Commentary on the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Public Library of Dresden
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Title: Commentary on the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Public Library of Dresden
Author: Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann
Translator: A. M. Parker
Selma Wesselhoeft
Release date: August 20, 2013 [eBook #43519]
Most recently updated: October 23, 2024
Language: English
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COMMENTARY ON THE MAYA MANUSCRIPT IN THE ROYAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF DRESDEN ***
PAPERS
OF THE
PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND
ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
VOL. IV.--NO. 2
COMMENTARY
ON THE
MAYA MANUSCRIPT
IN THE
ROYAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF DRESDEN
BY
DR. ERNST FÖRSTEMANN
TRANSLATED BY
MISS SELMA WESSELHOEFT
AND
MISS A. M. PARKER
Translation revised by the Author
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
PUBLISHED BY THE MUSEUM
OCTOBER, 1906
* * * * *
NOTE
----
In pursuance of the plan of publishing translations of valuable
contributions to the study of the Maya hieroglyphs, the Museum Committee on
Central American Research has the pleasure of offering the following
translation of Dr. Ernst Förstemann's important Commentary on the Maya
Manuscript in the Royal Library of Dresden, generally known as the Dresden
Codex.
The translation by Miss Selma Wesselhoeft and Miss A. M. Parker was made
under the direction of Mr. Charles P. Bowditch of the Museum Committee.
In the original German edition, published in 1901, Dr. Förstemann used the
Arabic numerals to designate the days, but in this translation, with the
consent of the author who has kindly revised the translation, Mr. Bowditch
has substituted the corresponding Maya names of the days, in uniformity
with the general use of students in this country. It is needless to call
attention to the importance of this paper by Dr. Förstemann whose
long-continued study of the intricate system of hieroglyphic writing by the
ancient Mayas makes all he writes of great value to students engaged in
this most interesting research.
F. W. PUTNAME.
HARVARD UNIVERSITY,
October, 1906.
* * * * *
PREFACE.
--------
Some of those who examine this book will say, that it is too early for a
commentary on the "Dresdensis," since Maya research is yet in its infancy,
and this opinion is certainly justified inasmuch as a final explanation of
that remarkable monument is, of course, impossible at the present time. On
the other hand the accounts of the numerous investigations and discoveries
which have been made thus far are so isolated and so scattered in the shape
of a hundred short magazine articles, that it is certainly desirable to
have what we know and what we have still to learn gathered together under
one head. This book is intended, therefore, to give an idea of the state of
our knowledge in this department of research at this time, when the
nineteenth century is passing into the twentieth, with the definite
expectation that this work will soon be far outstripped and will possess an
historical value only.
The contents of the following pages are of very little value, unless the
student can compare them with an edition of the manuscript. My first
edition was published in 1880 at Leipsic and the second at Dresden in 1892.
The edition in Lord Kingsborough's "Mexican Antiquities" (in Volume III of
that work, London, 1831) is still of practical use.
And since in this work I must premise a knowledge of the elements of the
subject, I would recommend, as additional aids to the comprehension of the
following pages, my "Erläuterungen zur Mayahandschrift der Königlichen
öffentlichen Bibliothek zu Dresden" (Dresden, 1886), and also Brinton, "A
Primer of Mayan Hieroglyphics" (in the publications of the University of
Pennsylvania. Series in Philology, Literature and Archaeology, Vol. III). I
would also mention the very valuable work by Paul Schellhas, "Die
Göttergestalten der Mayahandschriften" (Dresden, 1897), which I follow in
the designation of the various gods by letters of the alphabet.
It need hardly be pointed out, that the numerous pioneer articles by Edward
Seler offer abundant instruction to the student in this field as well as in
that of Aztec remains.
I wish to express heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Zelia Nuttall and Mr. Charles P.
Bowditch, who have aided my work in various ways and have thus rendered
possible the publication of this book.
E. FÖRSTEMANN.
CHARLOTTENBURG.
* * * * *
FIRST PART.
Pages 1-45.
Page 1.
As the first page is almost entirely effaced by abrasion, we know very
little of its contents. Like the second, however, it was doubtless divided
into four parts. The two pages have this also in common, that, for lack of
space, their contents are not expressed in full, but abbreviated as much as
possible.
The top section (a) of page 1 may have been filled with a sort of
frontispiece, perhaps a face with a few signs around it.
The three lower sections (b, e, d,) with the three lower of the second page
doubtless formed a whole. Each of these sections contained a normal
Tonalamatl of the commonest kind, which was introduced on the left by five
day-signs having a difference of 12 and was thus divided into five sections
of 52 days each. In sections b and d, at least, these periods seem to be
divided into equal halves of 26 days each. In d alone we recognize the
initial week day, VII, of the Tonalamatl. In each of the three divisions
there were two figures of gods, but we can recognize only the first of
these in section d as the god D.
Page 2.
This page contains four much abbreviated Tonalamatls. In the following I
will represent each Tonalamatl by setting down in a vertical line those of
the twenty days with which the principal divisions of equal length of the
Tonalamatl begin, in a horizontal line with Roman numerals the days of the
week of thirteen days on which the separate subdivisions begin, and with
the Arabic numerals the distance between these days. I will also remark
that the position of the Tonalamatls in the "Dresdensis" is not connected
at all, as in the Aztec, with certain places in the year, and that no rule
for this proceeding can be found. It is curious, however, that no
Tonalamatl in this codex begins with the day IX or Eb, which is the more
important in the last pages of the Dresden Codex.
2a.
This first Tonalamatl has the following form:--
XIII 5 V 12 IV 11 II 12 I 12 XIII
Cauac
Chuen
Akbal
Men
Manik.
The hieroglyphs and the figures show that preparations for a human
sacrifice are treated of here and that the subject is, therefore, closely
connected with page 3a, where the sacrifice itself is represented.
There are but two pictures of persons, which refer, therefore, only to the
first or to the first two subdivisions and which, for lack of space, are
wanting for the others. On the left walks the person doomed to sacrifice,
his arms are bound on his back, his head is barely visible and his eyes are
apparently torn out. There is an object in front of his breast resembling a
wreath. Behind this figure crouches a second, who holds an object in his
hand which probably represents a rattle. The parallel passage in Cod. Tro.
2b shows the bound prisoner with an axe behind him. Then follows in Tro. 3b
the prisoner without a head and behind him the black god with gory lance.
The hieroglyphs--four for each of the five subdivisions--are arranged in
the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 13 17
3 4 7 8 10 14 18
11 15 19
12 16 20.
Of these 9, 13 and 17-20 are wholly effaced and 14 for the most part. The
very first group refers to human sacrifice, for 1 is a head with an axe
affixed to it, 2 contains the hand (_i_) which so often appears as the sign
of grasping, especially in representations of the chase; here it has the
same superfix as on page 22a, which on pages 4a-10a and 11a, b, appears as
prefix. 3 is the head of god H, perhaps given here as a symbol of wounding
(serpent god?). I am unable to explain the meaning of the dot between two
crosses in front of this head; perhaps the sign denotes the day Kan, which
is here arrived at by calculation. We find the same hieroglyph on page 3.
Sign 4 signifies the death-god A = Cimi, who appears again in 12.
In like manner 2 is repeated in 6 and 14. 7, 11 and 15 (probably also 19)
are, however, the familiar cross _b_; 8 is the head of E with a prefixed
knife; the intention here may have been to show that human sacrifice would
be likely to have an auspicious influence upon the harvest. 10 and 16 are
another unknown head. In 5 we see the familiar Kan-Imix sign, which, for
the present, I am inclined to regard as denoting a feast or a sacrificial
meal.
2b--c.
These two sections have something in common. First, 2b (as also 2d) is
divided into but two parts and 2c into only three parts. Second, in 2b and
2c the scribe intended to draw the hieroglyphs for 10 days each, instead of
5 each, but only drew the outlines of the second five, since they could not
be used for these Tonalamatls. Third, the persons represented here are all
engaged in the same occupation, each holding in his hands an object which
looks like a frame for a net or web, and also a large needle with an eye
through which a thread has been passed.
A very similar representation is found in the Codex Troano 34a, 33a and
23*c, and also in the Sahagun Manuscript of the Bibliotheca Laurentiana at
Florence. This can hardly mean anything else than the knotting of cords,
which was the only method of casting lots current among the Mayas; compare
Seler, "Altmexikanische Studien II" (1899), p. 31, and "Zauberei im alten
Mexiko" (1900), p. 90, by the same author. This clearly indicates the use
of these Tonalamatls in soothsaying.
Fourth and last, each of the five hieroglyph groups of 2b and 2c begin with
the same sign, which must, therefore, denote the casting of lots.
The Tonalamatl 2b runs thus:--
XI 34 VI 18 XI
Oc
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab.
The pictures are of three persons. At the left two sit facing one another
and at the right is the god A. Of the first two, the one at the left is
probably feminine, but with an old face. I am inclined here, in spite of
the sex, to recall the bald-headed old god (N, according to Schellhas),
whom I am inclined to consider, for the present, the representative of the
5 Uayeyab days at the end of the year. This would account for the sign
resembling an 8 lying on its side, which appears on the god's head and
which usually represents the change of the year (compare pages 38a, 41b,
52b, 68a and 72c). I cannot explain the person sitting facing this god
further, than that from his hieroglyph he is either H or allied to H.
Of the 8 hieroglyphs
1 2 5 6
3 4 7 8.
the first, as stated, seems to refer to the casting of lots, 2 is the sign
for H, 3 denotes the female figure pictured beneath it, and 4 is the sign
_q_ with the Ben-Ik on top of it. In the second group 5 is the same as 1, 6
is the cross _b_, and 7 and 8 are the hieroglyphs for A.
2c contains the following Tonalamatl:--
III 20 X 17 I 15 III
Oc
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab.
There are illustrations for only the first two of the three subdivisions;
the two figures composing them are engaged in the occupation mentioned
under 2b. At the left sits a deity, who is probably E, whose head develops
into a second, which is that of an animal; on the right sits the god D.
The three groups of four hieroglyphs each are arranged as follows:--
1 2 5 6 9
3 4 7 8 10
11
12.
Of these hieroglyphs 1, 5 and 9 are the head already numbered 1 and 5 on
2b; 2, 6 and 10 are the cross _b_; 3, 7 and 11 are three different heads,
all, as it seems, having the Akbal sign, and 11 having also the numeral 6.
4 is again (see 5 on 2a above) the Kan-Imix sign, 8 a Kin with suffix (the
east?) and the numeral 16 as prefix; finally 12 is Cimi (A). Do the numbers
16 and 6 refer to the 16th and 6th of the 17 and 15 days standing below
them? The beginning of this Tonalamatl III Oc seems to me to fall on an
especially auspicious day (hieroglyph _a_).
2d has the following Tonalamatl:--
XIII 28 II 24 XIII
Lamat
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib.
This refers probably to the section devoted to women, pages 13-23. For the
picture on the left is a woman sitting and holding an unknown object in one
hand; on her right stands the death-god A holding in his hands what may be
an apron or breech-clout; there is a similar representation in Cod. Tro.
29*b.
The hieroglyphs are
1 2 5 6
3 4 7 8.
Of these 1, 6 and 8 are one of the signs of A, 7 another, and 4 may be a
third, recalling the Moan, which, as on page 14c, rests on a hand held
beneath it. 2 and 5 seem to signify a carpet or other fabric (or a lying-in
bed?), on the one hand suggesting the occupation of the figures in 2b and
2c, and on the other the checkered hieroglyph, which is so common in the
Palenque inscriptions. Finally 3 is the woman pictured beneath.
Page 3.
We come now to the sacrificial scene proper, which practically fills the
upper half of the page. The victim, a woman, lies bound hand and foot, on
the sacrificial stone, just as in the Cortes. 41-42; the incision above the
stomach is already made and the eyes are closed. Behind her rises the tree
of life with a bird (vulture?) sitting in its branches, which holds in its
bill one end of an object, resembling a ribbon (entrails) issuing from the
eyes of the victim, just as in Tro. 26*a and 27*a.
This picture is surrounded by four gods, who, however, differ very much
from the other four in the second sacrificial scene, page 34a. At the right
above is K, who, I think, is the storm-god; the figure at the left above is
almost entirely destroyed, and its hieroglyph wholly; I prefer to consider
it a rain deity, so that these two gods shall signify the productive
season. The two gods below may refer to the blessing upon the harvest and
chase resulting from the season and the sacrifice. For, at the left below,
we see the maize deity E, holding a dish of fruit, while her head-ornament
contains a second head. At the right below sits the serpent deity H and in
front of him is an animal with the noose still around its neck, with which
it was caught.
The hieroglyphs are in the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16
17 18 21 22
19 20 23 24.
Of these, 1-5 are wholly effaced and also the most essential part of 6.
Of these hieroglyphs four (1-4, 13-16, 17-20 and 21-24) clearly belong to
each of the four deities, for 15, 18, and 22 (the last again with the dot
between two crosses as on page 2a) certainly belong to the picture. From
this it seems to follow that Hieroglyphs 5 to 12 refer to the sacrifice
itself. As a matter of fact 9 and 11, which are directly above the
sacrifice, also refer particularly to that part of the representation.
I wish also to call special attention to the two signs 8 and 16 which seem
to correspond to one another. They are the two which I have designated with
_q_ and _a_, which are met with here for the first time (aside from the _q_
with the Ben-Ik, which is not in question here) and which, I think, denote
the good and evil days, _q_ referring to the sacrifice and _a_ to its
results.
In regard to the rest of these hieroglyphs, 7 and 9 are Cimi; 10, 14, 17
and 24 the cross _b_ and 11 and 23 the hieroglyph c. 12 is the head with
the Akbal eye, having for its prefix the uplifted arm, which is joined thus
to the most diverse signs, and which also occurs in the Tro-Cort. 13 is a
similar head, 19 again Imix, 20 the sign _o_ and 21 a hieroglyph, which is
without doubt a simplified head.
Here, too, we have a Tonalamatl, and one beginning on an especially
ceremonial day I Ahau, which seems to play the same role in celestial
affairs as IV Ahau does in terrestrial matters. On the sacrificial stone we
read the days Ahau, Eb, Kan, Cib and Lamat, and I think it likely that the
same days occur in the passage of the Cortes. referred to above; the
passage evidently contains some errors. The subdivisions of this Tonalamatl
are not known to us, for here the manuscript is somewhat confused. I
propose to read it as follows:--
I 10 XI 4 II 15 IV 9 XIII 14 I
but Cyrus Thomas, "Aids," p. 294, has
I 4 V 8 XIII 11 XI 15 XIII 14 I.
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.
The hieroglyphs
1 2 5
3 4 6
7
8.
are sufficient for the two figures one expects to see here; but they are,
in fact, intended for four figures--two for each of the two Tonalamatls.
For the first of the two Tonalamatls we have only one figure, God K, who,
however, from the dish held in his hand, probably containing honey (compare
10b), seems to stand here also in place of E. In agreement with this,
Hieroglyph 2 and probably also 1 (_s_, which occurs again on page 13a, and
also on page 10b) refers to K, while 3 clearly refers to E and 4 is the
sign a. Hieroglyphs 5-8 belong to the second of the two Tonalamatls. The
first two of these hieroglyphs, which are entirely erased, refer to an
unknown deity, and the last two unquestionably relate to A.
Pages 5b--6b.
I 16 IV 9 XIII 25 XII 2 I
Manik
Cauac
Chuen
Akbal
Men.
Four hieroglyphs belong to each of the four subdivisions:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16.
These four parts, however, form a whole, inasmuch as they all relate to
making fire, as it is also represented in the Troano 6, 19 and 14*c. Hence
the upper row of hieroglyphs contains signs which are repeated. 1, 5 and 9
are the same head, the last two cases have the sign for darkness (Akbal);
this Akbal appears again in the parallel passages of the Tro. and in 13 it
is somewhat enlarged simply owing to the absence of a head. The act of
making fire seems to be denoted here rather by the second sign (2, 6, 10,
14), which I designate by _k_ and which, originally, doubtless consisted of
two hands (double Manik sign); the prefix is the same in 6 and 14, and
different in 2 and 10.
The eight lower hieroglyphs are merely the monograms of the four gods
making the fire. The first deity is F, the second either A or one of the
black deities L or M, the third D and the fourth apparently F again, but
conceived as feminine. In the third picture there is a second object,
apparently a head (of D?), below the piece of wood in which the fire-stick
is being whirled. Hieroglyph 11 belonging to this deity has an Akbal as a
prefix.
Pages 6b--7b.
X 13 X 13 X 13 X 13 X
Kan
Cib
Lamat
Ahau
Eb.
This Tonalamatl is divided, by way of exception, into four equal parts,
which all begin with the same week day X.
Here too, as in the preceding Tonalamatl, there are four subdivisions, and
also 16 hieroglyphs arranged in the same way. And here too the upper line
is a condensation of the whole, the same two signs being repeated four
times. The first of these is _q_, which is still a problem and which occurs
inverted also on Cort. 20d-21d (where there are figures with bird-heads);
there too it is the characteristic hieroglyph. The second, however, is
again the double Manik sign referring to activity of some kind, as in the
preceding Tonalamatl. But the occupation of the four deities represented
here is of very different kinds and altogether problematical. E, conceived
as feminine, occupies the first place, with a Kan sign on her head and
holding in her hand a vessel exactly like the one held by the figure just
above on the same page. The third hieroglyph is hers and the fourth is the
sign a.
The second figure is A with a hook-shaped object hanging around his neck.
His hands also seem to be deformed, as are those of the third and fifth
figures of the great Tonalamatl (on pages 4 and 5). His two hieroglyphs are
among those usually belonging to him.
The third god is D sitting, by way of exception, on some object (stone?).
Something resembling the pestle of an ordinary mortar is hanging down in
front of his headdress, and he is holding a very similar object to his
mouth. His two hieroglyphs are also those which usually refer to him.
The most striking figure is that of the fourth god, whom I do not
recognize. He seems to be attracting to himself a bird flying down from
above, whose bill almost touches his mouth. His hieroglyph has the sign Yax
(strength) for a prefix and the fourth hieroglyph is c.
Page 8b.
VIII 26 VIII 26 VIII
Manik
Cauac
Chuen
Akbal
Men.
Again we have a Tonalamatl divided into equal parts, this time, however,
into but two, and it seems thus to be closely connected with the preceding.
While hitherto four hieroglyphs have usually belonged to each figure, we
find here ten in all and in the following order:--
1 2 5 6
3 4 7 8
9
10.
There are two figures here, which stand in some relation to one
another,--two persons sitting facing each other. The one at the left is
certainly D, the one at the right can hardly be the old woman, whom
Schellhas designates with O, but rather N, the old god of the Uayeyab days.
The former seems to be about to take something from the hand of the latter.
I surmise that it is one of the prophetic weaving implements. which we
found on page 2. The two hieroglyphs _e_ and _h_ must refer to this; they
are repeated, as usual, in the two groups, _e_ in places 2 and 8, and _h_
in 1 and 6.
Signs 3 and 4 refer unquestionably to D and hence 5 and 7 (the first _q_
with Ben-Ik, and the latter unknown) must be the designation of the person
sitting on the right. We shall meet the latter sign again on pages 15b and
18a, with the same person, and on pages 27a and 39b with entirely different
persons. Sign 7 is an object, which also appears on 15b and 18a, held in
the hands of women and may denote some special sacrificial offering; on 9b
Kan-Imix appears in place of this sign, and on 39b beside it. It should be
noted that sign 7 stands here in exactly the same proximity to 1 and 6 as
on page 27a.
The hieroglyphs 9 and 10 stand outside the two groups, and since, as we
know, they belong to the god A, this prophecy must concern death, as is
more clearly indicated by the corresponding hieroglyphs on page 9b.
Page 9b.
Here, for the first time in this manuscript, we have a Tonalamatl in which
the 260 days are not divided into five fifths of 52 days each, but into
four quarters of 65 days. This may be represented as follows, if we supply
the III, which is wanting at the beginning:--
III 33 X 32 III
Muluc
Ix
Cauac
Kan.
In the first place, the close connection of this Tonalamatl with that
recorded on page 8b, just now discussed, is striking, for
1. Here too we find a division into two equal parts is intended, but
which, of course, as the number is 65, cannot be mathematically exact.
2. Here too we not only find 10 hieroglyphs, but we find them in the
same order as on page 8b, and here too the sign _e_ stands in places 2
and 8, and _h_ in 1 and 6; again 3, 4 and 9 are exactly the same
hieroglyphs here as there, so that only 5, 7 and 10 are different.
3. The picture is again that of two persons sitting facing each other.
Here D sits on the right and facing him is the grain deity E. D is
speaking to E as is indicated by the sign before his face and by the
position of his right hand. The signs belonging to E are Hieroglyphs 5
and 7, while those of D are 3 and 4. It seems, therefore, that D is
announcing to E the prophecy contained in the preceding Tonalamatl.
4. Two hieroglyphs, 9 and 10, are again added, both relating to
death--9 to god A and 10 to F.
Now what especially distinguishes this passage from the preceding one, is
the fact that the four days are the so-called regents of the year, Muluc,
Ix, Cauac and Kan, above which, perhaps to emphasize this circumstance,
there is a particularly elaborate Ahau. Seler ("Einiges mehr über die
Monumente von Copan und Quiriguá," p. 210), however, thinks that this sign
is the hieroglyph for the numeral three, which should stand here.
The fact that the tenth sign, which is the last, is 13 Moan in the
preceding Tonalamatl, while here it is 11 F, will be of special
significance in deciding the interpretation.
Page 10b.
The manuscript gives the following:--
XIII 22 III 22
Oc
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab.
This cannot be correct, for 22 + 22 is not 52, and from XIII to III is not
22 days, while the last Roman numeral is wanting. I, therefore, propose to
make a 6 of the numeral 2, which occurs twice, by changing the lower dot
into a line, and to change the III into a XIII by the addition of two
lines. This gives the series the form XIII 26 XIII 26 XIII. Then by its
division into three equal parts, this Tonalamatl accords with the three
preceding ones, which it also resembles in other respects. For here too we
find two persons pictured; this time, however, they do not face each other,
but are placed one behind the other. The first is B, the god of life
strictly speaking, the second is F, who is represented by his hieroglyph in
the preceding Tonalamatl, and who is the god of the chase and probably of
death by violence. Both hold offerings in their hands, which have been
presented to them, and this also seems to be suggested by the two pendent
copal pouches. The dish in B's hand probably contains honey, while F holds
a plant (agave?)--the very same articles, which we find on page 12a in the
hands of other gods. It looks as if the gods had been propitiated and as if
this were the conclusion of a drama running through four Tonalamatls. Again
the two death-hieroglyphs, which were added on pages 8 and 9, are wanting
here, and we find only the usual eight signs:--
1 2 5 6
3 4 7 8.
Of these, 1, 2 and 5, 6 are the usual comprehensive heading; 1 and 5 are
the Manik sign, which must denote the offering, while 2 and 6 are the
characters, which perhaps, not incorrectly, has been thought to denote a
repetition, a kind of plural; we have already seen it on pages 12a-13a. 3
is the monogram of B, yet it looks more like a fist with the thumb
prominent--a figure I have frequently found in the inscriptions of
Palenque. It must also refer to the sacrifice offered to B, which is
confirmed by the _a_ added to it in 4 and probably denoting a good day. 7
is the hieroglyph of F to which the sign in 8 corresponds, while the
prefixed arm in 8 seems to refer to the presentation of the sacrifice.
Pages 10b--11b.
VIII 8 III 9 XII 9 VIII 10 V 16 VIII
Chuen
Akbal
Men
Manik
Cauac.
I have corrected the 15 in the manuscript by making it 16.
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
I read it thus:--
III 3 VI 2 VIII 3 XI 4 II 4 VI 1 VII 7 I 2 III
Cauac
Chicchan
Chuen
Caban
Akbal
Muluc
Men
Imix
Manik
Ben.
Two figures and eight hieroglyphs are given here. I do not venture to
decide whether each of the two figures with its hieroglyphs relates only to
a period of 26 days or to the half of the whole, 130 days. I think the
latter is more likely to be the case. The sign Imix-Kan, which I am
inclined to refer to a sacrificial meal, is common to both groups and
connects them. The two gods seem also to have a sign pertaining to a meal
in their hands; this may be a cup.
The first deity is D or I, but with a female breast and with a serpent on
his head. His signs are 2 and 3. The second god is A with a snail on his
head and his signs are 6 and 7.
In addition to these, sign 4 of the first group is _v_ and sign 8 of the
second group is c.
Pages 10c--11c.
I 3 XIII 1 I 5 VI 10 III 13 III 15 V 8 (in error 9) XIII
Imix Cimi
Ben Ezanab
Chicchan Oc
Caban Ik
Muluc Ix.
Here we have two independent Tonalamatls as on page 12a. There are
subdivisions only for the second; the first should be regarded either as
entirely invalid or else its division has merely been omitted.
6 gods with 4 hieroglyphs each are represented on these pages:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14 17 18 21 22
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16 19 20 23 24.
Here too Hieroglyphs 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21 are the common factor; they
have the form of the month Mol, but here, as on page 6c, they probably
designate the particular object constituting the sacrifice. The following
details are to be noted regarding the six divisions:--
1. The god A with his two signs in 2 and 3.
2. D with the signs 6 and 7.
3. F with the signs 10 and 11 (the latter _c_).
4. E with the signs 14 and 15, having on his head a structure, which is
compounded apparently of a Kan sign, a snail and the suggestion of the
maize plant.
5. G, clad in the gala cloak and the copal bag. His sign is 18, while 19
suggests rather the Moan or K.
6. B, his headdress displays the little circles, which often occur in
connection with him, _e.g._, pages 30c, 40a and 41a, and which may suggest
the starry sky. His sign is 22; the hieroglyph _m_ is added to it in 23 as
a determinative.
As usual, the fourth sign of each group is the most puzzling. 4 and 12 are
Imix with the uplifted arm as a prefix, as on page 13a, 8 is the hieroglyph
_o_, 16 is _a_, 20 is _c_ and the principal part of 24 is _r_. This sign
_r_ seems to me to suggest the week of 13 days (see above the explanation
of page 4a); four weeks of this kind end here.
It is to be noted further that all the six gods are holding one hand
outstretched:--A downward, B upward and the four in the centre forward.
Page 12c.
XIII 26 XIII 26 XIII 13 XIII
Chuen
Cib
Imix
Cimi
Chuen.
This is another Tonalamatl divided into 4 × 65, the subdivisions being
transferred to the end of the second, fourth and fifth weeks. The Chuen at
the bottom is superfluous.
The twelve hieroglyphs standing here according to rule are grouped together
in fours by the three pairs of the first row. Of these 1, 5 and 9 are the
fist, familiar from the inscriptions, and which we also see on page 10b of
this manuscript, where, to be sure, it occurs with the sign of B, as often
happens, but here it has the closed eye of the death-god A. On the other
hand, 2, 6 and 10 are the sign Kin = sun, with merely a dotted outline, and
the three gods pictured below all hold the same Kin sign in their hands.
This passage, may refer to the dying sun, the winter solstice.
The first god is D, who, however, has B's head on top of his own. An object
like a spyglass projects from the eye of B, which one could hardly venture
to pronounce a nose-peg. The sign 4 (Ahau) refers to D; but what is the
meaning of 3, the hieroglyph of the serpent deity H? Is the sun wounded?
The second god is the baldheaded old deity, whom Schellhas designates as N.
The hieroglyph 7, apparently referring to the five Uayeyab days, is his
sign; we found it on page 4b and shall again find it on page 21c, and this
time likewise with the old man. What is the meaning of the grain-goddess E
denoted by sign 8? As N is connected with the close of the year, so E seems
to be in various ways connected with the beginning of the new year.
The third picture is unmistakably the sun-god G with the copal pouch
hanging from his neck. His sign is 11, while sign 12, which suggests the
wind-god K and balled-up clouds, is as difficult to explain here as it was
on page 11c. The signs 8 and 12 seem, therefore, to refer to one another,
and, if I do not see too much, look like a promise of rain and harvest.
On page 12 the Tonalamatls of the three sections of the page come to an end
and a new part of the manuscript begins.
Page 13a.
I shall here group together pages 13 and 14, the top third of 14 encroaches
a little upon page 15. 13a has the following Tonalamatl:--
Imix
Ben
Chicchan
Caban
Muluc.
I have supplied the first day, which is effaced. The week days are wanting.
The 52 days are divided into halves of 26 days each.
Of the 8 hieroglyphs the fifth seems to be the same as the destroyed first;
aside from the prefix, it is the sign _s_.
The two halves of the period have two gods, the first is B with a very
singular head-ornament, and the second A, perhaps with the symbol of a
snail on his head. Both hold a plant (agave) in their hands, as on pages
10b and 12a. Hieroglyph 2, which is mostly destroyed, must have been B's
monogram, 4 has the Ahau as its determinative, and 3 is the elongated head
_q_ with Ben-Ik.
In the second group 6 and 8 are the signs of A, and 7 is an Imix with the
uplifted arm prefixed, as on page 10c.
Pages 14a--15a.
VIII 13 VIII 13 VIII 13 VIII 13
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
The month days 13 and 5 have changed places in the manuscript. The initial
day VIII Ahau will prove to be of especial importance in the second part of
the manuscript (compare page 70). Here, as in the preceding Tonalamatl, the
period is divided into equal parts.
Little can be said of the hieroglyphs, 16 in number, since 6, 9, 10, 12,
13, 14, 15 and 16 are wholly or mostly destroyed. 3, 7 and 11 seem here to
be a comprehensive element, as is also probably 15, but I am unable to
refer this head to a particular god; 2, 6, 10 and 14 may also be alike, but
this is very uncertain. 1, 5, 9 and 13 may have denoted the four cardinal
points, at least 1 suggests the south and 5 the north.
Thus we have left for the four deities E, H, A and G, only the signs 4, 8,
12 and 16; 4 surely belongs to E, and 8 to H, but the other two are erased.
Pages 13b--14b.
VI 13 VI 9 II 7 IX 7 III 7 X 9 VI
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
There are 24 hieroglyphs for the 6 divisions:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14 17 18 21 22
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16 19 20 23 24.
Of these the upper row again contains the comprehensive signs, and the
lower the discriminating characters. The closed eye in 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 and
21 suggests A, who also appears below as the first of the six gods, and the
superfix of these signs suggests the south. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 22 are the
Kan sign, and we also find this sign in the hand of each of the six gods.
Thus the subject of this passage seems strictly speaking to be harvest or
food.
The six gods are A, E, C, L, F and D; the second, third fourth and fifth
have a bird on their heads. The first and fourth birds are eating, as on
pages 11a and 12b, and thus probably represent enemies of the harvest. The
first is of a different species from the other two. The four gods in the
centre have the copal pouch about their necks. Signs 3 and 4 are the common
hieroglyphs for A; 7 that for E, to which _o_ is added as a determinative;
11 is C's hieroglyph with an _a_ added to it, and L is undoubtedly denoted
by sign 15; 16 is _r_ (equal to 13 days; it is meant here for the day III
Cib). F appears quite according to rule in 19, which is appropriately
followed by the sign _c_ in 20. Finally the hieroglyphs for D in 23 and 24
are the usual ones.
We come now to the large section extending to page 23, which, owing to the
numerous pictures of women, forms a section quite by itself. It is not
likely that this contains anything else than oracles relating to pregnancy;
in fact, the period of 260 days represented here with great frequency is in
excellent accord with this subject. In the Codex Tro-Cort. there is also a
section devoted to women, which corresponds to this chapter and
particularly page 19* of the Troano affords remarkable parallels to the
Dresdensis, even in details.
Pages 13c--14c.
II II 7 IX 3 XII 3 II 13 II
Men Chicchan
Imix Chuen
Manik Caban
Ben Akbal
Cauac Muluc.
The second of the two vertical rows on the left should be considered as
immediately joined to the first. Thus we have here the second example in
this manuscript of a Tonalamatl of ten parts; the first was on page 9c.
The entire representation on 13c and 14c looks like an introduction to the
following section, as though treating in general of the relation to one
another of pairs of animals, of human beings and of deities. Corresponding
with the Tonalamatl, there are four pairs of this kind represented.
The hieroglyphs belonging to these pictures are distributed among the four
sections as follows:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 11 15 16 17
3 4 7 8 12 13 14 18 19 20.
Apparently, the first two pictures have only 4 signs each, and the other
two 6, but this is equalized by the fact, that hieroglyphs 1, 3, 5, and 7
are clearly each composed of two signs. The comprehensive sign appearing in
2, 6, 9 and 16, is, properly speaking, the sign _t_, which may denote
coition, and, not unsuitably, contains in its centre two black figures side
by side.
Passing now to the separate four groups, I think the male figure is always
on the right and the female on the left. In the first and second groups the
two face each other, and in the other two groups the male is behind the
female.
1. The female figure is an animal, perhaps a deer, the male is a black and
white spotted deity having a human form and his head appropriately
embellished with horns. The hieroglyphs belonging to these are:--1, a
combination of Manik and Chuen with a prefixed 4, just as on page 21b; 3,
likewise a compound sign, with a prefixed 7, which occurs also on page 46c
on the left, and which I do not venture to explain, but which seems to
denote horns, and lastly the hieroglyph c.
2. The female figure is an animal (on page 19a the female is represented
more in resemblance to the human form) with a bird-head, to which belongs
the compound sign _s_, still unexplained; the male figure is a barking (or
howling?) dog, as on page 21b. Hieroglyph 7 is composite and contains first
the sign generally belonging to the dog and suggesting a skeleton, which
also represents the 14th month, and secondly, a Cimi closely related to it,
precisely the same as in the parallel passage 21b. The well-known _q_
follows in the 8th place.
3. The god D holds in front of himself an animal, which may be a rabbit.
His signs are hieroglyphs 11 and 12, while 13, the principal part of which
is a grasping hand, clutching a Moan sign, seems to refer to the animal in
the picture. 10 is _b_ and 14 is a.
4. Lastly, two beings in human guise, showing thus a closer connection with
what follows. They are the black god L with his hieroglyph in 18 enlarged
by an Imix, and a woman holding a Kan sign in her hand, hieroglyph 20
likewise showing the ordinary combination of Imix-Kan. Sign 15, however,
refers to the woman, and lastly 17 and 19 are the signs _m_ and _r_; I note
that _r_ ends a period of 13 days.
The contents of the following seem to suggest that we should first read
page 15 (including the middle section of 16) from top to bottom, then pages
16-23, partly from left to right and partly from top to bottom, according
to the subject.
Page 15a.
V 34 XIII 18 V
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
There are two pictures with 4 hieroglyphs each.
The two pictures represent D and A, the latter probably as feminine. Both
are falling headfirst, and both have leaves about them as if they were
falling from a tree and a cry is issuing from A's mouth. The common element
is given in hieroglyphs 2, 3 and 7, which are all signs of D. Further, 4 is
the Chuen sign, the ape (as the animal living on trees?), its prefix is
hieroglyph _r_, which I regard as denoting the week of 13 days and which
falls here exactly on the day XIII. And the same Chuen sign is repeated in
the second group as the first part of sign 6, the second part of which is
illegible. 8 is the sign of A and 1 is effaced.
Pages 15b--16b.
I 13 I 31 VI 8 I 13 I
Ik
Manik
Eb
Caban
Ik.
That is 4 × 65 = 260 days. Hence the sign of Ik repeated at the bottom, as
is usual in such cases, is superfluous.
The Tonalamatl contains 4 figures, of which 1 and 2 form one pair and 3 and
4 another.
As on page 15a, the pair at the left are falling down and also have leaves
about them. They are god B, who holds a Kan sign in his hand, and a woman,
whose eyes are closed and who holds the sign of death before her breast. B
is falling down in a similar fashion in Cort. 17. Hieroglyphs 1-8 belong to
this pair. Of these, 1, 5 and 8 and also 7 refer to death, 3 with the
determinative sign, 4, added (which is the sign _q_ with a Ben-Ik), refers
to B, while signs 2 and 6 belonging to god D, who occurred in the preceding
Tonalamatl, should be noted.
The pair at the right on the other hand is _seated_, the woman apparently
on the curved handle of a vessel. The head-ornament and hieroglyph of the
female figure prove that she is the serpent deity H, while the male figure
is the rare black deity M, whom we find again with his sign on page 43a for
example; he holds a bone in his hand. Hieroglyphs 9 and 13 agree. The lower
part of these hieroglyphs is the fist with the thumb unfolded, the sign at
the top seeming to be merely an empty outline (Muluc?) and thus, like 1 and
5 of the preceding group, they seem to refer to a sacrifice offered to the
death-god. 10 and 14 are again, strange to say, like 2 and 6 of the
preceding group, the sign of D. 11 is the hieroglyph of H, who is
represented below as feminine, and that 12 is a complement of 11 is proved
by the upper part of this uncommon hieroglyph, which corresponds to the
object in H's hand, and which is repeated on page 18a with the same figure;
compare also page 8b. 15 is surely the hieroglyph of M, who is pictured
below, as in the Tro. 2a and 22*a where the same M appears with the same
hieroglyph, and to him belongs in 16 the sign _r_, which I am inclined to
consider the week of 13 days, and which here, as on 14c, ends a section of
13 days.
Page 15c.
III III 12 II 14 III
Lamat Ix
Ahau Cimi
Eb Ezanab
Kan Oc
Cib Ik.
This is a Tonalamatl of ten parts, the days are to be read in the following
order:--Lamat, Ix, Ahau, Cimi, etc.
There are two figures, A probably conceived as feminine and D with the same
head-ornament as on page 10; both hold in their hands a Kin = sun.
Hieroglyphs 2 and 6 are also the Kin sign, while 1 and 5 have the closed
eye of A, but differ in their secondary parts, the sign suggesting the
south being a suffix in 1 and a superfix in 5; 1, however, has an affix,
while 5 has as a prefix a sign differing from the affix in 1. 3 and 4 are
the signs of A, 7 that of D, next to which in 8 one would expect to see an
Ahau, but instead of this there is again the sign of H (borrowed from page
15b?).
This seems to end the subject of coition; now, in natural course, follows
the subject of pregnancy, to which I believe the following Tonalamatl is
exclusively devoted.
Page 16a.
Kan 21 31
Cib
Lamat
Ahau
Eb.
There are no red numerals, hence the Tonalamatl seems to apply to any one
of the initial week days.
Two women are portrayed, both of whom are stretching a hand forward and
upward. There are 8 hieroglyphs of which, however, the top row is almost
entirely obliterated; 3 and 7 in the lower row are just alike, being the
usual sign for woman.
There is a decided contrast between the two figures, which might suggest
barrenness and fruitfulness. Observation of their physical differences
would give us that idea. Furthermore, the first carries on her back an
unfamiliar head, perhaps A's, while the second has the Ahau, Imix and Kan
signs, from which plants seem to be sprouting. The first is represented in
the fourth hieroglyph by the sign _c_, which is closely allied to the death
deities, while the second woman is denoted by hieroglyph 8 which is the
sign of the deity E, the grain-god.
Pages 16a--17a.
In the following I will group together all the pages from page 16-23 as
follows:--First, I shall discuss the top thirds, then the middle and lastly
the lower thirds. The sense, however, often seems to require that the first
third should connect with the second, and the second with the third; but I
find it impossible to determine exactly the intended order.
On pages 16a-17a, we find for the first time in this manuscript not a
Tonalamatl, but in its stead all the twenty days arranged in four columns,
each of which ends with one of the regents of the year:--
Men Ahau Chicchan Oc
Cib Imix Cimi Chuen
Caban Ik Manik Eb
Ezanab Akbal Lamat Ben
Cauac Kan Muluc Ix.
This seems to establish the fact that the day of its birth was of
importance to a new-born child.
Between each column and the next there is a picture and above each picture
four hieroglyphs, which, however, are mostly destroyed, so that much of the
meaning of this passage is lost to us.
The first is an old man walking, who beyond doubt is N, the Uayeyab god,
with a staff in his hand and the signs Imix and Kan on his back. He is
looking upward and is also pointing upward with his right hand. Of his
hieroglyphs only enough of the fourth is visible to enable us to recognize
in it the regular sign of N, 5 Zac. The second picture is again an old man
walking with a stick, he is baldheaded and hence is probably also N, as on
page 12c. His hieroglyph might be the fourth of those written above him,
the other three are entirely unrecognizable. He has a carrying-frame on his
back, but it is uncertain whether he is carrying anything upon it.
The third figure is a woman who is pointing upward with one hand and with
the other holding the bundle on her back, which I am unable to explain
(does it refer to the 14th Uinal--the end of pregnancy?) and from which
rises an object resembling a flame. Her sign is in the fourth place and _q_
is in the third. 1 and 2 are not legible and perhaps may be supplemented by
the third picture on page 19c. Finally, the fourth figure is F, who is
sitting and has a Cimi sign on his back. His monogram is the second of the
hieroglyphs above him, the third is very appropriately _b_ and the other
two are not very clear to me.
The first two pictures might designate a male birth, the first indicating
wealth and the second poverty, the third might denote a female birth and
the fourth a still birth. But who can positively assert this!
Pages 18a--19a.
VIII 12 VII 12 VI 9 II 10 XII 9 VIII
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab
Oc.
This is a Tonalamatl of five parts with 20 hieroglyphs, which unfortunately
are so much injured that no signs comprehending the whole can be
distinguished.
There are five women in a sitting attitude.
The first woman corresponds exactly to the third figure on page 15b. She is
sitting on a bench, the same implement is in her hand and there is also a
serpent on her head, for which reason she likewise reminds us of H. The
third hieroglyph is hers, and the 4th sign is an Ahau.
The second woman holds in her hand the Kin sign; above it is the Yax sign
and above this a little cross between two dots (the numeral 18?). Compare
pages 18c, 19c and 27b, and in the second part, 46b and 50c. I shall
venture no opinion regarding the hieroglyphs.
The third woman with the copal pouch hanging from her neck has nothing in
her hand. She is pointing upward with her right hand. Her hair seems to be
wound in the shape of an 8 in horizontal position and above her is a sign
denoting the union of two parts. The hieroglyphs are entirely destroyed.
Does this represent the birth of twins?
The eyes of the fourth woman are closed, she is pointing forward with her
hand and there is a bird on her head. Nothing is left of the hieroglyphs.
Finally, the fifth is distinguished by a large nose-peg, which, as on 12b,
resembles a flower. Her hand is extended forward. The fourth of the
hieroglyphs above her is her sign. There is nothing to be said regarding
the three others. Are these five women engaged here in presenting their
thankofferings and prayers of thanksgiving for the birth which has taken
place?
Pages 19a--21a.
XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI
Ahau
Chicchan
Oc
Men
Ahau.
Instead of Men the Manuscript has incorrectly Eb. Ahau in the fifth place
is superfluous, since we have here a Tonalamatl divided into four equal
parts.
The hieroglyphs are so nearly obliterated that we can no longer distinguish
a common sign. There were in all six signs for the first picture, of which
the first two are above the day-signs, while the figures from the second to
the fifth have only four signs each, as follows:--
1 2 5 7 8 11 12 15 16 19 20
3 4 6 9 10 13 14 17 18 21 22.
All that can be distinguished here is that the 4th and 13th have the same
cross _b_ and that 6 and 10 probably contain the same head.
Each of the five pictures contains a woman sitting. In the first
representation she sits opposite a male figure, who bends down to her with
his bird-head, which we have already seen on page 13c. In the other four
pictures the woman is holding the figure of a god on her lap. I do not
recognize the god in the first picture on page 20. In the second and third
pictures he is related to A or the Moan and the first figure on page 21 may
represent the god D. These can only be new-born children represented by the
gods under whose signs they were born. It should also be noted that the
second woman on page 20 has a serpent on her head and the third a bird. The
bird's head resembles that on page 16c.
Pages 21a--22a.
The Cimi and Eb of the second column have changed places in the Manuscript.
Instead of the X there is an erroneous 2 and there is no initial VII.
VII VII 3 X 2 XII 7 VI 9 II 3 V 2 VII
Oc Ahau
Cib Cimi
Ik Eb
Lamat Ezanab
Ix Kan.
We have here a Tonalamatl consisting of 10 × 26 days, and the 26 days are
subdivided into six parts. I have just assumed that the 2 is wrong and the
initial VII is wanting over the first column, yet the 2 followed by the
laterally elongated head _q_ might here, perhaps, be explained in some
manner as the sign of the day VII Oc.
Apart from this sign which occupies an entirely exceptional position, we
have here 24 hieroglyphs, _i.e._, 4 for each of the six groups.
The fourth sign in the first five groups is in each case a Chuen combined
with the cross _b_ and the suffix, which seems to be a knife, and also with
a numeral, which, however, is not recognizable in the first group; in the
second it is a 3, in the third a 7, in the fourth a 5 and in the fifth a 3.
What can these numbers mean? 3 + 7 + 5 + 3 = 18, and Chuen with the meaning
of 20 (especially in the inscriptions) would be 18 × 20 = 360.
In the fourth place of the sixth group there is a compound character, the
main part of which (top, right) seems to be the sign for the thirteenth
month, Mac, and which may also, as we shall see on page 24, denote the
entire Tonalamatl. It is again compounded with a Chuen, an uplifted arm and
a kind of suffix, and hence might denote the end of a Tonalamatl.
The remaining 18 signs are in the main destroyed. In the second of the
fourth group we recognize the lock of hair denoting a woman, in the third
of the second group the superfix suggesting the south, which we find above
the Cimi sign, for example on page 13b. Lastly, the other third signs are
in the third group Imix-Kan, in the fourth group the head _q_, in the fifth
the bird c and in the sixth a Manik sign with prefix and superfix
resembling the sign _i_; in a few places (24, 39a, 53a, 56b, 58b, 61a, 61c,
68c) the prefix might have the meaning of 20.
Since the intention was to close this section on the next page, the space
had to be used as economically as possible, and instead of the six pictures
to be expected, there is only one and that is the first. It is a woman in
whom I observe nothing characteristic except that she has a kind of cloak,
which has fallen down over the lower part of her body, and who therefore
remains unexplained.
Pages 22a--23a.
II II II II 2 IV 8 XII 7 VI 10 III 12 II
Men Cib Caban Ezanab
Chuen Eb Ben Ix
Manik Lamat Muluc Oc
Akbal Kan Chicchan Cimi
The Tonalamatl is no doubt to be read in this way after the correction of a
few inaccuracies in the Manuscript.
The 20 days, all of which occur again here as on pages 16a-17a, should be
read from the right top to the left bottom, since they form but one series.
As a matter of fact Ezanab is distant 19 days from the future Caban, but 39
days distant from the desired weekday of the same name (see my
"Erläuterungen," p. 24). Thus we have here a period of 20 × 39 days = 780,
_i.e._, a three-fold Tonalamatl. The three Tonalamatls represented on the
pages between the preceding passage (pages 16a-17a), where all the 20 days
appear, and this, are of three _different_ kinds (5 × 52, 4 × 65, and 10 ×
26). This in itself is very remarkable. Furthermore a fourth kind of
Tonalamatl seems to be introduced here, which embraces, as it were, these
three Tonalamatls.
The hieroglyphs, which are mostly destroyed, were arranged in groups of
four for each subdivision, in the following order:--
II II II II
1 2 5 9 13 17
3 4 6 10 14 18
7 11 15 19
8 12 16 20.
Of the above the third hieroglyph of each group, _i.e._, 7, 11, 15, 19
(probably also 3) is always the same and is the sign of D, the moon and
night-god. In detail we should expect to find five pictures here, but owing
to lack of space only the first of these is given. It represents a deity
with a Kan sign in its hand and a serpent on its head, who is probably E,
and he is falling down here in exactly the same manner as the four deities
on page 15 at the beginning of this section.
Now, which were the other four deities? Signs 8, 12, 20 refer to A, H and
C. 16 is the laterally elongated head _q_, to which Seler is inclined to
refer the day Men, and Schellhas an undetermined deity I. On account of its
frequency this sign must have besides a more general significance. In
addition, however, we have in 14 and 18 the signs of F and B. 6 is
uncertain, 10 is probably C, and the top row is entirely illegible. If to
these deities is added the D repeated five times in the third row, it will
be seen that all the important gods are grouped together here on the last
page of this section.
Pages 16b--17b.
I will now attempt (for it cannot be more than an attempt) to separate into
three parts, according to their contents, the middle and lowest thirds of
pages 16 to 23. The first part, 16b to 18b and 16c to 20c, contains six
Tonalamatls with pictures of women, each of whom carries on her back the
figure or symbol of a deity. This deity can hardly be any other than the
one to which the horoscope of the child especially refers.
The first of these Tonalamatls, on pages 16b-17b, runs as follows:--
Muluc 13 4 35 (or 20 15)
Imix
Ben
Chicchan
Caban.
The red numerals are wanting and were probably forgotten.
The hieroglyphs stand thus:--
1 2 5 6 9 13
3 4 7 8 10 14
11 15
12 16.
Of these 3, 7, 11 and 15 are the sign for women, 2, 6, 10 and 14 are
likewise all the same sign, which is repeated in the same places on pages
17c to 18c. I do not understand its meaning; it may have reference merely
to the carrying-frame. Instead of the four women, whom we should expect to
find here, only the first two are portrayed. The first carries B, whose
sign is the first hieroglyph, while the fourth hieroglyph is the sign _q_.
The second woman carries A to whom hieroglyphs 5 and 8 refer. The third
woman would have carried D, which is plainly proved by hieroglyphs 9 and
12, and the fourth, F, as follows from sign 13 and probably also from 16
(_q_).
Pages 17b--18b.
Eb 11 7 6 16 8 4.
Kan
Cib
Lamat
Ahau.
Here again there are no red numerals.
The 24 hieroglyphs of the six divisions stand thus:--
1 2 5 9 13 14 17 18 21 22
3 4 6 10 15 16 19 20 23 24.
7 11
8 12
Again, six women should be portrayed here, but there are only four; the
second and third are wanting. The signs for the women are given in 3, 7,
11, 15, 19 and 23, but in 15 and 19 the prefix is different from that of
the rest. As from here on the women repeatedly carry a bird, the signs for
this are 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 and 22, which are the symbol of a rising bird, as
in the sign of the 15th Uinal (Moan), which in my opinion generally
coincides with the 13th month of 28 days.
The women pictured here have nothing in their hands, which they hold
stretched forward, as is usually the case in this section. The first woman
carries a vulture on her head. Compare 8a. In regard to it see also
Schellhas, "Göttergestalten," p. 31. The hieroglyph of the vulture, which
we find repeated on page 17c, 24, 37b, 46, 50, 65, is here hieroglyph 1,
usually regarded as the sign of the bat deity, and near it in 4 is _q_.
The second woman would have carried the black deity L (hieroglyph 5), to
which _q_ is added in 8.
The third would have had the dog, _i.e._, the lightning dog, which we find
in hieroglyph 9 and in the month sign Kankin; an _a_ is added to them in
12.
The fourth woman carries A, as is proved by his signs in 13 and 16.
The fifth carries nothing; according to the hieroglyphs 17 and 20 she ought
to carry D.
Lastly the sixth carries the Moan as is proved by signs 21 and 24.
Pages 16c--17c.
Muluc 8 13 13 13 8 10
Ix
Cauac
Kan
Muluc.
This is a Tonalamatl of 4 × 65 days. The Muluc at the bottom is, therefore,
superfluous. I have been obliged to correct the 12 in the last column of
the Manuscript by changing it into a 10. The red numerals are again
wanting.
This passage admirably continues the one in the preceding Tonalamatl
containing the women carrying birds, and is also divided into six parts.
The hieroglyphs stand thus:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 17 21
3 4 7 8 11 12 14 18 22
15 19 23
16 20 24.
Signs 3, 7, 11, 14, 19 and 23 (14 and 15 have changed places) denote women.
Of the six women only the first three are here portrayed.
The first carries the Moan with which signs 1, 2 and 4 agree perfectly. The
second and third carry two birds, which may be parrots of a different
species. They are very seldom represented elsewhere and hence their
hieroglyphs, 5 and 9, with the added determinative 10 are unfamiliar. In 8
and 12 the well-known determinatives _a_ and _c_ are added.
Judging by sign 13 the fourth woman would have carried the same vulture,
which we see in the middle section of this page; 15 and 16 are again signs
_c_ and _q_.
The fifth woman would have carried an unknown bird of prey, the signs of
which are 17 and 18, and 18=10; 20 is again _q_, but with a superfix
different from that in 16.
Finally the sixth woman, like the third in 17b, seems to have carried the
dog, as is proved by sign 21, but in 22 the symbol of a bird is again
added. This passage ends in 24 with the well-known Imix-Kan.
Pages 17c--18c.
IV 15 VI 33 XIII 4 IV
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
Here we again find the regular red numerals (Roman in my transcription of
the text), which were wanting in the last three Tonalamatls. That they were
not added until after the black script and drawings were completed, is
evident in several passages of our Manuscript and also in this one, where
they have been faintly indicated in black by the scribe (or corrector). The
absence of red numbers in the passages 17b-18b and 16c-17c is an evidence
that I was right in proceeding directly from the former to the latter.
Of the 12 hieroglyphs, 2, 6 and 10 have again the form which we found on
pages 16b-17b, and which seems to refer to a carrying-frame; compare,
however, the explanation of pages 25-28 below. The women themselves are
designated by hieroglyphs 3, 8 and 12. The first woman carries the god A
and hieroglyphs 1 and 4 are his regular signs. The second woman has on her
back a Kin sign, above that a Yax, and this combination overtopped by a
cross between two dots also forms hieroglyph 5; compare the upper section
of the same page. That this hieroglyph is nothing else than a designation
of god D follows from hieroglyph 7. Finally the fourth woman carries a
figure, which has a Moan sign for a head and to which hieroglyphs 9 and 11
certainly refer.
Pages 18c--19c.
XIII 32 VI 20 XIII
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
The first woman carries the god A, who is denoted by hieroglyphs 4 and 1,
though somewhat irregularly by the latter. 2 is the carrying-frame and 3
the woman herself.
The second woman has again the Yax-Kin sign on her back as in the preceding
Tonalamatl, and hieroglyph 5 is also a combination of these signs, but here
in 7 we find, not the sign of D, but that of E, to which also the Imix-Kan
in 8 corresponds. 6 is again the carrying-frame, though, as is also the
case in 2, more indistinctly drawn than in the earlier Tonalamatls.
Pages 19c--20c.
XIII 11 XI 11 IX 11 VII 10 IV 9 XIII
Ahau
Eb
Kan
Cib
Lamat.
This is a Tonalamatl divided into five parts, to which 20 hieroglyphs
belong. The hieroglyphs are in the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14 17 18
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16 19 20.
At places 2, 7 (6 and 7 have changed places), 10, 14 and 18 we find again
the sign which we think means a carrying-frame, while signs 3, 6, 11, 15
and 19 are those of the five women.
The first carries a figure with a Moan head and agreeing with this is the
second death-god F in hieroglyph 1 and his determinative in 4.
The second woman, who is seated, carries the same object regarding which I
am still uncertain, which is carried by the standing woman on page 17a.
This object is denoted by hieroglyph 5 (_w_). Its determinative is probably
8. It may perhaps be a step in the right direction to point out that this
sign suggests the god K.
The third, like the first, has a figure with a Moan head, with which a
female form of A in 12 and hieroglyph 9 accord.
The fourth woman carries the maize deity E. 13 is his sign and the food
hieroglyphs, Imix-Kan in 16, agree with it.
The fifth woman seems to carry the somewhat indistinct form of D, if this
may be inferred from the Ahau of the 17th sign. 20 is the universal sign a.
This ends the six Tonalamatls, which are represented in what I have called
the section of the burden-bearing women. Five other Tonalamatls follow,
which again suggest the idea of conception, which we met once before on
pages 13c-14c.
Page 19b.
X 29 XIII 23 X
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab
Oc
The most frequent sign in the five Tonalamatls, which I have grouped
together, is the cross _b_, which plays the most important part in all the
Tonalamatls, excepting the third, which differs from the rest also in other
respects. It is essentially the sign for union, referring in the case of
the stars to their conjunction and here to sexual union.
In this Tonalamatl we see the cross in hieroglyphs 1 and 5, the sign for
woman in 2 and 6, and their determinatives in 3 and 7.
The first woman has a deity facing her who is devoid of all characteristic
marks, and sign 4 is also nothing but the universal a.
The second woman whose eyes are closed, sits facing A, whose hieroglyph is
in 8.
Pages 19b--20b.
VI 28 VIII 24 VI
Cib
Lamat
Ahau
Eb
Kan.
The arrangement of this Tonalamatl is very similar to that of the
preceding.
Hieroglyphs 1 and 5 are again the cross, and 2 and 6 the signs for woman.
The first picture is wanting; hieroglyph 3 with the number 7 as a prefix
denotes a deity with whom I am not familiar. The same sign is found on page
50, left, middle; in 4 the usual head _q_ is added.
Beside the woman in the second group--not facing her--is the serpent deity
H, again, as on pages 11c and 12b, with the nose-peg resembling a flower.
His sign is 7 to which in 8 the familiar Ahau is again added.
Page 20b.
II 20 IX 19 II 13 II
Cauac
Chuen
Akbal
Men
Manik.
The hieroglyphs stand thus:--
1 2 5 9
3 4 6 10
7 11
8 12.
The subject now passes into the province of astronomy. This is already
proved by sign 1, which represents the clouds, between which the sun or
moon is usually pictured; the sun is probably omitted here merely owing to
limited space. Sign 3 suggests the storm-god K (compare pages 7a and 47
left) to which in 2 the Ahau might be appropriately added, inasmuch as it
rules the year here under consideration as on pages 25b to 26c. On account
of the Ben-Ik sign I see in 4 one of the months of 28 days as a more exact
determination of time. Below the Ben-Ik a head is represented with eyes
apparently closed, and this head is repeated in 6 and 10, though, probably
for lack of space, without the Ben-Ik. In each of the three places a sign
is used as an affix which might readily be the year sign, contracted
laterally.
The two similar hieroglyphs 5 and 9, which have the following form, are
especially worthy of consideration:--
[Illustration]
The part on the right recalls by its trisection the sign _r_, which I
regard as the week of 13 days and, in fact, the interval between the two
hieroglyphs is 13 days. On the left is the inverted figure of a person in a
squatting attitude, the head surrounded by stars as on pages 57b and 58b
and a sign on the back which may be a suggestion of the sun-glyph. In this
figure, which occurs also in the Tro-Cort. and in the inscriptions, I see
the planet Mercury and I believe that that planet's retrogression (which
lasts 17-18 days) or disappearance into the light of the sun during this
week, is the subject of this passage. 7 and 8 are the sign for D with the
usual Ahau, and 11 and 12 are the hieroglyphs of the death-god A.
Instead of three pictures there is only one here, viz:--a woman with
nose-peg, sitting on a mat and apparently waiting for something. We also
find figures sitting on mats elsewhere, for example on pages 7b and 68b.
Page 21b.
VII VII 7 I 7 VIII 7 II 5 VII
Oc Ahau
Cib Cimi
Ik Eb
Lamat Ezanab
Ix Kan.
This is also a Tonalamatl of 10 parts (10 × 26). The first column should be
read first from top to bottom and then the second. The days are exactly the
same as on page 21a, and here too Cimi and Eb have changed places.
The hieroglyphs run thus:--
1 5 6 9 13
2 7 8 10 14
3 11 15
4 12 16.
The signs forming the hieroglyphs into groups are, in addition to the cross
in 2, 6, 10 and 14, the heads in 1, 5, 9 and 13 with an Akbal sign
(indistinct in 9) which, by the lock of hair in 5, 9 and 13, refer to a
woman. This lock of hair is replaced by a hand in 1.
Sign 3, with which _m_ in 4 is associated as a determinative, shows that
the first group ought to have a picture of the black god L grouped with a
female figure.
The second group is the only one with a picture. On the right there is a
female figure, which, judging by the headdress, we have already met on page
19a. Opposite her sits the dog which we saw on page 13c. Here (in sign 7),
as on page 13c, the hieroglyph of the dog is combined with a Cimi sign, and
this hieroglyph is repeated in 8 with the sign _c_, which is so closely
allied to Cimi.
For the third group the god A should have been represented with the woman,
as is proved by sign 11 so peculiarly combined with _r_ as a superfix. To
this hieroglyph _a_ is added, doubtless referring to the good days, as if
merely to fill space.
The hieroglyphs of the fourth group do not, I think, convey a clear idea as
to which deity belongs here. His sign is 15, which is compounded of Manik
and Chuen with a superfix, nor does the Cimi added in 16 shed light on the
subject. As for 15 we have already found it on page 13c with the prefixed
4, which I find prefixed in this way in at least 12 different signs.
Pages 21c--22c.
Caban 5 21 16 10
Muluc
Imix
Ben
Chicchan.
This is a Tonalamatl of five parts in which the red numerals are wanting.
The hieroglyphs are in the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 11 13
3 4 7 8 10 12 14
15
16.
Among these are hieroglyphs which are common to all the groups:--the cross
in 1, 5 and 9 and the woman in 3, 7 and 15. In 13 this cross is replaced by
another sign, perhaps that for the year of 360 days, and in 12 the sign for
woman is replaced by the universal a.
Each of the three pictures contains a woman facing a deity. I will consider
first the second picture in which H is the deity, as is proved by
hieroglyph 6 to which an Imix is added in 8, with the uplifted arm prefixed
as in 10c and 13a.
Between the first and third pictures there is some confusion. The first is
D, for while his type inclines more to that of N, the other old god of the
Maya Olympus, comparison with 23c clearly shows that D is intended here.
But the year-sign on his head also suggests in some measure the Uayeyab god
N and moreover this sign does not belong to D and only occurs again with
him on page 23c. Further, there is no hieroglyph at all for D and instead
we find in 2, 5 Zac, the regular sign of N. Also sign 4 fits N better than
it does D. Furthermore this passage relates to the day Ik, which might very
well be the last day of the year.
On the other hand the third picture contains, unquestionably, the figure of
N. I look for his sign in the 11th hieroglyph, which is the head of an old
man with a prefixed 4, referring to the four different forms of N in the
Kan, Muluc, Ix and Cauac years. The Ahau in 12, however, does not fit N,
but D.
This confusion can only be adjusted by transferring D from the first group
to the third and also, perhaps, the sign of the woman in 3, which applies
to all the three groups, and by transferring to the first group N and the
11th sign of the third group.
The fourth group has no picture. It should have, as hieroglyph 14 shows,
the god F, who represents death by violence in human sacrifice and the
chase. The hieroglyph Cimi in the 16th place is a suitable sign for this
deity.
Pages 22c--23c.
II 10 XII 12 XI 9 VII 6 XIII 7 VII 8 II
Oc
Ik
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab.
The hieroglyphs are arranged in the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 13 14 17 18 21 22
3 4 7 8 10 15 16 19 20 23 24.
11
12
This Tonalamatl, the fifth and last of this section, presents much that is
irregular and puzzling.
It can hardly be said that there are comprehensive hieroglyphs here,
forming the heading of the six groups. The sign for woman occurs only in 2,
8 and 24, and the cross _b_ only in 14 and 18, but it is sufficient to make
it clear that here, too, connection with a woman is the principal theme.
Let us pass, therefore, directly to the single groups.
The first group contains A and a woman. The god, however, is not facing the
woman but sits beside her. The Cimi sign in 1, the familiar _c_ in 3 and
the unknown sign in 4 (=6) hardly explain this particular proceeding.
The second group contains two persons who sit facing each other, but the
representation is so obscure and peculiar that it is difficult to determine
which is the male figure and which the female. The hair of the person
sitting on the right stands up in a manner not found elsewhere. It forms a
figure similar to that which is issuing from the mouth of the dog on pages
13c and 21b. The Cimi sign in 5 and the sign _c_ in 7 are familiar, but the
infrequent 6=4 remains a puzzle.
Uncertainty regarding the third group is increased by the fact that there
is no picture belonging to it. The well-known signs, 10 (Cimi) and 12 (_q_)
afford no explanation, nor does the head with the uplifted arm in 11, which
we find with the same hieroglyph on pages 8a and 36a. The most puzzling is
the 9th sign, which is composed of two crouching persons leaning back to
back, and who also appear in the astronomical sections of the Manuscript on
page 68a, not merely in the form of a hieroglyph, but also carried out in a
picture. In my article on the Maya chronology published in the Zeitschrift
für Ethnologie of the year 1891, I attempted to explain this Janus picture
as meaning the change of the year, but that interpretation would make no
sense here.
The fourth group contains the woman opposite D, who is clad in the gala
mantle and has on his head a bird and apparently the sign for a year, and
is designated by the Ahau in 16, while Imix-Kan in 13, _b_ in 14 and _a_ in
15 are rather meaningless.
The fifth group represents the woman united with A, who is designated by
the Cimi sign in 17. 18 with its _b_ and 19 with its _q_ display little
that is characteristic, _r_ in 20, which I think is the sign for the week
of 13 days, invites further study. The sixth picture, which is the last, is
very peculiar; it represents three women sitting side by side denoting
perhaps the virgins who still remain. Sign 21 as Imix-Kan, 23 as _a_ and 24
as sign of femininity supply nothing in the way of explanation. As 6, 9 and
20 are the characteristic signs in the preceding groups, so here the
characteristic sign is 22--an open hand holding the day Ben--which perhaps
designates these virgins by referring to the house in which they are held
fast by the hand. Cf. Tro. 23* d.
Now of the entire woman section closing with page 23 only the two
Tonalamatls on pages 22b-23b remain. These Tonalamatls again display very
many peculiarities and seem to be but loosely connected with the five
Tonalamatls last discussed.
Page 22b.
III 13 III 13 III 13 III 13 III
Akbal
Men
Manik
Cauac
Chuen.
This is a regular Tonalamatl, in which the 52 days are divided into four
equal parts.
The hieroglyphs are in the following order:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13
3 4 7 8 11 12 14
15
16.
An Ahau is added here as the 17th sign, which is very unusual.
We find elements here forming the hieroglyphs into groups in three
different ways.
1. The signs 1, 5, 9 and 13 designate the four cardinal points as they so
often stand together in this Manuscript in the order of East, North, West
and South, _i.e._, in the sequence of the annual and not of the diurnal
course of the sun.
2. The hieroglyphs 2, 6, 10 and 14 are all alike and are the head with the
Akbal eye, which in 6 is closed.
3. The three persons pictured here all carry a Kan sign in their hands,
probably as the offering they have received. Similarly we found the Kan
sign held in the hand twice on page 16b.
The first picture is B; his sign is the third with the _q_ in 4 as a
determinative, which has above it a Ben-Ik sign.
The second figure is a goddess with a serpent as head-ornament, though we
find in the 7th sign, not her hieroglyph, but merely the one generally used
to denote a woman. 8 is the usual _a_, which in my opinion is the sign for
the _good_ days, to which also the Kan sign refers in the hands of the
three personages.
The third picture is that of the sun-god G; his hieroglyph is the 11th, to
which in 12 is added the sign _q_, the sign for the bad days, with a
superfix.
The fourth picture is wanting. According to the 15th hieroglyph it should
be the maize deity E. My theory that 16 is the sign for the week of 13 days
is supported by the fact that the division into 4 × 13 days is the
prevailing one.
Page 23b.
VIII 12 VII 12 VI 12 V 12 IV 12 III 5 VIII
Kan
Muluc
Ix
Cauac
Lamat.
This is a Tonalamatl of 4 × 65 days divided as evenly as possible into 5 ×
12 + 5. The 5th day added after the 16th must be a mistake (suggested by
the 5th day of the last section) for it is usually the first of the days,
which is repeated superfluously.
The hieroglyphs are:--
1 2 7 11 15 19 23
3 4 8 12 16 20 24
5 6 9 13 17 21 25
10 14 18 22 26.
Contrary to practice the first section has six hieroglyphs, and the other
five but four each.
As the characteristic hieroglyph we find in 1, 7, 11, 15, 19 and 23 a sign,
the meaning of which is still undetermined and which we shall meet again on
page 60, where it may refer to darkness.
The groups have in common, furthermore, the head without an underjaw and
the hair gathered up in a tuft in 4, 10, 14, 22 and 25 (in 18 perhaps
represented by _q_, the evil days). We shall find this sign on pages 25,
28, 30-35, 42-44 and 65-69, repeated a number of times in many instances. I
consider it the sign for fast-days. It appears also in the Tro-Cort.
Associated with this sign here as in other passages are the four sacrifices
derived from the animal kingdom:--a haunch of venison, a bird, an iguana
and a fish. The fish is beyond doubt denoted by 3, the mammal by 21 and the
bird by 13, and I believe, therefore, that the iguana with its spiny back
is denoted by 9. We find the four animals, though in a different order,
also on pages 29b-30b, 30b-31b and 40c-41c, as well as in Cort. 3-6 and 8,
for example. They seem to have a certain reference also to the four
cardinal points.
Only the first of the six groups has a picture (I?). This represents a
woman with a serpent in her hair, holding in her hand a dish containing a
fish. The woman is denoted by the fifth hieroglyph and the fish by the
third. The 6th sign is an Ahau, which is not quite intelligible here. Sign
2=5 Zac is very remarkable; it is the hieroglyph of the Uayeyab days and of
their god N. If this Ahau refers, as it often does, to the god D, it
suggests the relation between D and N, which follows from page 21c.
According to the 8th sign, the second group might refer to the serpent
deity H, and the 9th sign would not improperly denote the iguana.
In the same way sign 12 in the third group probably denotes the storm-god
K, with whom the bird in 13 accords very well.
In the fourth group both the animal and the sign of fasting, belonging to
it, are wanting, while 16 and 17 as well as the unlucky day in 18 clearly
refer to the death-deity A.
The fifth passage belongs, as sign 20 shows, to the maize deity E and to
this is added the haunch of venison in 21.
In the sixth group we recognize Imix-Kan, the sign for food derived from
the vegetable kingdom. It stands beside the grain-deity E of the fifth
group. I do not understand the vulture-head in 26.
The five deities specified here may be compared with those on page 24,
which are denoted by hieroglyphs 21-25 of the second column, though the
agreement is not perfect.
This ends the first great section of the Manuscript, in which Tonalamatls
are represented in uninterrupted succession. We come now to a page which
stands quite alone, being the first which treats of astronomy and which
ends the front of the first part of the Manuscript.
Page 24.
In my article "Zur Entzifferung IV" I discussed this remarkable page in
detail and in what follows I shall conform to that treatise, though
omitting many things which since then have become the established
possession of science, and shall endeavor to shed a still clearer light
upon other points.
This page presents in brief the subject which is more fully treated of on
the front of the second part of the Manuscript (pages 46-60).
The first problem it presents is to find periods in which the solar year
(365 days) is brought into accord with the apparent Venus year (584 days).
This takes place in a term of 2920 days = 8 × 365 = 5 × 584. Sequent to
this is the still higher aim of bringing the Tonalamatl (260) into harmony
with this period, which is accomplished in 37,960 days (= 146 × 260 = 104 ×
365 = 65 × 584).
The revolution of the moon (28), the ritual year (364 = 28 × 13) and the
apparent revolution of Mercury (115) come in question as secondary matters.
I will now give an approximate reproduction of the page:--
Hieroglyphs.
1 17 29 151,840 113,880 75,920 37,960
2 18 30 (4 × 37,960) (3 × 37,960) (2 × 37,960) (13 × 2920)
3 19 31 I Ahau I Ahau I Ahau I Ahau
4 20 32 185,120 68,900 33,280 9100
5 21 33 I Ahau I Ahau I Ahau I Ahau
6 22 34 35,040 32,120 29,200 26,280
7 23 35 (12 × 2920) (11 × 2920) (10 × 2920) (9 × 2920)
8 24 36 VI Ahau XI Ahau III Ahau VIII Ahau
9 25 37 23,360 20,440 17,520 14,600
10 26 38 (8 × 2920) (7 × 2920) (6 × 2920) (5 × 2920)
11 27 39 XIII Ahau V Ahau X Ahau II Ahau
12 28 40
13 11,680 8,760 5,840 2920
14 (4 × 2920) (3 × 2920) (2 × 2920)
VII Ahau XII Ahau IV Ahau IX Ahau
15
16 2,200 1,366,560 1,364,360
IV Ahau I Ahau I Ahau
8 Cumhu 18 Kayab 18 Zip.
First let me observe that I have restored the four large numbers at the
top, which are almost entirely effaced, as follows:--
1 15 10 5
1 16 10 5
1 6 16 8
14 0 0 0.
0
And furthermore, at the right, bottom, I have substituted the third month
for the second of the Manuscript, which proceeding will be justified later
on.
The least difficult portion of the contents of this page is the first
series consisting of 16 members, each being a multiple of 2920. It begins
with the date I Ahau (which is always concealed in these series), regularly
stops at the month day Ahau (since 2920 = 146 × 20), but necessarily
advances in the week days by 8 days each (since 2920 = 224 × 13 + 8), until
37,960 is reached, when the day I Ahau again appears (since 37,960 = 146 ×
260).
According to my method of filling in the numbers, the top row of the page
consists only of multiples of 37,960.
On the other hand, the four numbers of the second row from the top are more
difficult. They are, it is true, all divisible without remainder by 260,
but otherwise they seem to be without rule, and they give one somewhat the
impression of a subsidiary computation such as one might jot down on a slip
of paper in the course of some important mathematical work.
Nevertheless, the following remarkable results are obtained when the first
and third and the second and fourth numbers are combined by addition or
subtraction:--
1) 185,120 + 33,280 = 218,400, which is just 600 years of 13 × 28 = 364
days, 280 Mars years of 780 days, 840 Tonalamatls of 260 days or 7800
months of 28 days.
2) 185,120 - 33,280 = 151,840, _i.e._, precisely the highest number of the
top row, = 416 solar years of 365 days each or 260 Venus years of 584 days
each, _i.e._, the product of the days of the Tonalamatl multiplied by the
Venus years. We shall again find the 151,840 on page 51, and Seler
("Quetzalcoatl and Kukulcan," p. 400) finds this same period on a relief of
Chichen Itza.
3) 68,900 + 9100 = 78,000, _i.e._, 100 Mars years or 300 Tonalamatls. The
half of this number, or 39,000, we shall find again on pages 69-73 by
computation; also the whole 78,000.
4) 68,900 - 9100 = 59,800, _i.e._, 520 Mercury years of 115 days, or 230
Tonalamatls, or five times the period of 11,960 days, in which these two
periods are united. By computation again we find the 59,800 on page 58.
This period of 11,960 days is, however, to the period of 37,960 in the
proportion of 23:73, _i.e._, 23 × 520:73 × 520. 23 is the fifth part of the
apparent Mercury year, as 73 is of the solar year.
Let us now turn to the numbers, which form the bottom of my transcription,
but only the left hand lower corner in the Manuscript. Here, in the latter,
we find the following (with the correction already mentioned of the second
to the third month):--
2200 1,366,560 1,364,360
IV Ahau I Ahau I Ahau
8 Cumhu 18 Kayab 18 Zip.
The first thing to be done is to arrange and fill out these numbers to suit
our purpose.
The 2200 is clearly nothing more than the difference between the two high
numbers. We can therefore dispense with it.
Further, we find by the usual computation, that the second number belongs
to the first date and the third to the second. Hence the number
corresponding to the third date is wanting from lack of space. This number
can be calculated from that date; it is 1,352,400. It would suit this date
equally well if the number were higher or lower by 18,980 or a multiple of
18,980; but it will be seen directly that it agrees with the other two
numbers only at the value given above.
Now, if we add to this passage the years in which the dates must lie, they
are in the case of the date on the left, the year 9 Ix, in the case of the
middle date, the year 3 Kan, and of that on the right hand, the year 10
Kan.
Then if we arrange the three numbers with the dates and years belonging to
them, according to the value of the first, this part of the page will run
as follows:--
1,352,400 1,364,360 1,366,560
I Ahau I Ahau IV Ahau
18 Zip 18 Kayab 8 Cumhu
10 Kan 3 Kan 9 Ix.
Let us now consider the properties of the three numbers individually.
1) 1,352,400 = 28 × 48,300 and = 115 × 11,760, hence it is divisible by the
month days of the year of 364 days and by the Mercury year. At all events
this is the least important of the three numbers.
2) 1,364,360. This looks as if it referred particularly to the moon and to
Mercury; to the latter since it is equal to 115 × 11,864, and to the former
if we assume that the lunar revolution has been fixed at 29-2/3 days, in
which case this number is exactly equal to 46,000 such lunations. If this
last number be again divided by 115, the number of days required for a
revolution of Mercury, the quotient is 400, which is a round number in the
vigesimal system and which was therefore denoted by a single word, by Bák
in the Maya (according to Stoll) and by Huna in the Cakchiquel (according
to Seler). 1,364,360, therefore, is a Huna of lunar revolutions multiplied
by the number of days in the Mercury period. Later on we shall find the
lunar revolution fixed at 29-2/3 days.
3) 1,366,560. This is the most comprehensive number of the entire
Manuscript, for it is divisible into each of the following periods:--Those
of the Señores de la noche or Lords of the Cycle (9 × 151,840; this is,
however, the first number of the top row), the Tonalamatls (260 × 5256),
the old official years (360 × 3796), the solar years (365 × 3744), the
Venus years (584 × 2340), the Mars years (780 × 1752), the Venus-solar
periods (2920 × 468), the solar year-Tonalamatls (18,980 × 72), the Venus,
solar, Tonalamatl periods (37,960 × 36), and the periods which are
generally designated Ahau-Katuns (113,880 × 12).
We have next to consider the intervals which elapse between the three
dates.
1) From 1,352,400 to 1,364,360 is 11,960 days, which period we have already
found once on this page by computation. 11,960, however, is equal to 104 ×
115 and 46 × 260, _i.e._, the Mercury revolution and the Tonalamatl
combined. 11,960 is again equal to 32 × 365 + 280, and from the year 10 Kan
to 3 Kan it is actually 32 years, and from the date 18 Zip to 18 Kayab it
is, in fact, 280 days. The day I Ahau must be common to both dates.
2) From 1,364,360 to 1,366,560 is 2200 days, as the Manuscript expressly
states. 2200, however, is equal to 8 × 260+120, and the distance from the
day I Ahau to IV Ahau is in fact exactly 120 days. Further 2200=6 × 365+10;
from the year 3 Kan to 9 Ix it is 6 years and from the date 18 Kayab to 8
Cumhu it is 10 days.
3) From these two statements the third follows. The distance from 1,352,400
to 1,366,560 is 14,160. This contains first the 14040, in which both the
Tonalamatl and the old official year of 360 days meet, and second 120,
which is again the interval between I Ahau and IV Ahau. But 14,160 is also
equal to 38 × 365 + 290, and the interval between 10 Kan and 9 Ix is of
course 38 years, and from 18 Zip to 8 Cumhu it is 290 days.
The numbers with which we have had to do here will again occupy our
attention further on, especially the 2920 and the 37,960 on pages 46-50,
the 11,960 and 115 on pages 51-58, and the 14,040 on page 73.
That these computations are not confined to the Dresden Manuscript is
proved by the cross of Palenque, where we find in signs A B 16 precisely
the date I Ahau 18 Zotz, a Tonalamatl before 18 Kayab, in D 1 C 2 exactly
the difference 2200 and in D 3 C 4 the date IV Ahau 8 Cumhu. This is in
favor of the theory that our Manuscript did not originate far from
Palenque.
Now, the question finally arises as to what may, strictly speaking, be
considered the significance of these numbers, dates and differences.
In the first place, I would recall the fact that the dates of the monuments
of Copan and Quirigua, which doubtless refer to present time, are in the
neighborhood of 1,400,000. The high numbers of our Manuscript, so far as
they are in question here, form first a group, which extends from about
1,200,000 to 1,280,000, and then there is a blank, and next a large group
extending from about 1,350,000 to 1,480,000, then another blank and lastly
a group extending from about 1,520,000 to 1,580,000. If we assume that our
Manuscript belonged to about the same date as these inscriptions, then the
three numbers discussed here would extend over a past period lying about
160-170 years back, when a new period of importance had begun probably
dating from the immigration of the Aztecs into Mexico, which they placed in
the first half of the 14th century (see "Weltall," Vol. 5. pp. 374-377).
Now, however, the number 1,366,560 contains the statement that 3744 years
ago (each year having 365 days) an event must have occurred, which can
hardly be anything other (according to the belief of the Mayas) than the
creation of mankind. Hence all the _historical_ dates of the Mayas were
computed from this starting-point. But how did this event come to have the
date IV Ahau 8 Cumhu?
In my opinion this date is to be regarded only as the result of the far
more important date I Ahau 18 Kayab, lying 2200 days earlier. Day 17, Ahau,
belongs, without doubt, to the chief of the gods, and as the first week day
it must have been especially sacred. The prophecies of the Tonalamatl
preferably begin with the Ahau and with the I. The series on the page under
discussion, constructed with the difference 2920 as a basis, begins with I
Ahau, and the three series on pages 46-50 also have the same day as the
zero point of departure. I Ahau is therefore the starting-point of the
astronomical computations as IV Ahau is of the historical.
Now, however, all the periods of 260 days end each time with I Ahau. Why is
precisely this day chosen here, which is the 18th day of the month Kayab,
therefore in the year 3 Kan, and lying 2200 days earlier than the
historical date?
Day 18 Kayab is our June 18th. In my treatise "Schildkröte und Schnecke in
der Mayaliteratur" (1892), I have sought to prove that the tortoise served
as symbol of the summer solstice, that the sign of Kayab was the head of a
tortoise, and that probably the 18th of June was regarded as the longest
day. The middle one of the three series on pages 46-50 begins with exactly
this date, I Ahau 18 Kayab.
But whence come the 2200 days? I will offer a suggestion which may serve
until a better theory is propounded. Let us assume that each of the five
principal planets had in succession regulated its time of revolution by
this astronomical starting-point, thus:--sun 365, moon 356, Mercury 115,
Venus 584, and Mars 780 days, these numbers added together give exactly
2200. It will scarcely excite surprise that I should set down the lunar
year at 356 days (and not at the usual 354 days) for there are 12 × 29-2/3
lunations in a year and we thought we had already found this period on this
page, while discussing the number 1,364,360; also on pages 51-58, in
addition to the half lunar year of 177 days, we shall find one of 178 days.
Were the planets therefore created 2200 days before the appearance of
mankind? Jupiter and Saturn, of course, with their 397 and 380 days are
probably not considered here, because their periods of revolution so nearly
correspond to that of the sun, and on pages 51-60 they are also treated as
of secondary importance.
I confess I am quite unable to discover what may have happened 11,960 days
before the creation of the stars--possibly the birth of one of the
principal deities. Perhaps one of my fellow-students may succeed in finding
an answer in one of the creation myths.
We come now to the 40 hieroglyphs on the left half of the page. These are
intended simply to familiarize the reader with those signs which are of
importance in the calendrical-astronomical portions of the Manuscript.
Since no phonetic system of writing existed, we cannot, of course, expect
that the scribe should have explained these signs.
Signs 1-4, which are mostly destroyed, can hardly denote anything other
than the four quarters of the globe, at least we can still recognize in 4
the sign for the east, which has also the fourth place in pages 46-50. They
stand thus together five times in the middle of the left side of pages
46-50, which pertain to this subject. 5 to 9 are the sign for Venus
repeated 5 times, probably denoting the four parts of its revolution as on
pages 46-50 and also the revolution as a whole. In connection with this
first appearance of the Venus sign, I would mention that the same
hieroglyph also occurs in the Tro-Cort., _e.g._, Cort. 25c, though this
Manuscript contains little else that is astronomical, yet it also has the
rectangular heavenly shields.
10. This is a well-known form of the Moan sign. In the Globus, Volume LXV,
1894, I sought to make it appear probable that the Moan also denoted the
Pleiades, with whose disappearance and reappearance the beginning of the
years seems to be connected. Likewise on page 50, where the 2920-period
ends, the Venus and Moan signs appear at the top on the right-hand side.
11 and 12 are the same sign, being that of the 13th Uinal (Mac), with which
260 days of the year end, and hence this sign is also used as the sign of
the Tonalamatl. The repetition seems to show, that not until the 73
Tonalamatls of the period of 18,980 days are doubled--thus obtaining the
number 37,960 of such importance here--are the sun and Venus periods
brought into unison (with the whole system).
13. The Kin sign (sun, day) with the superfix, which in all probability
expresses conjunction, union, and which, in my opinion, we also see on page
51, combined with Kin and Imix, as the sign for 18,980 days, is used here
after the two Tonalamatls to denote the doubling of this period.
14-18. If the preceding signs led us to the Venus-solar period and to the
continuation of this subject on pages 46-50, these five hieroglyphs bring
us to the Mercury-lunar period and later, on pages 51-58, which are devoted
to the same period, we shall find a parallel especially on the last page.
First comes 14, which, as has been acknowledged, is the sign for 20 × 360 =
7200 days. 15, a hand holding a rectangle divided by a cross into four
parts, is, I believe, the sign for the period of 20 days augmented to 21 by
the 1 in front of it. The much more distinct form of sign 16 on the middle
of page 58 and also at the top of page 53, should be compared with the sign
as given here. The top part is the familiar Ben-Ik sign denoting the 10th
and 19th days, and the bottom is the sign of the 14th division of 20 days,
which make up the year. Now, however, the 10th day, when it becomes the
19th of the next 20 days, is distant from the first 29 days. The prefix
consists of two parts:--First two small circles joined by a zigzag line,
which I think denotes the division of a day into halves; the sign would
then equal 29½ days, _i.e._, very nearly the true lunar month. Second, of
two vertical lines, which might denote a doubling. The whole would then be
equal to 2 × 29½ = 59. I admit that this interpretation is very artificial
and I should be very glad if a better explanation could be found. On the
other hand the 17th hieroglyph becomes quite clear when it is compared with
the parallel passage on page 58; it is 13 × 360 = 4680 days, a third of the
remarkable period of 14,040 days.
Thus we have
Hieroglyph 14 = 7200
" 15 = 21
" 16 = 59
" 17 = 4680
-----
11960,
which is exactly the lunar-Mercury period.
The sign Xul = conclusion, end, is fittingly added in 18 to the end of this
period, as also on page 58. This sign is very common on pages 61 and 62 at
the end of the long periods.
From signs 19 and 20 we see that the four parts of the Venus year are also
about to be treated of here, that is, the periods of 236, 90, 250 and 8
days respectively, which are discussed on pages 46-50. For 19 is the sign
for Venus, and 20 is a hand with a knife as a superfix, which divides the
Venus revolution. This hand appears 20 times in like manner on the pages
mentioned above.
Signs 21-25 represent five gods, who in all probability are N, F, H, the
bat-god and A. These are the same signs which are repeated twice on the
left-hand side of pages 46-50, both times at the beginning and end of the
period of 236 days, that is, the period during which Venus is the morning
star and which is under the dominion of the east. The fact that there is a
4 with N has reference to the four forms which this Uayeyab god assumes.
Now we ought to expect a similar treatment of the periods of the planet,
which are under the rule of the south, west and north, but there is no room
for this. Instead, we find in 26, 27 and 28 three different signs plainly
belonging together, the first of which is the day Caban, _i.e._, the earth;
the second may be Muluc denoting rain and water; the third is Chuen (the
ape) which fittingly denotes the north, for Chuen denotes the little bear,
as I have proved in my treatise on the day-signs of the Mayas. The Chuen
sign in 28 also has a prefix, which probably refers to the night-god D. I
find exactly the same combination in signs 8 A and 8 B of the inscription
on the Cross of Palenque, but I must leave to others the task of connecting
26 and 27 likewise with the north, which is very evident in 27 (Muluc).
Sign 29 is entirely effaced. Nevertheless, I am positive that it
represented the day IV Ahau, the beginning of Maya chronology, for 30 may
still be identified as 8 Cumhu belonging to IV Ahau, and sign 31 is the
same sign as 18, _i.e._, the sign Xul = the end, and denoting here the end
of the long period.
The comprehensive hieroglyphs, 29-31, stand here in the wrong place. A more
suitable position for them would be before 19 or just after 35. For they
are intended to specify the periods during which Venus is in the west and
south, _i.e._, the time during which it is the evening star and the period
of its inferior conjunction.
Sign 32 is the black deity, L according to Schellhas, here denoting the
west, and 33 is the Venus sign with the prefix denoting division. In the
same way we find these two signs together on page 46 at the right in the
middle series, where presumably the four Venus periods are specified in
close succession. The black deity is also found on page 50 in the middle of
the page in the beginning, at the end of a period of 250 days. On page 24
it has as a prefix the sign Imix with three rows of dots proceeding from
it. Imix, however, among the Mayas and Aztecs (as Cipactli), under some
circumstances often, and under others always, denotes the first of the 20
days. Hence this sign may mean:--here begins the Venus period of 250 days.
34-35. The sign for the south still remains to be found. Sign 35 is again
the Venus hieroglyph. In 34 we should expect to find one of the five gods
of the south, which are found on pages 46-50, _e.g._, the Moan, who is
represented on page 47 as the regent of this cardinal point. But there is
no figure of a god here, and in place of it we find set down here, as on
page 47, middle, right-hand, an actual date as the beginning of this short
southern period of only eight days. It is the date 10 Zip (third month),
the month sign of which does indeed suggest a hieroglyph of the Moan. Now,
if we recall that in hieroglyph 21 the god N is designated in exactly the
same way by an actual date, viz:--4 Zac (11th month), then we see that the
interval between 4 Zac and 10 Zip of the second year following, is exactly
236 + 90 + 250 = 576 days, and this corresponds exactly to the interval of
time from the beginning of the period when Venus is in the east to the
beginning of the period when she is in the south. If we knew in what years
the morning star made its first appearance on February 4th and disappeared
as the evening star on the 3d of September, we should make some progress in
the comprehension of this subject, but not much, since these events fall
approximately on the same dates after each period of 8 years.
36-40. The last five of the 40 signs appear in the same order again on
pages 46-50, _one_ sign on each page, in the middle group of the right-hand
half of the page at the beginning of the third line, but with this
difference, that on page 24 each sign has the same prefix, which is wanting
on pages 46-50, where a similar hieroglyph always _follows_. From their
position on pages 46-50 it follows that these are hieroglyphs of five gods,
each of whom belongs to a whole Venus year of 584 days. I am not very sure
in regard to these gods. I prefer to call 36 K, 37 F, 38 E and 40 A. Sign
39 with the person crouching, I am obliged to leave entirely unsettled. We
shall find this hieroglyph again, _e.g._, on pages 47 and 49 right, middle.
Let it suffice that in these five signs we have a repetition of the
Venus-solar period of 2920 days, with which we will end the discussion of
this page. Only F and A have already been met with among the five gods
denoted by hieroglyphs 21-25.
Pages 25--28.
As these four pages, which are the beginning of the back of the first part
of the Manuscript, not only belong together, but also display a parallel
arrangement of their separate parts, the corresponding parts will be
considered together as a whole.
There are seven of these parts on each page, viz:--the column of day-signs
on the left hand; the top, middle and bottom pictures, and lastly the top,
middle and bottom groups of hieroglyphs; but I will consider the pictures
and hieroglyphs of the same section as belonging together.
1. The Columns of Day-Signs.
On the left-hand side of each page two days are repeated 13 times. They are
as follows:--On page 25 Eb and Ben, on page 26 Caban and Ezanab, on page 27
Ik and Akbal, and on page 28 Manik and Lamat. Cyrus Thomas first made the
important discovery that these pages represent the transition from one year
into the next, but held the erroneous opinion that the last two days of
each of the four kinds of years were treated of on each page. While Seler,
on the other hand, found that we have here to do with the last day of one
year and the first of the following year, and that, therefore, Ben, Ezanab,
Akbal and Lamat are the beginnings of the years and thus of the 20-day
periods. The years, however, were always named after their second day
(_i.e._, Kan, Muluc, Ix and Cauac years), since the New Year's Day was
considered unlucky and it was the practice of the Mayas to conceal the real
starting-point.
These four pages, therefore, extend over 13 × 52 years, that is, over a
period of 18,980 days, after which period all the calendar dates are
repeated. A list of all these dates is given in "The Maya and Tzental
Calendars" by William E. Gates (Cleveland, 1900).
The transition from the Muluc to the Ix years is represented on page 25;
from the Ix to the Cauac years on page 26; from the Cauac to the Kan years
on page 27, and from the Kan to the Muluc years on page 28. The Ix years
are represented first, because the beginning of the historical chronology
lies in an Ix year (IV Ahau; 8 Cumhu). This section treats of ceremonies,
especially of the setting up of the idols at the changing of the year,
which I can pass over here since they have already been described by Diego
de Landa and in our own day by Cyrus Thomas in his "Study of the Manuscript
Troano," and elsewhere.
2. The Top Pictures.
The principal representation on all the four pages is a priest, but
disguised as an animal with the head of a beast of prey as a mask (always
the same one) and also with a tail. He is pictured with the same three
articles in each of the four representations, viz:--First, in his right
hand, the staff of office with the hand at the top, which, according to
Seler, "Mittel-Amerik. Musikinstrum.," p. 112, is the rattle-stick, second
the incense-pouch, _i.e._, for copal, and third in his left hand a rattle,
or, according to Schellhas, "Vergleichende Studien" (1880), a fan. There is
one point, however, in which the first two pages differ from the other two;
on the first two the priest is walking on dry land and on the second two
through a stream of water. Was the city, to which this calendar especially
refers, bordered in two directions by water, so that the road led across
it?
On all the four pages, however, the priest carries on his back a different
deity, and I cannot find out by what rule these gods are connected with one
another, or with the one which is represented below them, or with the
years. On page 25 the god is B, on 26 he has the form of a jaguar (Ix), on
27 he is undoubtedly E, and on page 28 he is the god A, Cimi.
Now to the left of the priest on each page there is one of the familiar
Chuen bundles, such as are also frequently found in the the
Tro-Cortesianus. Here, on pages 25-28, there are always three of these
Chuen signs in a bunch. If Chuen really denotes the eighth day (which, of
course, is only possible when Kan = 1), and at the same time the period of
8 days, then in this passage these three Chuen signs would properly
designate the 24 days which elapse _before_ the last day of the year, which
is the last day of the 18th month. In the same way we shall find the Chuen
bundle appropriately given this meaning on pages 42c-45c. Likewise the
simple Chuen sign at the top of page 52 seems to denote 8 days. But what do
the Chuen bundles in the Tro-Cortesianus mean, some of which are much
larger?
In close proximity to these Chuen bundles we find numbers as follows:--on
page 25 numbers 8 and 9, on 26 number 13, on 27 number 2 and on 28 number
13. I can offer no opinion, which would be even approximately acceptable in
regard to the meaning of these numerals, but we shall discuss them later.
3. The Top Hieroglyphs.
I shall discuss these glyphs in this place, although each group seems to
relate not merely to the top picture, but to the whole page. There are 16
on each page, and arranged as follows:--
1 2 9 10
3 4 11 12
5 6 13 14
7 8 15 16.
Unfortunately, the writing at the top is obliterated, which makes it
impossible to understand not merely this passage, but also those on all the
rest of these pages. Of the 16 signs in the top line only one is legible,
and that is the first on page 28. This is the usual cross _b_; as a
comprehensive heading it perhaps occupied places 1 and 9 on each page,
alternating with another sign in 2 and 10.
In spite of this obliteration there are a few points which can be
profitably discussed here.
I would call attention first to signs 7 and 8 on page 25. The first seems
to contain twice repeated the figure, which is thought to represent eagle
feathers, and which we found on pages 10b and 13a, for example. As this
double character is also used to change the 360-sign into a 7200-sign, so
it may also combine the 52 years of this passage. The 8th sign on page 25
is the head with the tuft of hair and no underjaw, which I think refers to
fast-days, such as might properly occur at the transition point of one long
period to another.
The sign for the year stands five times on the other three pages, which is
in keeping with their contents. On page 26 it appears three times. This
page treats of the transition of the Ix to the Cauac years. In the 6th
place the Ix sign seems actually to be used as a prefix, in 7 the prefix is
plainly the Kin-Cauac sign, just as on page 37a, and in 5 the prefix is
probably Ezanab, the beginning-day of the Cauac years. At this last place
the suffix is the same as that which we often see with the year sign on
pages 13c-14c. On page 27, in the 7th place, the year sign has a prefix and
a suffix, which seem to indicate that here it was intended to represent 365
as separated into 5 × 73 or 360 + 5. Lastly, on page 28 the 8th sign can be
explained as meaning that the ritual year of 364 days is separated into 4
Bacab periods of 91 days each.
Resembling the year sign in form, and placed near it on these pages, is the
following sign:--
[Illustration]
This sign frequently appears on pages 8b-9b, 16b-17b, 17c-20c. We find it
with slight variations once on each of the four pages 25-28. It is the 6th
on page 25; the 8th on 26; the 6th on 27; the 6th on 28. Its lower part,
especially the (phallic?) sign added at the left, suggests the hieroglyphs
of the Bacabs, as we find them on pages 52, 55, 56, etc.; they might refer
to the separation of the ritual year of 364 days into 4 × 91 days. On the
other hand it has been considered simply as the reproduction of the
carrying-frame pictured below it (compare above under page 17c.)
While the hieroglyphs, hitherto discussed, demonstrate the connection
between the parts on the left of the four pages, two other signs prove the
connection of the portions on the right.
One of these looks like the Ik sign surrounded by a dotted circle; it
occurs on page 25 as the 13th sign, on page 26 as the 15th, on page 27 as
the 14th and on page 28 as the 15th. To this sign are prefixed successively
the numbers 9, 7, 11 and 6.
The second is unquestionably the hieroglyph for the numeral 20 or for the
moon. It is effaced on page 25 and on pages 27 and 28 has a prefix, which
on page 26 is used as a superfix. This sign is the 14th on page 25, the
16th on page 26, the 15th on page 27 and the 16th on page 28. The prefixed
numbers are 7, 16, 5 and 6.
The meaning of these two signs and that of the apparently irregular numbers
is still a mystery. The latter will be discussed presently.
The 4th sign on all the four pages seems to refer to a period like the one
hitherto discussed. On page 26 the sign resembles that for the 13th Uinal
(Mac) and hence appears to refer to the Tonalamatl, as in the first column
on page 24. Above it is the sign for the south. The corresponding
hieroglyphs of the other pages are obliterated, but strange to say the
vestiges suggest that they too had _below_ them the sign for the south. Now
the south and the Bacab of the south preside over the fourth quarter of the
year from which ensues the transition to the new year in question here.
Among the signs on the left side we should expect to find those of the gods
to whom the expiring year belonged. On page 25 it ought to be B. Sign 5,
however, though it can with difficulty be identified, points rather to god
K. Sign 3 on page 26 corresponds better; this is the hieroglyph of the
tiger already known to us, which is carried by the priest in the upper
section of page 8a; here its prefix is the sign for the west. On page 27 we
ought to see the grain-god E carried by the priest; his hieroglyph may be
destroyed, but sign 5, which is Kan-Imix (food and drink) is his
determinative. Finally the 5th sign on page 28 is, just as we should
expect, the hieroglyph of A and, in addition, we find his determinative in
7.
But what is to be said of the fact that the tiger appears again on page 28
in sign 3, and this time with the sign for the east?
The Ahau on page 27, sign 16, refers to the god D of the middle section.
There maybe some reference here to sacrifice, thus:--the 11th sign on page
25 is Kan-Imix, the 12th on page 27 is Kan, which is followed in the 13th
sign on page 27 by another one with a Yax and a suggestion of a second
Kan-Imix. Also the curious sign in the 8th place on page 27, which we have
already discussed under page 8b, is used to denote the sacrifice on pages
18a and 15b. Here its position with reference to sign 6 is the same as on
page 8b. On page 26 the prefix of sign 13, which is half destroyed, may be
recognized as a serpent. Signs 12 and 15 on page 25 are unintelligible.
Unfortunately the following signs are entirely effaced:--Sign 1 on pages
25, 26 and 27, as well as 2 on all the four pages, 3 on page 25, 9 and 10
on all the four pages, 11 on pages 26, 27 and 28, 12 on pages 26 and 28, 13
on page 28, 14 on pages 26 and 28, and 16 on page 27.
4. The Middle Pictures.
On each page at the right there is a house, the back wall of which is
always marked with the cross often met with. In front of the house with his
back turned towards it, sits a deity. Each of the four deities has the
front of his body covered with a gala mantle. Now we know that the god of
the new year was set up before the house of the chieftain. On page 25 the
god is K with his eyes apparently destroyed, and on page 26 it is B with a
Kin sign on his head covering, hence designated here as a sun or day-god.
On page 27 the god is D, and on page 28, A with the cross-bones on his
robe, his own hieroglyph on his cheek, and the Akbal sign on his forehead.
Only on the last page, therefore, and apparently by mistake, the god in the
top picture is the same as in the middle picture.
At the left of each page, _i.e._, opposite the house and the god, is a
flaming altar, bearing the sign Ix equivalent to fire.
The centre, between the gods and the altars, is occupied by vessels of
which there are two on each of the first three pages and but one on the
fourth; they contain food, without doubt intended for the sacrificial
feast. On page 25 the lower vessel contains Kan (maize) and the upper
probably a food prepared from Kan. Or are the spines on the back of the
iguana indicated on this vessel? (Compare 40c and Cort. 8 and 12c). The
contents of the lower vessel on page 26 are still unknown (birds?). The
upper vessel contains a Kan, but the sign has a superfix, which corresponds
to the sign for the west. On page 27 the lower vessel contains a fish and
the upper the sign for the south. Lastly, the single vessel on page 28
contains the cross-bones (mammal?) and above them the Kan sign repeated
three times.
Finally here on the last three pages, we find some numbers, which are still
undetermined; on page 26 there is a 7 with the lower vessel, and on page 27
with the upper vessel two dots with a cross between them (perhaps this may
mean 20 - 2 = 18, which is used in place of the usual clumsy numeral?). On
page 28 we see above the vessel a 6, and below it, in place of a second
vessel, a double Chuen sign, as in the upper section of the page, therefore
it can hardly be the Akbal sign resembling Chuen.
5. The Middle Hieroglyphs.
On each page these signs consist of but _one_ line containing 5, 6, 3 and 3
glyphs respectively. The first of these signs in all of the four places is
the same (_o_), which very suitably refers to the change in the year. The
second sign is always the hieroglyph of the god represented in the middle
section:--K on page 25, B as the sun-god on page 26, and D on page 27. The
second sign on page 28, which is the head without an underjaw and with the
prefixed four, probably referring to four fast-days, must, therefore, be an
uncommon sign for A, who was similarly designated on page 25 in sign 8 of
the upper section.
If the gods in the top thirds are those of the past year and those in the
middle the gods of the year just beginning, we should expect to find in
each top third the deity who is represented in the middle of the preceding
page. But this does not hold good. For then we should expect to find K on
page 26 and not the tiger, on page 27 B or G and not E, on page 28 D and
not A, and on page 25 A and not B.
Hence there is some confusion here. Yet it seems to be in the nature of a
correction, that on page 26 the third sign, next to that of the sun-god, is
actually the sign for E who is in the top section on page 27, and that the
sixth sign is Kan-Imix belonging to this god.
On pages 25 and 26 this line also refers to the past year, _i.e._, to the
year set down in the top third. The fourth sign on page 25 is a Manik,
_i.e._, originally a grasping hand denoting taking away, disappearance, and
the fifth sign on this page is a Muluc, which seems to denote the ending of
the Muluc years. The fifth sign on page 26, is, in fact, the tiger pictured
above.
The lunar hieroglyph as the third sign on page 25 and the _a_ as the fourth
on page 26 are strange and unaccountable. Both appear to be almost without
significance here and seem almost like mere points between the names of
gods in groups of two each.
The Ahau as the third sign on page 27 is the usual determinative of D,
whose hieroglyph stands beside it.
On page 28 the main part of the third sign corresponds to the sixth of the
upper section. I do not know, however, how to explain either the upper part
suggesting a mat or the familiar leaf-shaped prefix.
6. The Bottom Pictures.
In the left-hand lower corner of each page we see the sign for the year of
360 days, which at the same time designates the heap of stones, on which
the stelae were erected, the two thick black lines indicating the two
columns of hieroglyphs usually found on them. A tree is growing out of this
sign, having on its trunk an abbreviated Cauac sign, at least, on pages 26,
27 and 28, which probably refers to rain as the most desired event of the
year. The tree on page 25 has no leaves, but the top is carved into the
shape of the head of the god B. In the other three cases it has leaves, but
instead of ending in the god's head the tree is draped with a mantle and a
breech-clout, and a serpent is coiled about it denoting a period of time
(here, the year). Furthermore there are foot-prints on the trunk or the
drapery of the tree, which represent it as the goal of a pilgrimage.
If the top and middle thirds refer to the mere transportation of the idols,
the bottom thirds refer to the feasts connected with this act, or, at any
rate, to those dedicated to the _new_ god. For we see here on page 25 the
god B, on 26 the god K, on 27 A and on 28 D, _i.e._, the same deities as in
the middle sections, yet so placed that the first two and the last two have
changed places.
Each of the four deities hold in one hand a hen with its head cut off;
"degollavan una gallina" is the statement made by Landa concerning these
feasts. Perhaps all four gods, at any rate the last three, are scattering
grain; this was one form of divination; we found the other on page 2. There
are besides, on every page, several small objects between the two pictures,
just as in the middle section. On page 25 the object is probably an altar,
but instead of the flame it has the number 19. Above this is the sign for
the west (the Ix days) with that for the sun, and on top of them the sign
which we found in the middle section of page 26 as the contents of the
lower vessel. On page 26 we see a vessel containing a bird, then another
whose contents are indicated by Yax and a double Kan sign. Above it is the
sign for the moon or for 20 with a prefix, and above this a 9. At the
bottom of page 27 there is a vessel containing two Kan signs and a fish;
above this another vessel the contents of which are the same as we found in
the vessel in the middle section of page 26 and in that of the lower
section of page 25. Above these is again the sign for the moon or 20 with a
superfix, which is the same as the prefix on page 26, and beside it is a
16. Page 28 has the usual haunch of venison (Landa:--"una pierna de
venado"), above this is a vessel with a bird and Kan and above this again
the sign for the moon or for 20 with the same superfix and the numeral 15.
I shall discuss below the numbers scattered over these four pages.
7. The Bottom Hieroglyphs.
These hieroglyphs also form but _one_ line on each page and each line
contains six hieroglyphs. The _first_ of each line is always the same
(_p_). It consists of a surface divided into four quadrants thus suggesting
the four cardinal points, the four Bacabs presiding over them and the four
kinds of years. The superfix seems to be the abbreviated hieroglyph of the
north; the sign for the north, however, is Muluc and these four pages begin
with the Muluc years.
The _second_ sign is the head of D as the supreme god; to this a Yax is
joined on pages 26-28 as the symbol of strength, and on page 25, but
probably by mistake, the abbreviated sign for the west.
The _third_ sign always represents one of the four cardinal points:--on
page 25 the east, on page 26 the south, on page 27 the west and on page 28
the north; here then the usual order is reversed and the signs are set down
according to the diurnal instead of the annual course of the sun, probably
occasioned merely by exchanging the sign for the west (Ix), which belongs
on page 25, with that for the east (Kan), which belongs on page 27.
The other three signs do not stand in the same order on every page.
The _fifth_ sign on pages 26 and 28 and the _fourth_ on page 27 show
correspondence most clearly. This sign is always a head, undoubtedly that
of the god pictured in the bottom third. But on page 25 it is the
hieroglyph of E, who is pictured on the top of page 27, instead of that of
B.
In the same way the 6th sign on page 25, the 4th on page 26, the 5th on
page 27 and the 4th on page 28 have something in common. One element of the
hieroglyph is always the sign for the year of 360 days, combined on page 25
with cross-bones and the Cauac sign, on 26 with Yax and Kan, and on 27 and
28 simply with Yax.
The most puzzling and divergent of these hieroglyphs are the remaining
ones. The 4th on page 25 has an oblique cross (or bones?) and the
abbreviated glyph for the west, the 6th on page 26 is the head of E, the
6th on page 27 is the 360-day sign combined with Kin and Cauac, and the 6th
on page 28 is the usual Kan-Imix sign. Here, too, there seems to have been
a displacement.
Before I leave the four pages 25-28, I will glance at the numerals, which
are scattered over them and which apparently have no connection with one
another. I have discussed these numerals in my article "Die
Mayahieroglyphen" in Volume LXXI, No. 5, of the Globus, and the following
is borrowed therefrom.
First of all, I believe that I proved there, that the sign composed of two
dots with a cross between them is an abbreviation for the usual clumsy
representation of the numeral 18 and designates it like a duodeviginti by
20 - 2. Next, that in this passage as on pages 18a, 18c, 19c, 46b and 50c,
the sign is combined with the hieroglyphs Yax-Kin. Third, that it is
closely related to the god D, inasmuch as it stands on page 27b close
beside the picture of that god.
Assuming this as a known fact, we find scattered over these four pages the
following numbers:--
25: 9, 7, 8, 9, 19,
26: 7, 16, 13, 7, 9,
27: 11, 5, 2, 18, 16,
28: 6, 6, 13, 6, 15.
It is very remarkable that the sum of the numbers on each of the first
three pages is equal to 52, and as an accidental freak it would be most
surprising; somewhere on the fourth page six units may have been omitted;
but perhaps the 6, which stands above the _two_ Chuen signs in the centre,
is to be counted twice. The 52, however, designates the very 52 years,
which are treated of on these four pages.
As yet I know no reason to account for the fact that the 52 is here
separated into these apparently very irregular numbers. The discovery of
this reason would be an important step in advance. Or does it means 52
_days_, perhaps those which follow a Tonalamatl coming in the middle of the
year?
Page 28 is followed in the Manuscript by three empty pages. The scribe's
object in reserving them is beyond our ken; possibly they were intended to
represent the period of 8 years.
Pages 29-45 (_i.e._, to the end of the first part of the Manuscript) all
belong together. After the Maya manner there is very little system
displayed in their arrangement, and though here and there there may be
occasion to consider the three parts of each page consecutively, I will
discuss them here as follows:--First, the top thirds, which are most
difficult owing to the destruction of a large portion of them; then the
middle, and last the bottom thirds. They all consist in great part, with a
few interruptions, of representations of the regular Tonalamatl, such as we
find represented from the beginning of the Manuscript to page 23.
The element which these pages have in common is the fact that the god B,
who can hardly be Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, occurs on almost all of them.
He is the god of wind, fire, breath, _i.e._, the true god of life and is
here represented in his relation to the most varied manifestations and
activities of a human being, so that this section bears a certain
resemblance to the Tro-Cortesianus. With this is closely connected his
relation to all four cardinal points, which so often occur. He may have
been the local god of the region from whence this Manuscript came; in the
Tro-Cort. It seems rather to be C who lays claim to this office.
Pages 29a--30a.
XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI 13 XI
Lamat
Ben
Ezanab
Akbal.
This is a Tonalamatl of 4 × 65 days, each part subdivided into 5 × 13 days.
The four days written on the left are those which may begin the year.
In each of the five sections B is pictured in a sitting posture, the first
four times on a tree (the tree of life rather than the sacrificial tree).
In the first picture he holds in one hand the haunch of venison, so often
occurring as an offering, the last time on page 28; the object above it is
probably the Kan sign. There is a vessel at the god's feet, probably a
receptacle for the venison, bearing the hieroglyph of the 13th day Cib,
which, however, refers rather to a bird.
In the second picture an animal with a protruding tongue lies on its back
at the feet of the god, who kneels upon its stomach. This probably
represents the lightning-dog as vanquished. The same animal is pictured on
the next page and also on page 40b and perhaps on page 60. There are a
number of small dots around B's head, which on page 11c we attempted to
interpret as the starry sky.
I can find nothing of special importance in the third and fourth pictures,
but in the fifth, B is sitting in a house, which is marked repeatedly with
the sign Caban (ground). Here the god is holding the hatchet (machete) in
his hand, as if prepared for some terrestrial activity. Four hieroglyphs in
the usual order belong to each of the five pictures. They are almost
entirely destroyed, but the vestiges show that the fourth sign was always
that of B, while the third sign with the first picture had the abbreviated
hieroglyph of the west as a prefix; with the second picture it had that of
the south, and therefore with the third and fourth it must certainly have
had the signs of the east and north. We should expect the signs with these
prefixes to contain references to Ix, Cauac, Kan and Muluc, but they are
not distinguishable.
Thus B is represented in pictures 1-4 as ruler of the four cardinal points
and in 5 as the ruler of the earth in general.
Pages 30a--31a.
This passage looks like an amplification of the middle picture on page 29a.
Here B is represented with the hatchet in his left hand and holding aloft
by the tail with his right hand the animal, which is spitting out something
upon a stepped pyramidal structure, probably the pyramid of a teocalli.
That this is probably meant to represent lightning is rendered almost a
certainty by the picture on page 40b. In this passage there are several red
and black numerals scattered around the animal in an irregular manner,
which we find nowhere else in our Manuscript, but with which the
Tro-Cortesianus has made us familiar. The sum of the black numbers still
legible is 23, probably a 3 is effaced and the sum should be 26, the sum
which so often occurs in the Cod. Troano 8-13 with the animal represented
there. The red numbers likewise do not admit of exact determination. This
passage also contained hieroglyphs, four standing side by side on each of
the two pages. The legible portion is limited to the Cimi sign in the third
place, perhaps an Imix in the second, and possibly an Ahau in the first.
Pages 31a--32a.
In my article "Zur Entzifferung, etc., VI," published in the year 1897, I
discussed this passage more in detail, and the following will be in
continuation of what I stated there.
The real aim of the computation on these pages is to find a number in which
the following periods of time are united with the Tonalamatl of 260
days:--1. The ritual year of 364 days, and consequently also a quarter of
it, the Bacab period of 91 days. 2. The period of 104 days, being the
number of days which remain after a Tonalamatl has been deducted from a
ritual year. The hypothesis advanced by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall ("Note on the
Ancient Mexican Calendar System," Stockholm, 1894) and also the entirely
different opinion held by Mr. Charles P. Bowditch ("The Lords of the Night
and the Tonalamatl of the Codex Borbonicus" in the American Anthropologist,
N. S., Vol. II, New York, 1900) prove the existence not only of merely
arbitrary Tonalamatls for the purpose of prediction, as those in our
Manuscript, but also of Tonalamatls having a fixed position in certain
years. But after the manner peculiar to priestcraft, the number sought is
found only by an indirect and mysterious process.
In the first place we find on page 32a all the days set down in the
following manner:--
XIII XIII XIII XIII
Manik Cib Chicchan Ix
Chuen Ahau Muluc Ezanab
Men Kan Ben Ik
Cauac Lamat Caban Cimi
Akbal Eb Imix Oc.
That is to say, a series counting from the day XIII Akbal, the New Year's
day of the year I Kan, recurring every 52 years, furthermore a series which
shows the same difference of 91 from the day XIII Akbal to XIII Ix, XIII
Chicchan, etc., and finally ends with XIII Akbal again, after it has run
through a period of 20 × 91, _i.e._, 1820 days = 7 Tonalamatls, like a
similar representation of 7 Tonalamatls on page 51. Above these 20 days,
and to the left of them, numbers are set down rather irregularly, which
begin with 91 and are multiples of that number. The signs of the days
corresponding to these numbers are joined to them; but they are omitted
with the numbers of lowest value. Hence we have:--91, 182, 273, 364 (4),
455 (5), 546 (6), 637 (7), 728 (8), 819 (9), 910 (10). Then with a bound
follow 1456 and 1820; with the last number Akbal is reached in the natural
way, which day the scribe had erroneously set down again with 1456 in place
of Cauac.
The number 728 already united the numbers 91, 104 and 364, but did not
include the number 260. This inclusion is accomplished by the number 3640
on page 32, quite on the left where we find the numbers 10 and 2, under
which only a 0 has been omitted. With the usual hiatuses this series seems
to end on page 31, where I think the numbers 4, 0, 16 and 0 ought to stand,
but they are almost wholly effaced; this would then be 320 × 91, 280 × 104,
112 × 260, 80 × 364 = 29,120.
We have thus gone far in advance of the first problem, but a second always
presents itself in these series, it is that of using these periods for
larger numbers, which refer to a not too remote past or to a future not too
distant. The first numbers are, as a rule, in the neighborhood of
1,252,680, the close of the eleventh Ahau-Katun, and the latter in the
neighborhood of 1,480,440, the close of the thirteenth Ahau-Katun. The
Manuscript presents the following:--
1,272,544 1,268,540 1,538,342.
XIII Akbal XIII Akbal XIII Akbal
121 17 51,419
IV Ahau IV Ahau
8 Cumhu 8 Cumhu IV Ahau.
In connection with this it should be noted first that I have restored the 8
in the statement of the months, and second that the two numbers on the
right were found with the aid of page 63 only by an easy conjecture. For
with the reading of the Manuscript 10, 13, 3, 13, 2, I do not agree, but
read instead 10, 13, 13, 3, 2; the number below, however, is given in the
Manuscript as 7, 2 and then a black 14 joined to a red 5; I read this 7, 2,
14, 19.
The three numbers nearest the bottom have red circles around them,
indicating subtraction, or, according to my present point of view,
addition.
Now let us see how the computer arrived at the large numbers.
Day XIII Akbal, the New Year's day of the 1 Kan years, is given; also the
differences of the series 91 and 104, therefore also in the proportion of 7
to 8. If we combine these last two numbers by addition and then by
multiplication with 260, the result is (7 + 8) × 260 = 3900. If, however,
7, 8 and 3900 be combined by multiplication the product is 7 × 8 × 3900 =
218,400 = 2400 × 91 = 2100 × 104 = 840 × 260 = 600 × 364 = 1120 × (91 +
104). We have already met with the 218,400 on page 24, which was obtained
by the addition of 33,280 + 185,120.
My opinion is as follows:--First 11 Ahau-Katuns = 1,252,680, were taken as
a point of departure, and to this sum was added 15,600 = 4 × 3900, and 243
as the interval between the normal date IV Ahau and XIII Akbal. The result
was 1,268,523. The position of this day, however, is XIII Akbal 11 Xul (1
Ix).
Then the 3900 mentioned above was added to this number and the result was
1,272,423 = XIII Akbal 16 Pop (12 Muluc).
Then to the 1,268,523 was added the 218,400 and the sum was 1,486,923 =
XIII Akbal 1 Kankin (1 Kan), the very place in that year where a Tonalamatl
ends.
The following numbers were thus obtained:--
1,272,423 1,268,523 1,486,923.
These numbers are suppressed in the Manuscript. But if the encircled
numbers are added to them, viz:--121 (interval between XIII Akbal and IV
Kan), 17 (interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ahau), and 51,419 (= 197 × 260
+ 199; 199, however, is the interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ik), the
result is the three large numbers set down in the Manuscript, which have
the following properties:--
1) 1,272,544 = IV Kan 17 Xul (12 Muluc). This number = 13,984 × 91 = 12,236
× 104 = 3496 × 364. It also = 4894 × 260 + 104, the interval between IV
Ahau and IV Kan.
2) 1,268,540 = IV Ahau 8 Mol (1 Ix) = 4879 × 260 = 3485 × 364 = 74,620 ×
17. 17 is the interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ahau.
3) 1,538,342 = IV Ik 15 Zac (12 Muluc). It also = 5916 × 260 + 182. The
182, however, the half of the ritual year of 364 days, is the interval
between IV Ahau and IV Ik and between IV Ik and IV Kan. The fact that the
interval is the same in each case is clearly the reason for the choice of
the days IV Kan and IV Ik, which are otherwise not at all prominent.
It is remarkable that the third number is obtained by the addition of
51,419, _i.e._, of 197 × 260 + 199 (there are 199 days between XIII Akbal
and IV Ik). But it was evidently desirable to obtain as large a number as
this. On page 63 a number of nearly similar value is associated with it,
viz:--1,535,004. It is set down almost in the middle between the 13th and
14th Ahau-Katuns, for it is 57,902 days greater than 1,480,440, and 55,978
days less than 1,594,320.
Now, however, the Manuscript presents in the last column but one of page 31
a number, 2,804,100, which occupies a very unique position, since it is
nearly twice as great as all the other large numbers, with the exception of
those in the serpents. It must refer to the year 9 Muluc, and to the date
IV Ahau 13 Mol. It has many remarkable properties, for it is:--
1) = 10,785 × 260
2) = 17,975 × 156 (156 = IV Kan - IV Ahau).
3) = 35,950 × 78 (78 = IV Ik - IV Ahau and IV Kan - IV Ik).
4) = 719 × 3900. We have already met with this 3900 above. Now, however,
the 2,804,100 by virtue of its magnitude creates the suspicion that it may
be composed of two ordinary large numbers. It might be
5) 1,308,580 + 1,495,520, therefore 14,380 (91 + 104).
6) 1,380,600 + 1,423,500, therefore 3,900 (354 + 365).
That is to say, the important 3900 multiplied by the days of the lunar year
and also by those of the solar year, hence the 719, referred to under 4,
separates into these two parts. The lunar year of 354 = 6 × 29 + 6 × 30
days was not unknown to the Mayas. We shall find its half, 177 days,
several times on pages 51-58.
We might also use the two important numbers 14,040 and 18,980, the first of
which is divisible by 260 and 360, and the second by 260 and 365, without
remainder.
Then we have the large number desired:--
7) 147 × 18,980 + 14,040.
8) 200 × 14,040 - 3900.
What future student will penetrate more deeply into the meaning and purpose
of these numbers?
We might now expect to interpret also the upper right-hand corner of page
31, but here almost everything is in a deplorable state of obliteration. In
the first three of the five columns over each of the three large numbers
there was a date consisting of a numeral and a hieroglyph, but these admit
of no certain nor even probable determination.
Four hieroglyphs still remain in the fourth column, respecting which
compare my treatise "Zur Maya-Chronologie" in the Berliner Zeitschrift für
Ethnologie XXIII, pp. 141-155.
In the top sign I recognize an Imix with a prefix and probably also a
superfix. I think this denotes the period of 18,980 days.
I am forced to pass over the second entirely, inasmuch as a red 6 inserted
in it remains a mystery (6 × 18,980 = 113,880?).
As I stated in the above-named work, I think the third is three times the
sacred period of 2920, _i.e._, 8760 days.
Finally, the fourth sign certainly denotes the period of 7200 days.
Whether or not there was a fifth sign above the one now at the top is as
uncertain as the meaning of the whole.
The most remarkable thing about it is that in three other passages of this
Manuscript these three signs appear in close proximity to another. On page
61 we find the third in the 11th place in the second column, the first in
the 12th place in the same column, and the fourth in the 14th place in the
first column. Page 70 has the first sign in the middle of the 4th column;
the second somewhat lower down in the 3d column and the 4th two places
below. Finally all three signs appear in succession on the top of page 73
in the same order as on page 31.
The fifth column on page 31 may have contained another numeral belonging to
the series, the loss of which is not so serious a matter, but there may
have been one or two hieroglyphs above it, the obliteration of which is
greatly to be deplored.
Pages 32a--39a.
This is a large section extending over eight pages, which is difficult of
interpretation owing to the prevailing disorder and because a large part of
the hieroglyphs are effaced. Here, too, the principal subject is the god B,
who is represented in manifold activity. A series of numbers extends
through the entire representation. I read them as follows:--
I 11 XII 28 I 12 XIII 26 XIII 12 XII 19 V 5 X 1 XI 20 V 12 IV 6 X 8 V 5 X
7 IV 12 III 5 VIII 8 III 11 I.
There are thus 18 divisions, the different lengths of which reveal no rule.
They embrace 208 days, _i.e._, 2 × 104, which may well be considered as a
continuation of the computation in the preceding section, of which the 104
was so important a number. The red numbers are entirely lacking in the
beginning, then they are very slightly indicated, and finally they are
distinctly written out on pages 36-39. I assume that the scribe has set
down the 4th, 3d and 2nd numbers from the end, one too little. The last
number has been entirely omitted. I have supplied these omissions though in
a manner somewhat different from that adopted by Cyrus Thomas, "Aids," p.
28. I would note in addition that a period such as this, consisting of 208
days = 16 weeks, might be explained in an entirely different way, if there
were a column of five days at the left having a difference of 8 days; then
the whole would signify four Tonalamatls. But there is no such series of
days.
Another point of view presents itself, however. If we take cognizance of
the fact that a group of four hieroglyphs usually belongs to a picture,
then it is evident that here there are such groups not for 18, but for
about 22 subdivisions. It may, therefore, be assumed that about four
subdivisions averaging 13 days are not specified, in which case this
passage would extend not over 208, but over 260 days. The very irregularity
in the arrangement of these numbers is an argument in favor of this
hypothesis; it may be occasioned by the fact, that the pictures do not
correspond exactly to the subdivisions. For the present, however, we shall
discuss the single pictures assuming that there are 18 subdivisions.
1. Pages 32a-33a. Here at the very beginning it is uncertain whether the
signs at the end of page 32 and at the beginning of page 33 are to be
regarded as a single group of 8 hieroglyphs, as seems to follow from the
numbers, or as two groups of 4 hieroglyphs each. At the end of page 32 we
see two persons facing one another, one of whom, to be sure, is barely
visible. The other wears a head-covering like a man's silk hat, similar to
that worn by the priests on the inscriptions of Palenque. It is a
remarkable fact that of the four hieroglyphs above these figures, 1, 2 and
4 (the last probably the god C) seem to have the sign for the west as a
prefix, while the prefix of 3 (Imix) suggests the usual representation of
the tortoise head. Below the persons there is a Kan sign, the prefix of
which is also the sign for the west.
On page 33, B is represented walking and carrying the Caban sign in his
hand. The first of the four hieroglyphs is the sign for B, the second is
Imix, probably again with the sign for the west as a prefix, the third is
an Akbal sign with Kin, and the fourth is the cross-hatched sign with Kan.
2. The rest of 33a is occupied by two persons, one of whom is clad in a
gala mantle, but neither admit of further identification. They are occupied
in fishing, inasmuch as they are sitting on the shore of a body of water
and are either casting a net or drawing it in. There is a fish between them
and above it is a vessel with something apparently cooking in it. Of the 8
hieroglyphs belonging to this picture, only the following are
distinguishable:--the 1st containing an Akbal, the 3d, which is the common
cross _b_ with a 9, the 4th, an Imix also with 9, and of the 7th only the
prefix Yax. The 3d and 4th appear again on page 35a, 28 days later.
3. Page 34, like page 3, represents a human sacrifice. The victim, very
vaguely drawn, lies on a step-shaped sacrificial stone, or on the pyramid
of a teocalli. There is a Caban (earth) sign between the sacrifice and the
pyramid, and also on the walls of the buildings; the shrieking of the
victim is plainly indicated. As on page 3, there are four persons in the
form of gods surrounding the sacrifice, but here they are different ones.
The one at the left above is the black god (L?), holding the rattle-stick
(Seler, "Mittelamer. Musikinstrumente," p. 111), and at the right, above,
F, the companion of the death-god, is sitting with a rattle in his hand.
Below, the two have changed places, F is on the left and L on the right.
The former is beating the drum and the latter blowing a wind-instrument.
The sounds emitted by the two instruments are represented by drawings. This
may, therefore, be regarded as an instrumental quartette. The following
objects are also in this picture:--at the left above is a vessel the
contents of which are cooking; at the left below, another vessel with three
Kan signs, and at the right above, a Kan sign with a bird's head and below
the food known to us from pages 27b and 29b. These four objects refer to
the sacrificial feast. Lastly, at the bottom on the right there is a
ladder, probably intended for scaling the pyramid. Ten hieroglyphs in the
upper line belong to this picture:--the first, which is effaced, is
followed by a Cauac, then comes the cross _b_, then a Cimi appropriate to
the sacrifice, and lastly a head with an Akbal eye, probably D's. The first
sign in the lower row is likewise destroyed, the second sign is a Kan, the
next is the cross _b_, both having a different prefix, then here too is the
hieroglyph of B with Yax as a prefix, and the last is an unknown sign.
4 and 5. Page 35a. According to the numbers there are two sections here,
but neither the pictures nor the hieroglyphs can with certainty be assigned
to either. On the left is a house in which C sits holding a Kan sign in his
hand; on the roof, as if guarding him, and also holding a Kan sign, lies
the god B. In the Cort. 24b-25b, there are six gods lying on houses, within
which other gods are also represented in a recumbent position. Then follow
two vessels, again denoting the sacrificial feast, the contents of which
are probably cooking, and which, from the sign on the second, are probably
liquid. Above these are three others, one with the Cimi sign (human
flesh?), one with a bird and the third with the haunch of venison. At the
right of these is an implement, which is unfamiliar to me and is similar to
that held in the god's hand on pages 5c and 6c. And quite on the right sits
B with foot-prints pictured below him and on his clothing.
The hieroglyphs on page 35, when they were all legible, numbered 14 and
were arranged in two rows. 4 of the upper row are preserved, the lower part
of the first is a year-sign (?), similar to that which often appears on
pages 25-28, the upper element is the cross, and the prefix is the one
resembling a leaf, which occurs so frequently. The second sign is an Imix
with a prefixed 9, the third a cross and the fourth a head (probably D's)
with Akbal. In the second row there is a cross with a prefixed 9 (sign of
the second or third month?). These two signs with the prefixed 9 are
perhaps to be read as a calendar date IX Imix 9 Zip (1 Ix), as on page 33a.
Ix, however, belongs to the west, which is the predominant cardinal point
from 32a onward. The second sign is a compound of Kin and Akbal (day and
night) which often occurs here, the third is the compound of the Moan and
Caban signs with the number 1 above each, and the fourth is the hieroglyph
of B. The fifth sign is unfamiliar to me. The sixth contains an Imix with
the sign for the west as a prefix, and the seventh is effaced.
At this point the representations begin to display a more orderly
arrangement.
6. Page 36a. Here the head of B forms the head of a serpent (cf. pages 61
and 62) represented in pouring rain, while on page 35b it is emerging from
the water. Of the four hieroglyphs 1 and 2 are entirely and 3 for the most
part destroyed, and 4 is the usual Kan-Imix.
7. The lightning-beast with flames pouring forth from his forepaws and
tail, is plunging down from the rectangle, which primarily designates stars
and then the sky in general. This rectangle occurs for the first time here,
but will often be met with later. Here it may be a combination of Mars and
Venus. Of the four hieroglyphs, 1 is effaced, 2 is a compound of Kan and
Kin, 3 a head with Akbal and Kin (D?) with the uplifted arm as a prefix,
and 4, corresponding with the picture, is the compound of the rain sign
Cauac with the prefix of the storm-god K.
8. Here B himself is the bringer of lightning. In one hand he holds a
burning torch and flames are bursting from his carrying-frame. The third
hieroglyph is his sign. It is doubtful whether the fourth is the hatchet
(machete) or is not rather intended for an ear pierced for the purpose of
ritual blood-letting, as on pages 44b and 45b; the first and second signs
are rather indistinct.
9. Page 37a. Unless I am entirely mistaken, B is here represented with his
arms bound behind his back. Cf. the pictures on page 2, top, and 60,
bottom. Are the ends of the rope fluttering in front of the god intended to
render this still more plain? Hieroglyph 1 contains the sign _t_, which
resembles, but is not the same as, the year sign. This sign has already
occurred frequently, especially on pages 25a-28a, and the last time on page
35 in the first hieroglyph. As on page 35, hieroglyph 4 is the compound
Kin-Cauac, but here it is joined to the year-sign, _i.e._, it denotes the
Kin-Cauac year, just as it does on page 26a. 3 is again Cauac and 2 is the
hieroglyph for B.
10. Rain is falling from the heavenly shield, already seen on page 36, here
however designating different planets (Mars and Mercury?) and the figure
represented in the rain is the one which we have already seen on pages 12c,
17a and 21c. It is that of the old Uayeyab god N with a hatchet in one hand
and an unfamiliar object in the other like the one on page 39a, and with
another unknown object on his back shaped like a shield marked with a Kin.
That this figure is really meant to represent N follows from the fourth
hieroglyph (which, however, is not his regular sign 5 Zac), which is
repeated on the head of the figure. The lower part of the hieroglyph is
replaced by the year-sign just as it is in the hieroglyph on page 47, left,
middle. The third hieroglyph contains 2 Caban signs, the first and second
cannot be clearly identified.
11. This is a deity which I hardly think appears elsewhere. It has an
animal's head resembling that of a bear, thus recalling page 7a, and it
also has the paws of a bear. Of the hieroglyphs only a Kin-Akbal is
recognizable.
12. Page 38a. Here we have another heavenly shield (Mars and Venus?) and
under this shield B is represented seated and strangely enough facing
himself, the figures not being back to back as on page 68a. Hieroglyphs 1
to 3 are wholly and 4, which is a head, is for the most part destroyed.
13. B is here represented in very close connection with a female figure.
Cf. pages 21c-23c. The representation on page 68b is a still closer
parallel to this passage. The first hieroglyph is destroyed for the most
part, the second is B, the third is probably only a determinative of the
latter, but has the sign for the west, and the fourth is Kan-Imix.
14. B holding a Kan sign is sitting on an object, which may be meant for
the stone on which the idols were set up at the change of the year. Of the
hieroglyphs the third is again B, and the fourth is probably the frequent
sign a. The first sign is the most remarkable. In the Zeitschrift für
Ethnologie, Vol. XXIII, p. 147, I stated that this was the sign for the
change of the year, which is its meaning on pages 41b, 52b and 68a. The Kan
year follows here after the Cauac year of page 37. The prefix of the sign
is the hieroglyph for the east to which the Kan years belong. The Kan sign
in B's hand also corresponds to this. The second hieroglyph is destroyed.
15. Page 39. The picture represents the lightning-beast with two flaming
torches walking under the heavenly shield (Mercury and Jupiter?). Of the
hieroglyphs the third belongs to B, the fourth has as a prefix the sign of
the storm-god K, but otherwise admits as little of determination as do the
first and second.
16. Here we see B in the rain holding in one hand a machete, and in the
other a strange implement similar to that on page 37a. Of the hieroglyphs
the second was the god's sign, the third is _a_, and the fourth may be an
Akbal sign with Kin. The first sign somewhat suggests the sign for the
Moan; its prefix is curious.
17. Here in place of the picture and the superscription, owing perhaps to
lack of space and in order not to omit the last picture, we have a vertical
row of seven hieroglyphs interrupted between the sixth and seventh by the
red and black numeral belonging here. The top sign is effaced and the
second is B's. I will not venture to determine the third, which contains a
Yax. Could it belong to the serpent deity H? The fourth is probably
Kan-Imix and the fifth is indistinct. And the same is true of the sixth,
the prefix of which we have already met with as the sixteenth hieroglyph on
page 24, and shall meet with again on pages 53, 56, 58, 61, etc. The
seventh sign, which is quite at the bottom, consists of a vessel with a
foot-print beneath it; it seems to be in the place of the picture.
18. The entire section ends with a picture of B, who carries the hatchet
and probably the copal pouch. The hieroglyphs are wholly obliterated.
Pages 40a--41a.
The following Tonalamatl, one of the form of 10 × 26, has suffered much
from the carelessness of the scribe and from injury. I have attempted to
restore it as follows:--
X X 7 IV 4 VIII 4 XII 2 I 1 II 8 X
Ahau Oc
Cimi Cib
Eb Ik
Ezanab Lamat
Kan Ix.
The first row should be read from top to bottom, and then the second in the
same order.
The six subdivisions all refer to some activity of B. Among the 6 × 4
hieroglyphs his sign occurs five times as the fourth and only in the last
group as the third. Let us now examine the six groups individually.
1. B is traversing the water in a canoe, as on pages 29c and 40c, with the
paddle in his hand. All the hieroglyphs belonging to him are obliterated.
2. B is sitting on the laterally elongated head _q_, which here, as on page
69, is enlarged and drawn with special care. Seler ("Charakter der
aztekischen, etc. Handschrift" in the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1888, p.
83) discusses this sign in connection with the day Men. It seems to me to
denote unlucky days, the influence of which may here be checked by B. B
holds in his hand a hatchet. The head (_q_) is repeated in the third sign,
perhaps also in the second, and the superfix of these two signs is probably
the same as that of the sign beneath the picture of B. The first sign is
mostly destroyed.
3. As on pages 30a and 31c, and again just as on page 69a, B is sitting on
the tree of life or sacrificial tree. A branch of this, which he grasps in
one hand, ends in a serpent-head, and the root of the tree also represents
B's head. Around the god's head are again the familiar dots, probably
signifying stars. Of the hieroglyphs, the first is probably _f_, the second
is destroyed, the third may be a variant of _a_, although it recalls the
sign which, I believe, has the meaning of 73 days on pages 46-50; the
prefix of 1 also suggests this meaning.
4. B's head is again surrounded by stars and he holds in one hand the
outline of a hieroglyph. He is sitting on a peculiar ornamented structure
resembling the crenelations of a wall. This wall displays the spiral which
we found also on pages 33b-35b, and which in the treatise, "Zur
Maya-Chronologie" (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie XXIII, p. 147), I regarded as
an abbreviation for a serpent and hence as a symbol of time. It is further
to be noted that B is wet with rain and with this the third hieroglyph is
in keeping, if it is actually intended to denote the rainy season and not
the week of 13 days ("Zur Entzifferung" V, 6); still the red numeral 13
below is more in keeping with the second meaning. The second sign is an
Ahau with the leaf-shaped prefix, which also appears in the first sign of
the third group. The first is effaced.
5. B, represented with a gala mantle hanging down in front and with the
copal pouch, is sitting on a head, which looks like his own, especially as
to the eyes, but which notwithstanding probably belongs to D and is marked
with Ik (wind) and Cauac (cumulus clouds). Of the hieroglyphs the first and
second do not admit of positive identification, and the third is Kan-Imix.
6. The god is sitting on a mat in a house. All the hieroglyphs except his
own are obliterated.
Pages 42a--44a.
Another Tonalamatl of the form of 10 × 26; I have restored the effaced
day-signs as follows:--
XIII XIII 3 III 2 V 2 VII 6 XIII 2 II 2 IV 2 VI 7 XIII
Oc Cib
Ik Lamat
Ix Ahau
Cimi Eb
Ezanab Kan.
Thus the month days are the same as in the preceding Tonalamatl, but should
be read in a different order:--Oc, Cib, Ik, Lamat, etc.
Here each of the 8 subdivisions has 6 hieroglyphs, and the order is as
follows:--
1 2
3 4
5 6.
A few of these signs are common to all the groups. Thus the first sign
(_v_), as far as what remains is distinguishable, seems to occur in all the
groups. It has the leaf-shaped prefix, but I cannot understand the rest of
it; we shall find it again several times on pages 29c-41c.
Again the sign in the sixth place, as far as we can see, is always the head
without an underjaw and the tuft of hair tied up on top of it (O, according
to Schellhas), which we found above on page 25 and which we shall meet
again on pages 65-69 no less than 13 times, with regular intervals of 6
signs between them. Indeed that passage is a remarkable parallel to this
one.
That the sign for B, who here too plays the most important part, occurs
often, is self-evident. It appears in the fourth place, in the 1st, 3d,
4th, and 7th groups, and in the third of the 8th group; in the 6th group it
is destroyed. In the 2nd and 5th groups B has neither picture nor sign.
The hieroglyphs of the cardinal points I shall mention in connection with
the separate groups. They are especially conspicuous in this section, being
sometimes represented in full and sometimes in an abbreviated form as mere
prefixes.
1. B with arms crossed sits above a serpent denoting time, and holding in
its coils the cross _b_, which so often refers to astronomical conditions.
Above the head of the serpent is the vessel with the three Kan signs, which
we have already found several times on pages 25-28. It is remarkable that
the flourish, which usually appears as the nose-ornament of the sun-god G
(_e.g._, pages 11b and c), is added to these Kan signs. As the stars are
again indicated on B's head, he plainly denotes a time-god here. The third
hieroglyph, the sign of the east, corresponds with this meaning, and the
Kan sign, which we see in the fifth hieroglyph probably combined with Ahau,
also belongs to the east; the prefix of the fourth hieroglyph is the sign
for the west.
2. A deity whom we shall probably have to call F, the god of human
sacrifice, is sitting on a stepped pyramidal structure (a teocalli as a
place of sacrifice?). He holds something in his hands, resembling a long
and broad scroll, joined to which is the head of the god of the north, C,
and in the third hieroglyph of this group the sign for the north also
appears, prefixed to the head of F, who seems to be repeated in the fourth
hieroglyph. The fifth hieroglyph with an Imix is unintelligible to me.
3. Page 43. B is sitting in the water, the copal pouch hangs from his neck
and the hatchet is raised as if ready to attack. The second hieroglyph
clearly denotes water, while the third is the sign for the west and the
fourth is the sign for B, its prefix being the sign for the east
abbreviated; the order of the cardinal points is thus exactly the reverse
of that in the first group. The fifth hieroglyph is not clear to me, but it
appears to be repeated in the same place in the next group.
4. B is sitting here astride a sort of bench again holding the hatchet in
his hand. Belonging to this picture in the third hieroglyph is the sign for
the south, which is repeated in an abbreviated form in the fourth
hieroglyph.
The fifth is Kan, joined to what appears to be the same sign as the one
found in this place in the preceding group. The second sign is indistinct.
5. This is an aged deity, probably M according to Schellhas, seated on an
indefinite object. In front of the deity is a Cauac sign, which contains
exactly the same cumulus clouds as those in the sign 5 Zac, which belongs
to N. Cauac, however, belongs to the south, and therefore corresponds with
the north of the second group on page 42. Sign 5, a Kan, corresponds
exactly with the same sign in the fifth place of the preceding group.
6. Page 44. B seems to be in a state of collapse. Behind him is a second
person, who is either trying to support him or to pull him up by some kind
of a sling. I think the second person is E, the grain-deity, if it is not
Seler's young god. If the hieroglyphs were not completely effaced, they
would probably shed some light on this interesting passage.
7. Here we see B, holding a fish in his hand, and sitting on a hieroglyph,
which is compounded of Imix and a prefix, which resembles the tortoise head
and which appeared once before in this combination on page 32a. This
passage recalls page 40a, where B is seated on the laterally elongated head
_q_. Nothing more can be said of the hieroglyphs, than that 6 is the head
without an underjaw.
8. B is sitting here in a house; his sign in the third place has Yax as a
prefix. Hieroglyph 5, with the number 4 prefixed, recalls the one which we
found on page 21c belonging to the baldheaded old man. Hieroglyph 4 is the
common Kan-Imix.
Page 45a.
The last page on the front of the first section of this Manuscript is used
for a series, which presents itself as a second improved edition of the
series which was found on pages 31a-32a. The very fact that the writing is
so much better proclaims it an amendment. The chief aim of both series is
the same, viz:--to bring into unison the numbers 91, 104, 260 and 364. But
the two series gain this end by different means. On page 32 the series
begins with 91, and at first has only 91 as a difference, until with 728 a
multiple of 104 and 364 is obtained, then it returns to the simple
difference 91, in 1456 it obtains again the 104 and 364, loses these two
last numbers once more in 1820 and finally in 3640 obtains the desired
multiple of all four numbers, which is retained in 7280, 14,560, 21,840 and
29,120. The series on page 45a proceeds much more briefly. It begins at
once with 728 (91, 104, 364), loses the 104 in 1092, gains the 260 and
loses the 104 in 1820, arrives at divisibility by all four numbers in the
3640, loses the 104 again in 5460, but then comes to a standstill after
having obtained the same multiples (double at that) of 3640, which I
mentioned just now in the preceding series. Indeed it can be seen from what
is legible in the third column above, that the series went still further.
But so much is obliterated that I have obtained the numbers 14,560 and
21,840 in both series only by conjecture.
In the earlier passage the starting-point of the series is the day XIII
Akbal and in the one before us it is the day XIII Oc. In the former the
days specified were 91 days apart from each other, and here they are
separated by 104, _i.e._, XIII Ezanab, XIII Ik, XIII Cimi, XIII Oc.
The initial days of the two series, XIII Oc-XIII Akbal, are separated by 13
days, and the reversed series, XIII Akbal-XIII Oc, by 247 days. Hence the
subject of both passages is essentially the week of thirteen days, _i.e._,
the year of 364 (28 × 13) days.
Now this series is also accompanied by a number amounting to millions. It
is in the second column of page 45; only, in order to understand it, we
must add a zero as the bottom figure; then it becomes 1,278,420. XIII Oc
stands below this number as the beginning of the series. The first column
has 30 as an encircled number and below it the normal day IV Ahau.
The large number must have been formed as follows:--
The point of departure was 230, the interval between IV Ahau and XIII Oc,
to this was added 98 × 260 = 25,480, the sum being 25,710. The result of
this number added to 11 Ahau-Katuns = 1,252,680, was 1,278,390, which
number is not revealed in the Manuscript. It is concealed in XIII Oc 3 Mol
(2 Muluc). But 1,278,390 = 42,613 × 30, _i.e._, it is divisible by the
interval XIII Oc-IV Ahau.
Now if we add to this large number the 30 set down in the Manuscript, the
result will be the above-mentioned 1,278,420. This number in the Manuscript
has the date IV Ahau 13 Chen. (2 Muluc). It is, of course, divisible by 30
and by 260, hence = 42,614 × 30 and 4917 × 260. It corresponds not merely
in this respect with the largest number on page 31a, viz:--2,804,100, but
also with regard to its divisibility by 78, 156, 195, which are all
multiples of 13.
On page 45a, top left, there were doubtless five hieroglyphs, of which the
two topmost ones are effaced. First we see only the sign of the eleventh or
twelfth month, Zac or Ceh, with an uncertain number prefixed, then the
signs for beginning and end are distinctly legible. Ceh begins and Zac ends
the year of 364 days; see page 4 of my treatise "Zur Entzifferung V."
Pages 29b--30b.
We come now to the middle section of pages 29-45, in which we shall not be
so hampered by obliteration in our attempts at interpretation, as we were
in the upper section.
We have here first a Tonalamatl of the usual kind, arranged as follows:--
III 13 III 13 III 13 III 13 III
Ix
Cimi
Ezanab
Oc
Ik.
That is to say, the 52 days divided into four equal parts.
To these four divisions, as on page 23b, belong the four usual forms of
animal food, which are joined in three places to Kan (bread) and probably
denote sacrifice. They are, first a mammal, which, however, is erroneously
represented by a fish; second, a fish, third an iguana and lastly a bird. I
would add, that in the hieroglyphs above, the east, north, west and south
correspond in turn with these representations of food.
The hieroglyphs are arranged as follows:--
1 2 5 6 9 10 13 14
3 4 7 8 11 12 15 16.
Of these, 2, 6, 10 and 14 are the cardinal points just mentioned; 4, 8, 12
and 16 are the sign for B, and 1, 5, 9 and 13 are the head with the tuft of
hair and the Akbal eye to which I attribute the meaning of _beginning_.
Likewise the remaining four signs, 3, 7, 11 and 15, although they are not
exactly alike, have something in common, the 15th being a distinct Imix;
they are not yet wholly intelligible to me.
Four pictures of B belong to these hieroglyphs. In the first the god is
seated with crossed arms on two of the ordinary astronomical signs (Jupiter
and Mars?). In the second, where he is pointing forward with his hand,
there are footprints on his seat, as, for example, on page 35a. In the
third the seat contains the usual cumulus clouds in clusters. Finally, in
the fourth, he is seated on the tree of life or of sacrifice, the hatchet
is in his hand and he is clad in the gala mantle; cf. pages 31c, 40a, 69a.
Pages 30b--31b.
This passage is in some respects closely related to the preceding
Tonalamatl, but in other respects it differs significantly from this and
from what is usual, for the Tonalamatl is divided here into only four
principal divisions of 65 days each, which begin very regularly with the
days VIII Oc, VIII Men, VIII Ahau and VIII Chicchan. There are neither
subdivisions nor the usual pictures belonging to them. But on the other
hand each of the longer periods of time written down here have eight
hieroglyphs for each section in the usual order.
B's sign occupies the places 6, 4, 4 and 4; from this it follows that here
too he forms the principal subject.
Here, as in the preceding Tonalamatl, the first place in each group
contains the sign denoting beginning, while the eighth sign is invariably
the head without an underjaw, which seems to me to refer to _fasting_, as
if a fast-day fell at the end of every 65 days.
In the fifth place we see in succession the four animals, which in the
preceding Tonalamatl are not included in the groups of hieroglyphs. Here
they stand in the order of mammal, bird, amphibian and fish, but the bird
in the second group is replaced by the sign which usually occurs with the
dog (lightning-beast).
The signs in the second place are those of the cardinal points, and they
are given in the same order as in the preceding Tonalamatl, _i.e._, east,
north, west and south, so that they do not belong to the same animals as
they do there.
The third signs are the cardinal points again, but in the abbreviated form
discovered first by Schell
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