My Mayan Name: Ix'iloom
For several years, it has been common for foreign linguists and others to take or be given a Mayan name, in part to show solidarity with the community and in part as a result of the confianza, or closeness, they enjoy with members of the community. But for the past several years I have been working primarily in Mexico, where the new traditions of naming have not taken root, and I had never received a Mayan name. Ajpub' proposed the name Ix'iloom to me in fall 2002, but I accepted it officially last May when Nadine Grimm and I were presenting teacher workshops with him in Tecpán Guatemala and in San Pedro la Laguna, his home town.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Mayan names were first coming into popularity among young people being trained as linguists, Linda Schele was presenting hieroglyphic writing to groups of these students. They thus became acquainted with the names and naming patterns of the notable individuals identified in the glyphs. Common names in the glyphs include calendar references related to the date of birth. These names take the form of a numeral and a day name from the 260-day ritual calendar. The Mayan name of the author Gaspar Pedro González, for example, is Ox Tz'ikin (Three Bird). Other personal names in the glyphs seem to refer to natural phenomena or entities such as jaguars or cranes or shields. So the Q'anjob'al linguist Eladio Mateo Toledo took the name B'alaam (jaguar), and there are also linguists named Waykan (Hurricane) and Saqch'en (White Rock). And, of course, among the persons named in the glyphs are famous kings and queens, noted war captains, and heroes.
The presence of historically significant names in the glyph is record has given rise to another strategy for creating a Mayan name built around a certain event or individual of ceremonial or cultural significance. Such is the source of Ajpub's name. It is the name of one of the Hero Twins celebrated in the creation narrative known in English as the Popol Vuh. It is part of the K'ichee' Mayan name for the Twin we know as One Hunter, often spelled Junapu. Jun is the word for the numeral one in every Mayan language I know of. The name Ajpub' actually has two parts. Aj is frequent prefix meaning something like "master or owner of." In this case, what Junapu was master of was the pub' or blowgun, used for hunting birds. Aj is also the sign of nobility or royalty in many hieroglyphic names, and is related to the word for the Great Creator Ajaw. But Ajpub' Pablo did not simply select it. He experienced an event with special personal significance, and it had an association with the Hero Twin image. So his name comes as much from the experience and personal association as from the simple appropriation of a heroic name.
A final common strategy for finding a Mayan name depends on creating a metaphoric association for a word that relates to some personal characteristic that is especially salient. Nora England, for instance, long ago received the name Ixkeem. Ix is a prefix that identifies a female name or character. It is frequent in the glyphic record and is cognate across the entire Mayan family. Keem, also very widely known in Mayan languages, refers both to weaving and to a spider that weaves its web. Dr. England is known for wearing and treasuring the intricate products of the Mayan backstrap loom. But more than that, she is one of the most important prime movers in the process of training and developing the cadre of native Mayan linguists who now make such tremendous contributions to their communities and country. The spider is a creative figure in Mayan mythology, and Nora has created a major institution in the organization OKMA. Thus, her ability to "put things together," her personal aesthetic tastes, and Mayan mythological connections were joined together to create her name, a name proposed to her by one of her first students.
My own name, Ix'iloom, pronounced esh-ee-loám (and not, for example, iksy-loom - it has nothing to do with weaving!), has three parts. The first is again Ix, a marker of female names. The root is the verb -il 'to see." The final element turns the verb into a noun, and, specifically, into an agentive noun, in this case "one who sees." Thus, its literal interpretation is "Woman who sees." But in analogy with other metaphorically rich agentives, it also includes a more subtle set of associations. It implies an ability to see ahead, or to see a larger pattern, or to see "what needs to be done." Ajpub' was quite definite that this kind of "seeing" is an important part of my personality and achievements.
Since I have been teaching and working at the University I have had the opportunity to learn more about the meanings of my Mayan name in other languages. In K'ichee', for instance, this name means "she who achieves" or "the woman who plans and accomplishes." A K'ichee' colleague at the Institute told me that my name implies a kind of charge or commission that I must live up to. Several people, speakers of Mam, Pokomchi', and Kaqchikel, have also commented to me on how strong and mystical the name is, and have mentioned various ritual references. I am now collecting these various meanings, and feeling more than ever that by accepting this name I have also accepted a large responsibility. Naturally, it is most gratifying to be given such a strong name, with such complex content and meaning. I am proud to use my Mayan name here in Guatemala, and around the world via the Internet and this web site.