alache; rohobachi, ti ru gaah, ru pocob, ru gh' amay a ghay ti be
chi naualil_ [he works magic with his shield, his lance, and his
arrows].

"To practice such magical arts: _tin naualih_ ('I practice magic'),
an active verb. They use it, for instance, when a man asks his wife
for something to eat or drink, and she has nothing, owing to his
negligence, she will say: 'Where do you suppose I can get what you
want? Do you expect me to perform miracles--_xa pe ri tin
naualih_--that they shall come to my hands?' So when one is asked
to lend or give something which he has not, he will exclaim: _Tin
naualih pe ri puvak_, etc. ('Can I perform miracles,' etc.)

"It also signifies to pretend something, concealing the truth, as
_xa ru naualim ara neh chu g' ux ri tzih tan tu bijh pedro_, 'Peter
is feigning this which he is saying.' They are also accustomed to
apply this word to the power which the priests exert (in the
sacraments, etc.)."

A long and foolish account of the witchcraft supposed to be practiced
among the Pokonchis of Guatemala, also a tribe of Mayan stock, is given
by the Englishman, Thomas Gage, who was cura of a parish among them
about 1630, and afterwards returned to England and Protestantism. He
described, at wearisome length, the supposed metamorphosis of two chiefs
of neighboring tribes, the one into a lion, the other into a tiger, and
the mortal combat in which they engaged, resulting in the death of one
to whom Gage administered absolution. No doubt he had been worsted in a
personal encounter with his old enemy, and, being a man of eighty years,
had not the vigor to recover. The account is of interest only as proving
that the same superstitions at that time prevailed among the Pokonchis
as in other portions of Guatemala.[24-*]

=15.= A really mighty nagualist was not confined to a single
transformation. He could take on many and varied figures. One such is
described in the sacred books of the Quiches of Guatemala, that document
known by the name of the Popol Vuh, or National Book. The passage is in
reference to one of their great kings and powerful magicians, Gucumatz
by name. It says:

"Truly he was a wonderful king. Every seven days he ascended to the
sky, and every seven days he followed the path to the abode of the
dead; every seven days he put on the nature of a serpent, and then
he became truly a serp