Either reading is dubious. The scribe divided the lower half of page 3 into
two parts, and drew in each the outline of five days; but then he saw that,
to continue his work, he needed a long surface extending from left to
right, and he therefore omitted filling in these two sections.
Pages 4a--10a.
We have here a normal Tonalamatl, which, however, was evidently meant by
the author to serve a very special purpose, since he divided the first
section of 52 days into no less than 20 parts of 2, 3 or 4 days. I give the
following arrangement here, remarking, at the same time, that in one
doubtful case (between the third and fourth groups) I deviate from my
former plan:--
X 2, XII 4, III 3, VI 2, VIII 4, XII 2, I 2, III 4, VII 2, IX 2, XI 2,
XIII 4, IV 2, VI 3, IX 2, XI 3, I 2, III 3, VI 2, VIII 2, X.
Since the five sections on page 4a begin with the days Imix, Ben, Chicchan,
Caban, and Muluc, we have resulting from this and from the intervals
specified, the following days:--
X Imix, XII Akbal, III Manik, VI Oc, VIII Eb, XII Cib, I Ezanab,
III Ahau, VII Kan, IX Cimi, XI Lamat, XIII Oc, IV IX, VI Cib, IX Cauac,
XI Imix, I Kan, III Cimi, VI Muluc, VIII Chuen, X Ben.
Now, however, in the "Globus," Vol. LXXIII, in my two articles entitled
"Die Tagegötter der Mayas," I have expressed the opinion that there is good
reason to believe that the scribe has made a grave mistake here.
I assume that the scribe simply transferred the so-called month days from
the year just past to the year in which he was writing, in doing which they
were, of course, moved five days on (since 365 = 20 × 18 + 5), but he did
not bear in mind, that the pictures and the hieroglyphs could then no
longer correspond. Hence the days must be not
Imix, Akbal, Manik, Oc, Eb, Cib, Ezanab, Ahau, Kan, Cimi, Lamat, Oc,
Ix, Cib, Cauac, Imix, Kan, Cimi, Muluc, Chuen, Ben,
but
Cib, Ezanab, Ik, Chicchan, Manik, Chuen, Ben, Men, Cauac, Imix, Akbal,
Chicchan, Muluc, Chuen, Ix, Cib, Cauac, Imix, Kan, Cimi, Lamat.
Let us now consider the 20 groups, disregarding the first (really zero)
which has no figure and no hieroglyphs. We will leave out of the question
also the first two hieroglyphs of each group, which are the same twenty
times and form, as it were, merely a superscription, in which the first
sign is a head, also occurring elsewhere (4b-5b), with suffix and affix,
and the second is the hieroglyph _i_, which might readily denote a
sacrifice. Thus only the usual four signs remain for each picture.
1. Day 15 = Ezanab; Aztec Tecpatl, flint, lance point. The figure of the
god does not correspond with this at all; it is a god in a gala cloak,
holding before him a serpent and bearing a quetzal bird on his back. This
figure, which resembles none other in our manuscript, strongly recalls
Kukulcan, who, in fact, is often placed by the scribes at the head of the
20 Maya gods (cf. Dres. 36) in which manner he appears in this place quite
without reference to the day and the hieroglyphs. In this interpretation I
follow Seler, in the main, who in his treatise "Quetzalcouatl-Kukulcan in
Yucatan" (1898) expresses this opinion on page 403 of the separate edition.
But possibly the ear-ornament may refer to Ezanab. Of the hieroglyphs, 1
and 2 are the familiar sign of the serpent deities H or I, though here they
are not drawn exactly alike. They also appear together on page 6a. 3 ( =
_r_) I think is the sign for the week of 13 days, which recurs in groups 5,
11, 14 and 16, and hence is distributed 4 times, though not regularly,
among the 4 × 13 days. Sign 4 is the death bird.
2. Day 19 = Ik; Aztec Ehecatl, wind, air, breath. The deity pictured is B,
the god who is found the most frequently, and with the most varied
attributes, of all the gods in our manuscript. He is the god proper of
breathing and living and was, perhaps, the local god in the region where
this manuscript originated. The second hieroglyph is his sign; the first,
with a prefixed 9, is _p_ the third _q_ and the fourth _a_ with the usual 3
before it; their relations to B are still unknown.
3. Day 3 = Cimi; Aztec Miquiztli, death. The deity with a black line about
the mouth is certainly the bald-headed old god N, whom we shall find on
pages 12c, 14b, 17a, 21c, and 37a. His hands are much deformed; perhaps
indicating the bite of a serpent? Of the hieroglyphs, 1, 2 and 4 are
effaced; 3 is surely the sign of the god, differing, it is true, from his
usual hieroglyph, but recurring with a 4 also on pages 21c and 24. This 4
might refer to the four kinds of years, but here, perhaps, to the fourth of
the five Uayeyab days, and would thus agree with the 24th day of Cumku,
which should lie here (in the year 9 Kan), if I have begun the Tonalamatl
correctly.
4. Day 4 = Manik; Aztec Mazatl. The significance is stag or roe, game or
the chase. The first picture on page 5 is one of the forms of F, which
seems to stand here not merely for human sacrifice, but also for war and
the chase, and especially for the act of killing in general. Of the
hieroglyphs, unfortunately only the fourth can be read in full (the sign
_c_), the upper part of the second is the cross _b_ and the lower part the
sign Ahau; the number 11, which is peculiar to the god F, probably stood
before the second sign. Did this god rule the eleventh of the 13 months of
28 days, as Moan ruled the thirteenth?
5. Day 8 = Chuen; Aztec Ozomatli, ape, then probably the constellation of
Ursa Minor, and hence belonging to the god C. The figure is unquestionably
his, and the first hieroglyph is surely his sign. The other three are the
familiar _a_, _o_ and _r_.
6. Day 10 = Ben; Aztec Acatl, the fundamental significance of which is
reed, rush, etc. The connection between this day and the god B pictured
here must be left undecided. Of the hieroglyphs, the first points rather to
the sun-god G, the second, with the numeral 7 as a prefix, is entirely
destroyed, the third is the sign _u_, and the fourth, which is half
obliterated, was _q_.
7. Day 12 = Men; Aztec Quauhtli, eagle. The figure to which the first
hieroglyph with the numeral 11 belongs, is a form of the god F, but has the
nose-ornament of the sun-god G. Hieroglyph 2, which we shall find again on
22c, may refer especially to the eagle; the third is the sign of the day
Caban with a prefixed 3, and the fourth is the sign _o_.
8. Day 16 = Cauac; Aztec Quiahuitl. The meaning in the different languages
points to rain, storm and summer, of which the tortoise and serpent are
special symbols. I shall not venture to decide positively upon the deity
pictured here; perhaps the object in his hand may be a tortoise; Seler,
"Quetzalcouatl-Kukulcan" (1898), p. 403, calls him the young god. In the
hieroglyphs we find the serpent sign Chicchan twice, just as in the first
group on page 4; then follow _a_ and Kan-Imix.
9. Day 18 = Imix; Aztec Cipactli. In my treatise on the day-gods, I have
referred to the variations in the significance of this day. The Mayas
connected with it the idea of the female breast, of drink, and, in
particular, of the intoxicating beverage pulque. The deity pictured here,
which is certainly a female deity, has a kind of vessel in her hand, from
which the serpent resting on her head appears to be drinking. Hieroglyphs 2
and 4 are wholly obliterated, and 1 partly; there is a lock of hair, the
sign of femininity, before 1 and 3. It is to be noted further that 3 is the
sign of the death-god and that the deity pictured here has the death-sign
on its cheek. Can this possibly suggest deathlike intoxication?
10. Day 20 = Akbal; Aztec Calli. The meaning is that of darkness, night,
dark hole, then that of house as an artificial cave or as a place of
shelter at night. The first picture on page 7, the black deity L with the
beard fits admirably here. The black paint still visible proves that the
first hieroglyph, which is almost effaced, was his sign, and the second may
be a head more definitely identifying him. The third was the sign _q_, the
fourth is an Ahau, perhaps intimating that Akbal belonged to the days
beginning the Uinal sections of 20 days, and to the lords of the same. In
addition to appearing with these 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th days, an Ahau is
found with the 1st, 6th, 11th and 16th as regent of the year, and lastly,
but especially, with the 17th, which bears the name Ahau, and with the god
D belonging to it.
11. Day 2 = Chicchan; Aztec Cohuatl, serpent. With this would agree also
the third and fourth hieroglyphs (the latter _r_), which are the two we
found in the first representation on page 4 belonging to the deity holding
the serpent. But what is the meaning here of the dog-head of the figure,
and of the first two hieroglyphs corresponding to it? And what does this
creature hold in its hand? The lightning? The hieroglyphs seem to
correspond to the seventh day, as if the scribe had recognized his mistake
and referred here to the present and not to the past year.
12. Day 6 = Muluc; Aztec Atl, water, cloud. With this corresponds the image
of the storm deity K and his two hieroglyphs 1 and 2, the first of which
occurs frequently, and the second is found on pages 20 b and 47, while 3
(Ahau) designates the day as regent of the year and 4 is the hieroglyph a.
The curious sign 2 is also given on Cort. 32 b.
13. Day 8 = Chuen; Aztec Ozomatli, ape. There is no agreement at all here,
but everything points to the day 3 lying 5 days back, the picture of the
Cimi as well as the hieroglyphs, even the third with the Akbal sign and the
uplifted arm (as on page 36a), also the fourth (_c_) which is generally
thought to be the death-bird. It even seems here as if the scribe had had
the preceding year in mind; possibly he did not want to repeat the fifth
group.
14. Day 11 = Ix; Aztec Ocelotl, jaguar. Here there is an admirable
correspondence between the figure and the first hieroglyph, which on page
26, top, also refers to the jaguar represented there; the other three
hieroglyphs are _r_, Kan-Imix and _q_.
15. Day 13 = Cib; Aztec Cozcaquauhtli, vulture. The bird is actually
pictured here and its sign is the first hieroglyph; the third is _q_, the
second and fourth are obliterated.
16. Day 16 = Cauac; Aztec Quiahuitl, meaning, as in the eighth group, rain,
storm, summer. The figure, the first on page 9, seems, however, to indicate
the day Ahau, as does also the second hieroglyph, which is Ahau; the first
and third are effaced and the fourth is _r_. Perhaps the scribe did not
wish to repeat the eighth group.
17. Day 18 = Imix; Aztec Cipactli, as in the ninth group. Here the allusion
to pulque is still plainer than it is there. The picture is that of a woman
with bound eyes and uncertain position of the hands, and here too with the
death-sign, and on her head a bee from whose honey the beverage was
prepared. I shall not venture to explain the first two hieroglyphs; the
second with uplifted arm appears again on page 8c. The third is Cimi and
the fourth _q_.
18. Day 1 = Kan; Aztec Cuetzpalin, denoting maize with the Mayas. The
representation consists of the maize deity with the Kan sign on her head,
the first hieroglyph is hers, then follows Kan-Imix, which I am inclined to
interpret as meaning a meal, next the sign _a_ and finally a head, which is
uncommon and undetermined, with the leaf-shaped prefix as on pages 4c, 6c,
9c, 34b, 61a, 67b and 69a.
19. Day 3 = Cimi; Aztec Miquiztli, death. The first figure on page 10 is a
deity with the head of the death-bird Moan and above the head is the
death-sign. As has long been known, the first and third hieroglyphs
unquestionably belong to this god, also the fourth with the Akbal sign
agrees with it, and the second likewise recalls the Moan.
20. Day 5 = Lamat; Aztec Tochtli, meaning rabbit in the latter language.
Neither the figure, which represents Cimi, death, nor the corresponding
hieroglyphs, excepting the second one agree with this day. This second
hieroglyph has both in front and above it the number 6. Two numbers added
thus to the common Uinal sign usually designate the Uinal period plus days,
as is so very common on the inscriptions, so that the sign appearing here
would denote 6 × 20 + 6 = 126 days. The hieroglyph here, however, is _not_
the usual sign for 20 days. On the contrary, it has in the centre a
straight line and on either side of it a parallel line ending in a little
knob (or loop?). I propose to regard these lines as representing the
ecliptic and the moon, which takes its course now to the north and now to
the south of the ecliptic, and the sign as a whole as signifying the lunar
month of 28 days. This is confirmed on pages 51, 55, 56 and 57. In that
case this hieroglyph would denote 6 × 28 + 6 = 174 days.
Now bear in mind that in this passage the day X Lamat, which equals the
Aztec Tochtli, is referred to.
In the year named after this day, and indeed on the 174th day of the same
(1 Cipactli), in February 1502, the emperor Ahuitzotzin died; compare
especially Brinton, "Essays of an Americanist" (1890), pp. 274-283.
Should this association in our manuscript of Cimi = death, X Tochtli and
the numeral 174, be considered accidental? Or did the scribe, writing in
the year after the event, actually record it in the year 1503 and,
departing from his real subject, immortalize it in this place at the end of
the greatest Tonalamatl? I will not refrain from expressing the conjecture
I have long entertained, though I am quite prepared for differences of
opinion.
Seler attempts to explain this series of 20 gods in another way; see his
"Monumente von Copan und Quirigua" (1899), p. 729. (Cf. his collected
papers p. 781.)
Pages 4b--5b.
It is my opinion that the Tonalamatl just now discussed connects with
another, which is recorded directly below the beginning of the first, and
which also differs from all the other ordinary Tonalamatls. It likewise
divides the first 52 days into a large number of small parts (14) and has
the following form, if we adopt Seler's correction in the last member:--
XII 4 III 4 VII 4 XI 3 I 4 V 3 VIII 4 XII 3 II 6 VIII 3 XI 4 II 4 VI 4 X
2 XII
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab
Ik
Oc.
The two days Ik and Oc should be read Oc and Ik. There is only one picture
here:--a scaly green monster with the head of the principal god D. There
are six hieroglyphs on its body, the first is that of Eb and the second
that of Cimi, the fourth is the sign c. The others I shall not venture to
determine.
According to a conjecture expressed verbally by Dieseldorff, this figure
may represent the god who continually recreates himself. We are reminded
here of the two-headed serpent (Seler, "Tonalamatl der Aubinschen
Sammlung," 1900, pp. 65-66). There are two rows of hieroglyphs above the
monster, the upper contains 8 and the second 6, but the second hieroglyph
in the upper row belongs in the lower. Thus there are 14 hieroglyphs
corresponding to the subdivisions noted above.
The upper seven signs are all alike and are also identical with the one,
which, in the great Tonalamatl, recorded above, begins the heading of all
the 20 groups; this likewise points to a close connection between the two
Tonalamatls.
The remaining 7 hieroglyphs should be considered as only 6, for it is
improbable that C occurs twice in this series. They are the gods D, C, H,
N, A and B, to which perhaps an E or F or G is to be mentally added in
place of the second C. They are all principal gods with the exception of N
(as always, according to Schellhas's nomenclature). This N, an old man,
denotes, as it seems, the five Uayeyab days at the end of the year, as he
does also on page 21c. This sign with the number 4 has already been seen on
page 4a. If in 4b this sign signifies the last day of the year, then this
Tonalamatl falls in the year XIII Kan. The sign 5 Zac also appears in the
Tro-Cort., _e.g._, Cort. 29 c, Tro. 9*b and 28*b.
Now I shall proceed to examine all that has not yet been discussed to the
end of page 12, taking up first the remainder of sections a and b and then
all those of 4c-12c.
Pages 10a--12a.
XI 12 X 8 V 12 IV 8 XII 12 XI
Lamat
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib.
The period of 52 days is thus divided into five sections of 12 and 8 days
each, alternating regularly. A deity and four hieroglyphs belong to each of
these sections, viz:--
1. D sitting, with his right hand pointing upward and his left downward; on
his head is the Akbal sign as on page 15c. The hieroglyphs are destroyed
with the exception of the third, which is the sign of D (Ahau). The fact
that the 12 days happen to end with the day belonging to D (Ahau) is
accidental.
2. R, a human figure with the head of the Moan (as on page 7c and 10a) and
with the copal pouch around his neck. Of the hieroglyphs only the fourth,
one of the common signs of Moan (_c_), is legible.
3. H, or, according to Seler, "the young god," as on 12b and 14b, with
nose-peg and copal pouch. On his (her?) head sits a bird with an object,
which I do not recognize, in its bill; compare page 12b. Of the
hieroglyphs, the first is destroyed, the second is the unmistakable sign of
H, the fourth is the common _a_, and the third I cannot as yet decipher.
4. A, with the usual design issuing from his mouth (the expiring breath of
life?). Of the hieroglyphs, the first is a double Manik with prefixes,
which probably denotes violent death; the other three are very common
symbols of A.
5. E, holding a vessel containing plants (agave?) and with the cross _b_ on
his head-ornament. The first hieroglyph is an unexplained compound design
apparently referring to the Moan, an Imix and two prefixes, the second is
the monogram of E, whom the third hieroglyph, Imix-Kan, designates as
dispensing nourishment, and the fourth, Ahau, as a leading deity.
Page 12a.
The scribe evidently wishing to carry out his material in some conclusive
form in the top, middle and bottom sections of page 12, found insufficient
space in the top section. He, therefore, condensed two independent
unconnected Tonalamatls, by arranging them in such a manner, that the
period of 52 days was divided, for the sake of brevity, into only two
parts, viz:--
VIII 27 (IX) 25 (VIII)
Ahau Oc
Eb Ik
Kan Ix
Cib Cimi
Lamat Ezanab.
I have supplied the two numbers enclosed in parentheses; they are wanting
in the Manuscript.