Huave, facing the sacrifice of their first-born, began to escape toward the Triqui on the coast, paddling 140 kilometers on the ocean current. Puerto Angel is an che hel or “women handled the current.” They may have hid and slept in the day and paddled at night. They became the founders of the Mixteca. Mixteca is mi ix te’ ek’ ha’ and means “cats moving on water under the stars and among the trees,” a hint that they slept among the trees of the shore to hide during the day. The autonym mi (in Mixteca) was much more frequent among the Ch’orti’-Totonac lineage (including the Huave) than among the Ik’-based lineage, like the Zapoteca and Triqui. The name Triqui makes sense alongside the Mixteca founders. It is ta’ ar ri ik’ ki and means “time of the dear remnant beside the Ik’,” with a double meaning of “arrive.”

East of Puerto Angel is Playa Estacahuite, which is etz’ ta ak’ k’ar wi te, which is “observe for the wood (canoes) of the remnant from the blows to the navel skin of the retained (newborn).” It was the Triqui who were waiting there to observe and help the escaping Huave women. The name also carries a cultural lineage syllable hui, which indicates a Ch’orti’ lineage originally from Güija. The name has a second meaning regarding the Triqui's first landing on the shore themselves, “observe trees on dry ground since beginning of explosion (blast),” with another meaning of "dry," i.e. dry land. Nearby El Radar is hel ra at tar in Mi, meaning “women arrive tired from the bath.” To the east, Tahueca is ta wer kah or “remnant whose beginners were torn away.” Inland is Santa Maria Huatulco. It is tza an ta am ma ar ri wat tu ul k’o and means “time of the remnant who explained the corpses from the blades and ran in the wetness from the bad spiders, make a home beside.” Huatulco describes the first home of the pregnant Huave women who became the Mixteca. The syllable tul recalls Tulan, the island home of the Maya where human sacrifice began.

Also inland a few kilometers is San Pedro Pochutla, which is tza an pet tar ro po och chu ut ta la and means “arrival of remnant tired of the guards at the entrance of the hole, through the pouring (tides) current at the opening of the wetness, free,” with a double meaning of “peeled skin.” This is another indication that Huave pregnant women and perhaps men too escaped by boat from Laguna Superior and made it to the Mixteca coast. One of the barrios of San Pedro Pochutla is Guaydiguelle. This appears to be as old as Pochutla. It is way ti Ik’ hel lep and means “women paddling through the opening dreaming (at night) to the Ik’.” This meaning reinforces the meaning of Pochutla.

Names on the west side of Puerto Angel indicate that the Triqui and Mixteca also lived there. First, is Cometa or k’o om et ha’, which means “challenge of the teeth (rocks) in the foamy water,” indicating the difficulty in reaching shore there. But Cometa has a second meaning, “challenge of joining the remnants,” perhaps indicating a challenge in bringing the Mixteca and Triqui together, being from different lineages, although it could also be speaking about the Chatino, a remnant from the Otomi.

Just inland is Mazunte, ma as su un te, “on wood (canoes) from the bad practice to the children on a layer,” describing the child sacrifice practice of the Huave. There are two double meanings: “wrap-around,” which describes the umbilical cord still attached to the newborns at the time of sacrifice, and “foreign,” which indicates a belief that the practice originated much earlier with the foreigners (Xibalba).

Just east on the coast is San Agustinillo, which directly references the name San Agustin in the Ik’ (Cuscatlan) area of El Salvador. San Agustin, El Salvador, describes the first death of the ancestors at the hands of the Xibalba. San Agustinillo, Oaxaca, is very clear about the first-child newborn sacrifice practice. It is tza an nak’ k’us ti in ni il lo and means “see from the hill those running from the wetness free from the opening up of the first sperm at giving birth.” It has a double meaning of “curing” - their leaving cured them from the practice. Another meaning is “come to life” which describes the hope that the Mixteca had in a new place.

Another nearby name is Chacahua or cha ak’ k’ar wa’ is “beings retained for the two skins.” This name references the two-skin practice of the god Chaac, usually used to invoke rain. I understand this name to refer to a practice back in the Huave area, not along the Mixteca coast. Chacahua recalls the name Chalagua found back in the Jiboa area of El Salvador, near where the Triqui were likely from. El Carnero is k’ar ne her ro or “women free from being retained for the tail (umbilical cord).”

Cuatode is ka wa at to ot te and means “wood shelter for the beings from the sacrifice of the beginner (newborn) at the bath.” It has a double meaning of “make a home” and Totonac, another link between the Mixteca and the Huave (and Totonac). Inland from Cometa is Santa Maria Tonameca. It is tza an ta am ma ar ri at to on nam ek’ ha and means “time of the remnant beside who ran in the wetness from the bad spiders at the bath in the water under the stars, disappearance of the previous sacrificing.” It has double meanings of “depths” and “wrestle” which might indicate that a woman (women) was drowned when a Huave guard caught up with her. The name also makes it clear that the bad practice of the Huave did not continue with the Mixteca. The closest nations to the Mixteca are the Mocho Maya, followed by the Kanjobal, the Ch’orti’, the Chol, the Tzetzil, and the Choluteca.

Inland to the west is Santa Rosa de Lima Tututepec which became a Mixteca kingdom in the Classic period. It is san ta ar ro os at te hel li im ma tut tu ut tep ek’ in Mi and means “small opening in the hard plug from swollen bath, corpses beside from the bad blast, time of remnant of women set down after loose under the stars.” This indicates a knowledge of the cause of the tsunami, describing Lake Agassiz (Winnipeg) and the deaths that took place there, followed by a brief description of the Mixteca remnant who began a new life after surviving the tsunami and the conditions of the Huave. The phrase "hard plug" can not be translated in another way and is the key to linking this name to Lake Agassiz.

Finally, the place name Santa Cruz Zenzontepec, 60 kilometers north of Zapotalito, is a direct link to the Cuscatlan and Ulua and the place name of Sensuntepeque, El Salvador, an Ulua place name 10 kilometers off the Lempa River and 80 kilometers north of the mouth. Sensuntepeque references the Xibalba, therefore it was named at least 200 years earlier, when the Maya defeated the Xibalba. Because the Ulua and the Triqui came out of the same lineage, Santa Cruz Zenzontepec would be a Triqui name and means "hard hill of those with knowledge of the ancestors in the curve (tsunami)."

The Mixteca have a similar flood myth as the Zapoteca. It says that the earth was well populated but humans were punished with a flood due to a significant fault. One can imagine that this fault related to the violence display of power (human sacrifice) which afflicted the Totonac for a time prior to the tsunami. Like the Zapoteca, the Mixteca people descended from the few survivors of the flood, according to the myth.

The Choluteca (Itza)

The Huave were not the only part of the Ch’orti’-Totonac lineage to be washed offshore by the tsunami and to float from present-day El Salvador to present-day Mexico. Names along the coast of western Oaxaca indicate the Choluteca (Itza) also floated from west-central El Salvador to Mexico.

The Choluteca consists today of groups in the Yucatan, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The Choluteca migrated to Puebla, Mexico. Later the main group of the Choluteca (Mangue) migrated to southern Central America during the late Toltec period when they were attacked. Their strongest tie to the Oaxaca coast is linguistic – they are part of the Oto-Manguean language group. The name Mangue appears to come from when they were attacked in Puebla, while Chorotega was probably a name taken upon arrival to Honduras and Nicaragua. While the Chiapaneco are grouped together with the Choluteca linguistically, it is possible that the Chiapaneco originated from the Huave, another Totonac-related group.

The Choluteca seem to have arrived on the southwest coast of Oaxaca near San Jose Manialtepec. The cultural name Choluteca probably dates from this time. They used the convention of the -teca suffix, similar to their neighbors Zapoteca and Mixteca. Choluteca is cho hol uh te ek’ ha and means “esteemed sacred one (shaman) on crest of water on branches under the stars.” The spiritual leader mentioned in the name is likely the same one mentioned in the names Sunzacuapa and Chiltiupan on the La Libertad coast of El Salvador. San Jose Manialtepec is san cho os tze em ma an ni al te pek and means “time of descending the hills in the bad upright swelling, in the current on branches, Cho set down by the hills.” Cho is a cultural marker for the Ch’orti’ lineage. It has a double meaning of “swollen lungs in the current.”

La Alejandria is just east of San Jose Manialtepec. It is la al leb ba an tar ri ha and means “time of tired bodies arriving beside by paddling in the water current.” East of there is Bajos de Chila, a name which was chosen after a visit by those in La Libertad, as it mimics La Shila there. It is ba os tech’ chi’ il ha’ in Mi, meaning “see the expanded bodies set down by the large water.” It discusses seeing bodies washing up on shore after they arrived there.

To the west is El Cacalote. It has three meanings. First, ka k’al lo ot te is “wood shelter for those retained and then loose (in the ocean) at the beginning.” The second meaning is clear, kaka al lo te’ and means “time of the loose cacao pods.” This indicates that the Amuzgo shared cacao pods with the Choluteca to be planted. Using the adjective “loose” makes it clear that they were pods, not plants. A third meaning of Cacalote is k’ak’ k’al lo ot te’ and means “shelter for those free on wood (dug-outs) from the retentions of the fire,” with fire (k’ak’) referring to the Kakchiquel. This indicates that in addition to the Amuzgo (to be discussed), the Choluteca assisted Otomi women escaping from the sacrifice regime of the Otomi men. Both the Huave and the Choluteca were from the Totonac (originally Ch’orti’) lineage, but unlike the Huave, the Choluteca did not re-initiate human sacrifice once in Mexico.

A couple kilometers northeast of El Cacalote is San Isidro Campechero San Martin is san ni is it ta ar lo ok’ k’a am pech che’ her ro’ os san ma ar ti in and means “loose Pech women remnant handle spidering (paddling) in the wet current, happy to be free from the blows which split open the set down first ones (newborns), movement to the swollen hills.” They used a cultural identifier “orphan” Pech that pertains to the Poto (Olmeca-related) lineage: in this case referring to an Otomi woman. If the Choluteca themselves practiced human sacrifice they would not have assisted the Otomi women fleeing the practice of human sacrifice. San Isidro Campechero San Martin was likely the source for the name of the Mexican state Campeche, named thousands of years later by the Choluteca (Itza).

Tiltepec is 10 kilometers inland from San Jose Manialtepec. It’s ti il te pek’ and means “see the opening in the hard hills.” It has a double meaning of “see the wood (dug-outs) under the stars” indicating the boats of the escaping Otomi women. Another 12 kilometers is Santa Lucia Teotepec, perhaps the strongest link to La Libertad, El Salvador. Teotepeque was the first center for the Ch’orti’ (Totonac) in La Libertad following the flood at Lago Guija. Santa Lucia Teotepec is san ta al lus si at Teotepec and means “time of the many swimmers in the swollen bath, shelter for remnant in trees of the hard hills,” with a double meaning of “arrival.”

San Pedro Mixtepec to the east speaks about the arrival of the Mixteca, next to the Choluteca. It is tza an pet ta ar ro om mi ix te pek and means “time of the remnant cats who moved in the wet current then to the hills to be free from the foamy tree at the pouring.” Foamy tree refers to human sacrifice. The pouring refers to the tide pouring through the entrance of the Laguna Superior. The Choluteca and the Mixteca were from the same lineage, so there was a natural affinity.

It seems that the Choluteca may have moved quite early to Puebla. The names there indicate a possible early habitation while names from El Salvador were still fresh in their minds. San Pedro Cholula is san pet tar ro och cho ol uh lap, meaning “arrival to the entrance (between the volcanos) by the esteemed shaman who had been loose stroking in the swollen crest of the pouring (tides).” San Pedro Cholula lies near the saddle (the “entrance”) between two 5,000 meter (17,000 ft) mountains, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. The name also recalls San Pedro Mixtepec. Interestingly, Cholula also seems to mimic the name Ulua. That would not be a lineage marker, but rather a political marker to indicate that they had chosen not to resume the human sacrifice practice, unlike the Huave.

Iztaccihuatl Mountain is it tza ak’ si wat ta al in Mi and means “time of the movement of the remnant to make a home by the blowing residue covering (ash from Popocatepetl).” The name has a double meaning of is tak or “move to the dry one” to indicate that it was a dry volcano (not active). Popocatepetl was named by the Purepecha rather than the Choluteca.

While the Puebla part of Puebla de Zaragoza probably comes from the Post-Classic period, the name Zaragoza is likely ancient and links it to the same name in La Libertad, El Salvador. Zaragoza here is sar ra ak’ k’o os tza, meaning “setting down by the wall (Iztaccihuatl) and the wet one (Popocatepetl) tired of the blade on the skin.” It is another confirmation that they did not resume the sacrifice practice. The Huave also used the name Zaragoza to link back to El Salvador.

Later, in the Classic era, the main portion of the Choluteca began to call themselves Chorotega and Mangue. It was from the mountain, Iztacchihuatl, that the Itza (Choluteca) took their name, although by switching letters, the name seems to refer to Popo, as Itza means “the wet one (active volcano) blowing.”

The next installment will describe the amazing struggle to end the practice of human sacrifice among the Otomi. Cuauhtemoc finally prevailed.

The Origin of the Zapotecs - the Tsunami of 7280 BCE

First of three blog entries on the tsunami of ~7280 BCE

Just as the Maya suffered through a terrible tsunami at Lago Güija in about 7835 BCE, all the Maya lineages, especially the Ik’ lineage, suffered tremendously due to an ocean tsunami more than 500 years later, in about 7280 BCE. But they weren’t the only ones to suffer – place names on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts throughout the Americas indicate being hit by a terrible tsunami too.[1] The Maya determined the cause of the tsunami, which is revealed by the name of the mythological figure Sihuehuet: the Great Lakes region of the present-day U.S. and Canada. This chapter will look somewhat briefly at the cause of the disaster in the Great Lakes area, then examine the impact on Maya communities, especially the displacement of the leaders of the Ik’ lineage from the Rio Lempa to Oaxaca.

[1] This will be documented in a separate publication.

The most likely cause of the tsunami was the draining of Lake Agassiz, a huge lake on the North American continent – mostly in Canada – which emptied much of its huge volume of glacial melt into the oceans. But it wasn’t that simple. The lake shore had many communities along its rim. The draining of the lake was a very violent thing.

The lake was likely somewhat smaller at the time of the tsunami than what is portrayed above.[2] Place names around Fargo indicate that the lake may have been 15 to 20 miles wide by Fargo rather than the roughly 50 miles indicated on the map. Scientists estimate that Lake Agassiz began to form in about 10875 BCE when the ice sheets began to melt.[3] It lasted until about 6480 BCE, leaving behind remnant lakes like Lake Winnipeg. Scientists have determined that it reached its largest size during the fourth of its five stages, the Nipigon, from about 8630 BCE until about 7160 BCE,[4] when a large amount of water drained from the Lake.

[2] Source Upham, Warren. "The Glacial Lake Agassiz". Plate III. Monographs of the en:United States Geological Survey: Volume XXV. Washington Government Printing Office: Washington, 1895.
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz#Nipigon_Phase:_10.2C630.E2.80.939.2C160_YBP.

The 7160 BCE date comes quite close to the date in the Maya Mars retrograde calendar that seems to correspond with the tsunami (7280 BCE). The name Nipigon comes from Lake Nipigon, a large lake north of Lake Superior. During the fourth stage of Lake Agassiz, it reached Lake Nipigon, which has an elevation of 260 meters (850 feet), 14 meters below Fargo. Nipigon is a name in Mi which comes from the time of the tsunami. In Mi it is ni pi ik’ k’o on and means “companions in the biting wind from the knob of the previous age.” The biting knob was the ice slab which slammed into Lake Agassiz near Fargo, making it clear that Lake Nipigon was named after the source of the wind was learned. The “previous age” was the ice age.

The Algonquin peoples that lived around Lake Agassiz at the time still spoke Mi at the time of the tsunami.[5] Place names around the lake spell out the cause of the tsunami. Cass County, where Fargo, North Dakota, is located, is k’as in Mi, meaning “broke open” or “broke away.” Fifty kilometers west of Fargo are the towns of Absaraka and Buffalo. Absaraka is ab sar ak’ ka and means “beginning of the swinging wall of the covering,” where covering refers to a piece of the ice sheet which may have been centered around Devils Lake. Buffalo is buh bah al lo in Mi and means “time of cut up bodies from the loose one.”[6] The name Fargo likely was named after a European, but it also could be indigenous: bah ar k’o means “time of the bodies in the teeth,” with teeth referring to the sliding ice sheet.

[5] Research by this author indicates that the Algonquin were, in part, the result of a migration of the Maya from the region of present-day El Salvador to the Great Lakes region in about 7430 BCE, less than 300 years before the tsunami.
[6] Buffalo repeats the usage of this name for an ice berg or ice sheet, first used by the Sioux ancestors on the Mississippi River in modern day Wisconsin. At other times it was also used to describe the bison. While it was Algonquin further north along the edges of Lake Agassiz, in present-day North Dakota it was likely Dakota.

The name Norman, the Minnesota county 50 kilometers northeast of Fargo, indicates that the tsunami resulted from an ice sheet. It is noh hor mah an in Mi and means “large crest from the bad flow,” with ma in the name indicating deaths. Manitoba is ma an ni to ba and means “sacrifice of bodies in the bad flow due to the knob (ice slab).” Anola is a place name 24 kilometers east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anola is an no hol ha’ and means “large flowing crest of water,” indicating a lake tsunami as it flowed north in the lake. The tsunami slammed into the north rim of Lake Agassiz, breaking through at the present opening of Nelson River near Purvis Island, pur bi is, which means “companions in the up and down movement.”

A large flow of water poured out of Lake Agassiz toward James Bay. There were several villages around the bay at the time, evidenced by the place names, which indicate a tsunami there too.[7] For example, Akimiski Island is ak’ ki im mi is kib and means “tender cats covered by the rising, blasting motion.” From there the large flow of water from Lake Agassiz entered the Atlantic Ocean, where it caused an ocean-wide tsunami. Names throughout present-day Cuba, Puerto Rico, Haiti, and Dominican Republic indicate a tsunami. The same is true of present-day coastal Venezuela and Brasil. Because it was a flow of a significant amount of new water, the tsunami maintained itself and possibly strengthened as it passed the tip of South America and entered the Pacific Ocean. Names on the west coast of South America and Panama clearly indicate a tsunami. Then the tsunami reached the coast of present-day El Salvador, home to the Maya in 7280 BCE.

[7] While it is possible they were Algonquin, the language seems distinct and more likely to be Eskimo-Mi.

The Tsunami in El Salvador

The names along the coast of current-day El Salvador indicate that there was population on the coast – and therefore tsunami-relevant names – at the time of the tsunami. Conversely, there are no tsunami-relevant Pacific Coast names between Panama and El Salvador and few in Guatemala and Mexico. In the case of the region of El Salvador, I will start by looking at the eastern part of the coast, then the western portion, and finally the central area, where the tsunami had the biggest social and cultural impact.

During the presence of Xibalba, the Olmeka/Lenca ancestors would have been mostly limited to Lago Olomega in eastern El Salvador. The Xibalba were eliminated about 200 years before the tsunami and in that time, it appears that the Olmeka people spread out along the coast, 20 to 30 kilometers away. A similar process happened in the west. The department and city name, La Union, might have originally been a Mi name, then adapted into Spanish. It could have been la an yur ri on, meaning “formerly fatigued current beside breaking through.” Historically, the Gulf of Fonseca was called “fatigued current,” so calling it “formerly fatigued” may have been a play on words referring to the tsunami. Cutuco is a place name a couple kilometers east of the modern city of La Union. It is kut tu uk’ k’o and means “sadness for the corpses from the beating teeth.”

The most prominent name around la Bahía de La Unión is Sirama, with two rivers of that name and a village. There is a Sirama River just north of the bay, also called Rio el Amatillo, which drains into Estero Manzanilla, a Sirama River southwest of the bay, which starts near El Pilón, and a Sirama village located about 10 kilometers west of La Unión. Sirama must have really garnered the feeling of the communities after the tsunami. In Mi, it is sir ra am ha or “spiders in the rising tired water.” They self-identified as spiders – sailing people. “Tired water” was a reference to the Gulf of Fonseca. A second similar meaning for Sirama is “see a number of spiders in the water.” Ending in ma, the name also connotes badness and death.

Rio Pavana drains into Rio Sirama (Amatillo), Pavana is pah ab an ha’ and means “bodies in the swinging water current.” Mogotillo is a village located next to Rio Pavana, about five kilometers from the bay. It is mo’ ok’ k’o ti il lo’ and means “see loose ones trapped and split open from the teeth by the mouth.” The teeth are the giant tsunami waves.

Further to the west and away from the bay, at San Alejo the focus was on healing the survivors. San Alejo is one of many examples where Mi names were transformed into Spanish names, often beginning with “san.” San means “swelling” in Mi. San Alejo is san al leb bo’ and means “time of stroking (healing) those from the swollen hole.” Hole is one of the words used frequently for ocean. El Jicaro is eight kilometers east of El Carmen and would be hi’ ik’ k’ar ro’ or “retained loose sand from the wind.” This is a key name and the first of many in the El Salvador region that indicate that the winds that accompanied the tsunami blew up sand that became retained under the skin of survivors. Five kilometers south of El Jicaro, up in the hills safe from any tsunami, is the village of El Pilon. This might be a Spanish name, but it could be Mi, coming from pi il lo’ on or “see the previously loose companions” – those loose in the wave but who survived and then relocated away from the ocean and bay.

To the southeast of La Union is Amapalita, an obvious reference to Amapala on Isla Tigre. It means “remnant beside Amapala,” indicating that people either floated across from Isla Tigre or moved to the mainland due to the destruction from the tsunami. The nearby town and volcano of Conchagua have a similar meaning, it is k’o on ch’a’ ak’ wa’ in Mi and means “beings previously covered and horizontal from the teeth,” likely referring to people who previously lived on Isla Tigre or other islands in the Gulf. Conchagua has a double meaning of “two” which seems to refer to there being a second group from Isla Tigre. The name of another nearby village, Yologual, provides more information. It is yo’l lo’ ok’ wa’ al and means “the time of splitting off of the beings who were loose in the perforation.” This indicates that they were loose in the gulf, floating to the mainland. Splitting off probably means both “split open” and is an expression when one family, clan, etc. is split in two, indicating that some of their people remained on Isla Tigre. They could easily have returned but probably interpreted their situation as fate, they were meant to stay in Conchagua.

Playa el Flor, south of Conchagua volcano, might be from Mi, pel lo’ hor, meaning “loose ones collapsed in the crest.” Near where the gulf meets the Pacific is Playa Tamarindo. This appears to come from Mi and perhaps the plant was then named after this place. Tamarindo in Mi is ta’ am mar ri in toh and means “remnant spiders from the sea beside where the first sacrifice.” This indicates that there was a second group from Isla Tigre that floated from the island, where the first heart sacrifices took place as described in Chapter 3. Those that floated to Tamarindo were sailors – very adept in the water. The point, Punta Amapala, named after Amapala, Isla Tigre, is further evidence of a group floating from Tigre. That the people floated west indicates that the tsunami took place in the rainy season from May 1 to October 31 when the wind and ocean currents go west along the coast.

Further west in current day San Miguel, is Playa el Cuco and San Jose Gualozo. Cuco might come from the time of the tsunami. It could be kur uk’ k’o, meaning “sadness from the points and teeth.” Gualozo is wa’al lo os soh and means “loose ones set down by the standing curve (wave).” This would seem to indicate that bodies or persons were carried up to Gualozo, about five kilometers inland, by the wave.

A little bit east, Isla el Arco might be a Spanish name, but if indigenous, it would be ar k’o or “time of the teeth.” Nearby is Isla Espino – again, possibly a Spanish name, but in Mi it would be etz’ pi noh or “observe the companions in the large one.”

The water from the tsunami crest backed up the Rio Grande de San Miguel, the major river in eastern El Salvador. Moropala, about 15 kilometers upstream, is moh hor ro bah al ha’ or “the time of loose bodies trapped in the water’s crest.” It has a double meaning of boats, indicating that boats were also trapped and lost in the current. Across the river from Moropala is La Anchila, which in Mi is an ch’i’ il ha’ or “see the large water current.” Chilanguera, about 30 kilometers upstream, and the name indicates the current went at least that high. In Mi it is ch’i’ il an k’er ha’ and means “see the large gashing water current.” Today Chilanguera is 35 meters (115 feet) above sea level. The name Talpetate, present up one of the narrow canyons from Chilanguera, may indicate that the flow of the tsunami reached that high – as flood waters were forced up the narrow valley. It located 200 meters above level – which at the time may have been the equivalent of 180 meters above sea level.[8]

[8] The crest of the wave would not need to be that high but the wave could force water much higher than the crest up a narrow valley.

Maya communities existed in ~7280 BCE along much of the present-day El Salvador coast, including in the west. Communities located in today’s La Libertad Department probably were linked to Lago Guija. The last chapter described the historical connection between Lago Guija and La Libertad following the Guija flood.

The name La Libertad may come from Mi from the time of the tsunami. In Mi it would be li ib ber ta’ at or “beside the remains of the spirits collapsed in the bath.” Rio Aquiquisquillo in eastern La Libertad is ak’ ik’ ix ki’ il lo’ or “see the tender ones loose in the covering movement and wind”. Above Aquiquisquillo is the municipality of Rosario de Mora in today’s San Salvador Department. It might be from Spanish, but probably comes from Mi: ro’ os sar ri ho’ ot te’ em moh or ha’, which means “shelter for those beside, the desirable ones trapped loose in the crest of the wall of water, set down in the trees in the descent.” This indicates that the survivors may have sought shelter up the hill in Rosario de Mosa.

Rio Chilama is just east of Puerto La Libertad. Chilama is ch’i’ il am ha’, which means “see the spiders (sailors) in the large water,” with “badness” (death) as a double meaning. Just west of the mouth of Chilama is Playa Conchalio, which is k’o on cha al li ho in Mi, meaning “the time in the two teeth, the desired ones previously beside.” This name suggests that there were two waves in the tsunami. This area of La Libertad may be where one of the groups that made it to Mexico were from: most likely the Mangue/Chorotega.

Beyond the beach ten kilometers up the coastal range is La Shila or ch’i’ il ha’, simply “see the giant water.” A couple kilometers west of Conchalio is El Sunzal. In Mi it is suh un sal or “youth under the layer of the wall,” with a double meaning of “foreigner.” This is one indicator that the Maya believed the tsunami came from elsewhere – across the ocean or perhaps when Sunzal was named they had learned of the North American origin.

Near the coast the name El Zonte describes trees that were completely covered up by the tsunami. El Zonte is soh on te’, meaning “trees previously in the curve (wave).” Far above El Zonte is the municipality of Tamanique which describes a very common condition of those near the ocean. The very strong tsunami wind blowing sand into the skin. Tamanique is tam an ni ik’ k’er and means “in the current for the interior of the bumps from the gashing wind.” To relieve their painful skin they rested in the Rio Huiza. A little west is Siberia or si ib ber ri ha’, which means “beside the many collapsed spirits in the water (ocean).”

The collapsed spirits in the tsunami included a shaman or spiritual leader, according to the meaning of the nearby municipality of Chiltiupan and the Rio Sunzacuapa. Sunzacuapa is sun sahk uh ha’ pah and means “search for the body of the sacred one in the greedy (foreign) water.” Chiltiupan is ch’i’ il ti uh pah an and indicates that the body of the sacred one was found. It means “see the opened body of the sacred one in/from the giant current.” Perhaps the sacred one and others lived near the present-day town of Taquillo near the coast. It is ta’ ak’ ki’ il lo’ and means “see the remains of the loose covered-up tender ones.”

Like Tamanique, Jicalapa refers to the sand flying penetrating the skin with the strong winds. Jicalapa is hi’ ik’ k’al ha’ pah in Mi and means “in the river for sand from the wind retained in the body.” This meaning is extremely clear.

In far western La Libertad and Sonsonate are several coastal villages that appear to be from the K’iche’ lineage at Lago Coatepeque rather than the Ch’orti’ lineage. Mizata, or mi is sat ha’ or “cats lost in the movement of water.” Next to Mizata, in present day eastern Sonsonate, is Apancoyo and Playa Dorada. Apancoyo is ap pa an k’oy yor, meaning “swinging bodies of the smokers hit by the current.” The K’iche’ lineage is known for first cultivating tobacco. “Pan” is used in the name, linking it both to Teopan and to the Tlapanec in Mexico. Finally there is Playa Dorada, which is to or at ta’ or “remains of those sacrificed by the crest of the bath.” The name of the Department of Sonsonate comes from the time of the tsunami. It is so on so on at te and means “previously on the arched wood who previously were at the curved bath.” Curved bath refers to Lake Coatepeque, long-time home of the K’iche’. Arched wood refers to the boats they used to sail in the ocean. A double-meaning of Sonsonate is “distant”, hinting that the name originated after they were aware of the landing of the survivors in Guerrero.

In western Sonsonate is a curious repeating of the name Amatal, the beach where the first families arrived from South America about 80 kilometers to the east (see Chapter 2). In this context it appears to be am ma at ta’ al and mean, “the time of the remains of the spiders (sailors) in the bad bath.” I take the repeated name to be likening the death(s) in the ocean among the first families to the many deaths in the ocean at the time of the tsunami.

Further west in today’s Ahuachapan is Barra de Santiago, the first of many examples where names begin with the syllable “san” and the Spanish claimed them, in most cases, to be saints’ names. In Mi, Santiago is san at ti ak’ k’o (Sanatiago) and means “in the bath for swollen open bumps on skin from the teeth.” San means “swollen” and was usually used as a prefix to describe the bumps from the sand in the skin.

Finally, the Garita Palmera lagoon name seems to date from this time. Garita Palmera is k’ar ri ta’ ap pah al mer ha’ and means “time of being beside the remains of the failed bodies in the swinging water,” with “boats” as a double meaning. It is likely that the community at Garita Palmera was related to the Ch’orti’ community at Lago Güija, serving as one of the primary sailing communities of the Ch’orti’. As we will see, many of the Garita Palmera community survived.

The Origin of the Zapotec

Perhaps the most important story from the tsunami in Mesoamerica took place in the central part of present-day El Salvador in the regions of Usulutan, San Vicente, and La Paz. This event resulted in the creation of a new ethnic group in Mexico, when the leadership portion of the Ik’ lineage communities survived the tsunami blast but were carried out to sea, landing eventually at the Oaxaca coast. Other surviving groups carried out to sea did not include the core leadership of their respective lineages.

Two stories were told about the Balam Ik’ leadership getting swept to Oaxaca: one by the survivors who stayed along the coast and other Maya who searched for their lost Balam Ik’ lineage who lived by the ocean, and the second by the survivors of the tsunami who floated to the shores of Oaxaca. The place names on both sides of the lower Lempa River tell the story from the perspective of the Maya. On the east side of the Lempa (Usulután), the story starts near the coast at Salinas de Sisiguayo, a place where salt is made. Sisiguayo is si ix sik’ wa’ yo’b and means “search for the series of beings struck by the arriving movement.” This describes where they may have searched for the missing people. “Arriving movement” is an apt description of a tsunami-type wave. Sisiguayo has a complete double meaning – sis si ik’ way yor – or “series of cold wind gusts hit while sleeping,” indicating a possible warning before the tsunami, which apparently hit at night. A third meaning is “Ik’ beings.”

A few kilometers northwest of Sisiguayo is El Zamoran, which is tz’ah am mo hor an and means “spiders trapped by the cresting shiny current.” Spiders was a common expression for sailors, going back to Taiwan and Siberia in Chapter 1. “Shiny” was an expression for various bodies of water.” The Ik’ lineage on the Pacific Coast were sailors in the ocean. Recently the ancient bones of a woman and a child were excavated at Zamoran.[9] Perhaps they are from the time of the flood.

[9] Personal conversation with University of El Salvador anthropology student, Ariana Ninel Pleitez, August 2012.

Along the Usulutan coast are San Juan del Gozo and Isla Cumichin. Cumichin, a kilometer south of Sisiguayo, is k’um mi ix ch’i’ in and means “first cats (of us) rinsed in the large movement.” The tsunami struck there before Sisiguayo. San Juan del Gozo is a village five kilometers west of Cumichin. The whole name appears to come from Mi: san wa’an tel k’o soh, meaning “teeth of the swollen rising curve on the ridge.” It has a double meaning of “running beings set down.”

To west along the La Paz coast are El Chingo and El Pimiental, indicating that the Ik’ lineage spread out in this direction as well. El Chingo is ch’i’ in k’o and simply means “first ones in the large teeth.” El Pimiental is pi im men ta’ al and means “time of the spirit-remains of the companions in the blast.” It has a double meaning of “arrival.”

A few kilometers north of El Zamoran is the oddly named Quita Calzon. I believe that a similar sounding Maya name was replaced with the two odd Spanish words. Quita Calzon or kitakalison in Ch’orti’-Mi is ki’ ta’ ak’ k’al li ix soh on and means “beside where dear ones previously set down by the arch, remnant with retentions in the skin.” It is a name that recognizes those whose bodies were carried by the wave and set down upshore here, as well as discussing the problem of the sand embedded (retained) in the skin. In a similar way, Mata de Piña received its name, a few kilometers north of Quita Calzon. Mata de Piña is mah ta’ pi in ha’ and means “remains of the first companions in the bad water.” The water was described as bad because it had caused the deaths of the first companions.

The bay in Usulutan also has a name that dates to the time of the flood. Jiquilisco is ji’ ik’ ki’ il li ix k’o and means “see the movement of biting sand in the wind beside the tender ones.” It was a location from which a survivor(s), perhaps higher up from the ocean level, saw and felt the sand in the wind generated by the tsunami wave(s). They were beside those who passed away – the tender ones.

On the west side of the Lempa (present-day San Vicente), the story starts with La Pita, near the present small port on the Lempa used to access Isla Montecristo and the Pacific. La Pita is lap pi ta’ and means “rubbing remains of the companions,” where “rubbing” was an expression for caring for the bodies of those who had passed. La Pita has a second meaning indicating that people moved back there: “remnant of the rubbing (stroking) companions,” referring to ocean paddlers. Montecristo, at the mouth of the present-day Lempa, might come from Mi: Montekeristo would be moh on te’ ek’ k’er ri ix toh and means “ancestors on the broken wood under the stars beside those sacrificed while trapped in the movement.” The ancestors on the broken wood are those that floated to Mexico, indicating that this name came after there was contact between those in Oaxaca and those here. If Montekeristo is a name from the time of tsunami it likely referred to an island near the mouth of the river at that time rather than the precise island that is today called Monte Cristo.

A little north of La Pita is the town of Santa Marta, which is san tam mar ta’ and means “remains in the depth of the swollen sea.” The next town north of Santa Marta is San Bartolo. Its name – Sanabaratolo, also derives from Mi and is san ab ba ar at toh lo’, which means “time of the sacrificed bodies in the swinging swollen bath.” Double meanings here include “boats” and “forgotten ones.”

Ojushtada, a more obviously Maya name, is one kilometer north of San Bartolo. Ojushtada is ho’ huch’ ta’ at ha’ and means “the remains of the nice ones pressed by the water bath.” While many Ch’orti’-Mi names have two, three or more meanings, Ojushtada is constructed in such a way that there is no other possible meaning for this name.

The present-day city names Tecoluca and Zacatecoluca describe the sentiment of the Maya who remained. They were named at a time after the Ik’-lineage surviving leaders were located in Mexico. Tecoluca is te’ ek’ k’ol uk’ ha’ and means “water transport on branches by the stars in sadness,” describing the journey of those who floated to Mexico. The theme of being under the stars in the ocean is repeated in El Salvador and Oaxaca. This name brings up two historical references, both described in Chapter 2. First, it was the Ik’ lineage that was especially adept at navigating by the stars on the original journey from South America to the El Salvador coast, about 1,400 years before the tsunami. Second, it sounds similar to Toluca beach, where the original four rafts landed. Zacatecoluca is sak’ k’at tecoluca or “search for those who crossed, Tecoluca,” indicating that the Maya sent search parties out into the ocean to look for the survivors, eventually finding them in Mexico.

The name Talpetate describes the extent of the flow of the tsunami wave – no doubt reaching elevations higher than the height of the wave itself, especially as it flowed up steep river valleys. Talpetate is tal pet ta at te and means “arrival of a residual of the pouring of the bath on vegetation.” In contemporary Salvadoran parlance, talpetate means a subsoil layer of clay and sand.[10] The wave brought sand and soon the word meant any place of sandy-clay soil, an indicator that at some much earlier time the ocean covered a portion (or all) of Central America. There are at least 12 occurrences of Talpetate.[11] They occur only in areas that are indicated by this research would be occupied at the time of the flood – there are none in Mexico, Belize, or northern or western Guatemala.

[10] Personal conversation, Rolando Velo, November 13, 2015.
[11] 11 indicated by maplandia.com and a 12^th located in Usulutan, El Salvador by the author.

Two of the Talpetate name placements have equivalent elevations – 100 meters – likely indicating the height of the tsunami, although the ocean level was perhaps 17 to 20 meters higher at that time in Central America.[12] This would indicate a 61 to 80 meter tsunami (200 to 262 feet). These two places are Talpetate, Usulutan, El Salvador, and Talpetate, El Viejo, Chinandega, Nicaragua. Two other Talpetate place names have a lower elevation, likely indicating other places where the tsunami dumped sand once it had receded. A fifth Talpetate, in San Miguel, El Salvador, has an elevation of 200 meters. However it is in a narrow river valley and could indicate that tsunami swell reached that height as water was pushed up the narrow valleys.

[12] The 8670 BCE sailing stones at Toluca are 17 meters above sea level today. The rising continental shelf has dropped the ocean level to its current level. However, there may have been a counter force of a rising ocean from 8670 to 7270 BCE due to melting ice sheets worldwide.

Next, in the next blog entry, we will look at those who somehow survived this giant tsunami and floated under the stars to Mexico.