in the codices and elsewhere. Indeed, they are among the most common of
the birds depicted. Two species only seem to occur in the writings, the
king vulture and the black vulture. The former is a large black and
white bird with the head and the upper part of the neck unfeathered,
except for numerous short, almost bristle-like plumules. These naked
portions are often colored red and there is a large more or less
squarish fleshy knob at the base of the upper ramus of the beak. This
conspicuous protuberance has been seized upon as a characteristic in the
conventionalized figures, and serves to identify the king from the black
vulture. In addition, a series of concentric circles about the eye seems
to be a rather constant mark of the king vulture, though they are also
sometimes found in connection with figures which, from the absence of
the rostral knob, must represent black vultures (Pl. 18, figs. 18, 27;
Pl. 19, figs. 7, 10, 11). In the case of the bird shown in Pl. 19, fig.
1, the knob is hardly apparent, and the same is true of Pl. 19, fig. 13.
Both these may represent king vultures. A remarkable figure is that
shown in Pl. 17, fig. 4, in which an ocellated turkey and a king vulture
confront each other with necks intertwined. The short hair-like black
feathers of the head are represented in this as well as in Pl. 17, fig.
11, and in the glyph carved in stone (Pl. 17, fig. 10), which from the
presence of the knob is probably a king vulture. The characteristic knob
is shown in a variety of ways. Thus, in Pl. 17, fig. 1, it is greatly
developed and resembles a large horn with a falcate tip. In Pl. 17, fig.
4, it is sharply angular and nearly square. Frequently, it is a circle
with a centered ring surmounted by one or two additional rings or
terminated by a mitre-shaped structure (Pl. 17, figs. 2, 5-7, 8-12). A
very simple form was found in the carving shown in Pl. 17, fig. 13,
where a long projecting knob is seen at the base of the culmen.
The king vulture seems to have a part to play as a mythological being,
as it is pictured as a god with human body and bird head in the act of
cohabiting with a woman in Dresden 19a, and with a dog in Dresden 13c
(Pl. 17, fig. 3). Moreover, the same vulture god is represented on a
blue background and under a band of constellation signs in Dresden 38b,
and is also to be noted in Dresden 8a. Foerstemann (1906, p. 66) shows
that the thirteenth day of the Maya month is reached in the _tonalamatl_
reckoning at this place. This day is _Cib_, which corresponds to the
Nahua day _Cozcaquauhtli_, which has the meaning vulture, and here, as
previously noted, the vulture god is represented. In Tro-Cortesianus 22c
(Pl. 17, fig. 2) and 10a,[330-*] the king vulture appears alone, in the
first instance with a blue background, and in the second with a
background representing rain. Rain is also shown in connection with the
vulture god in Dresden 38b, and the black vulture in Tro-Cortesianus 18b
(Pl. 19, fig. 13).
The king vulture is found employed as a head-dress twice out of the
three times it appears in any connection with female figures,
Tro-Cortesianus 26c (Pl. 17, fig. 12) with male figure, and 94c (Pl. 17,
fig. 11) and 95c with female figures. The last two clearly have to do
with the baptism and naming of infants, as previously explained.
The study of the glyph used to indicate the vulture is interesting, for
we find it recurring again and again throughout the Maya codices and
often when there is no other drawing of the animal, as in Dresden 39c
(Pl. 17, fig. 5; Pl. 18, fig. 19). The first example (glyph 6) is
clearly the head of the king vulture, whereas the second (glyph 3) is
probably the head of the black vulture. The glyph in Dresden 38b (Pl.
17, fig. 7) appears in connection with the vulture god directly below
it. In Dresden 11b (Pl. 18, fig. 1), it occurs alone and no figure
appears in the usual place below. The _Tun_ period glyph (Pl. 17, fig.
10) frequently shows vulture characteristics especially in the nostril
of the face. The teeth, however, often appearing in the _Tun_ glyph
would be against this theory. The blending of bird and mammal
characteristics is not uncommon in the Maya drawings, however.
The Nahua day sign, _Cozcaquauhtli_, as previously noted, has the
meaning vulture, and we naturally find this bird frequently represented
in the Mexican codices. In the Nuttall Codex, the head of the king
vulture occurs repeatedly as a glyph for this day. In its less modified
forms (Pl. 18, figs. 2-4), the beak is merely a pair of flattened rami,
surmounted proximally by the conspicuous quadrangular knob. The minute
hair-like feathers on the otherwise naked head are shown as a fringe at
the throat and crown, while a conventionalized ear is represented
posteriorly. A series of interesting figures (Pl. 18, figs. 5-10)
illustrates steps in the further reduction of this head to a small glyph
in which only the beak with its large squarish knob remains (Pl. 18,
fig. 10).
BLACK VULTURE (_Catharista urubu_). It is difficult to assign any single
characteristic to the figures representing the black vulture (Maya,
_t[vs.]om_) other than the long raptorial beak. A number of drawings
probably depict black vultures, though this cannot be certainly
affirmed. Such are those shown in Pl. 18, figs. 11, 12, 14, 17; Pl. 19,
figs. 2-4, 13, 14. Stempell considers the vulture shown in Pl. 18, fig.
13, to be a king vulture, but it has no knob on the beak, and thus is
quite likely the black vulture. The fact that its head is shaped much
like that of the god with the king vulture head (Pl. 17, fig. 3) would
indicate merely the individuality of the artist. The coloring of the
species under discussion is uniformly black in the Dresden and
Tro-Cortesianus, except in certain cases where the birds are shown in
outline only, as in Pl. 19, fig. 12. It is not certain, however, that
these two last are black vultures, though they suggest the species. The
two birds shown in Pl. 19, figs. 5, 6, are almost surely black vultures,
and, as represented in the manuscript, are descending upon a man.
Stempell thinks they may be ravens, but this is very doubtful, for the
raven probably was unknown to the Mayas, since its range is to the
northward. What appears to be a crest is seen on the head of the bird in
Pl. 19, fig. 4. The black coloring and the shape of the bill otherwise
suggest the black vulture, though perhaps the crest would indicate the
harpy eagle. Similarly, Pl. 19, fig. 14, is provided with a sort of tuft
or crest, but its general appearance is suggestive of the vulture. A
pottery whistle (text fig. 2) from the Uloa Valley evidently represents
a black vulture. The head of the bird shows the characteristic wrinkled
appearance seen in the drawings, with the heavy beak. The absence of the
rostral knob would preclude its being a king vulture.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.
POTTERY WHISTLE, VULTURE. ULOA VALLEY, HONDURAS.]
It is natural that this bird should find an important place in the Maya
writing, as it is an abundant species in the region considered, and of
great importance as a scavenger. The black vulture seems to lack the
mythological character associated with the king vulture. It appears
usually in connection with death and in the role of a bird of prey. This
is especially true in the Tro-Cortesianus where in 24d, 26d (Pl. 19,
figs. 5, 6) and 28c, it is attacking a human being, in the first and
last cases represented as dead. In 86a and 87a, the bird is shown
plucking out the eye of a man. In Dresden 3a (Pl. 19, fig. 7), it
appears at the top of the tree above the human sacrifice and seems to be
in the act of consuming the victim. In Tro-Cortesianus 91c, it also
appears in a tree. In Tro-Cortesianus 40a (Pl. 17, fig. 9), and 42a (Pl.
19, fig. 1), it is shown as eating the entrails of a deer. In the first
case, the bird looks like a king vulture, although this is the only
instance where this species is shown as a bird of prey. In
Tro-Cortesianus 28b and 36b (Pl. 18, fig. 17), the black vulture appears
eating the Kan sign. In the first example, the _Kan_ represents the
newly sowed corn, in the second, the _Kan_ is held by god F. Landa
(1864, p. 230)[333-*] records that in the _Cauac_ year there was a
ceremony to prevent the ants and the birds devouring the corn. In
Dresden 34b and 35b, the vulture is shown on top of the head-dress of
god F, evidently the enemy of the harvest and, again, on 35b (Pl. 19,
fig. 4) on top of the _Cauac_ sign. Its role as a bird of prey is
further shown in Dresden 36b (Pl. 19, fig. 11), where it is shown
attacking a serpent.
This vulture is associated with god B in Dresden 69b, with god M in
Tro-Cortesianus 70a (Pl. 18, fig. 12), and with god D in Tro-Cortesianus
67a (Pl. 17, fig. 1). The last may be the king rather than the black
vulture, as suggested above. The black vulture occurs only once as the
usual head-dress, in Dresden 17b (Pl. 18, fig. 13), and here in
connection with a female figure and the idea of birth. Two birds,
probably vultures, appear over the enclosure around the head of god C in
Tro-Cortesianus 100b (Pl. 19, fig. 12). In the Lower Chamber of the
Temple of the Tigers occurs a black vulture in bas-relief with a
necklace represented (Pl. 19, fig. 14).
The glyph of the king vulture has already been discussed. There are
other glyphs which seem to show the black vulture, although it is quite
possible that no sharp distinction was made between the two in regard
to the glyphs at least. In one case (Pl. 18, fig. 18), the wrinkled skin
of the head and neck is indicated much as in the case of the king
vulture. A few other glyphs are shown (Pl. 18, figs. 16, 19, 22, 27), as
well as a variety from the Nuttall Codex in which the minute hair-like
feathers of the head are variously represented, usually much exaggerated
as a sort of crest or comb. Pl. 18, fig. 22, is interesting as being the
only case in the Maya codices where the whole figure is shown in the
glyph. As noted in the case of the glyphs of the king vulture, the
greater number of these occur quite alone. They seem to indicate that a
full drawing of the bird is meant to be understood as occurring below.
Several of the carved glyphs (Pl. 19, figs. 8-10) show the black vulture
heads in some detail with the conspicuously open nostril and hooked
beak. A carving of the entire bird may be shown on Stela D from Copan
(Pl. 28, fig. 5), where the naked head and neck are marked off by lines
indicating wrinkled skin. The same lines on the neck of the bird
depicted on Pl. 28, fig. 2, will probably identify it as a vulture, and,
if the square ornament above the beak certainly is part of the figure,
it is unquestionably the king vulture. The knob is not, however, clearly
on the bird's beak. There are two interesting glyphs which occur on the
eastern facade of the Monjas at Chichen Itza. The glyphs in this
inscription are unlike the usual Maya hieroglyphs, although several of
the so-called constellation signs can be made out. The two glyphs in
question represent the entire body possibly of a vulture, that on Pl.
17, fig. 13, probably the king vulture, and that on Pl. 18, fig. 14, the
black vulture.
HARPY EAGLE (_Thrasaetos harpyia_). In the Nuttall Codex, what is
undoubtedly the harpy eagle is of frequent occurrence. This great bird
is not uncommon in the forests of southern Mexico and Central America,
and must have attracted the notice of the people from its size. The
elongated feathers at the back of the head form a conspicuous crest, a
feature that characterizes this species in most of the representations.
A stone carving from Chichen Itza (Pl. 20, fig. 10) pictures a harpy
eagle eating an egg-shaped object, and another similarly engaged is
copied from the Codex Vaticanus 3773 (Pl. 20, fig. 14). The former is
considered to be a vulture by Maudslay, but the presence of feathers
covering the head excludes this interpretation. In two stone glyphs (Pl.
20, fig. 1, 3), occurs a large bird apparently devouring something held
in its talons, as in Pl. 20, fig. 10. From this general resemblance, it
seems probable that both represent the harpy, although no crests are
shown on the glyphs. In the Dresden and the Tro-Cortesianus occur a few
figures of crested birds that probably are the same species. The crest
feathers are reduced to two, however, or, in some cases, what may be a
third projecting forward from the base of the bill (Pl. 20, figs. 5, 7,
12, 13). The last two figures are not certainly identifiable, though it
is probable that they represent the harpy.
The eagle seems to be the bird associated with warriors in the codices.
Seler (1900-1901, p. 89) notes that the eagle and the jaguar are both
the mark of brave warriors among the Nahuas. In the Aubin manuscript,
the warrior god, _Yaotl_, is always associated with the eagle
(_quauhtli_). In the Maya pantheon, god M is usually considered the war
god, as he is almost always armed with a spear. He is seen in Dresden 74
(Pl. 20, fig. 13), and in Tro-Cortesianus 109c with an eagle as a
head-dress. There are other gods, however, who wear a similar head
covering. God L appears in Dresden 14b (Pl. 20, fig. 7) and again in 14c
(Pl. 20, fig. 5) with an eagle head-dress. God D in Dresden 23c (Pl. 20,
fig. 11) has an eagle coming from a _Tun_ sign on top of his head. The
eagle is probably represented at the prow of a boat in Dresden 43c (Pl.
20, fig. 12) in which god B is rowing. In Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 20,
fig. 4), a bird which may represent the eagle appears sitting on a
_Cimi_ (death) sign. Above in the glyphs the character for the south is
shown. Here, clearly, there is some connection between the signs of the
cardinal points in the line of glyphs and the various creatures pictured
below.
There seems to be only one glyph which can in any way be taken for that
of the eagle in the Maya manuscripts and this appears only once, in
Tro-Cortesianus 107c (Pl. 20, fig. 9). This identification may be
questioned, as there is no drawing of an eagle associated with the
glyph. Attention has already been called to the two stone glyphs in Pl.
20, figs. 1, 3. There are various drawings of the glyph for the eagle in
the Nahua and Zapotecan codices (Pl. 20, fig. 8), as the Nahua day,
_Quauhtli_, has the meaning eagle. It is interesting to note in the
glyph from the Nuttall Codex (Pl. 20, fig. 8) the tips of the feathers
are crowned with stone points, a frequent way of representing birds of
prey among the Mexican peoples.
YUCATAN HORNED OWL (_Bubo virginianus mayensis_). Stempell makes a
serious mistake by confusing the eared owl shown in full face with that
shown in profile in the drawings, for he considers both to represent the
great horned owl. The figures are, however, quite different in every
way. The owl in full face view is unquestionably the great horned owl
(Maya, _ikim_), the Yucatan form of which is recognized by the
subspecific title _mayensis_. This is the bird opposed to the
"Moan-bird" which, as will be shown later, is associated with death. In
Pl. 21 are some truly remarkable figures which seem to represent this
horned owl, the first modelled in stucco from Palenque, the second
carved in stone from Yaxchilan, and the third carved in wood from Tikal.
Figs. 1 and 3 show the bird in flight with extended wings. The two
erectile tufts of feathers or "horns" are conspicuously represented in
fig. 3, at either side of the bird's head and between them the flat top
of the crown is secondarily divided in like manner into three parts,
representing the "horns" and the top of the head. The beetling brows,
heavy hooked beak, and spread talons combine to give a fierce and
spirited mien to the great bird. Pl. 21, fig. 2, may be a greatly
conventionalized owl in which the essential characteristics of the bird
are reproduced in a rectangular design. The large bill is conspicuous in
the center, and in each upper corner terminates one of the ears. The
eyes are represented by rectangular areas at the base of the bill, each
with three vertical bars across it. Below the beak, or at either side of
the tip, are the feet, each with the claw cross-hatched. What seem to be
the reduced and highly conventionalized wings fill the lower corner of
each side of the figure.
The shield in the center of the Tablet of the Sun at Palenque (Pl. 22,
fig. 6) shows a face in which the motif seems to be the full-face view
of the horned owl. The hooked bill curves over the mouth at each side of
which is the curious scroll seen in the same connection in the figures
of Pl. 21. The ears are somewhat shorter in proportion than usual and
below each, at the sides of the face, is a large ear-plug, similar to
that elsewhere found. The eyes are still further conventionalized with a
decorative scroll surrounding each. Another example of the
conventionalized owl's head is on Stela 1 from Cankuan (Maler, 1908, Pl.
13). We are not yet ready to advance an explanation of the reason why
the owl should occupy such a prominent position in the art of the Mayas.
In only one case is the horned owl found in the Maya manuscripts. In
Tro-Cortesianus 95c (Pl. 22, fig. 2), this owl appears as the head-dress
of a woman in that portion of the codex where baptism and naming are
shown. An owl's head seems to be shown on the end of a warrior's staff
in the bas-relief of the Lower Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers at
Chichen Itza (Pl. 22, fig. 4). Pl. 22, figs. 5, 7, show two owls from
the Aubin manuscript; the first is considered to be the screech owl
(_chiqualli_) and the second the horned owl (_tecolotl_, in Nahuatl).
Pl. 22, figs. 1, 3, show two drawings of owls from Nahua manuscripts.
YUCATAN SCREECH OWL or MOAN BIRD (_Otus choliba thompsoni_). A second
species of owl is represented by the figures on Pl. 23. This has
likewise two feathered tufts or "ears" on its head and is always shown
with the head, at least, in profile, but the tufts one in front, the
other at the back of the head. The facial disc is not very prominent the
beak rather long, the tail short, and the plumage somewhat mottled. A
dark ring usually surrounds the eye. It is, with little doubt, the
screech owl, the only other form of eared owl commonly met with in the
Central American region, and in Yucatan is represented by the race above
indicated. This owl, under the name of the Moan bird,[338-*] is always
associated with the idea of death among the Mayas. The familiarity of
this species and its mournful quavering cry uttered at night have no
doubt led to its association with death and mystery as with owls in
other parts of the world.
This Moan bird has an important place in the Maya pantheon, as it is the
representative in many places of god A, the Death god. It appears with a
human body in Dresden 7c (Pl. 23, fig. 1), 10a (Pl. 23, fig. 8), and 11a
(Pl. 23, fig. 3) and in Tro-Cortesianus 66a (Pl. 23, fig. 2). In each of
these places, it occupies the space in which one of the regular gods is
usually found. In Dresden 10a, the day reached in the _tonalamatl_
reckoning is _Cimi_, meaning death, and here, as has been noted, is
found the Moan bird, the symbol of death, with another sign of death in
the circle just above the head of the bird (Pl. 23, fig. 8).
This owl is used as a head-dress itself, but always for women, Dresden
16a (Pl. 23, fig. 19), 18b (Pl. 23, fig. 5), Tro-Cortesianus 94c (Pl.
23, fig. 4), and 95c (Pl. 23, fig. 20). It occurs in both manuscripts in
the pages mentioned several times before, where birth, baptism, and the
naming of children are shown. The curious figure, with a head similar to
Pl. 23, fig. 21, carried on the back of some of the women, is the Moan
sign, referring to the idea of death, possibly to still-birth, as
copulation and birth are shown in this section of the codex (Dresden
18c, 19c). The Moan is found associated with man only once in the
manuscripts. In Tro-Cortesianus 73b (Pl. 23, fig. 18), he is found
perching on a curious frame-like structure in which god B is sitting.
There are several glyphs representing the Moan bird or screech owl; the
first type is easily identifiable, as the head of the bird is clearly
pictured (Pl. 23, figs. 11-14, 16). This head is frequently associated
with the number thirteen (Dresden 8b). It may occur in the line of
glyphs (Dresden 16c), and refer to the Moan pictured below, or it may
occur in the line of glyphs with no picture corresponding to it below
(Dresden 53b). Pl. 23, fig. 15, from Dresden 38c has been placed with
these drawings, although the identification is not certain. It may
refer, however, to the large Moan head below, on which god B is sitting
(Pl. 23, fig. 11). The second type of glyph does not resemble in any way
the Moan, but they are clearly signs for it, as they are often found in
connection with the picture of the Moan, Dresden 7c (Pl. 23, figs. 6, 7,
21) and 10a. In both places fig. 7 is associated with the number
thirteen. Schellhas also places Pl. 23, fig. 17, among the Moan signs.
[Illustration: FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6.
GLYPHS OF MONTH MUAN SHOWING MOAN-BIRD CHARACTERISTICS.]
One of the eighteen Maya months is named Muan, and some of the glyphs
appearing for this month in the codices certainly represent the Moan or
screech owl. This is especially so with text figs. 3-6. Foerstemann
(1904a) considers that the month Muan and, consequently, the sign as
well, refer to the Pleiades.
In connection with the screech owl referring to death, it is interesting
to note that among the Nahuas the owl is considered of unlucky augury
and is usually found in the "House of Death" and "of Drought", as
contrasted with the turkey, considered as a bird of good fortune, and
found in the "House of Rain."
COPPERY-TAILED TROGAN or QUETZAL (_Pharomacrus mocinno_). The quetzal is
common locally in certain parts of southern Mexico. Its brilliant
metallic green plumage and the greatly elongated tail feathers make it a
very notable bird. The feathers of the head are erect and stand out as a
light crest, those of the anterior portion being slightly recurved. The
delicate erect feathers of the head are well indicated in Vaticanus
3773, 17 (Pl. 24, fig. 9) and the tail, also, in this figure, is only
slightly conventionalized with an upward instead of the natural downward
sweep. In most of the representations, the crest feathers are
indicatd[TN-7] by large plumes, the most anterior of which project
forward. They may be even further modified into three knobs shown in
Dresden 7c (Pl. 24, fig. 1). The two characteristics of the quetzal,
namely its erect head feathers and its extraordinarily long tail
feathers, are often used separately. Thus the tail, which is commonly
drawn with the outer feather of each side strongly curled forward,
appears by itself in Pl. 24, fig. 8, or it may be seen as a plume in the
head-dress of a priest or warrior and in other connections as an
ornament. A greatly conventionalized drawing of the bird is also shown
in Pl. 24, fig. 11, in which the head bears a curious knob and the
dorsal feather of the tail is upcurled in the manner of the other
drawings. It is not at once apparent why the long drooping tail feathers
should be shown thus recurved. Possibly these feathers, when used by the
Mayas for plumes, curled over by their own weight, if held erect, so
that the representations are a compromise between the natural appearance
and that when used as ornament in the head decoration.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.
QUETZAL, TEMPLE OF THE CROSS, PALENQUE.]