Incantations: Song, Spells and Images by Mayan Women by Ámbar Past, Xalik Guzmán

Abstract

imiiiiiiiimmiiiii a simple chronologyand keeping the corresponding notes to a minimum, he creates a shapely, focused assemblage whose clear, precise translations chime likeringing glass. Econ?mou's translation style is direct and concise. It is somewhat lighterand less formalin itslanguage than thestylesofprevious translators ofCavafy likeRae Dalven, Edmund Keeley, and Philip Sherrard,or, more recently, Daniel Mendelsohn. Unlike Mendelsohn, Economou does not attempt to render the original end rhymes in a poem like "The City," yet his concernwith authenticity is everywhere apparent. In both this and poems such as "Ithaca" and "TheWindows," he followsCavafy's syntax closely and uses assonance to createmelodic sound patterns that suggest the music of the original, as in the charming "Craftsman of Wine Bowls," one of Cavafy's "tango" poems inwhich the regular pattern ofmidline spaces heightens rhyth mic momentum. Economou also deftly controls tone inpoems narrating illicitsexual liaisons, such as "Half an Hour" and "He Asked about theQuality," both ofwhich bring into tautbalance the subtle tension between the external and internal dramas that simultane ously unfold. An especially striking rendering is "The First Step"?an imagined dialogue between thepoet Eumenes and his mentor Theocri tus?for its sternyet tenderdefense of the artisticvalidity ofpoem-mak ing thatoccurs in obscuritywith no formal recognition from the literary establishment. Rita Signorelli-Pappas Princeton, New Jersey iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.i.iiii Incantations: Song, Spells and Images by Mayan Women. Ambar Past, ed. & tr., with Xalik Guzman Bakbolom& Xpetra Ernandes. El Paso, Texas. Cinco Puntos. 2009. 230 pages, ill. $26.95. isbn978-1-933693-09-5 When poet ?mbar Past decided to learn the Tzotzil Maya language while she was living in a village in southern Mexico, she became aware of the fact that a large body of poetry existed and was being passed along, generation to gen eration, by women who used the songs, hymns, and incantations in their day-to-day lives. For more than thirtyyears, Past studied the body of work, by tape-recording and then transcribing and translat ing thepoems fromTzotzil toSpan ish and English. The English translations in Incantations represent contribu tions ofmore than 150 indigenous women, for whom the poems are living texts thatreside in thebreath and conversations of everyday life. The collection not only preserves art, poetry, and a mind-set but also helps the world at large become aware of the deeply profound words, thoughts, and approach to lifeof theMayan women of south ern Mexico. Past's introduction provides social, political, and cultural con texts and describes the poverty stricken conditions inwhich many of the Mayan women live, own ing at best a few blankets, utensils, and articles of clothing. They have few rights and freedoms in their realm.And yet theyhave a richness of spirit that comes from being a part of a vital tradition extending back all theway to thePopul Vuh, one of four surviving codices of theancientMayans, whose scientific and religiouswritings were record ed in books printed on bark-based paper with the pages folded like IIIIII III 111111II III III IIIII III II III III III III IIIII III INIII III II accordions. The Mayan women's ^^^H hymns and songs resonatewith the ^^^H surviving codices and give rise to ^^^H a profound understanding of how ^^^H poetry and song were used in pre- ^^^H Columbian Central America. ^^^H Incantations, hymns, and ^^^H poems are included in thecollection. ^^^H The incantations tend tobe brief and ^^^H filledwith humor and pathos, as ^^^H they address pragmatic needs and ^^^H human realities. For example, there ^^^H are incantations to tools (the loom, ^^^H wool, thespindle)tohelp one do ^^^H one's job successfully, spell-like in ^^^H the sense that theybring to bear a ^^^H kind of phenomenal catalyst: some- ^^^H thing to trigger desired action in ^^^H the surrounding world. The incan- ^^^H tations are poignant because they ^^^H reflect a humble approach to the ^^^H world?one that is aware of the ^^^H limitations of one's own sphere of ^^^H influence, and one that is fully con- ^^^H versant with the loss of a baby, the ^^^H destruction of a harvest, and the ^^^H violence of a domestic partner. ^^^H One characteristic of Mayan ^^^H poetry is its close connection to the...