Riddles


Riddles
It seems that everyone likes to play games with words. What is the answer to this riddle? What can go up the chimney down, but can’t go down the chimney up? An umbrella, of course! We like riddles, and so do the Amuzgo people of Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero. Look at the riddles below and see if you can find the answer in one of the pictures. Amuzgo riddles start with “There is a person” or “There is a place”. These riddles were collected by Marj Buck and Amy Bauernschmidt, and published previously by Charles T. Scott, New Evidence of American Indian Riddles, Journal of American Folklore, 76:236-244. (July-September 1963, #301). 1. There is that one who drills wood. M'aaⁿ cwii tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ matseicjooñê n'oom.
a crocodile catsoom	an armadillo chio'	a woodpecker tyoruña'
2. There is a place in which there is a four-legged grinding stone. Waa cwii joo ndii' tsjo'su nc'e.
an armadillo chio'	a bed jnduu	a crocodile catsoom
3. There is that one who carries a load at night but none during the day. M'aaⁿ cwii tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ cwe' natsjom na waa xom'm; naxuee tjaa'naⁿ.
the moon chi'	a bed jnduu	a chili pepper ts'a
4. There is that one whose child will come out of its center. M'aaⁿ tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ xcweⁿ'eⁿ nlui'nom jnaaⁿ.
a banana plant ts'oom tasa	a squash tsqueⁿ	a cornstalk ts'oom ljoo
5. There is that one whose child will come out of its head. M'aaⁿ tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ xqueⁿ nlui'nom jnaaⁿ.
a chili pepper ts'a	a banana plant ts'oom tasa	a squash tsqueⁿ
6. What looks like a tree cut down in a big river? Waa cwii joo njom ts'oom t'ua ts'om cwii jndaa t'maⁿ .
an armadillo chio'	a bed jnduu	a crocodile catsoom
7. There is that one who becomes a baby every four weeks. M'aaⁿ cwii tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ ñequiee ñequiee semana nlei'ndaañê.
a squash tsqueⁿ	the moon chi'	a cornstalk ts'oom ljoo
8. There is that one, if you eat his mouth, he'll eat your mouth. M'aaⁿ cwii tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ xeeⁿ nlqui' 'ñom mati jom nlqueeⁿ 'ndyo'.
a squash tsqueⁿ	a chili pepper ts'a	a woodpecker tyoruña'
9. There is that one who has teeth in his stomach. M'aaⁿ tsaⁿ'ñeeⁿ maniom ndei'n'oom tsiaⁿ'aⁿ.
a crocodile catsoom	a squash tsqueⁿ	an armadillo chio'
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