It is generally believed that Ximénez borrowed a phonetic manuscript from a parishioner for his source, although Néstor Quiroa points out that “such a manuscript has never been found, and thus Ximenez’s work represents the only source for scholarly studies.”^[15] This document would have been a phonetic rendering of an oral recitation performed in or around Santa Cruz del Quiché shortly following Pedro de Alvarado’s 1524 conquest.