A shaman had a student named Yákakua whom everyone admired.
The pupil immediately showed himself to be very capable, when he traveled to other Worlds sublime Spirits competed to give him the gift of great Powers.
From every trip he came back and told of his successes. He also narrated the attacks he suffered from evil spirits, from which however he always emerged victorious.
Picham, who had been the shaman’s student for much longer, admired Yákakua greatly and felt no envy.
The shaman, like all powerful shamans, had many enemies, enemies of his people. This was in fact a period of war, even if at the time the adversaries only scrutinized each other without fighting.
A few days later the shaman was supposed to go to a meeting to deal with the leaders of the enemy people and all his followers feared it was a trap to imprison him.
Shortly before that meeting, the student Yákakua arrived with Picham and other students at the shaman’s hut. He appeared very troubled by stomach ache and diarrhea and said that that night he had fought a great fight against the shaman’s enemies who had plotted his death: these enemies had already woven the web of destiny and the shaman was destined to end up imprisoned for then die at the trap meeting he was about to go to.
For days all the students had been anxious about these things.
But Yákakua had fought against the evil Spirits and had defeated them, thus changing destiny and saving his master’s life.
Picham, who lived with Yákakua in the same hut, had felt the Power of that fight and was filled with enthusiasm.
But the shaman had almost no reaction, he only said “Bien, bien”, gave a half smile and nothing else.
Picham wondered why the shaman was so ungrateful. Perhaps he was envious of Yákakua’s Power?
But he knew that a good student doesn’t ask questions of the shaman so he didn’t ask anything.
At the meeting the shaman had to go to, the power of Yákakua was demonstrated because nothing bad happened and the shaman returned safe and sound.
Yákakua later cared for and cured him, another student, from a fatal illness.
Yákakua had discovered in her a fatal illness that would soon lead to her death. She had looked after her for a long time, caring a lot about her, but in the end he was able to happily tell her that she was now safe and she would not die.
When the shaman learned this, not only did he not praise Yákakua, but he mistreated him.
The next morning, well before dawn, Yákakua secretly packed up all his belongings and left the shaman’s village to return home.
Everyone then understood that the shaman had chased him away. But why ever?
Picham could no longer hold back and asked his teacher for explanations: “But how? Yákakua has always obtained great powers from the Spirits and you said nothing.
He fought terrible enemies who wanted your death, he saved you by risking his life and you didn’t even thank him.
He healed him from a fatal disease and even drove him away! So explain to me!”
The shaman said:
“You are deceived, my poor Picham, everything you believe is false.
I didn’t praise Yákakua for the great powers he gained because only he saw them. Not one of these Powers has deigned to descend from the lofty Worlds whence he comes to materialize anything here. When I teach you to throw a tséntsak and that it must materialize into the object you think of (if you throw a bee, a bee must appear, if a glass marble you must find a glass marble), why do you think I do it? Power must materialize in this reality or it is just fantasy.
Yákakua found great powers… but he said so! He found a flaming dragon, but I never even saw a match in front of his hut.
I didn’t thank Yákakua for saving my life, because I wasn’t in any danger. Only he said that I was in grave danger and that he saved me. But it wasn’t the truth.”
“And the attacks he had suffered? She risked her life!”
The shaman laughed: “He had a bit of a stomach ache. Only a child calls this an attack of evil Spirits!
Finally I reproached him for having cared about him because he deceived her.”
“But he cured her of a mortal illness!”
“Which he diagnosed. She wasn’t dying lying on the mat. He just had difficulty digesting, something he has suffered from all his life.
It is easy to cure an illness that only you see, as it is easy to find powers that produce nothing and as it is easy to save me from a danger I have never faced.” And he laughed again.
“So then you drove him away?”
“You are deceiving yourself about this too, I didn’t chase him away. I just alluded to what he had done, told him we’d talk about it tomorrow and he got scared. Faced with the prospect of facing me he preferred to flee”
“How could he have escaped? – Exclaimed Picham – he had such a great Arútam… ”
“Perhaps he has found a second Arútam – replied the shaman – the Arútam of the Hare!” He laughed like a child. Then he added:
“The shaman looks into people’s bodies as if they were glass. This is the most important Power. With this he not only discovers diseases, but he reads the heart and soul.
You, Picham, did not know how to look through Yákakua, you only saw it on the surface. You can’t see like through glass, that’s why you won’t become a shaman.”
These things have happened many times in ages past and continue to happen today.
Nukete (“Esto sólo es”).