Part 9

His signs are clearly established and vary but little, Nos. 1–4. Two of them are usually written. The prefix to 1 and 3 has been already referred to (see p. 84). The bean (or flint) appears as a prefix in No. 2, as a subfix in No. 3. Frequently associated with his monogram is No. 5, which Seler explains as the sign of the owl. No. 6, from Cod. Dres., p. 50, with a skull for a head-dress, may be a priest of this divinity; No. 7, from Dres., p. 22, may also be a priest or a companion.

_B._ Itzamna, or “the god with the snake-like tongue.”

His hieroglyphs are, beyond mistake, Nos. 8 and 9. The directive sign, No. 10, is occasionally associated with his monogram. In Cod. Dres., p. 33, one of his attributes is shown in No. 11, the hand closing on the rattles of the crotalus. The food symbols, Nos. 12, 13, 14, 15, are often connected with him. Some regard them as the four elements, etc.

_C._ The North Star, or “the god with the ornamental face.”

It is easy to recognize his monogram, Nos. 16, 17, 18, 19, 21. I have already explained the “pottery decoration” (above, p. 58). As prefixes, we find the bean, No. 20; the crescent, as in 21; the number 13, indicating completeness or perfection; and the vase, as in 16 and 17.

_D._ Cuculcan, “the moon god, or night god.”

The complete hieroglyph is No. 22, generally followed by No. 23. He is “the old man god,” with one tooth, as in No. 24; sometimes connected with the moon symbol as in No. 25; and often holds in his hand the aspersorium, shown in Nos. 26 and 27. See p. 105.

_E._ Ghanan, “a male maize god.”

His usual monogram is No. 28. No. 29 is a picture of the maize plant from Cod. Tro., p. 29, from which Dr. Schellhas argues that the head-dresses of this divinity, as shown in Nos. 30–34, are conventional designs for growing maize. My own collations persuade me that the maize should here be understood as a general symbol for vegetable growth, fertility, and the harvests.

_F._ The god of War, or, “a companion of the god of death.”

His hieroglyphs, shown in Nos. 35–41, often contain the number 11. The black line is characteristic. His signs appear in connection with all four cardinal points.

_G._ Kin ich, “the sun god.”

His monogram is uniform No. 42. It is the sun with the _ben ik_ superfix and alar postfix. (See p. 90). His nose ornament, No. 43, and the “flower,” No. 44, are usually distinctive of his portraits.[147]

_I._ “The serpent goddess.”

Her signs are not distinct. Dr. Schellhas believes them to be Nos. 49–51; but I cannot accept that they are intended for the same individual.

_H._ “The serpent god.”

The hieroglyph and the personage, No. 45, are doubtful. He is supposed to be shown in Cod. Dres., pp. 11, 12, 20, etc. Nos. 46 and 47, from Cod. Tro., p. 17, are also assigned him. The rattle, No. 48, appears as a hieroglyph in Cod. Dres., p. 61, and elsewhere. I doubt this deity.

_K._ “The god with the ornamented nose.”

The hieroglyph is No. 52, often accompanied by the “dog” sign, No. 53. I have already expressed the belief that this is merely one of the manifestations of Itzamna. (See p. 54.)

_L._ Ical Ahau, “a black god.”

Dr. Schellhas distinguishes between a divinity whose sign is No. 54, and “_M_,” “a second black god,” whose hieroglyph is No. 55, 56, and whose face is shown No. 57. He appears in Cod. Dres., pp. 13, 16, 43, and is common in the Cod. Tro. The sign No. 58 is occasionally associated, as in Cod. Tro., p. 5, and Cod. Cort., p. 28.

_N._ “A god with the features of an old man.”

His sign is No. 59, which may be translated “5 Zac,” and may refer to his festival on that date (Seler). His face and peculiar head-dress, with the _pax_ sign, are shown No. 60. These do not strike me as representing divinity, but simply “old age.”

_O._ “A goddess with features of an old woman” (Xmucane?). Her hieroglyphs are shown Nos. 61, 62; the latter is more frequent.

_P._ “A figure with features of an old man.”

It is seen Cod. Dres., p. 21, with the sign No. 63. It is doubtful if a deity is intended.

_Q._ “An isolated deity.”

Shown Cod. Dres., p. 20, with the signs Nos. 64 and 65; probably a mere personage.

_R._ The _moan_ bird.

He is often associated with the god of death, and bears the hieroglyphs Nos. 66–69, sometimes with the 13.

_S._ No. 70 is the usual hieroglyph of the dog, and _T_, No. 71, is that of the vulture.

_U._ No. 72 is the sign of the jaguar, as seen in Cod. Tro., p. 17, and in Cod. Dres., pp. 8, 26.

_V._ The turtle or tortoise. Its monogram is seen Nos. 73, 74, 75. It is the _a_ of Landa’s alphabet. There is no doubt but that the turtle’s head and not that of the parrot is intended, though some have thought otherwise.

Footnote 101:

“The Ancient Phonetic Alphabet of Yucatan,” in the _American Historical Magazine_, for 1870.

Footnote 102:

A notable exception to this, commented on by de Rosny, is seen on pages 18 and 19 of the _Codex Peresianus_. Why the rule should be reversed in those sections is still a problem.

Footnote 103:

_Study of the MS. Troano_, Preface, p. viii.

Footnote 104:

Alfredo Chavero, _Antiguedades Mexicanas_, p. xi (Mexico, 1892). The _Codex Porfirio Diaz_ must be read from right to left.

Footnote 105:

D. G. Brinton, “The Alphabets of the Berbers” in _Proceedings of the Oriental Club of Philadelphia_, p. 64 (Philadelphia, 1894).

Footnote 106:

For instances, the numerals in connection with the snakes in Cod. Dres., pp. 61–64, and 69–73, are to be read from right to left, and from below upward, beginning at the last page of the series, and proceeding toward the left on the extended sheet. Förstemann, _Entzifferung_, No. II, 1891.

Footnote 107:

In the _Archives de la Société Américaine de France_, for 1887, pp. 27, 28, 113, etc.

Footnote 108:

In this connection I would call the especial attention of students to the article by Dr. Schellhas, “Vergleichende Studien auf dem Felde der Maya-Alterthümer,” in the _Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie_, 1890. He there illustrates their methods of tattooing, wearing the hair, personal ornaments, costumes, utensils, etc., as shown in the Codices and other remains.

Footnote 109:

On the interpretation of these and allied signs the student should consult Garrick Mallery, _Sign Language among the North American Indians_, in _Rep. of the Bureau of Ethnology_, Vol. 1, and W. P. Clark, _The Indian Sign Language_ (Philadelphia, 1885). It is not possible for me here to give more than the most meager details on this important topic.

Footnote 110:

Bird’s wing in Maya is _xik_. Close in sound is _xikal_, queen (señora principal, _Dicc. Motul_). The first wing feather was also called “a knife” (la primera pluma de la ala del halcon se llama “cuchillo maestre,” “_u cicil ulum_.” _Dicc. de San Francisco_).

Footnote 111:

In the museum of the University of Pennsylvania there is a beautiful vase from Guatemala, with a vitrified surface; on it a face and head, with a necklace entirely of this sign, repeated in a pattern.

Footnote 112:

“_Tup_; ciertas arracadas de palo antiguas; y llamanse ahora las arracadas ó zarcillos.” _Dicc. Motul._

Footnote 113:

In Maya a comb is _xel_. This as a verb means “to cut in two;” and as a numeral prefix it divides in half unities less than 20; as _xel u yox kinbe_, “two-and-a-half-day journeys.” Ikonomatically, the comb sign may have these significations. Landa gives it as the sign for _ca_, perhaps, as Valentini suggests, for _cac_, to pull out hair.

Footnote 114:

_Uil_ also means anything favorable or advantageous—“cosa provechosa,” _Dic. Motul_. The word _u_ never means “vase,” as Prof. Thomas has repeatedly stated, following the unreliable Brasseur.

Footnote 115:

“Los navajones para los sacrificios, de los quales tenian buen recaudo los sacerdotes,” p. 107, Ed. Madrid.

Footnote 116:

_Relacion de la Villa de Valladolid_ (1579), Chap. XIV. I am aware that some variants of this glyph have a striking resemblance to a _penis flaccidus cum testiculis_; but after close comparison I have rejected this rendering. Thomas sees in the two shells “tortillas.”

Footnote 117:

_Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 112 (Ed. Madrid). What looks like the _kan_ sign below it is the strap which fastens it.

Footnote 118:

Mr. Marshall H. Saville, in a paper published in the _Journal of American Folk-lore_, September, 1894, and stated to have been read before the American Association the preceding month, entitled “A Comparative Study of the Graven Glyphs of Copan and Quirigua,” observes of the design of the _paxche_ that it “is probably a drum.” No expression to this effect was in the paper as read before the Association, and in the following number of the Journal Mr. Saville concedes that I was the first to offer this identification.

Footnote 119:

Duran: _Hist. de las Indias_, Trat. I, Lam. 29; Trat. II, Lam. 6.

Footnote 120:

I quote the explanation from the _Dicc. de Motul_,—“_Paxaan_: cosa que esta quebrada, como vasija, cabeza, barco, etc.; cosa que esta desparecida; _paaxan in cab_, huido se me han mis abejas; _paaxan in cuchtel_, _paaxan in cahal_, despoblado se me ha el pueblo, ido se me ha mi gente. Y asi se puede decir de muchachos, de hormigas, humo, niebla, nublados, dolor de cabeza, de la voluntad, etc., anadiendose al _paaxan_ el nombre de la cosa.” In a similar sense the phrases _paaxal yit caan_, “the edge of the sky is broken,” _paaxal u chun caan_, “the beginning of the sky is broken,” are translated, “reir el alba, venir el dia, ò amanecer asi.”

Footnote 121:

In the Tzental dialect the drum entirely of wood was called _culinte_; that with a skin stretched across it, _cayob_. Lara, _Vocabulario Tzental_, MS.

Footnote 122:

A similar design is found on Mexican shields, _e. g._, _Lienzo de Tlascala_, plate 12, _Cod. Porf. Diaz._, lam. s. and on the curious sculptures at Monte Alvan, Oaxaca, figured in Captain Dupaix’s Second Expedition, plate 21, in Kingsborough’s _Mexican Antiquities_.

Footnote 123:

Probably the “morriones de madera,” to which early writers allude as part of the armor of a Maya warrior.

Footnote 124:

“Torcer hilo con huso; _chich kuch_. Hilo torcido; _chichin bil kuch_.” _Dicc. de Motul._ Meanings of _chich_, are: “strong, swift, hard, violent,” also “grandmother.”

Footnote 125:

Father Ximenes speaks of the “asiento del rey;” “tenia un docel de pluma; sobre el guarda polvo, tenia cielos de diversos colores, tres, dos, etc.” _Origen de los Indios de Guatemala_, p. 196. The symbol is therefore one of power and authority, rather than of a mere inanimate object.

Footnote 126:

See Antonio Peñafiel, _Nombres Geograficos de Mexico; Estudio Jeroglifico_, passim (Mexico, 1885). I would especially recommend this easily obtainable work to the student who would familiarize himself with the method of “ikonomatic” writing as it was used by the ancient Mexicans. Another series of admirable examples are in the “Lienzo de Tlascala,” published by the Junta Colombina (Mexico, 1892), under the editorship of the distinguished antiquary, Don Alfredo Chavero.

Footnote 127:

_Nagualism; a Study in Native American Folk-lore and History_, p. 20, note. Sometimes water was used, when the word in Maya is _puhaa_, “to blow water,” and is translated in the dictionaries, “rociar con la boca.”

Footnote 128:

Mallery: _Picture Writing of the American Indians_, p. 700. The double curves that we see on the snake, Cod. Cort., p. 15, etc., I construe as the sign of the sky. The expression in Maya was _u nak caan_, “la boveda del cielo;” literally, the “belly” of the sky.

Footnote 129:

The transformation of the human into the arboreal form and its opposite are frequently referred to in the myths and pictography of the red race. Some interesting observations upon this point, by the Rev. S. D. Peet, may be found in the _American Antiquarian_, for September, 1894.

Footnote 130:

See the Codex Borgia, plates 8, 16, 17, 18, 19; Cod. Vaticanus, plate 65; Cod. Colomb., Lam. 5, 17; Cod. Vienna, pp. 18, 37, etc.; and consult Pousse in _Arch. de la Soc. Amer._, 1887, p. 102; Schellhas, _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, 1886, p. 53.

Footnote 131:

Dr. Harrison Allen: _An Analysis of the Life Form in Art_, p. 37 (Philadelphia, 1875); A. P. Maudslay: _Biol. Cent. Amer. Archæology_, Part II, plate 23, etc.

Footnote 132:

Mr. E. P. Dieseldorff, in a description of a very beautiful decorated vase from the vale of Chamá, Guatemala, says that fans were not in use among the natives, and that the object in the paintings usually identified as such is a “soplador,” or fire-blower, made of woven palm leaves, and still found in every house. _Verhand. der Berliner Anthrop. Gesell._, 1894, p. 374.

Footnote 133:

“Tenian cierto azofar blando y con alguna poca mezcla de oro, de que hazian las hachuelas de fundicion y unos cascabelejos con que vaylavan y una cierta manera de escoplillos con que hazian los idolos.” _Relacion de Yucatan_, p. 107. (Madrid edition.)

Footnote 134:

_U hadz muyal_, literally, “its blow, the cloud.” Another figure which seems to indicate the same is the broad, pointed object seen in the hands of deities. Cod. Cort., p. 28; Cod. Tro., pp. 29, 30, 38, 39. It is the same as the Nahuatl _tlauitequiliztli_, portrayed in the hands of Tlaloc, in plate 70, of Boban’s _Catalogue Raisonné_ of the Goupil collection.

Footnote 135:

The name is from _lil_, to sprinkle, _haa_, water, and _bal_, the instrumental termination. The _Relacion de la Villa de Valladolid_, 1579, cap. xiv, says: “el ahkin llevaba un hisopo, atado en el muchas colas de vibora y culebras ponzoñosas.”

Footnote 136:

The _Atlatl or Spear Thrower of the Ancient Mexicans_. By Zelia Nuttall (Cambridge, Mass., 1891).

Footnote 137:

See Cod. Dres., p. 50. Precisely the same design recurs in the (Mexican) Codex Borgia, published in Kingsborough’s _Mexican Antiquities_. No. 11 is also a Mexican calendar sign (Gama).

Footnote 138:

I hesitated some time to assign the flint knife to the East, but believe the evidence is in its favor. As Chavero has pointed out (_Antiguedades Mexicanas_, p. xxxv), in Mexican symbolism, the _tecpatl_ belongs decidedly to the West.

Footnote 139:

_The Native Calendar of Mexico and Central America_, p. 4 (Philadelphia, 1893).

Footnote 140:

“_Kan_: cuzcas ò piedras que servian à los indios de moneda y de adorno al cuello.” _Dicc. de Motul._ I owe this identification to my late friend, Dr. C. H. Berendt, a profound Maya scholar. Its correctness will be confirmed by examining Cod. Cort., p. 12. Cod. Dres., p. 48, etc. This circulating medium of the Mayas is mentioned in the _Relacion de Valladolid_, 1579, cap. 33. In purchasing a wife the expression was _ah coy kan_, “he who must pay _kans_,” as these were the consideration. (_Dicc. Motul._) Other meanings of _kan_ are: yellow, and hence ripe fruit, the yolk of an egg, cooked maize, etc.; anything precious or valuable; a measure of length; a set task; a net, and to fish or hunt with one.

Footnote 141:

Variants of the _chuen_ are extremely frequent in the mural inscriptions, and its correct interpretation, therefore, highly important. As stated in the text, I believe they generally stand for _chun_, which means “the foundation, the beginning, the first, the cause.” We find such expressions as _tu chun che_, “at the foot of the tree;” _tu chun uitz_, “at the base of the hill,” etc. In Tzental, _chu_ is the teat or mamma, _chunel_, to suck the teat. In many inscriptions the position of the _chun_ is antithetic to the _pax_, the one indicating the beginning, the other the end of a series.

Footnote 142:

Nuñez de la Vega, _Constituciones Diocesanas_, p. 10. The story was that Been inscribed his own name upon them. I have not ascertained that this locality has been examined by modern travelers. It might offer valuable material.

Footnote 143:

E. Pineda, _Descripcion Geografica de Chiapas_, pp. 7, 8.

Footnote 144:

See Förstemann, _Entzifferung_, IV, S. 15.

Footnote 145:

Seler observes, on doubtful premises,—“_Tzec_ scheint der Zermalmer zu bedeuten.”

Footnote 146:

“_Mac_, tapa de vasija.” The opinion of Allen that the sign represents the extended arms, the “great span,” is inappropriate. The measure called _mac_ was much greater (doce brazas, Pio Perez). Another meaning of _mac_ is the sea turtle and its shell (galapago y concha del).

Footnote 147:

Dr. Seler, in _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, 1891, p. 111, gives another monogram for Kin ich—the _cauac_, with the “blowing” prefix (see p. 98) and the “machete” subfix.

V. Specimens of Texts.

In the selection of the following texts I have been guided principally by the desire to illustrate Mayan palæography as presented on different surfaces, paper, stone, earthenware, etc., and as it is found in the various regions occupied by tribes of Mayan culture and affinity. Some of the examples have not been previously published, and for this reason have a special value.

Fig. 68 I would explain as the god of time bringing in the dead year. It is part of the ceremonies depicted as belonging to the close of the year. That the wolf-headed figure represents time, the Devourer, I infer from its relations in the early pages of the Ferjevary Codex, where it is shown eating a string of days, etc. (in Kingsborough’s _Mexican Antiquities_).

These ceremonies are represented in the Cod. Troano, pp. 20–23, and the Cod. Dres., pp. 25–28. The recognition of their significance is principally due to Prof. Cyrus Thomas.

The god arrives in the vase of the heavenly waters. In his left hand he holds the rattle, in his right the magic wand, or magician’s staff, _caluac_, and the medicine bag (Maya _chimil_, Nahuatl, _xiquipilli_); around his waist is the broad carrying-band, in the loop of which he has the dying year, _kan_.

In Fig. 69 is another scene from the same ceremonies. The person on the right is the celebrant, holding a beheaded fowl in his right hand, while his left strews grain. Before him is a haunch of venison and a turkey. Above the latter is the moon symbol with the number 15. To the left of these stands the statue of Mam, the Grandfather, a log folded in a robe and surmounted by the leaves of the Tree of Life.[148] In front are seen the serpent’s head, the sign of Time; below this are footprints, to indicate that time is gone; and beneath the form of the god is the sign _pax_, with the meaning, “it is ended.”

In interesting contrast to these two is Fig. 70, showing the beginning of a time-period. On the left, two dogs, back to back beneath the same canopy, indicate the closing of one period and the beginning of another. On the right, the serpent of time, resting on the earth, brings to the heavens the new sun. The youthful god between the serpent’s jaws carries the world-sign for an eye, and holds in his hand the symbol _yax kin_, “new sun.” Above are appropriate hieroglyphs, the tenor of which the diligent student of my previous pages will have little difficulty in catching.

In Fig. 71 the God of Growth and Fertility holds an elaborate _caluac_ surmounted by a bird, its apertures filled with shells. Behind him is seated the God of Death, his _caluac_ tipped with a formidable spear-head. The God of Growth has not his own monogram, but that of the old Cuculcan.

When we recall that the shell is the sign for “nought,” the indication seems that the God of Death with his spear will bring to nought the efforts of the God of Fertility.

We see in Fig. 72 the North Star in a series of relations to other celestial bodies or divinities. Beginning at the left, he is seated on his own sign which is surrounded by rays; next, he is upon the sign of the four winds and four quarters of the earth; in the third he is suspended in a sling from the “constellation band” between the sun and a planet; and fourth, he is above the clouds, which rest upon a canopy protecting a pile of _kans_, money or food emblems.

The three figures in Fig. 73 present the beneficent deities, each bearing in the hand the food symbol, _kan_.

The group copied in Fig. 74, show the God of Death followed by Kin ich, who seems remonstrating with him, who in turn is followed by the God of War with a wrathful visage. The positions of the hands are especially noteworthy. The sign _mol_ leads each of the cartouches.

In Fig. 75 Cuculcan is making fire from the friction of two pieces of wood. On his head is the _moan_ symbol, on his thigh the _kin_. Each of the three cartouches begins with the drum sign. His own monogram is the third member of the second cartouche.

In Fig. 76 the text is the same in each of the three cartouches except the monograms of the three divinities represented.

In Fig. 77 each cartouche begins with _mol_, and is immediately followed by the monogram of the god. The lower glyphs differ materially.

All the above specimens of texts have been photographed from the Codices, without restoration. They show, therefore, not only the general character of those documents, but also their state of preservation. In many instances the pages have been defaced, and portions of the inscriptions upon them injured. Sometimes it is possible to restore the obliterations by a comparison of parallel passages, and this has been done successfully by various scholars.

The extracts have been selected also with the object of showing the representations of the most prominent deities, Itzamna, Kin ich, Cuculcan, the God of Death, etc., in the manner in which we find them in the Codices.

In this interesting inscription from Central Yucatan, we recognize familiar signs, as the medicine-drum and the cloud-signs at the bottom, and _cauac_, _chikin_, _yax_, etc., within the square area. It is sufficient to prove that at Kabah the same writing was in use.[149]

There is some reason to suppose, however, that in this part of the Mayan territory there had been a development of this writing until it had become conventionalized into a series of lines and small circles enclosed in the usual square or oval of the katun. I have seen several examples of this remarkable script, and give one, Fig. 79, part of an inscription on a vase from Labna, Yucatan, now in the Peabody Museum.[150]

The tablets at Palenque are too extensive a study for me to enter upon in the present work. The engraving, Fig. 80, is merely to show the character of the writing and to present the “initial glyphs,” upon which, in Copan and elsewhere, Mr. Maudslay lays so much stress (see above, p. 23).