Mexican howler

Review bycanaryswear· 2026-11-04

Its name is also quauhchimal. It is a forest-dweller in Anahuac, toward the east. It has a small back—minute; it is round-backed; it is of rounded back; it has a long, curled tail. It has human hands, human feet, nails, real nails—long nails. And as to its actions: it is a shouter, a shrill whistler, making gestures toward one. It stones one, it hurls sticks at one. It has a face which is a little human. It is shaggy … , round-backed, of rounded back. It bears its young in the crags; it produces only one. And all the maize, fruit, meat become its food; it eats like a human being. Also it eats pine nuts, acorns, and also tender shoots of trees. And to capture them, a large fire is built; ears or kernels of maize are put around the edge, and in the blaze is buried a very large [stone called] cacalotetl. And the trappers, the hunters, take cover. And when [the fire] smokes, these monkeys, wherever they are, smell the fire, the smoke. Then they come; they carry their young on their backs; they seat themselves about the fire. They begin to warm themselves; the ears of maize begin to roast [and] they eat roasted maize. They walk about as they warm themselves; they change their children about as they warm and heat them. And when the cacalotetl stone has been heated (for it can in no way endure fire) it then cracks, bursts open, explodes, blows up just like the firing of a gun. And the embers, the ashes, scatter all over; the embers spread all over these monkeys; the ashes get into their eyes. So they run, they flee as if someone pursued them. They quickly abandon, throw aside, their young; although they still hunt for them, they can no longer see them. So there the hunters quickly seize them with their hands; there quickly are taken the young monkeys. Later they are raised, tamed. The monkey is a rather tame [animal] which sits like a man. Also it teases the young women; it begs from them, extends the hand, continually offers its hand in their presence. To speak, it whistles shrilly.