Dresden 14b (Pl. 3, fig. 12) undoubtedly show three forms of the sign
for god D, only one of which (fig. 12) is given by Schellhas (1904, p.
22) among the signs of this god. In each of these cases the centipede
head surrounded by dots is shown in connection with the main part of the
glyph. In Dresden 44b (Pl. 3, fig. 13) there is a glyph which seems to
show the same centipede head although it has no connection with god D in
the place where it is found. In Dresden 27 (Pl. 3, fig. 14), moreover,
still another variant of the glyph for god D seems to occur. This shows
a prefix clearly representing the centipede and the "moon sign" is the
main part of the glyph. Directly beside this in the codex is found the
_Ahau_-like sign for god D and god D himself is represented in the
middle section of the page.
The association of god D with the centipede may be explained by the fact
that as this god is regarded as the Moon or Night god, so the centipede
is an animal which frequents dark places. Another point in this
connection may be made if we consider the head of the centipede in the
head-dress and in the glyphs as representing the day sign _Akbal_ (Pl.
3, fig. 10) as _Akbal_ in Maya means night. It must be admitted,
however, that the head might represent the day sign _Chuen_ almost as
well as _Akbal_. The centipede is connected with death and destruction
in the same way as the owl. Both are shown in Vaticanus 3773, 13,
associated with the "house of drought."
CRUSTACEA
With one possible exception no crustaceans were found depicted in the
Maya codices, but we have introduced figures of two from the Nuttall
Codex. The first of these (Pl. 4, fig. 5) is probably a crayfish,
perhaps _Cambarus montezumae_. It seems unlikely that the so-called
Spanish lobster (_Palinurus_) can be intended or the powerful spined
antennae would have been shown. It is interesting to note that the
stalked eyes are clearly pictured. The second example seems to be a crab
(Pl. 4, fig. 6). Two large chelae of nearly equal size are simply drawn
and four rounded projections at the top of the figure appear to
represent the walking legs. Its rotund form and subequal chelae suggest
the land crab, _Geocarcinus_, but exact determination is of course
impossible. What is certainly a large crab, perhaps of the same species,
is shown in Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 36, fig. 1) in connection with a
dog whose feet it seems about to pinch with its two large chelae. The
shell is ornamented in a conventionalized way as if with scales.
ARACHNIDA
In Codex Borbonicus 9 (Pl. 4, fig. 4) there is represented a
stout-bodied form of spider with two sharply pointed chelicerae
projecting from the conventionalized mouth. These characteristics
together with the absence of any web, suggest a large predacious
species, probably the tarantula (_Tarantula_ sp.) which is common in
Mexico. The acute powers of observation shown by the artist are evinced
in this figure since he draws the spider correctly with eight legs
instead of the six or ten sometimes seen in drawings by our own
illustrators.
ARACHNOIDEA
The scorpion (Maya, _sinaan_) figures prominently in the
Tro-Cortesianus, two drawings from which are shown (Pl. 4, figs. 1, 2).
As here conventionalized, the jointed appendages are represented as
composed of an indefinite number of round segments. The large chelate
pedipalps are also prominently figured but the smaller walking legs are
commonly omitted. In Pl. 4, fig. 1, however, there is a pair of
posterior chelate appendages which are probably added to give a more
anthropoid cast to the figure. The slight projections along the sides of
the body in Pl. 4, fig. 2, probably do not represent the legs. In
another drawing (Tro-Cortesianus 44b) these are also present but further
reduced so as not to exceed the heavy fringe of spines surrounding the
body. In Pl. 4, fig. 1, the fringe alone appears. The formidable nature
of the scorpion is of course due to the poisonous sting at the tip of
the attenuated abdomen or "tail." In the Maya pictures this portion is
usually shown as a grasping organ. Thus in fig. 1 it is similar to the
chela and holds a cord by which a deer has been caught. In fig. 2 the
"tail" is terminated by a hand. The same thing is seen in
Tro-Cortesianus 44b where the hand seizes a cord by which a deer is
snared. The scorpion is represented in the drawings with a
conventionalized face that is very characteristic. The facial disc is
divided into three parts by a median area of straight or irregular
lateral boundaries ending anteriorly in two in-turned scrolls suggesting
the alae of the nose. A circular eye is present in each of the lateral
divisions of the face while from the oral region projects a forked
tongue.
It is of course hazardous to attempt a specific identification of these
figures but, as pointed out by Stempell (1908, p. 739), there are two
large scorpions in Yucatan (_Centruroides margaritatus_ and _C.
gracilis_) which are probably the species pictured in the codices.
The representations of the scorpion in the Tro-Cortesianus are almost
always associated with scenes of the hunt. As the deer is caught in a
trap so Foerstemann considers that Pl. 4, fig. 1, shows a trap with five
appliances, the "tail" one alone being effective. Brinton (1895, p. 75)
notes that the Mayas applied the term _sinaan ek_, "scorpion stars" to a
certain constellation and suggests that it was derived from the
Spaniards. There is certainly some association between the scorpion and
water as, in Tro-Cortesianus 7a, the fore and hind legs of the animal
enclose a body of water. The scorpion "tail" alone appears in
Tro-Cortesianus 31a and 82a as the tail of a god. Its significance is
difficult to make out. Destruction is indicated by the scorpion in the
Aubin manuscript as suggested by Seler (1900-1901, p. 71).
In the Nuttall Codex there is a remarkably beautiful conventionalization
of a scorpion (Pl. 4, fig. 3) in which the tripartite nature of the head
is still preserved though it is so reduced as to resemble the calyx of a
flower. The "tail", as elsewhere, and the legs are present.
PISCES
Figures of fish (Maya _kai_) occur commonly in the Maya codices in
various connections as well as in the stone carvings, but none of these
seems certainly identifiable. Among the representations, however, there
are clearly several species. One (Pl. 5, figs. 2, 6, 7-9; Pl. 6, fig. 9)
has a single dorsal fin, powerful teeth, and a generally ferocious
aspect and may represent some large predacious variety, perhaps a tunny.
The distinct operculum in most of the figures would preclude their
representing a shark. Other figures picture similar fish without the
prominent teeth (Pl. 5, fig. 4, 5; Pl. 6, figs. 2, 6, 10, 13). In two
cases the scales are diagramatically shown by straight or crescentric
lines (Pl. 5, fig. 4, 8). A third species of fish is shown provided with
two dorsal fins (Pl. 6, figs. 3, 11; Pl. 7, fig. 6, the last an
excellent stone carving). Others (Pl. 6, figs. 7, 14-17) represent
fishes without dorsal fins, one of which (fig. 7) from its length may be
an eel, possibly _Muraena_.
In the Nuttall Codex occurs a remarkable fish with an unmistakable wing
arising just behind the head nearly at the dorsal line. While this may
represent a flying fish (_Exocetus_), the head is so bird-like that the
whole may be merely a combination figure.
Of frequent occurrence in the Dresden is a glyph, two modifications of
which are here shown (Pl. 6, figs. 4, 5). Stempell suggests that the
vertical lines on the posterior portion of such figures may be gill
slits and that hence they may represent sharks in which these orifices
are without an operculum.
As with the molluscs, so with the fish, we naturally find them usually
associated with the water. This may be seen especially well in the
Nuttall Codex. In Dresden 33a (Pl. 6, fig. 13) the fish is clearly
associated with the operation of fishing as two figures are seated on
the edge of a body of water in the act of casting a net. An eel is shown
in the water under god B in Dresden 65b (Pl. 6, fig. 7) and fish are
shown just below the claws of a crocodile in text figure 1. In Dresden
44a god B holds a fish in his hands. As will be pointed out later (p.
314) this god is frequently associated with water. In Dresden 44c a fish
appears between god B and an unidentifiable deity. In the Maya codices
the greater number of representations of fish are in connection with
sacrifice. In Dresden 27 (Pl. 6, fig. 6) the fish is pictured resting on
two _Kan_ signs, the symbol of maize or bread, and these in turn on a
flat bowl. In Dresden 29b (Pl. 5, fig. 9) the fish is represented
between the red and black numbers of the _tonalamatl_. Here again the
fish is shown as an offering.
In two cases only do we find the fish used as a part of the head-dress
and in each case the fish is graphically shown as held in the mouth of a
heron. One of these is in the Dresden Codex 36b (Pl. 5, fig. 3) and one
in the stone carving of the Temple of the Cross at Palenque (Pl. 15,
fig. 5). Fish are often represented on the stone carvings as feeding
upon a water plant. This is seen in the border at the bottom of the
Lower Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza (Pl. 5, figs.
2, 4; Pl. 6, fig. 2). In several instances at Copan fish are shown as
forming the sides of the Great Cycle glyph at the beginning of an
Initial Series (Pl. 6, figs. 14-17). It has often been suggested that as
the word fish in Maya is _kai_ (usually written _cay_), there may be
some phonetic significance here, combining the fish, _kai_, with the
usually drum-like sign for stone, _tun_, making _kai tun_ or _katun_.
This is the term usually given not to the Great Cycle but to the period
composed of twenty _tuns_ and is probably derived from _kal_ meaning
twenty and _tun_, a stone.
AMPHIBIA
FROGS. Figures undoubtedly representing frogs (Maya _mut[vs]_ or _uo_)
or toads are found in several places in the codices and in the stone
carvings, but it is quite impossible to refer them definitely to any of
the numerous species occurring in Central America, if, indeed, the
artists had any one species in mind. In the Tro-Cortesianus frogs are
not uncommon. In 31a there are four (Pl. 7, fig. 1) with water coming
from their mouths. They are characterized by their stout tailless
bodies, flattened heads and toothless mouths. In 101d (Pl. 7, figs. 2,
3) there are two, the first painted blue with spots of darker blue and
the second white and represented as broken in two in the middle. The
signs of death above the latter clearly show that a dead animal is
indicated. Pl. 7, fig. 6, shows the end of Altar O from Copan on which a
frog and a fish are pictured, the former in dorsal view, the latter in
lateral aspect. The peculiar pointed snout of this frog is similar to
that of the frog shown in Pl. 7, fig. 7, also in dorsal view. A somewhat
similar creature (Pl. 29, fig. 6) we have included and though it may
represent an opossum it has little to distinguish it from the figures of
frogs.[309-*]
God B in Tro-Cortesianus 12b should be associated with the frog. His
legs are those of a frog and he appears as if swimming in the water.
Frog in Maya is _Uo_ which is also the name of the second month of the
Maya year. The first day of this month, according to Landa, corresponds
to August 5 of our year and this is the height of the rainy season in
the Maya region. The sign for _Uo_ does not, however, resemble a frog in
any way. The frog above one of the figures in the Lower Chamber of the
Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza (Pl. 7, fig. 7) has clearly some
relation to the name or totem of the warrior. The Nahua custom is seen
here.
Toads are probably intended in Pl. 7, figs. 4, 5. In these the great
breadth of the head and mouth together with the short inflated body
combine to produce a very toad-like appearance. It is not unlikely that
they represent the huge marine toad, _Bufo marinus_, common from
southern Mexico to Brazil and in the West Indies. There seems to be no
distinction in the treatment of frogs and toads in the codices.
TREE-TOAD (_Hyla eximia_). Of great interest are the figures in
Tro-Cortesianus 26a and b (Pl. 8, figs. 1, 3), showing a god with
expanded finger tips and characterized further by the presence of two
parallel black stripes from the hinder and lower margins of the eye
respectively. The knob-like finger tips at once suggest one of the
tree-toads, and the presence of the two lines seems to indicate _Hyla
eximia_ as the species represented. In this tree-toad there is a long
black lateral line running posteriorly from the tympanum and above it a
shorter line just as in the drawings. It appears to be a common species
in the valley of Mexico though but little seems to have been written of
its habits. At the beginning of the rainy season it repairs to pools of
water to breed and is then very noticeable from its loud voice. No doubt
its importance in the Maya economy was from its conspicuousness at the
beginning of the rainy period. This fact is brought out more strongly
when we consider that these gods representing the tree-toad are
associated with agriculture and the sowing of grain at the beginning of
the rainy season. Foerstemann (1902, p. 35) identifies these figures as
god F. They are quite unlike the usual representation of this god and
are clearly god P as Schellhas (1904, p. 39) indicates. It is
interesting to note that the two black lines behind the eye are also
seen in the other gods shown in Tro-Cortesianus 26a and b although the
knob-like finger tips are lacking. The glyph for this tree-toad god is
recognized in the fifth place at the top of the same page (Pl. 8, fig.
2) by the same two black lines under and behind the eye.
REPTILIA
SERPENT. It would be impossible in the present paper to enter into any
lengthy discussion of the use of the serpent (Maya _kan_) in Mexico and
Central America. It seems to be one of the main elements in the religion
and consequently in the art of the Mayas and Mexican peoples. It is
represented again and again in many forms and varied combinations. It
underlies the whole general trend of Maya art. The serpent is often
associated with feathers. The culture hero of the Nahuas,
_Quetzalcoatl_ (feathered serpent) corresponds to a similar god among
the Mayas, _Kukulcan_ (also meaning feathered serpent). The feathers of
the quetzal are the ones commonly used in connection with the serpent.
Any attempt at identification of the species represented is beset by
grave difficulties for so conventionalized have the figures often become
that, except in the case of the rattlesnake with its rattles, there are
no characteristic marks by which the species may be known. It is natural
to suppose that the species used for artistic purposes would be those
that are most noteworthy because of their size, coloring, or venomous
qualities. No doubt a number of harmless species were also used in the
religious ceremonies.[311-*] Such may be those used as hair ornaments in
many of the figures (Pl. 8, figs. 7-13, 15) and in which no indication
of a rattle is to be seen. The fierce eye of these reptiles is shown by
means of an exaggerated overhanging brow occasionally embellished by
recurved crests (Pl. 8, figs. 10, 11, 13, 15). These crests are
sometimes shown as two or three stalked knobs (Pl. 10, fig. 7) that
Stempell was misled into identifying as the eyes of snails. Various
heads of snakes usually with fangs exposed and tongue protruding are
pictured in Pl. 8, figs. 4, 6; Pl. 9, figs. 2, 4-6: one snake with a
spiny back is shown in Pl. 8, fig. 5, but obviously it represents merely
the artist's endeavor to present as terrifying a creature as possible.
Various types of rattlesnakes are shown in Pl. 9. The presence of the
rattle is of course the characteristic, and this portion alone is
likewise used, in one case, at least, as a glyph (Pl. 9, fig. 7). It
cannot be denied, however, that some or most of the snakes in which no
rattles appear, are nevertheless intended for rattlers. It may have been
that the figures were so well understood that the addition of rattles in
the drawings was quite unnecessary. This, however, is quite conjectural.
The species of rattlesnake is probably _Crotalus basiliscus_ or _C.
terrificus_ of southern Mexico and adjacent regions, not _C. horridus_
or _adamanteus_ as supposed by Stempell since these two species are
confined to the United States. Among the figures shown on Pl. 9, it is
noteworthy that five of the rattlesnakes show no fangs. Some are
spotted, but in a wholly arbitrary manner. Three are unmarked. One is
shown coiled about the base of a tree (Pl. 9, fig. 5), another coiled
ready to strike though the rattle is pictured trailing on the ground
instead of being held erect in the center of the coil as usually is done
(Pl. 9, fig. 9). A rattlesnake is shown held in the hand of a man in Pl.
9, fig. 8.
In Pl. 10, fig. 1, is shown a rattle-less snake with prominent fang,
coiled about the top of an altar which may represent a tree or bush.
From the latter fact, it might be concluded that it was a tree or
bush-inhabiting species, possibly the deadly "bush-master" (_Lachesis
lanceolatus_). Other figures (Pl. 10, figs. 3, 7; Pl. 11, figs. 1, 2)
are introduced here as examples of the curious head ornamentation
frequently found in the drawings. The two first are merely serpents with
the jaws extended to the utmost, and with a characteristic head
decoration. The last is provided with an elaborate crest. The size and
markings of the two serpents shown in Pl. 11, as well as their want of
rattles suggest that they may represent some species of large _Boidae_
as _Loxocemus bicolor_ or _Boa_ (sp?).
After having commented upon the various serpents occurring in the
codices and in several other places, we will now take up the manner and
connection in which the various figures occur. We shall pass over
completely the use of the "serpent column" at Chichen Itza, the
importance of the serpent motive in the development of the masked panel
as worked out by Spinden, and the countless representations of the
plumed serpent in the whole field of Maya design and decoration. In the
single Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza, the feathered serpent
occurs in the round as a column decoration supporting the portico, as
carved on the wooden lintel at the entrance to the Painted Chamber,
again and again on the frescoes of this room,[313-*] in the Lower
Chamber as dividing the bas-relief into zones or panels, and, finally,
as the center of the whole composition of this bas-relief. It will be
seen, therefore, that it will be necessary in a short paper, to limit
ourselves to the representations of the serpent in the Maya codices.
The serpent is most frequently associated with god B. Schellhas (1904,
p. 17), Fewkes (1894), Foerstemann (1906), and Thomas (1882), seem to
agree that god B is to be identified as _Kukulcan_, the most important
of the deities of the Mayas and, as pointed out before, appearing in the
Nahua mythology, as _Quetzalcoatl_, and in the Quiche myths as
_Gucumatz_. It was also noted that the name means both in Maya and in
Nahuatl, the "feathered serpent" or the "bird serpent." Other
authorities consider god B as _Itzamna_, another of the main gods of the
Mayas. Seler interprets god B as the counterpart of the Nahua rain god,
_Tlaloc_. It is certain that when god B and the serpent are associated
together water and rain are usually indicated. God H, "the _Chicchan_
god," also has some relation to the serpent. As pointed out by Schellhas
(1904, pp. 28-30), this god often appears characterized by a skin-spot
or a scale of the serpent on his temple of the same shape as the
hieroglyph of the day _Chicchan_ (serpent). The glyph belonging to this
deity also shows the _Chicchan_ sign as its distinguishing mark. Similar
signs appear on the body of the serpent in many places, as in
Tro-Cortesianus 30a (Pl. 11, fig. 1).
We have already noted that the serpent, god B, and water are frequently
shown together, so the serpent also appears associated with water and
rain, when no figure of god B is present. From this connection, it can
be argued that there is some relation between the serpent and the coming
of the rains. These facts would give strength to the theory that god B
is to be identified as a rain god. In Dresden 33a, 35a, god B is seated
on the open jaws of a serpent, while the body of the reptile encloses a
blue field evidently signifying water. The number nineteen appears on
this blue color. It will be noted that there are nineteen spots on the
serpents in Pl. 11, figs. 1, 2. In Tro-Cortesianus 3a-6a, corresponding
scenes seem to be shown. The body of the serpent encloses water, and
here the number eighteen appears in each case. God B occurs always in
front of the serpent and his head appears as the head of the reptile in
the first instance. In Dresden 35a, 36a, the head of god B is pictured
as the head of the serpent in the midst of the water. In Dresden 37b
(Pl. 10, fig. 8), B is holding a snake in the water.
Water appears in connection with the serpent and god B in many places in
the Tro-Cortesianus. In 9, god B is pictured pouring water from a jar, a
common method of showing the idea of rain in the codices. In 12b, B
again is shown perhaps representing a frog, and behind him a serpent.
The reptiles in 13b-18b, are all associated with the idea of rain, the
turtle and frog also appearing in this section. In 30a (Pl. 11, fig. 1),
god B and a female figure are both pouring water from a jar, as they
stand on the body of a serpent. In 32a, the black god (L) is seen in the
rain, and a serpent is near, while in 32b and 33b (Pl. 9, fig. 1), the
serpent forms the belt of god L, and a female figure and water are seen
in both cases. The blue color of the snake and of god B in 31b (Pl. 11,
fig. 2) may also suggest water.
God B also occurs in connection with the serpent in Dresden 42a (Pl. 8,
fig. 14), where the god is seated on the reptile, in Tro-Cortesianus,
10b, where the head of the same god is the head of the snake, and in
Tro-Cortesianus 19a, where god B again and god A are each seated on the
open jaws of a serpent.
The astronomical role of the serpent is noted in Dresden 56b, 57b (Pl.
10, fig. 3), Tro-Cortesianus 5b, 12b, 15b, and 67b, where the snake is
shown in connection with a line of constellation signs, the _kin_ or sun
sign prominent in most of the drawings. In the "battle of the
constellations" in Dresden 60, the serpent appears forming a sort of
altar, the seat of a figure which is supported by another figure. A
serpent head also appears at the foot of the latter figure.
That the serpent appears associated with the idea of time seems clear
from the fact of the long number series in Dresden 61, 62 (Pl. 10, fig.
7), and 69, which are shown in the spaces made by the winding of the
serpents' bodies. In Tro-Cortesianus 13a-16a, four large reptiles appear
in connection with the lines of day signs.
The study of the serpent used as a head-dress is interesting. As noted
previously, quite a different kind of snake seems to be represented when
used in this connection. Two other points come out in this
investigation, namely, that it is only with female figures that the
serpent is employed as a head-dress, and in far the greater number of
cases the women are shown, either in the act of offering something, or
of pouring water from a jar. The usual type of serpent head-dress is
seen in Dresden 9c (Pl. 8, fig. 11), 15b (Pl. 8, fig. 12), 18a (Pl. 8,
fig. 13), 22b (Pl. 8, fig. 10), and 23b (Pl. 8, fig. 8). In the first
case, the offering is a jicara or gourd of some sacred drink
(_balt[vs]e_?), in the second and third examples, the dish is clearly
shown, but the offering is unidentifiable, in the fourth case, maize (a
_Kan_ sign), and in the last, a fish resting on a dish. In Dresden 20a
(Pl. 8, fig. 15), a woman with serpent head-dress is seen associated
with the Moan-headed figure, possibly in the act of offering it as a
sacrifice.