h to stamp it as that which meets us so constantly, no matter where
we turn in the New World.[1]

[Footnote 1: The title of the Tzendal MSS., is said by Cabrera to be
"Proof that I am a Chan." The author writes in the person of Votan
himself, and proves his claim that he is a Chan, "because he is a Chivim."
Chan has been translated _serpent_; on _chivim_ the commentators have
almost given up. Supposing that the serpent was a totem of one of the
Tzendal clans, then the effort would be to show that their hero-god was of
that totem; but how this is shown by his being proved a _chivim_ is not
obvious. The term _ualum chivim_, the land of the _chivim_. appears to be
that applied, in the MS., to the country of the Tzendals, or a part of it.
The words _chi uinic_ would mean, "men of the shore," and might be a local
name applied to a clan on the coast. But in default of the original text
we can but surmise as to the precise meaning of the writer.]

It scarcely seems necessary for me to point out that his name Votan is in
no way akin to Othomi or Tarasco roots, still less to the Norse Wodan or
the Indian Buddha, but is derived from a radical in pure Maya. Yet I will
do so, in order, if possible, to put a stop to such visionary etymologies.

As we are informed by Bishop Nunez de la Vega, _uotan_ in Tzendal means
_heart_. Votan was spoken of as "the heart or soul of his people." This
derivation has been questioned, because the word for the heart in the
other Maya dialects is different, and it has been suggested that this was
but an example of "otosis," where a foreign proper name was turned into a
familiar common noun. But these objections do not hold good.

In regard to derivation, _uotan_ is from the pure Maya root-word _tan_,
which means primarily "the breast," or that which is in front or in the
middle of the body; with the possessive prefix it becomes _utan_. In
Tzendal this word means both _breast_ and _heart_. This is well
illustrated by an ancient manuscript, dating from 1707, in my possession.
It is a guide to priests for administering the sacraments in Spanish and
Tzendal. I quote the passage in point[1]:--

[Footnote 1: _Modo de Administrar los Sacramentos en Castellano y
Tzendal_, 1707. 4to MS., p. 13.]

"Con todo tu corazon, hiriendote
en los pechos, di, conmigo."

_Ta zpizil auotan, xatigh zny
auotan, zghoyoc, alagh ghoyoc_.--

Here, _a_ is the possessive of the second person, and _uotan_ is used both
for he