“The judges asked the ilol what the source of her powers was and she said she had received them not from the Holy Spirit, but from San Jerónimo, he of the tiger in his belly, the secret patrón of brujos. And at each answer that came from her mouth a blazing light as if from a bonfire could be seen.

“After that, the caretakers made her pass through many mansions. She came out intact from the mansion of wild beasts, and she was not harmed by cold nor burned by fire, nor was she troubled by darkness. And finally she broke the chains that bound her and the walls that held her in and returned to her village.

“Along with her went her son and the two of them occupied the place of command before the face of the tribe. They received offerings that Indians and Caxláns set at their feet and in their fists they grasped the reins of the days.

“But as their authority grew their pride grew also. It was no longer enough to offer them the choicest lambs, the first fruits of the harvests or the most beautiful flowers. The ilol had grown taciturn. She and her son were hungry and they needed to eat every family’s first-born son.

“The tribe, which feared their sorcery, handed over a victim who was devoured. But then they demanded another and another and still another. They were insatiable. The Tzotzils walked about in disarray and did not know what to do. Until the elders went to complain to the lords of Ciudad Real.

“ ‘What are we to do with these devourers of human flesh?’ they asked. And the lords did not wish to rush into violence, but called for harmony. So a messenger went off, who never returned because the ilol and her stone son sacrificed him. And they sacrificed the next one, too, and the last one.

“Then the lords of Ciudad Real and the elders said: there is nothing left for us but force.

“They armed themselves as best they could and marched together, followed by the bulk of the Indians, in pursuit of the ilol and her stone son.

“How they made fun of their enemies, those two! They appeared in two places at the same time and set up effigies of themselves so their opponents would exhaust their energy and their rage on them. And the ilol and her son laughed at these tricks and exposed themselves to bullets without fear. Because the bullets rebounded off of them to bring death to those who had fired the guns.

“What must we do to free ourselves of these demons? everyone wondered in anguish. And an old sacristan, advised them, ‘Let us tell this woman that her stone son is cold and he must be wrapped up so he can be warm. And then we will give her a shawl woven by the brujos of Guatemala so that it will fetter his might.’