k. The document was submitted to several
persons acquainted with the Cakchiquel language, who gave a general
statement of its contents, but not a literal and complete
translation.[54-1]

When, in 1855, the Abbe Brasseur (de Bourbourg) visited Guatemala, Senor
Gavarrete showed him this MS., and the Abbe borrowed it for the purpose
of making a full version, doubtless availing himself of the partial
translations previously furnished. His version completed, he left a copy
of it with Senor Gavarrete, and brought the original with him to
Europe.[54-2] It remained in his possession until his death at Nice,
when, along with the rest of the Abbe's library, it passed into the
hands of M. Alphonse Pinart. This eminent ethnologist learning my desire
to include it in the present series of publications, was obliging enough
to offer me the opportunity of studying it.

Previous to its discovery in Guatemala, in 1844, we have no record of it
whatsoever, and must turn to the document itself for information.

The title given it by Brasseur, and adopted by Gavarrete, _Memorial de
Tecpan Atitlan_, was purely factitious, and, moreover, is misleading. It
was, indeed, written at the town of Tzolola or Atitlan, on the lake of
that name, the chief city of the Tzutuhils; but its authors were
Cakchiquels; its chief theme is the history of their tribe, and it is
only by the accident of their removal to Atitlan, years after the
Conquest, that its composition occurred there. I have, therefore,
adopted for it, or at least that portion of it which I print, the much
more appropriate name, _The Annals of the Cakchiquels_.

I say "for that portion of it," because I print but 48 out of the 96
pages of the original. These contain, however, all that is of general
interest; all that pertains to the ancient history of the nation. The
remainder is made up of an uninteresting record of village and family
incidents, and of a catalogue of births, baptisms and marriages. The
beginning of the text as printed in this volume, starts abruptly in the
MS. after seventeen pages of such trivialities, and has no separate
title or heading.

The caption of the first page of the MS. explains the purpose of this
miscellaneous collection of family documents. That caption is

[Illustration: Cross]

VAE MEMORIA CHIRE [C]HAOH.

THIS IS THE RECORD FOR THE PROCESS.

The word _memoria_ is the Spanish for a record, memoir or brief, and the
Cakchiquel _[c]haoh_, origina