Part 4

_The Gods of Evil._—In contrast to the beneficent deities were those who presided over war, disease, death, and the underworld. Distinctively war gods were _Uac Lom Chaam_, “He whose teeth are six lances,” worshipped anciently at Ti-ho, the present Mérida; _Ahulane_, “The Archer,” painted holding an arrow, whose shrine was on the island of Cozumel; _Pakoc_ (from _paakal_, to frighten) and _Hex Chun Chan_, “The dangerous one,” divinities of the Itzaes; _Kak u pacat_, “Fire (is) his face,” who is said to have carried in battle a shield of fire; _Ah Chuy Kak_, “He who works in fire,” that is, for destruction; _Ah Cun Can_, “The serpent charmer,” also worshipped at Ti-Ho; _Hun Pic Tok_, “He of 8000 lances,” who had a temple at Chichen Itza.

Chief of all these evil beings was the God of Death. His name is preserved in the first account we have of Yucatecan mythology, that by Father Hernandez, and, according to Father Lara, it was the same among the Tzentals, Maya, _Ah-puch_, Tzental, _Pucugh_. These words mean “the Undoer,” or “Spoiler,” apparently a euphemism to avoid pronouncing a name of evil omen.[56] In modern Maya he is plain _Yum cimil_, “lord of death.” He was painted as a skeleton with bare skull, and was then called _Chamay Bac_, or _Zac Chamay Bac_, “white teeth and bones.”[57]

The spirit (_pixan_) after death was supposed to go to the Underworld, which was called _Mitna_, or _Metna_ where presided the god _Xibilba_ or _Xabalba_, sometimes called _Hun Ahau_, “the One lord,” for to his realm must all come at last.[58] Another name for this Hades was _tancucula_ (perhaps _tan kukul_, “before the gods,” _i. e._, where one is judged), which is given by the _Dicc. Motul_ as an “ancient word” (vocablo antiguo). The happy souls then passed to a realm of joy, where they spent their time under the great green tree _Yaxche_, while those who were condemned sank down to a place of cold and hunger.

_The Conflict of the Gods._—Between these two classes of deities—those who make for good and those who make for evil in the life of man—there is, both in the myths and in the picture writings, an eternal conflict.

In the Codex Troano, as Dr. Seler remarks, “The god of death appears as the inevitable foil of the god of light and heaven. In whatever action the latter is depicted, the god of death is imitating it, but in such a manner that with him all turns to nought and emptiness. Where the light-god holds the string, in the hands of the death-god it is torn asunder; where the former offers incense, the latter carries the sign of ‘fire’ wherewith to consume it; where the former presents the sign _kan_, food, the latter lifts an empty vase bearing the signs of drought and death.”

2. _The Cosmogony of the Mayas._

We know practically nothing of the cosmogony of the Mayas; but it is instructive in connection with their calendar system to find that, like the Nahuas, they believed in Epochs of the Universe, at the close of each of which there was a general destruction of both gods and men. The early writer, Aguilar, says that he learned from the native books themselves that they recorded three such periodical cataclysms. The first was called _Mayacimil_, “general death;” the second, _Oc na kuchil_, “the ravens enter the houses,” that is, the inhabitants were all dead; and the third, _Hun yecil_, a universal deluge, a term which the _Dicc. Motul_ seems to explain by mentioning a tradition that the water was so high “that its surface was within the distance of one stalk of maguey from the sky!” Another term for this catastrophe was _bulcabal_, _haycabal_ or _haycabil_ (destruccion, asolamiento y diluvio general con que fué destruido y asolado el mundo. _Dicc. Motul_).

This would make the present the fourth age of the world (not the fifth, as the Nahuas believed); and this corresponds to the prophecies contained in the “Books of Chilan Balam,” which I have quoted in another work. The scene of the creation of man, the “terrestrial Paradise,” was known as _hun anhil_, and the name of the first man was _Anum_, both apparently from the verb _anhel_, to stand erect.

Many of the high calculations of the priests must have been for the purpose of discovering the length of the present epoch and how soon the world would end. They seem to have thought this would take place when all their various time-measures would merge together into a common unity, which each could divide without remainder.[59]

3. _Cosmical Conceptions of the Mayas._

The cosmical conceptions of the ancient Mayas have not hitherto been understood; but by a study of existing documents I believe they can be correctly explained in outline.

One of these is the central design in the Chilan Balam, or Sacred Book, of Mani (Fig. 9). It was copied by Father Cogolludo in 1640, and inserted in his History of Yucatan, with a totally false interpretation which the natives designedly gave him.

The lettering in the above figure is by the late Dr. C. H. Berendt, and was obtained by him from other books of Chilan Balam, and native sources. In Cogolludo’s work, this design is surrounded by thirteen heads which signify the thirteen _ahau katuns_, or greater cycles of years, as I have explained elsewhere.[60] The number thirteen in American mythology symbolizes the thirteen possible directions of space.[61] The border, therefore, expresses the totality of Space and Time; and the design itself symbolizes Life within Space and Time. This is shown as follows: At the bottom of the field lies a cubical block, which represents the earth, always conceived of this shape in Mayan mythology.[62] It bears, however, not the lettering, _lum_, the Earth, as we might expect, but, significantly, _tem_, the Altar. The Earth is the great altar of the Gods, and the offering upon it is Life.

Above the earth-cube, supported on four legs which rest upon the four quarters of the mundane plane, is the celestial vase, _cum_, which contains the heavenly waters, the rains and showers, on which depends the life of vegetation, and therefore that of the animal world as well. Above it hang the heavy rain clouds, _muyal_, ready to fill it; within it grows the _yax che_, the Tree of Life, spreading its branches far upward, on their extremities the flowers or fruit of life, the soul or immortal principle of man, called _ol_ or _yol_.[63]

Turning now to the central design of what has been called the “Tableau of the Bacabs,” in the Codex Cortesianus, Fig. 10, we can readily see in the light of the above explanation that its lesson is the same. The design is surrounded by the signs of the twenty days, beyond which the field (not shown in this cut) is apportioned to the four cardinal points and the deities and time-cycles connected with them.

Again it is Life within Space and Time which the artist presents. The earth is not represented; but we readily recognize in conventionalized form the great Tree of Life, across it the celestial Vase, and above it the cloud-masses. On the right sits Cuculcan, on the left Xmucane, the divine pair called in the _Popol Vuh_ “the Creator and the Former, Grandfather and Grandmother of the race, who give Life, who give Reproduction.”[64] In his right hand Cuculcan holds three glyphs, each containing the sign of Life, _ik_. Xmucane has before her one with the sign of union (sexual); above it, one containing the life-sign (product of union); and these are surmounted by the head of a fish, symbolizing the fructifying and motherly waters.

The total extension of the field in these designs resembles the glyph _a_ in Fig. 6. It is found in both Mayan and Mexican MSS.,[65] and expresses the conception these peoples had of the Universe. Hence I give it the name of the “cosmic sign.”

4. _Pictorial Representations of Divinities._

Turning to the Codices and the monuments with the above mythological lore in one’s memory, it seems to me there is no difficulty in identifying most of the pictures presented by them. That this has not been accomplished heretofore, I attribute to the neglect of the myths by previous writers, and a persistent desire to discover in the mythology of the Mayas, not the divinities which they themselves worshipped, but those of some other nation, as the Nahuas, Quiches, Zapotecs, or Pueblo dwellers.[66] I shall pay small attention to such analogies, as the Mayas had a religion of their own, and it is that which I wish to define. We may turn first to the—

_Representations of Itzamna._—I have no hesitation in identifying Itzamna with the “god B,” as catalogued by Dr. Schellhas in his excellent study of the divinities of the Codices,[67] and which he believes to be Cuculcan, while the Abbé Brasseur, followed by Dr. Seler, argue, that it is a “Tlaloc” or Chac, _i. e._, a rain god.[68] He is extremely prominent in the Codices, being painted in the Dresden Codex alone not less than 130 times, and in the others about 70 times. No other deity has half so many representations, and we may well believe, therefore, that he was the Jove of their Pantheon.

This at once suggests Itzamna; but a phrase of the historian Cogolludo leaves no doubt about it. The “god B” is associated with the signs of the east, and his especial and invariable characteristic are two long, serpent-like teeth, which project from his mouth, one in front, the other to the side and backward.[69] These traits enable us to identify “B” with Lakin Chan, “the serpent of the east,” who was portrayed “with strangely deformed teeth,” and this was unquestionably but another name for Itzamna, the god of the east.[70]

An abundance of evidence may be adduced to confirm this opinion. This deity is represented in close relations with the serpent, holding it in his hand, sitting upon it, even swallowed by it, or emerging from its throat. As a “medicine man” he carries the “medicine bag,” and the wand or baton, called in Maya _caluac_, “the perforated stick,”[71] surmounted with a hand, hinting at his name above given, _Kabil_, the Skilful Hand. He is often in a boat, to recall his advent over the eastern sea, and he is frequently associated with the showers, as was Itzamna, who said of himself, _itz en muyal, itz en caan_, “I am what trickles from the clouds, from the sky.” As the rising sun which dispels the darkness, or else as the physician who heals disease, he is portrayed sitting on the head of the owl, the bird of night and sickness; and as the giver of life he is associated with the emblem of the snail, typical of birth.

He himself is never connected with the symbols of death or misfortune, but always with those of life and light. The lance and tomahawk which he often carries are to drive away the spirits of evil.

Besides the above peculiarities, he is portrayed as an elderly man, his nose is long and curved downward, his eye is always the “ornamented eye,” which in the Maya Codices indicates a divinity. He is associated with all four quarters of the globe, for the East defines the cardinal points; and what is especially interesting, it is he who is connected with the Maya “Tree of Life,” the celebrated symbol of the cross, found on so many ancient monuments of this people and which has excited so much comment. This I shall consider later.

We know from the mythology that Itzamna, like most deities, was multiform, appearing in various incarnations. In the ceremonies this was represented by masks; with this in mind I class as merely one of the forms or epiphanies of Itzamna that figure in the Codices described by Dr. Schellhas as a separate deity, “the god with the ornamental nose,” whom he catalogues as “god K.” I am led to this conclusion by a careful study of all the pictographs in which this deity appears; they all seem to show that it is Itzamna wearing a mask to indicate some one manifestation of his power (see especially Cod. Dresden., pp. 7, 12, 25, 26, and 34, 65, and 67, where Itzamna is carrying the mask on his head). That there is a particular monogram for this character merely indicates that it was a separate mythological manifestation, not a different deity.

A remarkable and constant feature in the representations of Itzamna is his _nose_. Thomas calls it “elephantine,” but, as Waldeck and Seler have shown, it is undoubtedly intended to imitate the snout of the _tapir_.[72]

When we remember that this animal was sacred to Votan, who played the same part in Chiapas that Itzamna did in Yucatan, dividing and naming the land, etc.; and that the interesting slate tablets from Chiapas, in the National Museum of Mexico, portray the sacred tapir in intimate connection with the symbol of _the hand_,[73] that associated with Itzamna,—we are led to identify the two mythical personages as one and the same. According to Bishop Landa the tapir was not found in Yucatan except on the western shore near the bay of Campeche,[74] which shows that the myth of the tapir god was imported from Tzental territory.

It may be asked why the tapir, a dull animal, loving swamps and dark recesses of the forests, should have been chosen to represent a divinity of light. I reply, that it arose from the “ikonomatic” method of writing. The word for tapir in Maya is _tzimin_, in Tzental _tzemen_, and from the similarity of this sound to _i-tzam-na_ the animal came to be selected as his symbol. No such sacredness attached to the brute among the Quiches, for in their tongue the allusive sound did not exist, the tapir being called _tixl_. This rebus also confirms the identity of Itzamna with the tapir-nosed deity of the Codices.[75]

The annual festival to Itzamna was called _Pocam_, “the cleansing.” On that occasion the priests, arrayed in all their insignia, assembled in the house of their prince. First, they invoked Itzamna as the founder of their order and burned to him incense with fire newly made from the friction of sticks. Next they spread out upon a table covered with green leaves the sacred books, and asperged their pages with water drawn from a spring of which no woman had ever tasted. This was the ceremonial “cleansing.” Then the chief priest arose and declared the prognostics for the coming year as written in the holy records.[76]

We may well believe that the Dresden Codex, pages 29–43, which are entirely taken up with the deeds and ceremonies of Itzamna, was one of the books spread out on this solemn occasion.

_Representations of Cuculcan._—As I believe the reasons above given are sufficient to establish the identity of the “god B,” of Dr. Schellhas’ catalogue, with Itzamna, so I think his “god D” is Cuculcan.[77] He himself believes it to be a “night god,” or a “moon god,” while Dr. Seler considers it to portray Itzamna.

The characteristics of this divinity are: A face of an old man, with sunken mouth and toothless jaws, except one tooth in the lower jaw, which, in the Tro. and Cortes. Codices, is exaggerated as a distinctive sign; he has the “ornamented eye” peculiar to deities; and to his forehead is attached, or over it hangs, an affix, which generally bears the sign _akbal_, which means “darkness,” because he is the setting or night sun; for which reason his head-dress is often the horns of the eared owl. He is clearly a beneficent deity, and is never associated with symbols of misfortune or death. Indeed, he is at times evidently a god of birth, being accompanied with the symbol of the snail, above explained, and is sometimes associated with women apparently as an obstetrician. He is connected with serpent emblems, and holds in his hand a sacred rattle formed of the rattles of the rattlesnake.

All these traits coincide with the myths of Cuculcan; but when we perceive that he, and he alone of all the deities, is occasionally depicted _with a beard under his chin_, just as Cuculcan wore in the legend, the identification becomes complete.[78]

The most striking of his representations, and that which is most distinctive of his identity with the “green-feathered serpent,” is the picture which extends over pp. 4 and 5, middle, of the Dresden Codex. Here he is seen with face emerging from the mouth of the great, green-feathered snake-dragon, indicative of his own personality, his hieroglyph immediately above his head.[79]

_Representations of Kin ich._—As has already been observed, the sun at noon, conceived as a divinity, did not occupy a prominent place in Maya mythology; and this is also the case in the pictorial designs.

There is no doubt as to his representation. It is accompanied by the well-known ideogram of the sun scattered over his body and represented above him. It will be seen on a later page.

He is richly arrayed with large ear-rings and a characteristic, prominent nose decoration. He has the “ornamented eye” and a full head dress. (God “G” of Schellhas.)

Proceeding now to consider other divinities of the beneficent class, I begin with—

_Representations of Xaman Ek, the Pole Star._—This is the “god C, of the ornamented face,” of Dr. Schellhas’ list, who suggests its identity with the pole star. The very characteristic face recurs extremely frequently, especially in Codices Troano, Cortesianus, and Peresianus. We have evidently to do with an important divinity, and, as Dr. Schellhas says, “one of the most remarkable and difficult figures in the manuscripts.” That it is the personification of a star he argues, (1) from the ring of rays with which it is surrounded, Cod. Cort., p. 10; (2) from its appearance in the “constellation band;” (3) from its surmounting in certain pictures the “tree of life;” and that it is the North Star is shown by its presence in the hieroglyph of that quarter and its association with the sign for north.

There is another, and, to me, decisive argument, which at once confirms Dr. Schellhas’ opinion, and explains why the north star is represented by this peculiar, decorated face.

The term for “north” in Maya is _xaman_, whence _xaman ek_, north star. The only other word in the language which at all resembles this is _xamach_, the flat, decorated plate or dish (Nahuatl, _comalli_) on which tortillas, etc., are served. In the rebus-writing the decorations on the rim of this dish were conventionally transferred to the face of the deity, so as to distinguish it by recalling the familiar utensil. For a similar reason it is also called “the shield star,” _chimal ek_ (like _chimal ik_, north wind); but as this is a foreign word (from the Nahuatl, _chimalli_, shield), it was doubtless later and local. I shall refer to this peculiar edging or border as the “pottery decoration,” and we shall find it elsewhere.

That the figure is associated at times with all four quarters of the world, and also with the supreme number 13 (see above, p. 24), are not at all against the identification, as Dr. Schellhas seems to think, but in favor of it; for at night, all four directions are recognized by the position of the pole; and its immovable relation to the other celestial bodies seems to indicate that it belongs above the highest.

The North Star is especially spoken of as “the guide of merchants.” Its representation is associated with symbols of peace and plenty (removing the contents of a tall vase, C. Cortes., p. 40; seated under a canopy, ibid., p. 29). In front of his forehead is attached a small vase, the contents of which are trickling into his mouth (?).

He is especially prominent in the earlier pages of the Cod. Peres., where his presence seems to have been practically overlooked by previous writers; and it is true that the drawings are nearly erased. Close inspection will show, however, that he is portrayed on both sides of the long column of figures which runs up the middle of page 3. On the left, he is seated on the “Tree of Life,” as in Cod. Troanus, p. 17, _a_ (which is growing from the vase of the rains, precisely as in Cod. Tro., 14, _b_, where the star-god is sailing in the vase itself). On the right of the column he is shown in the darkness of night (on a black background), holding in his hand the _kan_ symbol of fortune and food. A similar contrast is on page 7, where on the right of the column he is seen above the fish, and on the left, in the dark, again with the _kan_ symbol. On the intermediate page he is seated opposite the figure of Kin ich Ahau, which is head downward, signifying that when the sun is absent the pole star rules the sky.

_Representations of the Planet Venus._—In view of the prominent part which the Venus-year plays in the calculations of the Codices, it has surprised students that no pictorial figures of this bright star appear on their pages. On this point I have some suggestions to make.

In one part of the Codex Troano (pp. 1*–10*) there are a great many—nearly fifty—pictures of an insect resembling a bee in descending flight. These pages have been explained by Thomas as relating to apiculture and the festivals of the bee-keepers, and by Seler, who rejects that rendering, as referring generally to the descent of deities to receive offerings. Direction downward is indicated not only by the position of the insect, but by the accompanying hieroglyph, which reads _caban_, the first syllable of which, _cab_, means “downward.” My suggestion is that in this bee-like insect we have an ikonomatic allusion to the Evening Star, which, as I have already stated, was sometimes called _xux ek_, “the bee or wasp star.”[80]

Not only is the picture phonetically appropriate, and the “sign” consistent, but that a deity is referred to is shown by three anthropomorphic pictures of the bee (two on p. 4* and one on p. 5*). Furthermore, the “sign” or monogram of the bee deity (Fig. 20) appears on the so-called “title pages” of the Cod. Tro. and Cod. Cortes., adjacent to that of the north star, indicating that another stellar deity is represented.

The object toward which the insect descends is generally either a fire, or that shown in Fig. 22.[81] This was supposed by Brasseur to be a honeycomb, and by Seler, a food offering. It is almost precisely the conventional representation of the clouds, as may be noted in the interesting scene on Cod. Tro., p. 5*, where this object is placed upon the earth, below which is the cloud symbol. Often it is yellowish, a point which has been urged in proof that it is honey. Does it not mean the golden-hued clouds of sunset, and the fire, the flame of the setting sun, into which the Evening Star descends?

The sign _caban_, “downward,” naturally refers to the Earth.[82] Thither sinks the star of evening to join the departed orb of day; hence this star mythically becomes the Earth-goddess, the associate of the setting sun. Cuculcan is very frequently depicted in relation to an old crone, having, like himself, but one tooth, and, like himself, ever engaged in kindly offices, good to men. She, I take it, is the Evening Star in her epiphany as Mother Earth, source of life, ancestress of the race.