When I am empty please dispose of me properly

Alux are small pixie like entities about whom many stories are told, even in urban centers such as Mérida, Yucatan. Alux are often visualized as a small child. They are usually held responsible for mischievous events and other minor misfortunes including the loss of objects around the house. More seriously they are sometimes seen as the cause of illness and fever. Though as this particular story makes clear they also serve as field guardians.

Don Enrique narrated this story in Mayan and also wrote a shorter version in Spanish in the summer of 2005 as part of a folkloric project for the community museum. It was recorded with Don Enrique’s permission and is part of a collection of stories and oral histories to be housed at the community museum in Santa Elena and on this website.

This story compares interestingly with the Don Hernan’s description of how his grandfather would create wax figures called b’ox kib’ (black wax) which were placed around the field at the four cardinal directions. These figures were also feed blood to enliven them and were created to protect the milpa. However, there are also strong parallels between this story and Genesis. For instance the act of forming the figure from dough could be read as being equivalent to the God shaping Adam from clay. Blowing into the figures’ nostrils to enliven them is also reminiscent of Genesis 2:7 where God does the same to breath life into his creation. These elements could also reflect an amalgam of mythological strata.

El relató y origen de los Aluxes de Yucatán

El origen de los Aluxes fue en Nohpat donde existó los sabios “Sayam winikes,” estos hombres por naturaleza poseen cuerpos dotados y sabiduría para crear estos aluxes. Ellos utilizaban la masa de maíz y lo ponian en olla de barro para coser ya después lo molían y formaban los muñecos para colocarlos en los cuatro puntos cardinales (en maya lakin, chikin, shaman, nohol) oriente, poniente, sur y norte. Para que le de vida a los muñecos, estos sabios elaboraban atole con un poco de su sangre (sacab) para presentarlos en unas jicaritas (luch) durante nueve días para que tengan vida soplando la nariz, la misión de estos aluxes es para ahuyentar los animals de las milpas de los sabios.

The origin of alux was in Nohpat where wise people known as “Sayam winikes” lived. These men by nature were physically gifted and wise enough to create alux. They used maize dough and put it in a clay pot to sew. After which they ground it and formed dolls in order to place them at the four cardinal points (in Mayan lakin, chikin, xaman, and nohol) east, west, south and north. In order to give life to these dolls, these wise people made atole with a little of their blood (sacab) and presented it [as an offering] in jicaritas (luch) for nine days. So that they would have life, they blew it into [their] nostrils. The mission of these alux were to drive away the animals from the milpas of the wise people.

For futher information about alux see the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY) website.