A very, very long time ago, when the Quiche and Kaqchikels were still friends, Utsil’s father saved Poron’s life during a hunt. And now he appeared supposedly to repay his debt and report that the Great Ahab Kukumats had granted him freedom. At the same time, he set a condition - the young man must take part in the dance of the cob - a sacred ritual in honor of the god of fire Tohil, scheduled for the next holiday.
This ritual has existed among the Quiches since time immemorial. It consisted of the following: Ahab, as was customary, threw into the air the best cob from the previous harvest. And he was not supposed to fall until he lost the last grain. To do this, thirteen pre-selected best archers had to shoot their arrows at him. The number thirteen corresponded to the thirteen gods of the heavenly spheres.
Utsil, having learned what he had to do in the dance, gave his consent. And he was immediately released. But on the same day he found himself in a different captivity - captivity of the charms of the girl Sakar, whom he fell in love with at the very moment he saw him in prison.
The Quiché people have always revered the god Tohil and therefore eagerly awaited the approaching festival of the dance of the cob. In the center of the village square there was an altar with a stone figure of the god. Kukumats was located in the place designated for the ruler. With him was his retinue, the decoration of which was the presence of the beautiful Sakar. A few minutes before the ceremony began, the selected shooters came out one after another. The last was Utsil, who, like everyone else, made a circle around the square, approached the throne of Kukumats, and bowed. Having done this, he placed the bow and quiver at the statue of Tohil and headed to his place. And then he cast a fiery glance at Sakar. Everyone was so busy with the holiday that no one noticed it - except for a certain Chokhinel, who was hopelessly in love with a beautiful girl and therefore also noticed her reciprocal gaze.
Twelve Quiché archers and the thirteenth Utsil stood in their assigned places - Ahab Poron threw an ear of corn into the air. Then twelve arrows flew, causing the cob to dance in the air. Utsil stood without firing a single arrow! Indignation swept through the ranks of the spectators, but they did not shout a single indignant word, because they were afraid to distract the attention of the other archers and ruin the holiday. When the cob fell to the ground without a single grain, everyone began to be indignant. The people loudly demanded the death of Utsil.
Two archers grabbed the young man and brought him to Kukumatsu, literally blinded with rage:
- Unhappy foreigner, you dared to insult our gods and our people! Such an insult cannot be forgiven. I will order you to be killed immediately to calm Tohil's anger. Get out of my sight!
When the ruler fell silent, Utsil spoke:
- Calm your anger and listen to the stranger whom you called wicked! By not taking part in the dance, I did not want to offend you, your people, or your gods, who are also my gods. On the contrary, I was driven by the desire to express all my gratitude to you by doing alone what twelve of your archers accomplished! Grant me the grace to pay these honors to Tohil, and if I cannot do this, I will pay with my life!
“If such are your intentions, unreasonable stranger, then I agree to grant you this favor.” But woe to you and your people if you fail to fulfill your promise.
Everything fell into place as before. The only thing Utsil asked was to quickly give him arrows. Ahab ordered the same twelve archers to help Utsil and threw the cob into the air.
Only two or three grains remained on the cob, which danced under the arrows of the Kaqchikel. But then the jealous Chokhinel, instead of firing the last arrow, dropped it to the ground. Blinded by anger, the handsome young man picked up an arrow and shot straight at his treacherous opponent. Struck, he fell to the foot of the altar.
The enraged ruler and people demanded the execution of Utsil, who nevertheless offended the gods by bringing chaos and confusion into the holiday. He took advantage of this to climb onto the platform where Sakar was, grab her and forever leave the lands of Kumar-kaah - the sacred city of the Quiché...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru