"Gemelli. "Boturini.
1. Tochtli = Earth. 1. Tecpatl = Fire.
2. Acatl = Water. 2. Calli = Earth.
3. Tecpatl = Air. 3. Tochtli = Air.
4. Calli = Fire." 4. Acatl = Water."
Herrera speaks only of the year symbols and colors, and, although he
does not directly connect them, indicates his understanding in regard
thereto by the order in which he mentions them:[31]
"They divided the year into four signs, being four figures, the one of a
house, another of a rabbit, the third of a cane, the fourth of a flint,
and by them they reckoned the year as it passed on, saying, such a thing
happened at so many houses or at so many flints of such a wheel or
rotation, because their life being as it were an age, contained four
weeks of years consisting of thirteen, so that the whole made up
fifty-two years. They painted a sun in the middle from which issued four
lines or branches in a cross to the circumference of the wheel, and they
turned so that they divided it into four parts, and the circumference
and each of them moved with its branch of the same color; which were
four, _Green_, _Blue_, _Red_, and _Yellow_; and each of those parts had
thirteen subdivisions with the sign of a house, a rabbit, a cane, or a
flint."
From this statement I presume his arrangement would be as follows:
Calli -- Green.
Tochtli -- Blue.
Acatl -- Red.
Tecpatl -- Yellow.
Still, this is at best but a supposition. It is evident that he had
before him or referred to a wheel similar to that figured by Duran in
his _Historia de las Indias_, as his description agrees with it in every
respect, except as to the arrangement of the colors.
According to Duran[32] "The circle was divided into four parts, each
part containing thirteen years, the first part pertaining to the east,
the second to the north, the third to the west, and the fourth to the
south. The first part, which pertained to the east, was called the
thirteen years of the _Cane_, and in each house of the thirteen was
painted a cane, and the number of the corresponding year. * * * The
second part applied to the north, in which were other thirteen houses
(divisions), called the thirteen houses of the _Flint_, and there were
also painted in each one a flint and the number of the year. * * * The
third part, that which appertained to the west, was called the thirteen
_Houses_; there were also painted in this thirteen little houses, and
joined to each the number of the year. * * * In the fourth and last part
were other thirteen years called the thirteen houses of the _Rabbit_,
and in each of these houses were also likewise painted the head of a
rabbit, and joined to it a number."
[Illustration: FIG. 8--Calendar wheel from Duran.]
The plate or figure accompanying this statement[33] is a wheel in the
form shown in Fig. 8, the quadrant _a_ green, with thirteen figures of
the cane in it; _b_ red, with thirteen figures of the flint in it; _c_
yellow with thirteen figures of the house in it, and _d_ blue, with
thirteen figures of the rabbit's head in it, each figure with its
appropriate numeral. At the top is the word "Oriente," at the left
"Norte," at the bottom "Occidente," and at the right "Sur."
Although this figure was evidently made by this author or for him, it
expresses his understanding of the assignment of the years and
arrangement of the colors as ascertained from the data accessible to
him.
His arrangement will therefore be as follows:
Acatl -- East -- Green.
Tecpatl -- North -- Red.
Calli -- West -- Yellow.
Tochtli -- South -- Blue.
We find the same idea frequently expressed in the codices now
accessible, as, for example, the Borgian and the Vatican B, though the
colors do not often correspond with Duran's arrangement.
Shultz-Sellack,[34][TN-14] in his article heretofore quoted, arranges the
colors in connection with the dominical days in the Maya system as
follows:
Kan -- South -- Yellow.
Muluc -- East -- Red.
Ix -- North -- White.
Cauac -- West -- Black.
He does not appear to be so clear in reference to the Mexican system, in
fact he seems to avoid the question of the assignment of the year
symbols. His arrangement, as far as I can understand it, is as follows:
--? Quetzalcoatl -- South -- Wind -- Yellow.
--? Huitzilopuchtli -- East -- Fire -- Red.
--? Tezcatlipoca -- North -- Water -- White.
--? Tlaloc -- West -- Earth -- Black.
Orozco y Berra[35] gives his preference to the opinion of Sahagun, which
has already been quoted, and which is the same as that held by
Torquemada.[36]
The most thorough and extensive discussion of this subject which has so
far been made, is by Dr. D. Alfredo Chavero, in the _Anales del Museo
Nacional de Mexico_.[37]
According to this author, who had access not only to the older as well
as more recent authorities usually referred to, but also to the
manuscript of Fabrigat and the Codex Chimalpopoca or Quauhtitlan, the
order of the year symbols or year bearers--Tecpatl, Calli, Acatl, and
Tochtli--varied "_segun les[TN-15] pueblos_," the Toltecs commencing the
cycle with _Tecpatl_, those of Teotihuacan with _Calli_, those of
Tezcuco with _Acatl_, and the Mexicans with _Tochtli_.[38] He also
shows that the relation and order of the four ages or creations and
elements in regard to the cardinal points, are by no means uniform, not
only in the Spanish and early authorities, but in the codices and
monuments (supposing his interpretation to be correct).
His arrangement, as derived from the leading codices, is as follows:
Tochtli -- South -- Earth.
Acatl -- East -- Water.
Tecpatl -- North -- Fire.
Calli -- West -- Air.
In order that the various views may be seen at a glance, I give here a
tabulated _résumé_: