tapirs occur in the manuscripts here considered. Possibly tapirs did
not live in the country occupied by the Maya peoples. At the present
time they are found only to the south of Yucatan. In Central America
Baird's and Dow's tapirs are native, the latter, however, more on the
Pacific coast. We have included a drawing of an earthenware vessel (Pl.
28, fig. 1) that represents a tapir, about whose neck is a string of
Oliva shells. The short prehensile trunk of the tapir is well made and
the hoofs are likewise shown. A greatly elongated nose is found in many
of the drawings of the deities, but it does not seem clear that these
represent trunks of tapirs, or, as suggested by Stempell, mastodons! Two
such heads are shown in Pl. 39, figs. 7, 9. These offer a considerable
superficial resemblance to that of a tapir, but as no other drawings
that might be considered to represent this animal are found, it seems
very questionable if the long noses are other than parts of grotesque
masks. The superficial resemblance of the curious nose pieces of the
masks on the panel of the Maya facades to elephants' trunks does not
seem to us especially significant, as otherwise the carvings are quite
unlike elephants. They have no great tusks as an elephant should, but,
instead, short recurved teeth similar to those representing peccary
tusks, as already pointed out.
RABBIT (_Sylvilagus_ or _Lepus_). Rabbits and hares from their
familiarity, their long ears, and their peculiar method of locomotion,
seem always to attract the notice of primitive peoples. Several species
occur in Mexico, including the Marsh rabbit (_Sylvilagus truei_; _S.
insonus_), various races of the Cottontail rabbit (_S. floridanus
connectens_; _S. f. chiapensis_, _S. f. yucatanicus_; _S. aztecus_; _S.
orizabae_, etc.) and several Jack rabbits (_Lepus alleni pallitans_; _L.
callotis flavigularis_, _L. asellus_). It is, of course, quite
impossible to determine to which of these species belong the few
representations found. Several drawings, shown in Pl. 30, figs. 3, 4, 7,
8, are at once identifiable as rabbits from their long ears, round
heads, and the presence of the prominent gnawing teeth.[354-*] In two
of the figures (Pl. 30, figs. 7, 8), the entire animal is shown, sitting
erect on its haunches, the first with one ear in advance of the other, a
trait more characteristic of the jack rabbit than of the short-eared
rabbits. For convenience of comparison, we have placed beside these two
figures one of a deer in much the same position. It is at once
distinguished, however, by its long head, longer bushy tail, and by the
marks at each end of the eye. What at first sight appear to be two
gnawing teeth of the rabbit seem to be the incisors of the lower jaw.
This is the animal identified by Stempell as a dog.
The animal shown to be a rabbit in Dresden 61 (Pl. 30, fig. 8) is
pictured seated on the open jaws of a serpent in the same way as the
peccary on the following page. These two animals, together with two
representations of god B and the black god (Dresden 61), are each
clearly connected with the serpents on which they are sitting.
The Nahua day _Tochtli_ signifies rabbit and naturally the animal occurs
throughout the Mexican manuscripts as representing this day (Pl. 30,
figs. 3, 4).
OTHER RODENTS. We have included in Pl. 29, figs. 5, 7, 8, three
undetermined mammals. The second of these is characterized by the two
prominent gnawing teeth of a rodent and by its long tail. It may
represent a pack rat (_Neotoma_) of which many species are described
from Mexico. In its rounded ears and long tail, fig. 5 somewhat
resembles fig. 7, but it lacks the gnawing incisors. Still less
satisfactory is fig. 8 from Tro-Cortesianus 24d, at whose identity it
seems unsafe to hazard a guess. It is shown as eating the corn being
sowed by god D.
JAGUAR (_Felis hernandezi_; _F. h. goldmani_). Throughout its range, the
jaguar (Maya, _balam_ or _t[vs]akmul_) is the most dreaded of the
carnivorous mammals. It is, therefore, natural that the Mayas held it in
great awe and used it as a symbol of strength and courage. A few
characteristic figures are shown in Pl. 34, figs. 1-3; Pl. 35, figs.
5-14. The species represented is probably _Felis hernandezi_, the
Mexican race of jaguar, or one or the other of the more or less nominal
varieties named from Central America. The distinguishing mark of the
jaguar, in addition to the general form with the long tail, short ears
and claws, is the presence of the rosette-like spots. These are
variously conventionalized as solid black markings, as small circles, or
as a central spot ringed by a circle of dots (Pl. 35, fig. 12).
Frequently the solid black spots are used, either in a line down the
back and tail or scattered over the body. The tip of the tail is
characteristically black, and the teeth are often prominent. Such a
figure as this (Pl. 35, fig. 10) Stempell considers to be a water
opossum (_Chironectes_), for the reason that it is held by the goddess
from whose breast water is flowing. This can hardly be, however, for not
only are the markings unlike those of the water opossum, but the large
canine tooth indicates a large carnivore. Moreover, the water opossum is
a small animal, hardly as big as a rat, of shy and retiring habits, and
so is unlikely to figure in the drawings of the Mayas.
As for the significance of the jaguar in the life of the Mayas, it may
be said that this animal seems to have played a most prominent part. At
Chichen Itza, the building on top of the southern end of the eastern
wall of the Ball Court, usually called the Temple of the Tigers, has a
line of jaguars carved in stone as frieze around the outside of the
building, and in the Lower Chamber of the same structure, the figure of
a jaguar (Maudslay, III, Pl. 43) serves as an altar. The front legs and
the head of a jaguar often are seen as the support of a seat or altar on
which a god is represented as at Palenque in the Palace, House E
(Maudslay, IV, Pl. 44) and in the Temple of the Beau Relief (Holmes,
1895-1897, Pl. 20). Altar F at Copan (Pl. 35, fig. 7) shows the same
idea. The head of a puma or jaguar (Pl. 34, fig. 6) appears in the
bas-relief of the Lower Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers, evidently
representing a part of an altar. A realistic carving of a jaguar was
found on a stone near the Temple of the Cones at Chichen Itza (Maudslay,
III, Pl. 52, fig. a), and another occurs near the present hacienda of
Chichen Itza carved in relief on a ledge of rock.
In the Maya manuscripts the jaguar appears in a number of connections.
Its mythological character is shown in Dresden 8a (Pl. 35, fig. 5),
where it is pictured as the _tonalamatl_ figure. The day reached here in
the reckoning is _Ix_, and this corresponds to the Nahua _Oceolotl_,
which means jaguar. In Dresden 26, in the pages showing the ceremonies
of the years, the jaguar is carried on the back of the priest, evidently
representing one of the year bearers (_Ti cuch haab_). Balam, the name
of the jaguar, is the title given to the four _Bacabs_ or _Chacs_, the
gods of the four cardinal points. In Tro-Cortesianus 64a, two jaguar
heads are noted as the end of curious bands of _Caban_ signs over a
flaming pot. The second one is shown as dead. A jaguar head is employed
in two places in the Tro-Cortesianus, 34a and 36a, as a head-dress for a
god who is in the act of sowing corn. This animal appears very
infrequently in the pages of the Tro-Cortesianus given over to the
hunting scenes, 41c, 40c, 43b, and, even here, it never appears in the
same way as the deer and peccary, as an animal for sacrifice.
The jaguar as a predacious beast is noted in Tro-Cortesianus 28b (Pl.
35, fig. 8), where it is attacking god F in a similar way as the
vultures in the preceding picture. The jaguar appears in Tro-Cortesianus
30b (Pl. 35, fig. 10) seated on the right hand of the goddess from whose
breasts water is flowing. The figure in Tro-Cortesianus 12b between the
various offerings may be a jaguar or a dog, more probably from its
connection with an offering, the dog. A curious modification of the
jaguar may be shown in Tro-Cortesianus 20a (Pl. 34, fig. 2), where a god
is seated on the gaping jaws of some animal whose identity is uncertain.
It may be a serpent, although the black-tipped tail from which the head
appears to come certainly suggests the jaguar.
There are several carved glyphs in stone that probably represent
jaguars. Two of these (Pl. 28, fig. 4; Pl. 35, fig. 9) have the
characteristic round spots, but others are unmarked, and suggest the
jaguar by their general character only (Pl. 35, fig. 6). This latter
may, of course, represent the puma quite as well. A realistic jaguar
head appears as a glyph in Tro-Cortesianus 2a (Pl. 35, fig. 13). The
more usual glyph for the jaguar is more highly conventionalized,
although the spots and the short rounded ear are still characteristic
(Pl. 35, fig. 11). A slight modification of this glyph appears in
Dresden 8a in connection with the full drawing of the animal below.
The Nahua day _Oceolotl_, as already noted, means jaguar, and the jaguar
glyph is found among the day signs (Pl. 34, fig. 3). Seler (1904, p.
379) associates the jaguar in the Vaticanus and the Bologna with
_Tezcatlipoca_. He notes that the second age of the world, in which the
giants lived and in which _Tezcatlipoca_ shone as the sun, is called the
"jaguar sun." _Tezcatlipoca_ is supposed to have changed himself into a
jaguar.
PUMA (_Felis bangsi costaricensis_). As shown by Stempell, there can be
little doubt that some one of the mainly nominal species of Central
American puma is represented in Dresden 47 (Pl. 34, fig. 7). This animal
is colored reddish in the original, as is the puma, is without spots,
although the tip of the tail, as in the pictures of the jaguar, is
black. The animal is represented as being transfixed with a
spear.[358-*] Another animal colored red in Dresden 41c seems to
represent a puma. God B is shown seated upon him. A crude figure from
the Painted Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers (Pl. 34, fig. 5) is
probably the same species of puma. The cleverly executed head, shown in
profile in Pl. 34, fig. 6, is also perhaps the same animal, although it
may possibly represent the jaguar. One or the other of these two cats is
also intended, in Pl. 34, fig. 4, a drawing of a piece of pottery.
COYOTE (_Canis_). Two figures from the Nuttall Codex have been included
as possibly representing coyotes (Pl. 35, figs. 1, 2). They are chiefly
characterized by their prominent ears and bristling hair, and seem to be
engaged in active combat. Coyotes of several species occur in Mexico and
though not generally regarded as aggressive animals are of a predacious
nature. No drawings of the coyote have been noted in the Maya codices.
DOG (_Canis_). The dog (Maya, _peq_) evidently played an important part
in the life of the Mayas as it does with other races of men generally.
On Pls. 36, 37, we have included certain figures of dogs from several
manuscripts. These may represent two breeds, for it is well known that
both a hairy and a hairless variety were found by the early discoverers
in Mexico.[359-*] Hairiness is more or less clearly indicated in the
following figures:--Pl. 36, figs. 1-7, 12; Pl. 37, figs. 4, 5. The
figures of dogs usually agree in having a black mark about the eyes that
frequently is produced as a downward curved tongue from the posterior
canthus. Sometimes, as in Pl. 37, figs. 1-3, 10, this tongue is not
blackened. Commonly also black patches are elsewhere distributed on the
body, generally on the back. These markings are probably the patches of
color separated by white areas that occur frequently in dogs or other
animals after long domestication.[359-[+]] We have included among the
figures of dogs two in which the eye is differently represented and
which are unspotted (Pl. 37, figs. 4, 6). These modifications may have
some special significance, but otherwise the animals appear most closely
to represent dogs.
We have already suggested that the animal attired in man's clothing, and
walking erect in Dresden 25a-28a is likewise a dog, though Stempell
believes it to represent the opossum in support of which he calls
attention to its prominent vibrissae and slightly curled tail.
The dog played a large part in the religion both of the Mayas and the
Mexican peoples. It was connected especially with the idea of death and
destruction. The Lacandones of the present time make a small figure of a
dog to place on the grave (Tozzer, 1907, p. 47). This is but one of the
many survivals of the ancient pre-Columbian religion found among this
people. The dog was regarded as the messenger to prepare the way to the
other world. Seler (1900-1901, pp. 82-83) gives an interesting parallel
of the Nahua idea of the dog and his connection with death. He
paraphrases Sahagun as follows: "The native Mexican dogs barked, wagged
their tails, in a word, behaved in all respects like our own dogs, were
kept by the Mexicans not only as house companions, but above all, for
the shambles, and also in Yucatan and on the coast land for sacrifice.
The importance that the dog had acquired in the funeral rites may
perhaps have originated in the fact that, as the departed of both sexes
were accompanied by their effects, the prince by the women and slaves in
his service, so the dog was assigned to the grave as his master's
associate, friend, and guard, and that the persistence of this custom in
course of time created the belief that the dog stood in some special
relation to the kingdom of the dead. It may also be that, simply because
it was the practice to burn the dead, the dog was looked on as the Fire
God's animal and the emblem of fire, the natives got accustomed to speak
of him as the messenger to prepare the way in the kingdom of the dead,
and thus eventually to regard him as such. At the time when the
Spaniards made their acquaintance, it was the constant practice of the
Mexicans to commit to the grave with the dead a dog who had to be of a
red-yellow color, and had a string of unspun cotton round his neck, and
was first killed by the thrust of a dart in his throat. The Mexicans
believed that four years after death, when the soul had already passed
through many dangers on its way to the underworld, it came at last to
the bank of a great river, the Chicunauhapan, which encircled the
underworld proper. The souls could get across this river only when they
were awaited by their little dog, who, recognizing his master on the
opposite side, rushed into the water to bring him over." (Sahagun, 3
Appendix, Chap. 1.)
As might be expected from the foregoing, there are abundant evidences in
the manuscripts of the presence of the dog in the various religious
rites and especially those which have to do with the other world, the
Kingdom of the Dead. In Tro-Cortesianus 35b, 36b, 37a, 37b, the pages
showing the rites of the four years, the dog appears in various
attitudes. In 35b and 36b, it bears on his back the _Imix_ and _Kan_
signs, in 37a (Pl. 37, fig. 8) it is shown as beating a drum and
singing, in 37b (Pl. 36, fig. 2) it is beside a bowl containing _Kan_
signs. In all of these places, the dogs seem to be represented among the
various birds and animals which are to be sacrificed for the new years.
Landa (1864, p. 216)[361-*] states that in the _Kan_ year a dog was
sacrificed. In the _Muluc_ year, Landa (1864, p. 222)[361-[+]] records
that they offered dogs made of clay with bread upon their backs and a
_perrito_ which had black shoulders and was a virgin. It has already
been noted that two of the dogs represented in Tro-Cortesianus 35b and
36b have a _Kan_ and _Imix_ sign fastened to the back. Moreover, we have
also pointed out that the _Kan_ sign frequently seems to have the
meaning of maize or bread. It will be noted that in Tro-Cortesianus 36b
two human feet are shown on each of which is a dog-like
animal.[361-[++]] These may indicate the dance in which dogs were
carried as noted by Landa. Cogolludo (1688, p. 184)[361-Sec.] also mentions
a similar dance. Still another reference in Landa (1864, p. 260)[362-*]
mentions that in the months _Muan_ and _Pax_ dogs were sacrificed to the
deities.
Reference has already been made to the identification of the four
priests at the top of Dresden 25-28 as having the heads of dogs rather
than of opossums. It may be suggested that in the role of the conductor
to the other world the dog is represented as carrying on his back in
each case the year which has just been completed and therefore is dead.
This, of course, would necessitate the identification of god B, the
jaguar, god E, and god A as representing in turn the four years.
The dog, according to Sahagun's account (p. 360) was looked upon as the
"Fire God's animal," and as an emblem of fire. This idea is seen
frequently in the Maya manuscripts where the dog with firebrands in his
paws or attached to his tail is coming head downward from a line of
constellation signs, as in Dresden 36a (Pl. 37, fig. 3), 40b (Pl. 37,
fig. 1) or is standing beneath similar signs as in Dresden 39a (Pl. 37,
fig. 2) and probably in Tro-Cortesianus 13a. His tail alone has the
firebrand in Tro-Cortesianus 36b. Firebrands are carried by figures
which have been identified by us as dogs in Tro-Cortesianus 24c (Pl. 37,
fig. 6), 25c, and 90a. Here the animal is represented as in the air
holding his firebrands over a blazing altar beside which god F is
seated. In two out of the four cases, F is shown as dead. The dog in
these latter examples has his eye composed of the _Akbal_ sign. This
same glyph can also be made out with difficulty on the forehead of the
dog shown in Dresden 36a (Pl. 37, fig. 3). As has been noted, _Akbal_
means night and possibly death as well. It is certain that destruction
is indicated in the preceding examples as well as in Tro-Cortesianus 87a
and 88a (Pl. 37, fig. 4) where the dog is holding four human figures by
the hair.
Beyer (1908, pp. 419-422) has identified the dog as the Pleiades and
various other suggestions have been made that the dog represents some
constellation. The more common form of spotted dog is shown as a single
_tonalamatl_ figure in Tro-Cortesianus 25d and 27d (Pl. 36, fig. 14) and
an unspotted variety in Dresden 7a (Pl. 37, fig. 10). The dog is
frequently shown as copulating with another animal or with a female
figure. In Dresden 13c (Pl. 37, fig. 7) the second figure is a vulture,
in Dresden 21b (Pl. 37, fig. 5) it is a woman and also in
Tro-Cortesianus 91c (Pl. 36, fig. 12).
The same animal appears also in a number of scenes not included in the
preceding. In Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 36, fig. 1) a dog is seated on a
crab and seems to be connected with the idea of the north as this sign
is noted above the figure; in Tro-Cortesianus 66b (Pl. 36, fig. 3) a dog
and another animal (Pl. 32, fig. 3) are seated back to back under a
shelter; in Tro-Cortesianus 30b a dog is seated on the right foot of the
woman from whose breasts water is streaming; in Dresden 29a (Pl. 37,
fig. 12) god B is shown seated on a dog; and, finally, in Dresden 30a
(Pl. 37, fig. 9) god B holds the bound dog by the tail over an altar.
The dog appears from numerous references to be used in connection with a
prayer for rain. Comargo (1843) in his history of Tlaxcallan states that
when rain failed, a procession was held in which a number of hairless
dogs were carried on decorated litters to a place devoted to their use.
There they were sacrificed to the god of water and the bodies were
eaten.
The glyphs associated with the dog are interesting as we have, as in the
case with the deer, one showing a realistic drawing of a dog's head in
Tro-Cortesianus 91d (Pl. 37, fig. 13) and several others far more
difficult of interpretation. Pl. 37, fig. 11, seems to stand for the dog
as it is found in several places where the dog appears below, Dresden
21b, 40b. It is thought by some to represent the ribs of a dog which
appear in somewhat similar fashion in Pl. 37, fig. 8. Some of the
glyphs in the codices for the month _Kankin_ show the same element (text
figs. 8-10).
[Illustration: Figs. 8, 9, 10.
GLYPHS FOR MAYA MONTH KANKIN (RIBS OF DOG).]
The Nahua day sign _Itzcuintli_ signifies dog and corresponds to the
Maya Oc (Pl. 36, figs. 9-11). This in turn is considered by many to
stand for the dog as the animal of death and signifies the end. The
sore, cropped ears of the domesticated dog are supposed to be
represented in this sign, Oc. Nahua and other day signs for _Itzcuintli_
(dog) are shown in Pl. 36, figs. 4, 6, 13.
BEAR (_Ursus machetes_; _U. horriaeus_). In northern Mexico, in
Chihuahua and Sonora, occur a black bear (_Ursus machetes_) and the
Sonoran grizzly (_U. horriaeus_). It is unlikely that the Mayas had much
acquaintance with these animals since they range more to the northward
than the area of Maya occupation. Stempell has identified as a bear, a
figure in Dresden 37a (Pl. 35, fig. 3). This represents a creature with
the body of a man walking erect but with the head apparently of some
carnivorous mammal, as shown by the prominent canine tooth. This appears
as a _tonalamatl_ figure. The resemblance to a bear is not very clear.
Less doubt attaches to the figure shown in Pl. 35, fig. 4, which seems
almost certainly to depict a bear. The stout body, absence of a tail,
the plantigrade hind feet, and stout claws, all seem to proclaim it a
bear of one of the two species above mentioned. This picture is found in
connection with one of the warriors shown in the bas-relief of the Lower
Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza. It seems clearly to
designate the figure in much the same way as figures are named in the
Mexican writings, _i.e._, by having a glyph showing this nearby.
Attention has already been called to the fact that here at Chichen Itza,
and, especially on this bas-relief, there is much which shows a strong
influence from the north. The two figures in Tro-Cortesianus 43a are
probably bears. Foerstemann (1902, p. 68) considers that they are men
masked as _Chacs_ or _Bacabs_.
LEAF-NOSED BAT (_Vampyrus spectrum_; _Artibeus jamaicensis_; or
_Phyllostomus hastatus panamensis_). Several remarkably diabolical
representations of bats (Maya, _so[c]_, usually written _zotz_) occur
among the Maya remains. These all show the prominent nose leaf
distinguishing the family _Phyllostomatidae_ and, as the Mayas probably
used the largest and most conspicuous of the native species for artistic
representation, it is likely that some one of the three species above
mentioned is the one here shown.
[Illustration: FIGS. 11, 12, 13, 14.
GLYPHS FOR MAYA MONTH ZOTZ (BATS).]
The bat had a place in the Maya pantheon. One of the months of the Maya
year (_Zotz_) was named after this animal and the glyph for this month
shows the characteristic nasal appendage. This is to be seen more
clearly in the glyphs selected from the stone inscriptions (Pl. 38,
figs. 1, 2, 4-6) than in those from the codices (text figs. 11-14)
although the nose leaf is still visible in the latter. The day sign
_Akbal_ (night) occurs as the eye in the figures from the manuscripts. A
carving showing the whole body of the bat is used as a glyph in Stela D
from Copan (Pl. 38, fig. 3). This may also represent the Bat god who is
associated with the underworld, "the god of the caverns." This god is
pictured on the "Vase of Chama" (Pl. 38, fig. 7) figured by Dieseldorff
(1904, pp. 665-666) and by Gordon (1898, Pl. III). Seler (1904a) has
discussed the presence of this god among the Mayas, the Zapotecs, and
the Nahuas. The bat does not seem to occur in the Maya manuscripts as a
god, although there are glyphs which seem to refer to this god (Dresden
17b), as pointed out by Seler, when there is no other representation of
this deity.
No doubt in the times of the Maya civilization, these bats haunted the
temples by day as they do now, and thus became readily endowed with a
religious significance.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.
POTTERY WHISTLE, APE. FROM ULOA VALLEY, HONDURAS.]
CAPUCHIN MONKEY (_Cebus capucinus,--C. hypoleucus_ Auct.)[TN-10] With the
possible exception of one or two figures, monkeys (Maya, _maa[vs]_ or
_baa[c]_) are not represented in the Maya codices examined. In
Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 39, fig. 4) occurs a curious nondescript animal
with what seem to be hoofs on the forefeet, a somewhat bushy tail of
moderate length, and a head that appears to be distinctly bonneted,
somewhat as in the representations of the capuchin. Stempell regards
this as a monkey, though recognizing that the short bushy tail is unlike
that of any Central American species. The figure seems quite as likely a
peccary or possibly a combination of a deer with some other animal. A
glyph (Pl. 39, fig. 5) found directly above the figure just referred
to, suggests a monkey, though it cannot be surely identified. A pottery
whistle from the Uloa Valley (text fig. 15) shows two monkeys standing
side by side with a posterior extension for the mouth piece. Their heads
are shaped as in other representations of this monkey with a distinct
cap or bonnet and facial discs. A pottery stamp from the same locality
shows a monkey with a long tail (Gordon, 1898, Pl. 11, fig. f). It
recalls the drawings of monkeys given by Strebel (1899, Pls. 1-4).