serpent head-dress is shown on a female figure in the act of pouring
water from a jar. In Tro-Cortesianus, the serpent head-dresses differ in
type only, and in two out of the four cases where they appear, water is
shown flowing from the breasts (30b) of the female figure or from the
mouth (32b). The woman thus represented in connection with the water is
god I, the water goddess of Schellhas. She is, as he notes (1904, p. 31)
usually the figure of an old woman. "Evidently, we have here the
personification of water in its quality of destroyer, a goddess of
floods and cloud-bursts." We are not at all sure that we have here a
distinct god as similar female figures with serpent head-dresses occur
frequently in the Dresden Codex with no suggestion of water. The failure
to find any distinct glyph for this goddess seems to strengthen the view
of not considering her as a separate deity. Finally, in our
consideration of head-dresses, the serpent is to be seen in
Tro-Cortesianus 79c on the head of the first woman who is weaving.
Possibly, a conventionalized serpent forms the head covering of the
second figure who is represented as dead.
The serpent in Dresden 26c-28c (Pl. 10, fig. 1) coiled around the altar
which rises from a _Tun_ sign is not easily explained. In 25c, the altar
is replaced by god B and in the former cases, the reptiles may stand for
this god with whom they are often associated.[316-*] The serpent seems
closely connected with the idea of offerings as the body of a snake is
shown in several instances as the support of the jar containing the
various gifts in Tro-Cortesianus 34a, 34b, 35a, 35b, 36a, 36b, and
possibly 52c (Pl. 9, fig. 3).
Finally the serpent is to be noted in a number of miscellaneous
connections:--in Dresden 36b (Pl. 19, fig. 11), as being attacked by a
black vulture,[317-*] in Tro-Cortesianus 40b (Pl. 9, fig. 4) a
rattlesnake is biting the foot of one of the hunters, and in
Tro-Cortesianus 66b, where the serpent has a human head and arm coming
from its open jaws. This is a very frequent method of representing the
serpent in the Maya stone carvings. In Tro-Cortesianus 60c, 100d (Pl. 9,
fig. 8), twice, 106a, and 111b, the rattlesnake is shown as a sprinkler
for the holy water in the hand (in the first, second and fourth
examples) of god D. Landa (1864, p. 150)[317-[+]] describes in the
ceremony of the baptism of children, that the leader of the rite wore on
his head a kind of mitre embroidered with plumage in some manner and in
his hand a small holy-water sprinkler of wood, carved skillfully, of
which the filaments were the tails of serpents, similar to serpents with
rattles.
In spite of the importance of the serpent in the manuscripts and stone
carvings, it never seems to appear as a separate deity. With one
exception, no glyph is to be found representing this reptile as is the
case with many of the animals. Tro-Cortesianus 106c (Pl. 9, fig. 7) is
this exception showing the rattles of a snake which are found in the
line of glyphs above two of the bees. No serpent appears in the picture.
The Nahuatl day, _Couatl_, has the signification serpent, as suggested
before, in discussing the meaning of the name _Quetzalcoatl_ or
_Quetzalcouatl_. This day sign occurs throughout the Mexican
manuscripts as the head of a serpent (Pl. 8, figs. 4, 6; Pl. 9, fig. 2;
Pl. 10, figs. 2, 4-6).
IGUANA. Of the lizards represented, the iguana (Maya _hu_) is the most
striking, and is readily identified on account of the prominent spines
along the back. As noted by Stempell, there are two or three species of
large lizards in Central America commonly called iguana, and it is
probable that the one here considered is the _Ctenosaura acanthura_ of
Yucatan or _Iguana tuberculata_ of South and Central America.
In the manuscripts the iguana is almost exclusively represented as an
offering (Pl. 12, figs. 1-6). It is usually found on top of the _Kan_
sign, meaning maize or bread,[318-*] and this, in turn, resting in a
bowl (Pl. 12, figs. 3, 4, 6). Landa (1864, p. 230)[318-[+]] gives a
pleasing confirmation of this offering of an iguana with bread. It is
possible that the object shown in Tro-Cortesianus 12b (Pl. 12, fig. 13)
may be the conventionalized representation of this lizard. It must be
admitted that this interpretation is very doubtful. The triangular
points suggest the lizard, but the pointed character of the sign as a
whole in no way resembles the back of this reptile. It is found
associated with three _Kan_ signs. In Cakchiquel, a dialect of the Maya
stock, _K'an_, according to Guzman and Brinton (1893, p. 24) is the name
applied to the female of the iguana or the lizard, and this is believed
to be the original sense of the Maya term. It may also be noted that the
Nahua day sign _Cuetzpalin_, meaning lizard, is the one which
corresponds with the Maya day _Kan_. Pl. 12, figs. 10, 12, 14, show
representations of the day corresponding to _Cuetzpalin_ in the Aubin
and Nuttall codices. These show a stout spineless species with a short
thick tail and may be the Gila monster (_Heloderma horridum_), a large
and somewhat poisonous species having much these proportions.
Further offerings are shown in Pl. 12, figs. 7, 8. These seem to be the
heads and forefeet of lizards, but, from the shape of the head, perhaps
not of iguanas.
In Stela D of Copan, the _Uinal_ period glyph seems to be represented by
a spineless lizard covered with scales (Pl. 12, fig. 9). Frog-like
characteristics also appear. This stone monument is remarkable from the
fact that the glyphs are all more or less realistic representations of
human and animal forms. It should be noted that there certainly seems to
be some connection between the _Uinal_ period glyph and the lizard. Pl.
13, fig. 9, represents a _Uinal_ glyph from the Temple of the Foliated
Cross at Palenque and the lizard form is clearly seen in the eyebrow and
the upper jaw. Compare also Pl. 13, fig. 11, and Pl. 28, fig. 3. A
collection of glyphs of this period shows clearly the lizard-like
character of the face.
That some connection existed between the lizard and the idea of rain
seems clear from a reference in the _Relacion de la Ciudad de Merida_
(1900, p. 51).[319-*] Finally the lizard is shown in Dresden 3a (Pl. 12,
fig. 11) directly in front of god H beside the scene of human sacrifice.
CROCODILE. The text figure (1) shows a dorsal view of a crocodile (Maya,
_ayin_) carved on the top of Altar T at Copan. The general form is
considerably conventionalized with limbs elongated and provided with
human hands and long toes. The protuberances of the back are roughly
shown by oval markings, which are here continued on the legs. The large
scales of the ventral surfaces also appear at the sides of the body, and
along the posterior edges of the limbs. The tail is shortened and
bifurcate. The most interesting portion, however, is the head. The snout
is distinctly pinched in at the base, though broadened again distally.
In the alligator the snout is broad and tapers but little. As in other
representations of the crocodile, the lower jaw does not appear, and
even in this dorsal view the artist seems to have deemed it necessary to
show the row of teeth as if in side view, or as though they projected
laterally from the mouth. What may represent ears or ear plugs are shown
one on each side behind the eyes. There are few other examples of full
drawings of the crocodile in the Maya writings. Dresden 74 shows an
animal which has been considered to represent a crocodile or alligator
but it seems to have more of the characteristics of a lizard.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.
TOP OF ALTAR. T. COPAN.]
Figures of a crocodile (_Crocodilus americanus_) are frequent in the
Nuttall Codex, where there is one large figure of the entire animal (Pl.
13, fig. 8), making its way along under water. It is shown with numerous
dorsal spines, a long tail, and powerful claws. Curiously, however, it
has no lower jaw and the same is true of the numerous glyphs
representing the head of the animal. This is so pronounced a
characteristic, that it may be doubted if the open-mouthed head and the
single limb shown in Pl. 13, fig. 2, really picture the same animal,
though otherwise apparently referable to the crocodile. In the various
glyphs showing the head of this species, the prominent, elongate eyebrow
and the absence of the lower jaw are noteworthy points, while the teeth
may vary in number from three to six.
The glyphs (Pl. 13, figs. 1, 3-7) represent the Nahua day sign
_Cipactli_ corresponding to the Maya day _Imix_. In the band of
constellation signs in Dresden 52b (Pl. 13, fig. 10), there occurs a
single figure with a long curled eyebrow and lacking the lower jaw. In
the upper jaw three teeth are indicated. A comparison of this figure
with the glyphs in the Nuttall Codex seems to leave little doubt that it
represents a crocodile. This is the sign which Foerstemann (1906, p. 206)
interprets as standing for Saturn. Pl. 13, fig. 12, is certainly the
same sign as it stands in relatively the same position in the
constellation band on Dresden 53a. It represents the highly
conventionalized head of a crocodile. On Stela 10 from Piedras Negras
(Maler, 1901-1903, Pl. 19) the same glyph is seen.
The range of the alligator in North America does not extend to Yucatan,
hence the crocodile, which does occur there, is taken as the original of
all these figures. There is nothing in the latter that would distinguish
it from the alligator.
TURTLES. Representations of the turtle (Maya, _ak_) are not uncommon
among the Mayas. At Uxmal there is a ruined building called _Casa de las
Tortugas_ on which at intervals around the cornice there are carvings of
turtles. Turtles of at least two species occur in the Tro-Cortesianus.
With one exception, they seem to be limited to this codex. That shown on
Pl. 14, figs. 1-3, 5, is a large species with the dorsal scutes
represented by large diamond-shaped pieces. There is little that might
be considered distinctive about these turtles, although one (Pl. 14,
fig. 5) has the anterior paddles much larger than the posterior,
indicating a sea turtle. What is doubtless the same turtle is pictured
in several places in the Nuttall Codex. In one of the figures in the
latter manuscript, the shell is shown apparently in use as a shield (Pl.
14, fig. 4). This would indicate one of the large sea turtles, and there
is not much doubt that either the Loggerhead turtle (_Thalassochelys
cephalo_) or the Hawksbill (_Chelone imbricata_) is here intended.
Quite another species is that shown in Pl. 14, fig. 6. That this is a
freshwater turtle is plainly indicated by the parasitic leeches that are
noted fastened by their round sucking-discs to the sides of its body.
The long neck, pointed snout, and apparent limitation of the dorsal
spinous scutes to the central area of the back may indicate the snapping
turtle (_Chelydra serpentina_) or possibly a species of the genus
_Cinosternum_ (probably _C. leucostomum_). It is hardly likely that it
is one of the true soft-shelled turtles (_Trionyx_), as the range of
that genus is not known to include Mexico. The turtle from Nuttall 43
(Pl. 14, fig. 11) may belong to the same species as its scutes seem
rather few, or it may be that the view shown here is of the ventral side
and that the scales indicate the small plastron of one of the sea
turtles.
The turtle appears alone as one of the figures in the _tonalamatl_ in
several cases in the Tro-Cortesianus, 13a, 17a (Pl. 14, fig. 3), 72b
(Pl. 14, fig. 6). It is found associated with the toad appearing in the
rain in Tro-Cortesianus 17b (Pl. 14, fig. 2) and alone in the rain in
13a. In Tro-Cortesianus 81c (Pl. 14, fig. 5), it appears in front of an
unidentifiable god.
Schellhas has called the turtle an animal symbolical of the lightning
basing his opinion, as Brinton (1895, p. 74) tells us, on Dresden 40b
where a human figure with animal head is holding two torches in his
hands. This figure does not seem to us to represent a turtle, as is
commonly supposed, but a parrot, as will be pointed out later (p. 343).
Foerstemann (1902, p. 27) identifies the turtle with the summer
solstice, as has been noted before, explaining that the animal is slow
of motion, and is taken to represent the time when the sun seems to
stand still. He bases his theory (1904, p. 423) in part on the fact that
the sign for the Maya month _Kayab_, which is the month in which the
summer solstice occurs, shows the face of the turtle (Pl. 14, fig. 10).
This undoubtedly is correct, but he seems to us wrong in classing as
turtles the figure in Dresden 40b (Pl. 25, fig. 1) with its accompanying
glyph (Pl. 25, fig. 6).
The turtle is found in connection with two sun (_kin_) signs beneath a
constellation band in Tro-Cortesianus 71a. Resting upon his body are
three _Cauac_ signs. The single representation of the turtle in the
Dresden Codex is on page 49 (Pl. 14, fig. 12) where a god is pictured
with a turtle's head. The heavy sharp beak indicates that he represents
one of the sea turtles previously mentioned. He is shown transfixed by a
spear and corresponds to the other figures in the lower parts of pp.
46-50. These all have some connection with the Venus period which is
considered in these pages.[323-*]
A number of glyphs representing the turtle are found throughout the
codices (Pl. 14, figs. 7-10). They are all characterized by the heavy
beak. It may be noted that these glyphs are virtually the same as the
sign for the first _a_ in Landa's alphabet. As the turtle is called _ak_
or _aak_ in Maya, the reason is clear for the selection of this sign for
an _a_ sound. These turtle glyphs often occur alone; one, however, (Pl.
14, fig. 7) is found in connection with the swimming turtle in
Tro-Cortesianus 17a (Pl. 14, fig. 3). Figs. 7-9 agree in having the
small scrolls at the posterior end of the eye. The head shown in Pl. 14,
fig. 10, has quite a different eye, though otherwise similar. Its
resemblance to the glyph on Pl. 25, fig. 9, is marked and suggests the
parrot. Schellhas (1904, p. 44) gives in his fig. 64, a glyph for the
turtle which seems clearly to be a glyph for the parrot (Pl. 25, fig.
7).
AVES
HERONS (_Ardea herodias_; _Hydranassa tricolor ruficollis_). Only a few
water birds are shown in the Maya works. Several are found, however,
that seem to picture herons (Pl. 15, figs. 1-7). The best of these (fig.
5), a carving from the west side panel of the Temple of the Cross at
Palenque shows a crested heron standing on one foot and holding in its
bill a fish. A second figure (Pl. 15, fig. 1) is from the stucco
ornament from the Palace, House B, at Palenque. It is less carefully
executed, but seems to be a long-necked bird with a crest and outspread
wings curiously conventionalized. In the Nuttall Codex there is another
unmistakable heron (Pl. 15, fig. 4) with the same general
characteristics, though the crest is less prominent, here represented as
a series of erectile feathers separated at their tips. This elongation
of the crest seems to be carried still farther in what seems to be the
head and neck of a heron from Dresden 37b (Pl. 15, fig. 3) with erectile
feathers at intervals along its length.
The heron is seldom employed as a head-dress. In the Lower Chamber of
the Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza, one of the warriors wears a
bird head-dress (Pl. 15, fig. 2), which from the length of the bill is
probably made from a heron's head, though the crest seems greatly
exaggerated. The bas-relief on which this is found is strongly Nahua in
feeling and execution. This head covering may indicate, according to the
Nahua fashion, the tribe to which the warrior belongs. Again in Dresden
36a (Pl. 15, fig. 7), a man is shown wearing as a head-dress the head
and neck of a heron that holds in its bill a fish. This head resembles
very closely that of the heron in fig. 1. What appears to be a similar
head is shown in Pl. 15, fig. 6. It is interesting to note that the
heron with a fish (Pl. 15, fig. 5) from Palenque also forms a part of a
complicated head-dress.
It is, of course, uncertain to which of the several herons occurring in
Central America these representations refer. Possibly the Great Blue
heron (_Ardea herodias_) or the Louisiana heron (_Hydranassa tricolor
ruficollis_) is intended. It seems not unlikely also, that one of the
white egrets may be shown as their crests are fairly conspicuous.
FRIGATE-BIRD (_Fregata aquila_). We have included here two figures (Pl.
15, figs. 8, 9) that undoubtedly represent a single species of bird. It
is characterized by a deeply forked tail and long beak, which has part
way on its length, a circular object surrounded by a circle of dots. It
seems still problematical what this object may be. In one figure (fig.
9), the beak is strongly hooked, in the other (fig. 8) it is straight,
but as the latter is plainly a much more carelessly made drawing, we may
infer that the hooked bill is more nearly correct. This would exclude
the Terns (_Sterna_), to which Stempell has referred the figures. It
seems probable that the frigate-bird (_Fregata aquila_) is the species
intended, as this is not only a large conspicuous form on these coasts,
but it has a long and strongly hooked beak and forked tail. The length
of the beak would probably exclude from consideration, the
swallow-tailed kite that also occurs in the region.
Both these birds are pictured, evidently as an offering or sacrifice. It
is very seldom that the whole bird is represented in this connection,
and still more infrequent to find anything but the turkey, which is the
usual bird of sacrifice. The figure from the Dresden Codex (Pl. 15, fig.
9) rests upon the usual bowl or jar, that from the Tro-Cortesianus (Pl.
15, fig. 8) is pictured upon a grotesque animal head, three _Kan_ signs
and these upon the jar.
In the Tro-Cortesianus 20c, 21c, there occur several representations of
man-like forms with very peculiar heads. The latter are each provided
with a beak-like projection, on which appears the circle surrounded by
dots noted above in connection with the frigate-bird. Brinton concludes
that this mystic symbol is a representation of the curious knob on the
bill of the male white pelican, and therefore identifies these curious
figures as pelicans. Stempell follows Brinton in this, but considers
that they are the brown pelican (_P. fuscus_), since the white pelican
is rare or casual, as far south as Yucatan. Unfortunately, however, for
this supposition, the brown pelican lacks the curious knob that Brinton
believed to be represented by the circle of dots. Moreover, this same
sign occurs on the drawings of the bills of the frigate-bird and the
ocellated turkey, and is evidently not of specific significance. To our
minds it is doubtful if the figures under discussion are birds at all,
and we are unable to assign them a name with any degree of confidence. A
peculiar glyph occurs in connection with them which may be an aid to
their ultimate identification. Brinton calls the glyph the "fish and
oyster sign."
OCELLATED TURKEY (_Agriocharis ocellata_). This turkey (Maya _ku[[c].]_)
is an important species in the Maya economy, and is seen frequently in
the manuscripts. This is a smaller bird than the more northern true
turkey (_Meleagris_) and is characterized by the presence of curious
erect knobs on the top of the naked head. These are shown in
conventionalized form in the various figures (Pl. 16), and afford a
ready means of identification. On the bill of the bird shown in
Tro-Cortesianus 10b (Pl. 16, fig. 2) occurs again the curious symbol, a
circle surrounded by dots, previously noted under the frigate-bird and
pelican. It probably has some special significance. Other figures of
ocellated turkeys show but little in addition to the points just
discussed. One shown in Pl. 16, fig. 7, from Codex Vaticanus 3773,
however, has a circular ring about the eye and the wattles are indicated
as projections merely. In fig. 13, they are apparently shown as stalked
knobs found elsewhere in connection with serpent head ornaments. It is
only the head in this latter figure, which is considered in this
interpretation.
In the Nuttall Codex, there frequently occur representations of a bird
that was evidently used for sacrificial purposes. It is shown with
erectile head feathers and a ring of circular marks about the eye (Pl.
26, figs. 12, 14; Pl. 27, figs. 2-3) or with concentric circles (Pl. 27,
fig. 1). These figures are not surely identifiable, but probably
represent this turkey. Possibly they are the chachalaca (_Ortalis vetula
pallidiventris_), a gallinaceous bird, commonly kept in
semi-domestication in Mexico, whose bare eye ring and slightly erectile
head feathers may be represented by the drawings. It is probable that
this turkey is the bird represented frequently in the Maya codices as a
bird of sacrifice. The head alone usually appears in this connection,
among other places, in Dresden 34a (Pl. 16, fig. 10), 41c (fig. 14), 29c
(fig. 16), 28c (fig. 17), and in Tro-Cortesianus 12b (Pl. 16, fig. 11),
105b (fig. 12), 107b (fig. 15). In several of these places the head is
represented as resting on one or more _Kan_ signs, again meaning bread,
as well as on the vessel or jar. In Dresden 26c (Pl. 16, fig. 9), the
whole turkey is pictured as an offering, as in the preceding case noted
in Dresden 35a (Pl. 15, fig. 9). The whole bird as an offering may also
appear in Tro-Cortesianus 4a (Pl. 16, fig. 4) corresponding to the
offering of venison and iguana on the following pages. This
representation of the entire bird is very rare although the fish, when
used as an offering, is always represented as a whole and the iguana is
in most cases when used in the same connection. Landa (1864, p.
222)[327-*] confirms the offering of the heads of birds with bread.
It is, however, the sacrifice of a bird, probably a turkey, by
decapitating, that is especially interesting, as the operation as shown
in the Dresden Codex 25c (Pl. 26, fig. 2), 26c, 27c, 28c, in the rites
of the four years, is described in full by Landa. In the codex, a priest
is represented as holding in his hand before an altar, a headless bird.
Landa (1864, pp. 212, 218, 224, 228)[327-[+]] tells us that in the
_Kan_, the _Muluc_, the _Ix_, and the _Cauac_ years, the priests burnt
incense to the idol, decapitated a "_gallina_" (undoubtedly a turkey),
and presented it to the god.
The turkey is also used as a head-dress. Only in one case, however,
Tro-Cortesianus 95c (Pl. 16, fig. 5), is the whole bird represented in
this connection. This is clearly of totemic significance here, as it
occurs in that part of the codex where birth and infant baptism are
shown. In many other places there are curious partial representations of
bird heads in the front of head-dresses which may or may not be
identified as heads of turkeys. Among these are the head-dress of god H
in Dresden 7c, of god E in Dresden 11e, of god C in Dresden 13b, of god
A in Dresden 23c, and a female divinity in Dresden 20a (Pl. 16, fig.
13). Schellhas (1904, p. 43) identifies these birds as vultures.
That the turkey is connected with the rain seems clear. This is
especially the case among the Nahuas. In the Aubin manuscript the rain
god, _Tlaloc_, often appears in the disguise of the turkey-cock
(_uexolotl_), and in the Vaticanus 3773, 14, the turkey (Pl. 16, fig. 7)
is represented in the "House of Rain," in contrast to the owl shown in
the "House of Drought" (Seler, 1902-1903, p. 75). It might be noted also
that Fewkes (1892, p. 228) shows that the turkey is emblematic of the
rain among the pueblo peoples. The same idea seems to be present among
the Mayas, as we note in the Tro-Cortesianus 10b (Pl. 16, fig. 2) the
turkey is pictured in the rain and surrounded on three sides by bands of
constellation signs.
Two methods of capturing the turkey are shown in the Tro-Cortesianus 93a
and 91a (Pl. 16, figs. 1, 3). By the first, the bird is captured alive
in a sort of wicker basket, which drops over it at the proper moment.
The second method is by the "twich-up" or snare, which consists of a
noose tied to a bent sapling and properly baited. In connection with Pl.
16, fig. 1, it may be suggested that possibly this represents a cage
rather than a trap, in which the bird is confined. The Lacandones at the
present time often keep their totem animals in captivity (Tozzer, 1907,
p. 40).