The heat inside the hut seemed infernal, although the sun hadn’t come out yet. The sky was covered with thick, low clouds that slowly moved toward the west. There was almost total calm. The branches and leaves were still. Even the animals were sleepy by the calm in hours, which normally were animated by the hustle and bustle of the village. In the woods around the town almost complete silence reigned. Some women, bare breasted and sweaty, were at the cenote pulling their pails to fill up their clay water-jugs.

Jacinto got up grouchily; he had slept badly, as had almost everybody else. He went out to the patio to a big "basin" where he poured a "jicara" of water over his head to refresh himself. Meanwhile, Carmen was sitting in the hammock, carefully combing her straight, black hair that flowed over her bare back and shoulders.

From outside Jacinto said, "we will begin to shuck the corn to seed the milpa, I’m sure it will rain and rain hard."

" Isn’t today, the day of the holy cross?" asked Carmen.

" Today is the day. Don’t you see the rain in the sky?"

" I hope to God it doesn’t fail because it would be a bad sign for our milpas, but I’m sure it won’t fail. So we should have enough corn ready to plant 100 mecates of "x-nuk-nal", we will also plant a little "x-mejen-nal" maybe 10 mecates."

While Jacinto thought out loud, Carmen livened the coals, which the night before she had buried in the ashes of the fire, using an old "huano" fan, yellow from the smoke of the firewood. She took the "comal" and after cleaning it, she took a "leek" with last night's tortillas out of a "sabucan", which was hanging from a rafter. In an old coffeepot, she put water to boil for the coffee. In a few minutes the breakfast of fried beans, coffee and plenty of toasted tortillas was ready.

Carmen and Jacinto sat around the small table. While she heated the tortillas they talked about the weather and the planting.

They spent the whole morning, removing the dry corn from the cobs. While the noon meal was cooking, they went outside to feel "the wind of the rain". In a few minutes, the wind turned into a heavy rainfall. It rained all afternoon and everyone was happy. Once more the tradition was fulfilled. It rained on the third of May.

In the following days, Jacinto and Carmen spend the whole day, almost from dawn until dusk, planting and planting. In less than a week the milpa was ready. There were good signs: it rained every afternoon, although not as intensely as it had done on the Day of the Holy Cross.

When they were finished, they took the meal for the "owners" of the fields, according to a tradition, which had to be kept so that their ancient gods would be generous and favorable. Corn atole, tortillas, "pozole", and chicken tamales were offered according to a rite transmitted repeatedly from generation to generation, from fathers to sons. After a few hours, the spirits of the milpa had tasted the essence; then the family ate the food.

A few days later, at the edge of the milpa, Jacinto contemplated the land and the burned rocks. He smelled the wet, humid odor, characteristic of the burned earth. He gave thanks to God for the planting and prayed silently that the milpa would yield a good harvest so they would have corn for the whole year.

Jacinto had planted 100 mecates of corn, and with the corn in each furrow at a half mecate, he planted seed of "x-mejen-kuum" and pumpkin.

Later on he would plant chile, sweet potatoes and beans in the appropriate places.

If the god Chaac were generous, he would have enough for them and feed for the animals; pigs, turkeys and hens, which gave them meat and eggs. With God's help, they could even trade with the merchants of X-ho´otsu´uk for cloth, thread, machetes, shells and other indispensable articles and utensils; and perhaps, ear-rings and gold coins as well.

That was the way it had been even before the "caste war" when they gave a share of their crop to their Lords and Priests. Later they traded their farm products with the English people in exchange for articles and guns and ammunition.

Jacinto cultivated his milpa with dedication and religious love with the help of his wife. Since his childhood, with his parents, his agile and callused hands had managed the planting tools and machetes, and had worked tirelessly during the planting and weeding seasons, as well as in the harvest and storage seasons when they removed the corn grain from the cobs for food or seeds. He did it as his parents had done and their parents before them since the most remote times, when nearby Koba and Tulu´um, now in ruins, shone in all their splendor. If there were enough corn for the whole year, there would be happiness, if not, there would be suffering.

From the moment of planting the seeds in the shallow soil, he was going to be aware of the rain, the sun and the plagues. He would watch the forest animals that were enemies of the milpa: the raccoon, the rat, the weasel, the wild pig and the insects which damaged his seedling, the "piich" the "kaaw" and the "kali" and other birds that destroyed the ears of corn.

For more than three moons, until they bent the corn stalks after picking the corn, their well being would depend on all of this. Everyday, not missing even one, he went over each piece and recorded mentally all the curves of the lot, each stone, and each furrow. Why not do so? He was dedicated to care for his land as a mother nourishes and cares for her little child.

From the corn, he would get the tortillas, "pozole", "atole" and seeds for the next planting. It was the basic staple of their every day life and it would feed all of their animals. And with corn, if the harvest was good, he could obtain after two or three long day’s trip to X-ho otsuuk, all the articles that he couldn’t produce. Holy waaj Ixi im. The holy corn bread, as his ancestors had called it for ages. And he, as his ancestors, would offer it as "first fruit" to the god of water and the winds. And to the one God of his adopted religion. His joy and his suffering depended on the corn. For this reason, what every milpa produced decided the future for the following year.

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El Cuyo Yucatán, a new meeting with the nature. . Travelers Guide

 

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