“There’s no time to lose now. Rainy season is starting. We must get to these.” Hornsby punctuated “these” by planting his index finger directly on one of my close up photographs of some zoomorphic rock art. “Do you know what you’ve found, Jules?” Hornsby inquired staring at me. He knew that I didn’t exactly understand the extent of my findings.
“You probably didn’t notice it. These series of photographs show a progression of rock art that goes from a Paleolithic period to a Neolithic period. I suspect there is more that has not been lost to the taphonomic epochs.”
Jorge, in his white tunic and white Nike running shoes, arrived breathless at the entrance of the tent. Cassarina was right behind him.
“Don Hornsby,” Jorge said, looking like he had been rudely awoken from a siesta. Hornsby launched into a litany of instructions for Jorge, spoken in Spanish.
“Unpack the provisions loaded on the mules. I want everything unpacked by late morning. Montero will help you to re-pack our things. We must make haste now.”
“Si, Don Hornsby,” Jorge replied and turned around to get busy with his assigned tasks.
Hornsby took a topographical map out of his pack.
“We’re pretty much in the middle ground between Palenque and Yaxchilan,” Hornsby said while he unfolded the chart of the Chiapas region.
“The rock art near Laguna Metzabok proves this area was inhabited 10,000 years ago. We may get lucky and find a cave with wall paintings.”
Cassarina stood off to one side like a piece of broken plaster. Had I stolen the limelight at the peak of her self-admiration for the exhaustive work she was doing in preserving endangered flora species and gathering valuable botanical plants? Or was she just down right jealous of the sudden shift of attention from Hornsby? Regardless, she had confided her intuitive feelings about how Hornsby truly regarded me. Maybe she hadn’t expected to be so right about something that couldn’t be scientifically proven. “Cassarina, please pack your things,” Hornsby said to her without even turning around to acknowledge her presence.
Obediently she left to gather her personal belongings. I excused myself as well, to gather my things. As I rummaged through my clothes, the orange sign language card I had gotten from the Tzeltal deaf girl in San Cristobal de las Casas fell out of a shirt pocket.
I recalled her wearing the huilpil with the dog’s paw brocaded into it. Picking it up an image of that mangy dog at the cave’s entrance flash before me. Helen Wordsworth words about the dog taking one into the underworld struck me with the memory of the mangy dog at the cave entrance with Moise. I spun for a moment uttering an exclamation at the prospect that it had been an omen.
“Damn you’re a fool. This whole place is enchanted.” Having said that, I tucked the card into a plastic bag for safekeeping.
Cassarina expedited herself. A world traveler, she knows exactly what is needed, discarding anything that didn’t serve a purpose. The manner in which she showed herself to be competent was in how she packed. And it was Spartan. Speaking for myself, I was a novice, but learning quickly, since weight played a vital factor in maintaining stamina. We had the mules, but Hornsby wanted room for any artifacts we might discover. Provisions were the second priority with clothes and camping gear last.
“I expect us to be out at least a week. Enough time to do a thorough search of the area,” he shouted out to us.
By mid day we had torn down our lean two’s and gathered our things to be loaded onto the mules. Jorge and Montero were busy lashing down the gear and food sacks, while the three of us took down the research tent. Cassarina was unusually quiet, only speaking when directly spoken to.
But there were moments when I caught her eyes making a stealthy glance towards me. I knew I would receive no reassurances or offers of apology. Cassarina was loyal to Hornsby so she avoided interfering anymore in the matter of my insubordination, but that was a course of action adopted only to maintain a sense of harmony among us. Beneath the surface, she was still my nemesis.
Footnote: Principals of interpretation
reversal of attributes
Almost any attribute (i.e.., much-little, large-small, fast-slow, hungry- well fed, angry- friendly, etc.) has two possible interpretations: 1. The reversal of the attribute, or 2. the attribute will remain constant, but will shift in context. For example:
An abundance of corn (in one's dream) can mean either that: 1. the milpa will yield very little corn, or that 2. one will see an abundance of food in the feeding ground of some animal. A choice of options would at least be suggested on the grounds of whether the milpa in question was a specific place or "just a milpa", the former suggesting that the dream referred specifically to that milpa, in which case the quantity of corn would be seen in reverse. In the latter case (i.e.., of an unknown milpa) it would be more logical to assume that the theme of "abundance of nourishment" would remain constant and that the human or animal nature of its "owner would suffer reversal.
To dream of a very small animal foretells either 1. a small child, or 2. a very large animal of the same species.
If a person is very angry, either 1. that person will be very friendly, or 2, the animal of that person's Onen will be very angry and aggressive.
Sexual and romantic conquest is symbolic of hunting and vice versa.
[Although this is as much metaphor as reversal.]
It is impossible to determine rules or fixed determinants as to whether it will be the entity or the attribute (or both) which should be considered a direct representation or subject to reversal. This appears to be decided in each case according to what the interpreter considers to be the most probable in view of the present situation of all parties concerned.
direct representation
"Invariables" [are] those elements which are not subject to either reversal or symbolic interpretation. Perhaps the best examples of the invariables are the locatives. [ ...] To dream of a recognizable or known place simply locates the significance, if any, of other dream symbols. [...] Apart from locatives, entities and attributes may also be considered as direct representation or "invariables", which the Lacandon call hach u pixan, "the true soul" of the person, place, object or situation in question. If a dream situation may be analyzed in terms of a person or object, a place and an attribute (quality or quantity), then at least one of these elements involved, except a spatial locative, are subject to reversal or interpretation as metaphor (u k'in).
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