author
Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá
d. 1581
A Kaqchikel Maya chronicler from colonial Guatemala, he is best known for beginning the work later known as the Annals of the Cakchiquels. Writing in the Kaqchikel language in the late 16th century, he helped preserve indigenous history, memory, and identity through a rare firsthand record.
1 Audiobook
The Annals of the Cakchiquels
by Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá
About the author
Born around 1502 and deceased in 1581, Francisco Hernández Arana Xajilá was a Kaqchikel Maya author from Guatemala. He is associated with the ruling Xahil lineage and is remembered as one of the writers behind the text known as the Annals of the Cakchiquels, also called the Memorial de Sololá or Memorial de Tecpán-Atitlán.
He began writing this manuscript in Kaqchikel in the 16th century, after learning alphabetic writing during the early colonial period. The work brings together origin stories, migrations, political history, and accounts of the Spanish invasion, making it one of the most important indigenous chronicles from colonial Mesoamerica.
The manuscript was later continued by his grandson, Francisco Rojas, which helped carry the family and community record into the next generation. Even centuries later, Hernández Arana Xajilá remains an important figure for readers interested in Maya history, indigenous literature, and firsthand accounts from the colonial era.