20 hieroglyphs correspond regularly to the five sections in the following
order:--
1 5 6 9 10 13 17
2 7 8 11 12 14 18
3 15 19
4 16 20.
This section seems to refer chiefly to the harvest. First the Muluc sign
with suffix and affix, which is repeated in 1, 5, 9, 13 and 17 at regular
intervals, suggests rain as a preliminary condition of the harvest. Next in
2 the hieroglyph of K, the wind-god, is added to this Muluc sign, and K is
the patron of the day Muluc. Then the signs _a_ and _o_ follow in 3 and 4.
There is no picture belonging to this group; it ought to be the god K. The
second group adds to the Muluc in 6 the glyph of the sun, which is the
second preliminary condition of the harvest. This is followed in 7 by the
sign _u_ apparently denoting wind and cloud and having the prefix of the
storm-god, and in 8 is the sign, which, strange to say, stands also in the
last Tonalamatl in the eighth place. I am not very clear in regard to this
sign. The sun-god G with copal pouch and a vessel containing grains of
maize is appropriately represented with this group. With equal fitness the
third group contains E, the harvest-god proper, with copal pouch and grains
of maize, and, as usual, a Kan sign on his head, but also with a parrot,
probably as an enemy of the harvest. Sign 10 is E's hieroglyph, to which,
as is so often the case, sign 11 (Imix-Kan) is added and in 12 the double
Manik (_i_). The last two groups are without figures of deities; the double
Manik (14 and 18), possibly a repeated summons to sacrifice, is common to
both groups. There seems here to be a further reference to the _enemies_ of
the harvest, for 15 is the hieroglyph of the vulture, 16 that of the
death-bird and 19 that of the night-god, after which this section closes
with the quite universal sign a. If space had permitted, the vulture and
the night-god would have been represented here.
Page 12b.
I 13 I 26 I 13 I
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab
Oc
Ik.
This is again a regular arrangement, half of the 52 days being in the
middle and a quarter each at the beginning and end.
The first four days refer to the purport of the prediction, Ix, the tiger,
Cimi, death, Ezanab, the wounding lance point, and Oc, the lightning dog.
The 12 hieroglyphs indicate the connection with the foregoing Tonalamatl,
for 1, 5 and 9 contain the same Muluc sign which we found there in the same
places.
The three figures, it seems to me, signify the approach of death, the wound
occasioning death, and the arrival of death.
The first picture represents the god probably as feminine, with which the
illustration on page 9c should be compared. The lock of hair before sign 3,
the death hieroglyph, agrees with this as do also the familiar signs 2 and
4. The god is making sounds, which is indicated by the figure issuing from
his mouth. Is the snail in his head-ornament to be understood as the sign
for retarded motion?
The second figure is the wounding serpent deity H, likewise represented
here as feminine, with a lock of hair; the copal pouch hangs from her neck,
her nose-peg resembles a flower as on page 19a. A bird is sitting on her
head and is devouring a piece of an animal's body; we have already met this
representation in the preceding Tonalamatl. Hieroglyph 6 designates the
deity H, 7 (Imix-Kan) probably denotes the devouring of the flesh and sign
8, which is an Ahau with a prefixed knife, may also refer to this.
Finally, the third picture is again the death-god, who is clad in a gala
cloak and, in contrast to the first picture, where the deity is sitting on
some object, is squatting on the ground. The three hieroglyphs 10, 11 and
12 fit here admirably.
We will now turn back to page 4 and consider the lowest section (c) of
pages 4 to 12, which like pages 5b-12b (I omit 4b here because its contents
are of an entirely different nature) contain 7 Tonalamatls, that is, five
ritual years of 364 days. If, however, we add 4b to these and bear in mind
that 10c-11c contain a double Tonalamatl, we will have 9 Tonalamatls. We
find a group of 7 Tonalamatls also on pages 51a-52a.
Pages 4c-5c.
XII 10 IX 22 V 11 III 9 XII
Cauac
Chuen
Akbal
Men
Manik.
The incorrect 10 of the manuscript has been changed to 9. The hieroglyphs
are as follows:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16.
and there are four figures of gods.
The sign of the rising Moan with its usual prefix and superfix (_d_) forms
the principal part of this section, the meaning of which, however, is not
yet very intelligible. This sign appears not merely as the 1st, 5th, 9th
and 13th hieroglyphs, but all the four gods hold it in their hands. Placed
after each of these signs are hieroglyphs 2, 6, 10 and 14, which are the
double Manik or hand sign denoting a sacrifice (_i_).
The first god portrayed here is G, the sun-god, and the third hieroglyph is
his sign, which is rendered yet more unmistakable here by the laterally
elongated head _q_, the meaning of which is not yet wholly determined.
The second god is D with his two signs in 7 and 8. 7 designates him rather
as night and moon-god and 8 more as the old god and lord of the gods.
The third god is the serpent deity H or Seler's "young god." His sign is
hieroglyph 11, with which, to be sure, the unusual sign 12 (_v_) appears as
a not very intelligible determinative.
The fourth god is A and his usual signs are given in 15 and 16.
Pages 5c--6c.
This is the second example in our manuscript of a Tonalamatl divided into
four parts:--
XII 29 II 11 XIII 18 V 7 XII
Ezanab
Akbal
Lamat
Ben
Ezanab.
The repetition of the 15th day at the end is superfluous.
Here, then, we have the four days with which the 18 Uinals can begin; in
the Tonalamatl on page 9b, the four regents of the year were given instead.
Now, whether the beginning of these periods of 20 days was celebrated by a
banquet or not, at all events, a feast is suggested by the sign Imix-Kan,
which is repeated in hieroglyphs 1, 5, 9 and 13. The four vessels in the
hands of the four deities, two of whom are sitting and two standing, would
agree with the idea of a feast. The first vessel is a cup filled apparently
with foaming pulque, and the other three are larger vessels meant to be
hung up. The first deity is D with a snail on his head. Compare page 12b.
His hieroglyphs are 2 and 3, and sign _a_ is added as fourth. The next
deity is A with his usual signs in 6, 7 and 8. C follows with his
hieroglyph in 10 and lastly F with the sign 14 which belongs to him.
There still remain as the 11th and 15th signs, the elongated head _q_ with
the Ben-Ik superfix belonging to C and with another superfix belonging to F
(with which he likewise appeared as sign 4 in the preceding Tonalamatl).
The 12th sign (_v_), which occurs in exactly the same place in the
preceding Tonalamatl, is no more intelligible to me here than there.
Pages 6c--7c.
I 17 V 19 XI 6 IV 10 I
Chuen
Akbal
Men
Manik
Cauac.
Four sitting gods with the regular 16 hieroglyphs. There is no collective
sign, however, among these. It seems exactly as if the intention had been
to represent the _different_ offerings usually presented to the various
deities. At all events the sacrifices are designated by hieroglyphs 1, 5, 9
and 13, and the same objects are also held in the hands of the four gods
respectively, although they are clearly recognizable only in the case of
the second and third gods.
Now what are these four different sacrificial gifts?
The principal part of the first looks like the sign of the month Mol. In
excellent agreement with its appearance is the fact, that this word
signifies egg in the Quecchi language. The god receiving the sacrifice here
is A. Hieroglyph 2 is his monogram and 3 is that of his companion F and 4
fits both deities.
The second figure is D and his signs are hieroglyphs 6 and 7 to which 8 is
added quite superfluously. The sacrifice proper is denoted by 5, which, I
think, is a sign of multiplicity and which was originally the fin of a
fish. In the manuscripts and inscriptions, when this sign is added to the
sign for 360 days, it enhances the value to 20 × 360 = 7200 days.
The third picture represents the god with the bird-head of the Moan and his
signs are hieroglyphs 10, 11 and 12. One of these, signifying rising birds,
is also the offering in 9.
Lastly, the fourth picture is, according to Schellhas, the serpent deity H,
and, according to Seler, the "young god," with the snail on his head. His
sign is hieroglyph 14. Added to this is the sign _a_ in 15, and in 16 it is
_q_ again with the same superfix as in sign 15 of the preceding Tonalamatl.
The sacrifice in 13 is represented by a Kan sign, which is equivalent to
maize, maize bread or tortilla.
Repeatedly, as on page 23b or 29b-31b of our manuscript, we see a portion
of game (deer), a bird, a lizard and a fish represented as sacrifices. With
this the fish and bird in our second and third pictures agree very well. I
shall not venture to explain the other two in the first and fourth
pictures. Perhaps future explanations of the curious head-ornament of the
four gods will shed further light on the subject.
Page 8c.
III 9 XII 9 VIII 9 IV 9 XIII 9 IX 7 III
Cib
Lamat
Ahau
Eb
Kan.
The horizontal line should be read in this order; in the manuscript the
numbers are in a somewhat unusual order.
An attempt has been made to divide the 52 days into sections of 9 days
each, and in doing this the sixth subdivision has fallen short of two days.
Since this passage has but two pictures, six of the 12 hieroglyphs must
belong to each of the figures. I read the hieroglyphs in the following
order:--
1 2 5 7 8 11
3 4 6 9 10 12.
Each of the two pictures contains a building and a deity in front of it,
each of whom seems to have placed another deity in the building. In the
first picture D is putting C inside and in the second F is doing the same
to A or the Moan. I will add also, that the day belonging to C (Chuen) is
actually 9 days distant from that of D (Ahau). I am uncertain in regard to
the other two. In the back of each building we see a cross.
A similar association of two gods appears again elsewhere, as on page 35a,
where D lies on a building in which C is sitting, thus showing an
association of the same two gods as in our first group.
In both groups the first two hieroglyphs form the common heading, since 1
corresponds in general to 7 and 2 to 8. In the first group 3 and 4 are the
hieroglyphs of D and 5 and 6 are the signs _q_ and _v_; does one of these
last signs refer to the god C? In the second group 9 is the sign of F, who
stands in front of the house and 10 that of the god in the house, as
perhaps is also 11, when we consider the closed eye; this is one of the
many hieroglyphs having an uplifted arm as a prefix. On page 9a we find
exactly the same sign. The last sign is the hieroglyph _q_, which sometimes
seems to be used merely to fill space; it corresponds, but with a different
superfix, to the fifth hieroglyph of the first group.
The last three parts of this section of the manuscript all differ
appreciably from the usual form (5 × 52 = 260 days).
Page 9c.
Here for the first time the manuscript contains a Tonalamatl, which is
divided into 10 × 26 days. It is true the position of both the days and
numbers is quite irregular. The manuscript presents the following order:--
III III VI VIII
3 2
Cauac Ben XI II
Chuen Chicchan 3 4
Akbal Caban VI VII
Men Muluc 4 1
Manik Imix. I III
7 2