picture of a jaguar ‘bajlum’

1. A long time ago, the first people were very afraid of the jaguar
2. they say he scratched and knocked down big trees
3. sometimes we run into jaguars in the jungle
4. some became extinct because they were hunted and only a few managed to escape
5. jaguars came to kill and eat the poultry on people’s property
6. the hunters brought along their dogs to chase them down
7. they run to climb into the woods to hide
8. kids are scared when they find a jaguar
9. they say that jaguars imitate the sounds of children
10. now, people don’t kill jaguars anymore because they say they are the nahuales (spirit animals) of people

Note: In the original Ch’ol text of this post note that the plural marker –ob is used in a variety of contexts