authorize the derivation of _uinal_ from _uinic_ (in which Seler follows
Brasseur); but it may come from _u_, month, _uin_ or _uen_, “relating to
a month.” His statement that the 20–day period was not spoken of as an
_uinal_, is disproved by Landa, who calls it _uinal hun ekeh_, “a dark
month,” to distinguish it from one lighted by the moon. A close
examination of most of the drawings will show that the line on which the
supposed bare teeth are shown is not that of the mouth, but that of the
necklace above mentioned, which has the value _u_. Cf. Fig. 3, No. 3.
No. 1, Fig. 37, I introduce from Mexican pictography; it is the sacred
green jade jewel, the _xihuitl_, meaning “precious, divine.” By it I
explain the very common No. 2, a modification either of it or of the
_kin_ sign, constantly associated with deities (on the hand, Cod. Dres.,
p. 21; on the leg, id., 12; on the back, id., 39; and always on the
head-dress of the God of Growth).
[Illustration: FIG. 37.—Supposed Derivatives of the Sun Sign.]
No. 3 may be a modification of the _kin_. It is given in Landa’s
alphabet, where it stands for _be_, footprints. It may also be the
stones of the hearth, and signify “house.” As a “directive sign,” it
stands for the point south, and the color yellow; and it appears as an
occasional variant of the day-signs _lamat_, _muluc_, and _chuen_.
No. 4 is thought by Seler to be merely an ornamental form of the _kin_
sign; but by Förstemann is taken for the monogram of the planet Venus,
at least in the Cod. Dres., where it is very frequent on pp. 46–50. It
is repeated with slight variations on the Copan pottery.
[Illustration: FIG. 38.—The Knife Signs.]
The flint knife was an important implement. Landa speaks of the numerous
large ones kept by the priests for slaughtering their victims.[115] They
were called _ta_, and _licil dzicil_; in Tzental, _chinax_, from _chi_,
to bite. Fig. 38, Nos. 1, 2, and 4, show the usual forms in which they
are drawn, the small squares at the end being the biting edges. No. 3,
surmounted by the “trinal” sign, refers probably to lightning. No. 6 is
a rare sign for a dog, showing his biting teeth (Cod. Tro., p. 25). The
flint knife typifies sacrifice, death, war, the East, and fire. As a
rebus, it could stand for _ta_, excrement; _tah_, a dramatic
representation, etc.
No. 5 is a very common affix. It has been regarded as a variant of the
knife (Seler, etc). But it is too constantly distinguished from it to
have this meaning. I consider it the sacred bean, with which divination
was practiced and lots cast. This was called _bul_, a word which, as an
affix, means “all,” the whole of anything, as _bulkin_, “the whole day.”
This may suggest its signification.
[Illustration: FIG. 39.—The “Fish and Oyster” Sign.]
The curious objects in Fig. 39 were long a puzzle to me, and have not
been explained by previous writers. I believe them to be representations
of the food products of the sea, showing a fish and two shellfish. My
reasons for this are that in Cod. Dres., p. 34, they are seen along with
other food-offerings (see Fig. 30); in some places the fish tail is
unmistakeable (Cod. Dres., pp. 6, 7, 36); in Cod. Cort., pp. 20, 21,
they are associated with a fishing bird,—a pelican or cormorant; in Cod.
Dres., p. 50, the two shells are replaced by one conch shell; and in
Cod. Dres., p. 67, a fish and two shells are painted separately, to
represent food from the sea. The two shells are often seen in other
relations, as sprinkled with blood (Cod. Tro., p. 18*), and as an affix
(see Fig. 31, No. 10). I shall refer to this as the “fish and oyster”
sign.
Shells had a peculiar sacredness in Maya symbolism. The robes of some of
the priests were bordered with them.[116]
[Illustration: FIG. 40.—The Sacred Food-Offerings.]
Some other sacred food-offerings are shown in Fig. 40. The first is the
haunch of venison tied up (identified as such by Brasseur); the second
is the fish, here shown with a subfix; the third is the wild turkey,
represented by his head in a dish. Another is the iguana (see p. 122,
No. 14); and a fifth is the object shown on p. 122, No. 12. It has been
explained as a grain of corn sprouting from the ground, or a mole
emerging from its hole (Schellhas). The true explanation is that of
Brasseur, that it portrays the forequarter and head of a food-animal,
tied up. He does not specify what animal, but in some of the drawings I
distinctly recognize the dog, with his sharp teeth, the species raised
by the Mayas to be eaten on festival occasions, as stated by Landa.[117]
[Illustration: FIG. 41.—The _ben-ik_ and other Signs.]
Nos. 1 and 2, Fig. 41, are variants of an element often occurring with a
_ben-ik_ superfix. Dr. Seler, who is apt to see gory human heads
everywhere, thinks it is one carried in a sling and means “conquered in
war.”
Dr. Förstemann, with greater probability, considers that it symbolizes
an astronomical event connected with the motions of the sun. (See the
significant designs, Cod. Tro., 28* _b_.)
The _ben-ik_ sign referred to is rendered by Seler to mean conquest and
destruction; by Förstemann, astronomically, as the lunar month of 29
days; in a general sense, I would say, “strength and deific power.” It
is a very constant association of the two day-signs so named, _ben_
giving the idea of motion, and _ik_ of life and power.
In No. 3 is a long worm-like figure under the _ben-ik_ sign. Brasseur
pointed out that it is a variant of the day-sign _men_, and explained it
as a caterpillar (_chenille_). Seler speaks of it as an eagle, and as a
symbol of “mother earth;” Schellhas, as perhaps the serpent goddess. It
sometimes is drawn to have a fish-like appearance (Cod. Per., p. 7), and
may symbolize the waters; the more so as it has occasionally as a
superfix the “cloud-balls.”
No. 4 is explained by Brasseur as the girdle, _xoc_, around the body;
and I prefer this to later suggestions. A similar design was the tress
of hair, _kax pol_ or _kaaxi_, worn by women (see Cod. Tro., p. 27; Cod.
Dres., p. 45). Its signification would seem to be “to tie together, to
join,” or, as a rebus, “rain, to rain,” for _kaxala_ (llover, y la
lluvia).
[Illustration: FIG. 42.—The Drum Signs.]
No more prominent hieroglyph than No. 1, Fig. 42, can be found in the
Mayan inscriptions, and none which has proved such a stumbling block to
interpreters. Valentini has called it the picture of a censer or
brazier; de Rosny thought it a variant of the _ahau_ sign; Dr. Seler
explained it as a precious stone; and Thomas as “a stone heap!” It is
the upper figure in the “Initial Series” of glyphs at Palenque, Copan,
Quirigua, etc. (see above, p. 24), and recurs with but slight variations
in all the Codices.
I first announced what it represents and its signification at the
meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science,
August, 1894.[118] It is the picture of a _drum_, the large variety,
made of the hollow trunk of a tree resting upon short feet, the trunk
being sawed across partly through so as to give two vibrating surfaces,
which were often decorated with cross-hatching. Such drums are described
by the early Spanish writers, and one is shown in the Atlas to Duran’s
History.[119] Their sound could be heard for two leagues, and they were
important adjuvants in the services in the temples.
In the hieroglyphics the significance of this design is primarily
phonetic. The name of this particular kind of drum was _pax che_, from
_pax_, musical instrument, and _che_, wooden; a large one was _bolon pax
che_, the word _bolon_, nine, being a superlative prefix in Maya.
Employed according to the ikonomatic method, this expressed the word
_paxan_, a very common term in Maya, meaning “it is finished,” and
applied to anything completed, ended, or destroyed, in a good or bad
sense.[120] This is why in the numeral signs it marks the end of a
series (see above, p. 22), and in the so-called “Initial Series” (which
I believe to be terminal), it surmounts and thus closes (reading from
below upward) the rows of computation signs. For the same reason it is
the support of the figure representing the dying year in the ceremonies
at its termination (Cod. Tro., pp. 20–24), and is often associated with
the deities of old age, destruction, and death.
Several other varieties of drums were in use among the Mayas. That shown
Fig. 42 No. 2, is noteworthy. It is the _dzacatan_ (Berendt), or
medicine-drum (from _dzacah_, to cure, to practice medicine). It was
used in the sacred ceremonies (see Fig. 30), and Itzamna is portrayed
playing upon one (Cod. Dres., p. 34). Its representations in the Codices
are peculiar, and have been entirely misunderstood by previous writers.
I show them in Fig. 43, Nos. 1, 2, 3. In a more highly conventionalized
form we find them in the Cod. Troano, thus: [Illustration] which has
been explained by Pousse, Thomas, and others, as making fire or as
grinding paint. It is obviously the _dzacatan_, what I have called the
“pottery decoration” (see p. 58) around the figures, showing that the
body of the drum was of earthenware.
Fig. 42, No. 3 shows the ordinary hand drum, the _huehuetl_ of the
Mexicans. Its name in Maya is _tunkul_, properly _tankul_, which means
either “before the gods,” or “now one worships” (ahora se adora, Baeza.)
It was either of wood and was struck with a stick; or of pottery with a
skin stretched over its mouth, when the sound was produced by the
fingers. Some were large and stood upright, as shown in Fig. 43.[121]
Representations of these are common in the Codices, and have generally
been mistaken for vases. (See Cod. Cort., p. 27.) Even Nos. 4 and 5,
Fig. 44, are probably some such musical instruments. (See Cod. Cort.,
pp. 12, 30, 31.)
[Illustration: FIG. 43.—A Standing Drum. (From the Cortesian Codex.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 44.—Graphic Delineations of Drums.]
[Illustration: FIG. 45.—The _yax_ and other Feather Signs.]
Few glyphs are more frequent than No. 1, Fig. 45, either alone or in
such combinations as Nos. 2 and 3. The guesses as to what it represents
have been singularly divergent. Brasseur said, a kind of gourd; Seler, a
tree; Schellhas, the zapote; Rosny and Förstemann, the phallus, etc.
None of these suggestions seems to me tenable. I believe it represents a
common feather decoration made of short green or blue feathers, attached
to a style or staff. It is frequent on Mexican and Maya figures, and in
No. 4, Fig. 45, I copy one from a Maya war dress. The lower portion
represents the ornament to which I allude. It was called _yax kukul_,
and this gives the phonetic rebus value of the sign, which is _yax_,
green, and (metaphorically) new, young, fresh, strong, virile, etc.
[Illustration]
Care must be taken not to confound this with the character seen in the
sign of the dog (see p. 70), which really represents the ribs and
breast-bone, although called a “phallus” by Rosny, an “article of food”
by Thomas, a “breastplate” by Allen, and a “vertebral column” by
Seler.[122]
The three feathers which surmounted the _yax kukul_, as shown in No. 4,
Fig. 45, also developed in the hieroglyphs to an important sign. It is
shown in Fig. 46, No. 1, and is the uppermost sign in the “Initial
glyph” of Palenque (see p. 137) and was a mark of eminent distinction.
(See Fig. 47, No. 2.)
These three feathers indicated in Maya symbolism the highest place and
power. They appear on the head of the important statue unearthed by Dr.
Le Plongeon at Chichen Itza, which he calls “Chac Mool,” in the form
given Fig. 46, No. 2. Three was a sacred number with the Mayas, and with
this in mind I shall refer to it as the “trinal” sign.
[Illustration: FIG. 46.—The “Trinal” Feather Emblem.]
In Mexican writing the three feathers appear in the ikonomatic sign for
_tecpan_, royal, in the _Lienzo de Tlascala_, pp. 56, 57, 78. As feather
in Maya is _kukum_, which is allied in sound to _ku_, god, _kul_,
divine, etc., we see what an appropriate rebus the “trinal” makes.
Rounded figures, identified by Seler as “feather balls,” are sometimes
portrayed above the _men_, or “Mother Earth” sign, and in other
relations. See Cod. Peres., p. 7, for a good example.
[Illustration: FIG. 47.—The “Cross-hatched” Signs.]
A number of drawings in the Codices represent textile materials—mats,
cotton cloth, wicker-work, etc. That Fig. 47, No. 1 is frequent, both as
an affix and as part of costume. Thomas calls it a trellis or lattice
work; Seler, an imitation of a snake skin; Förstemann, of the shell of a
tortoise. In some places it is clearly a part of a helmet made of
interlaced and twisted cords attached to a frame. (See Cod. Tro., pp. 2,
3, 6, 19, 22*, 23*.)[123] In Nos. 2 and 3 it appears as a written
character with superfixes. It forms part of the sign of the day
_chicchan_, and is attached to the sign of the sun and of the world.
This cross-hatching I regard as showing woven stuff, or that twisted,
knotted, and plaited; and I consider its value when used phonetically to
be “strong, mighty,” because the word for “strong” in Maya is _chich_,
and that for twisting and interlacing cords is _chich-kuch_,—again a
simple rebus.[124]
The designs, on p. 129, are supposed by Seler and Thomas to represent a
house, the roof of which is indicated by the cross-hatched or plaited
objects, [Illustration] and [Illustration]. I regard them as meaning a
_canopy_, the practical and symbolic uses of which article are often
referred to by the early visitors to these tribes.[125]
In Fig. 48, No. 1, I give a frequent postfix. In the pictures it
portrays the wing of a bird, the foot of an animal, the claw of a
reptile or insect, or the tail of a dog (Cod. Tro., p. 27).
No. 2 is the conventional sign for _smoke_, as may be seen in Cod. Tro.,
pp. 5*, 6*, etc.
No. 3 is called by Seler an ideogram for “man” or “person.”
[Illustration: FIG. 48.—Some Linear Signs and Dots.]
[Illustration: FIG. 49.—The Use of Dots.]
No. 4 I introduce from the Mexican pictography to illustrate the use of
black dots. They have many significations which I have not traced in
Mayan Codices, such as seed, salt, ashes, stars, sand, earth, and from
the latter, place, region, world.[126] In the sign for the day, _ix_, I
believe we see the dots with the signification _xiix_, “grain-husks.” A
line or lines of dots mean “speech” or vocal sound, as attached to the
drum, Fig. 44, No. 3; coming from the mouth of a dog, Cod. Tro., p. 20,
singing, etc. Some have mistaken this for the sign of death. Dots in
Maya are _ua_ or _ual_, akin in sound to _u_, month, _uil_, food, and
may be allusive for these ideas.
The _kan_ and _imix_ signs are often associated under two superfixes
enclosing dots, as in Fig. 49, No. 1. These have been interpreted by
Seler to indicate copal gum, or the burning of incense. The sign is
associated with various deities, especially those of a beneficent
character.
The same objects, however, occur elsewhere as superfixes over various
glyphs, as Fig. 49, No. 2, where it is not easy to assign them any such
meaning.
[Illustration: FIG. 50.—Linear Prefixes.]
Modifications of Fig. 50, No. 1 are quite frequent. This sign has had
various explanations, as typifying fire, lightning, or wind (Seler,
Schellhas); but I believe it represents divine or magical power exerted
by blowing. As I have explained in my _Nagualism_, “the act of blowing
was the essential feature in the practice of the ‘medicine men.’ It
symbolized the exercise and transfer of spiritual power.”[127] Where the
deity is portrayed with this addition, he is in the act of exerting his
divine influence. For examples, see the “bee god,” in Cod. Tro., pp. 5*
and 10*, where the head is as in No. 2; and the scorpion, in Cod. Tro.,
p. 2, precisely like one in the Cod. Porfirio Diaz, lam. I. At times it
also conveys the idea of speech, or vocal sound, or that from a drum,
etc., _e. g._, Fig. 44, No. 3.
No. 3 represents the usual mode of portraying the antennæ of scorpions,
insects, etc., of interest because the word for these in Maya, _matzab_,
also means the rays of the sun and of light, and the figure might so be
interpreted.
Dr. Förstemann believes that the circle of dots, as in the lower portion
of No. 2, means “movement or precession;” as in Cod. Dres., p. 68. The
[Illustration] sign is so surrounded, indicating the junction of two
time-periods; or, as others would say, the crooked lightning darting
from the sky.
[Illustration: FIG. 51.—The “Cloud-Balls” and the “Cork-screw Curl.”]
In Fig. 51, Nos. 1 and 2, copied from the great tortoise of Copan, show
the rain-clouds as conceived by the native artist. In the Codices they
are seen in the day-sign _cauac_; and elsewhere. An almost identical
conception appears in the pictography of the northern tribes.[128] Seler
speaks of them as _Wolkenballen_, “cloud-balls,” an appropriate name for
the element.
[Illustration: FIG. 52.—Symbols for the Earth.]
No. 3 has been explained by Thomas and Seler as the portrayal of
trickling fluid; or, again, by the latter, as a “nose ornament.” Dr.
Schellhas first saw its real intention. It is a picture of a twisted
lock of hair, or “cork-screw curl,” worn by the Maya women. It appears
in the monograms of various goddesses. Ideographically it has two
meanings, one, woman or female; the other, down or downward; either from
its name (which we do not know), or because it hangs downward. In the
latter sense, it is in the hieroglyph of the Earth, as that which is
down or below us, Fig. 52; although, as the Earth is the feminine
principle in nature,—Mother Earth,—I would suggest that this is the
intimation conveyed by the sign.
[Illustration: FIG. 53.—Signs for Union.]
No. 1, Fig. 53, occurs with great frequency. Allen explains it as “the
radical of the mouth,” others as “falling water,” etc., but I accept
without hesitation Brasseur’s identification of it as the side view of
the joint of a reed or maize stalk, with the meaning “union.” In the
writing it is probably among other things the conjunctive conjunction,
_yetal_, “and,” which explains its frequency. It is common in the form
No. 2, in the Vienna Codex, signifying the union of day series (pp. 58,
61, 64, etc.); it may imply sexual union, as in the “Tableau des Bacabs”
(see above, p. 50.)
[Illustration: FIG. 54.—The Knotted Head Dress.]
Other signs for union are No. 3, which is a knotted head-dress common on
males, and No. 4, from the Cod. Troano, p. 5, which perhaps indicates
the union of two month periods, or the new and old moons, in relation.
The middle design between the two crescents is frequent as an affix (_e.
g._, Cod. Tro., p. 7, etc.).
[Illustration: FIG. 55.—The “Tree of Life.”]
I have already hinted at the significance of the “tree of life” in Mayan
mythology. It is shown in the Codices under two forms, Fig. 55, Nos. 1
and 2. In the former it seems to be growing from a bottle-shaped vase.
The leaves (omitted in this instance) are well shown in Cod. Tro., p.
17*. They are cordate and pendent.
No. 2 is taken from the Cod. Peres., p. 3; it beautifully shows the
sacred tree, here distinctly anthropomorphic,[129] in the vase of the
heavenly waters, lifting its fourfold branches. In the original, the god
of the north star is resting upon them. Usually the tree is associated
with Itzamna. Both forms are frequent in the Mexican manuscripts, and
the myths relating to them have been subjects of study by various
writers.[130]
[Illustration: FIG. 56.—The “Machete” and Similar Signs.]
Forms like Nos. 1 and 2, Fig. 56, and perhaps No. 3, are usually taken
to represent a chopper or _machete_. The representation of this weapon
or implement is seen in Cod. Tro., p. 17, where a man is killing a snake
with one. In the conventional and negligent manner in which these
characters are often written, it is not easy to distinguish them from
others of different origin and meaning. Nos. 2 and 3 may be feather
signs. Seler explains the machete as the symbol of striking or wounding
(“Ausdruck des Schlagens”).
[Illustration: FIG. 57.—Supposed Bird Signs.]
Characters like the above recur in all the forms of writing. No. 1 has
been called by Seler the representation of “man,” but this is doubtful.
It may be a variant of No. 2, which is a “closing hand” from Fig. 31,
No. 3. Nos. 3 and 4, from Copan and Guatemalan pottery, follow closely
the Codices. With a “comb affix,” Förstemann calls No. 4 “a well-known
form of _moan_,” meaning the Pleiades (_Entziff._ IV); while Dr. Seler
explains it as an owl symbol. The design enclosed is held to depict the
bill of a bird.
The “Crotalean curve,” the outline of the jaws of the rattlesnake,
_Crotalus horridus_, has been dwelt upon with emphasis by Allen and
Maudslay as one of the most notable emblems in Maya art.[131] Fig. 58,
Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, show some of its forms in the Codices, and No. 5, from
Stephens, illustrates its radical. As a graphic element, it is less
prominent than in architecture.
[Illustration: FIG. 58.—The “Crotalean Curve.”]
Fig. 59, Nos. 1–4, are outlines of objects often seen in the Codices.
No. 1, which looks like a carriage-wrench, is in fact a serpent wand, as
can readily be seen by comparing Cod. Tro., pp. 6, 7, 31*, with Cod.
Dres., pp. 40, 42, 43.
[Illustration: FIG. 59.—Objects Held in the Hand.]
No. 2 is the “medicine rattle.” Sometimes it was a gourd, at others of
earthenware, as we see by the “pottery decoration” in Cod. Tro., 34, 35,
etc. Sometimes it looks like a fan or a mirror.[132]
No. 3 is the hatchet, and No. 4 the chisel. The peculiar shape and mode
of use of the latter are seen Cod. Tro., 34, etc. Both of these
implements were made of metal obtained from Tabasco, and Landa
especially says that the latter was that with which they carved their
idols, exactly as we see in the MSS.[133]
The word for the tomahawk in Maya was _bat_; and from the same root come
_batul_, “to fight;” _batab_, “a chief;” _batan_, “first or in front
of;” _bat_, “hail;” for any of which ideas the weapon might be a symbol
or a rebus. It is of frequent occurrence in the texts. One of its uses,
I am persuaded, was to indicate a thunderbolt or stroke of lightning.
The name for this in Maya was “the blow of the cloud,”[134] and in the
group of the _moan_ sign and the tomahawk we have this well expressed.
The first design in Fig. 60 shows the aspersorium, _lilābal_, with which
the high priest sprinkled the holy water (which was the dew collected in
the early morning) during the ceremonies. To it were attached the
rattles of the rattlesnake and tails of poisonous serpents.[135] It is
often portrayed in the Codices and inscriptions.
The second design is the throwing-stick, in Nahuatl, _atlatl_. The
admirable monograph of Mrs. Zelia Nuttall explains its important
symbolic uses.[136] Examples where it is well portrayed are: Cod. Dres.,
p. 60, 65; Cod. Tro., pp. 21* and 22*.
[Illustration: FIG. 60.—The Aspersorium, the Atlatl, and the Mimosa.]
The third design in Fig. 60 is what Seler calls a broom (Spanish,
_escobilla_, Nahuatl, _mallinalli_,) and Schellhas, a feather. But that
it is, as Brasseur said, a mimosa, seems clear from Cod. Tro., p. 29,
where it is shown growing. In id., p. 32*^c, where it is above the
turtle, it has an astronomic significance.
Other objects sometimes depicted are fans, _ual_ or _picit_; mirrors,
_nen_; shields, _chimal_; and planting sticks, _xul_.
The designs shown in Fig. 61 recur in all the Codices, and I agree with
Dr. Förstemann that they must refer to the celestial bodies and their
relative motions (contrary to the view of Dr. Seler). That they have not
all been identified is perhaps because none of the students of the
subject has been astronomer enough to understand the lessons they
convey.
A few we are certain about. No. 1 is the sun, No. 2 the moon; No. 13
must be “the rope of the moon” (see above p. 36) indicating its
conjunction;[137] No. 12, from the Cod. Peres., might reasonably
indicate its opposition; No. 14 is the pole star, occurring in Cod.
Tro., pp. 20, 22, 23. Dr. Förstemann has offered certain reasons,
reaching a moderate probability, that Nos. 3 and 4 symbolize the planet
Mercury; Nos. 5 and 6 the planet Venus; No. 7, Jupiter; No. 8, Mars; and
No. 11, Saturn; No. 15 I have seen only on the casts from Sastanquiqui,
Peten, at the World’s Columbian Exposition.
[Illustration: FIG. 61.—The “Constellation Band.”]
These designs are arranged in rows of three or more, forming ribbons or
bands, and therefore I shall refer to the series as “the constellation
band.” Some members of it usually are placed above the representation of
the sun and moon (day and night), frequent in the Codices and
represented in Fig. 62.
[Illustration: FIG. 62.—The “Heavenly Shield.”]