Chapter 5

In the Nuttall Codex, there frequently occur representations of a bird that was evidently used for sacrificial purposes. It is shown with erectile head feathers and a ring of circular marks about the eye (Pl. 26, figs. 12, 14; Pl. 27, figs. 2-3) or with concentric circles (Pl. 27, fig. 1). These figures are not surely identifiable, but probably represent this turkey. Possibly they are the chachalaca (_Ortalis vetula pallidiventris_), a gallinaceous bird, commonly kept in semi-domestication in Mexico, whose bare eye ring and slightly erectile head feathers may be represented by the drawings. It is probable that this turkey is the bird represented frequently in the Maya codices as a bird of sacrifice. The head alone usually appears in this connection, among other places, in Dresden 34a (Pl. 16, fig. 10), 41c (fig. 14), 29c (fig. 16), 28c (fig. 17), and in Tro-Cortesianus 12b (Pl. 16, fig. 11), 105b (fig. 12), 107b (fig. 15). In several of these places the head is represented as resting on one or more _Kan_ signs, again meaning bread, as well as on the vessel or jar. In Dresden 26c (Pl. 16, fig. 9), the whole turkey is pictured as an offering, as in the preceding case noted in Dresden 35a (Pl. 15, fig. 9). The whole bird as an offering may also appear in Tro-Cortesianus 4a (Pl. 16, fig. 4) corresponding to the offering of venison and iguana on the following pages. This representation of the entire bird is very rare although the fish, when used as an offering, is always represented as a whole and the iguana is in most cases when used in the same connection. Landa (1864, p. 222)[327-*] confirms the offering of the heads of birds with bread.

It is, however, the sacrifice of a bird, probably a turkey, by decapitating, that is especially interesting, as the operation as shown in the Dresden Codex 25c (Pl. 26, fig. 2), 26c, 27c, 28c, in the rites of the four years, is described in full by Landa. In the codex, a priest is represented as holding in his hand before an altar, a headless bird. Landa (1864, pp. 212, 218, 224, 228)[327-[+]] tells us that in the _Kan_, the _Muluc_, the _Ix_, and the _Cauac_ years, the priests burnt incense to the idol, decapitated a "_gallina_" (undoubtedly a turkey), and presented it to the god.

The turkey is also used as a head-dress. Only in one case, however, Tro-Cortesianus 95c (Pl. 16, fig. 5), is the whole bird represented in this connection. This is clearly of totemic significance here, as it occurs in that part of the codex where birth and infant baptism are shown. In many other places there are curious partial representations of bird heads in the front of head-dresses which may or may not be identified as heads of turkeys. Among these are the head-dress of god H in Dresden 7c, of god E in Dresden 11e, of god C in Dresden 13b, of god A in Dresden 23c, and a female divinity in Dresden 20a (Pl. 16, fig. 13). Schellhas (1904, p. 43) identifies these birds as vultures.

That the turkey is connected with the rain seems clear. This is especially the case among the Nahuas. In the Aubin manuscript the rain god, _Tlaloc_, often appears in the disguise of the turkey-cock (_uexolotl_), and in the Vaticanus 3773, 14, the turkey (Pl. 16, fig. 7) is represented in the "House of Rain," in contrast to the owl shown in the "House of Drought" (Seler, 1902-1903, p. 75). It might be noted also that Fewkes (1892, p. 228) shows that the turkey is emblematic of the rain among the pueblo peoples. The same idea seems to be present among the Mayas, as we note in the Tro-Cortesianus 10b (Pl. 16, fig. 2) the turkey is pictured in the rain and surrounded on three sides by bands of constellation signs.

Two methods of capturing the turkey are shown in the Tro-Cortesianus 93a and 91a (Pl. 16, figs. 1, 3). By the first, the bird is captured alive in a sort of wicker basket, which drops over it at the proper moment. The second method is by the "twich-up" or snare, which consists of a noose tied to a bent sapling and properly baited. In connection with Pl. 16, fig. 1, it may be suggested that possibly this represents a cage rather than a trap, in which the bird is confined. The Lacandones at the present time often keep their totem animals in captivity (Tozzer, 1907, p. 40).

KING VULTURE (_Sarcorhamphus papa_). Numerous figures of vultures appear in the codices and elsewhere. Indeed, they are among the most common of the birds depicted. Two species only seem to occur in the writings, the king vulture and the black vulture. The former is a large black and white bird with the head and the upper part of the neck unfeathered, except for numerous short, almost bristle-like plumules. These naked portions are often colored red and there is a large more or less squarish fleshy knob at the base of the upper ramus of the beak. This conspicuous protuberance has been seized upon as a characteristic in the conventionalized figures, and serves to identify the king from the black vulture. In addition, a series of concentric circles about the eye seems to be a rather constant mark of the king vulture, though they are also sometimes found in connection with figures which, from the absence of the rostral knob, must represent black vultures (Pl. 18, figs. 18, 27; Pl. 19, figs. 7, 10, 11). In the case of the bird shown in Pl. 19, fig. 1, the knob is hardly apparent, and the same is true of Pl. 19, fig. 13. Both these may represent king vultures. A remarkable figure is that shown in Pl. 17, fig. 4, in which an ocellated turkey and a king vulture confront each other with necks intertwined. The short hair-like black feathers of the head are represented in this as well as in Pl. 17, fig. 11, and in the glyph carved in stone (Pl. 17, fig. 10), which from the presence of the knob is probably a king vulture. The characteristic knob is shown in a variety of ways. Thus, in Pl. 17, fig. 1, it is greatly developed and resembles a large horn with a falcate tip. In Pl. 17, fig. 4, it is sharply angular and nearly square. Frequently, it is a circle with a centered ring surmounted by one or two additional rings or terminated by a mitre-shaped structure (Pl. 17, figs. 2, 5-7, 8-12). A very simple form was found in the carving shown in Pl. 17, fig. 13, where a long projecting knob is seen at the base of the culmen.

The king vulture seems to have a part to play as a mythological being, as it is pictured as a god with human body and bird head in the act of cohabiting with a woman in Dresden 19a, and with a dog in Dresden 13c (Pl. 17, fig. 3). Moreover, the same vulture god is represented on a blue background and under a band of constellation signs in Dresden 38b, and is also to be noted in Dresden 8a. Foerstemann (1906, p. 66) shows that the thirteenth day of the Maya month is reached in the _tonalamatl_ reckoning at this place. This day is _Cib_, which corresponds to the Nahua day _Cozcaquauhtli_, which has the meaning vulture, and here, as previously noted, the vulture god is represented. In Tro-Cortesianus 22c (Pl. 17, fig. 2) and 10a,[330-*] the king vulture appears alone, in the first instance with a blue background, and in the second with a background representing rain. Rain is also shown in connection with the vulture god in Dresden 38b, and the black vulture in Tro-Cortesianus 18b (Pl. 19, fig. 13).

The king vulture is found employed as a head-dress twice out of the three times it appears in any connection with female figures, Tro-Cortesianus 26c (Pl. 17, fig. 12) with male figure, and 94c (Pl. 17, fig. 11) and 95c with female figures. The last two clearly have to do with the baptism and naming of infants, as previously explained.

The study of the glyph used to indicate the vulture is interesting, for we find it recurring again and again throughout the Maya codices and often when there is no other drawing of the animal, as in Dresden 39c (Pl. 17, fig. 5; Pl. 18, fig. 19). The first example (glyph 6) is clearly the head of the king vulture, whereas the second (glyph 3) is probably the head of the black vulture. The glyph in Dresden 38b (Pl. 17, fig. 7) appears in connection with the vulture god directly below it. In Dresden 11b (Pl. 18, fig. 1), it occurs alone and no figure appears in the usual place below. The _Tun_ period glyph (Pl. 17, fig. 10) frequently shows vulture characteristics especially in the nostril of the face. The teeth, however, often appearing in the _Tun_ glyph would be against this theory. The blending of bird and mammal characteristics is not uncommon in the Maya drawings, however.

The Nahua day sign, _Cozcaquauhtli_, as previously noted, has the meaning vulture, and we naturally find this bird frequently represented in the Mexican codices. In the Nuttall Codex, the head of the king vulture occurs repeatedly as a glyph for this day. In its less modified forms (Pl. 18, figs. 2-4), the beak is merely a pair of flattened rami, surmounted proximally by the conspicuous quadrangular knob. The minute hair-like feathers on the otherwise naked head are shown as a fringe at the throat and crown, while a conventionalized ear is represented posteriorly. A series of interesting figures (Pl. 18, figs. 5-10) illustrates steps in the further reduction of this head to a small glyph in which only the beak with its large squarish knob remains (Pl. 18, fig. 10).

BLACK VULTURE (_Catharista urubu_). It is difficult to assign any single characteristic to the figures representing the black vulture (Maya, _t[vs.]om_) other than the long raptorial beak. A number of drawings probably depict black vultures, though this cannot be certainly affirmed. Such are those shown in Pl. 18, figs. 11, 12, 14, 17; Pl. 19, figs. 2-4, 13, 14. Stempell considers the vulture shown in Pl. 18, fig. 13, to be a king vulture, but it has no knob on the beak, and thus is quite likely the black vulture. The fact that its head is shaped much like that of the god with the king vulture head (Pl. 17, fig. 3) would indicate merely the individuality of the artist. The coloring of the species under discussion is uniformly black in the Dresden and Tro-Cortesianus, except in certain cases where the birds are shown in outline only, as in Pl. 19, fig. 12. It is not certain, however, that these two last are black vultures, though they suggest the species. The two birds shown in Pl. 19, figs. 5, 6, are almost surely black vultures, and, as represented in the manuscript, are descending upon a man. Stempell thinks they may be ravens, but this is very doubtful, for the raven probably was unknown to the Mayas, since its range is to the northward. What appears to be a crest is seen on the head of the bird in Pl. 19, fig. 4. The black coloring and the shape of the bill otherwise suggest the black vulture, though perhaps the crest would indicate the harpy eagle. Similarly, Pl. 19, fig. 14, is provided with a sort of tuft or crest, but its general appearance is suggestive of the vulture. A pottery whistle (text fig. 2) from the Uloa Valley evidently represents a black vulture. The head of the bird shows the characteristic wrinkled appearance seen in the drawings, with the heavy beak. The absence of the rostral knob would preclude its being a king vulture.

It is natural that this bird should find an important place in the Maya writing, as it is an abundant species in the region considered, and of great importance as a scavenger. The black vulture seems to lack the mythological character associated with the king vulture. It appears usually in connection with death and in the role of a bird of prey. This is especially true in the Tro-Cortesianus where in 24d, 26d (Pl. 19, figs. 5, 6) and 28c, it is attacking a human being, in the first and last cases represented as dead. In 86a and 87a, the bird is shown plucking out the eye of a man. In Dresden 3a (Pl. 19, fig. 7), it appears at the top of the tree above the human sacrifice and seems to be in the act of consuming the victim. In Tro-Cortesianus 91c, it also appears in a tree. In Tro-Cortesianus 40a (Pl. 17, fig. 9), and 42a (Pl. 19, fig. 1), it is shown as eating the entrails of a deer. In the first case, the bird looks like a king vulture, although this is the only instance where this species is shown as a bird of prey. In Tro-Cortesianus 28b and 36b (Pl. 18, fig. 17), the black vulture appears eating the Kan sign. In the first example, the _Kan_ represents the newly sowed corn, in the second, the _Kan_ is held by god F. Landa (1864, p. 230)[333-*] records that in the _Cauac_ year there was a ceremony to prevent the ants and the birds devouring the corn. In Dresden 34b and 35b, the vulture is shown on top of the head-dress of god F, evidently the enemy of the harvest and, again, on 35b (Pl. 19, fig. 4) on top of the _Cauac_ sign. Its role as a bird of prey is further shown in Dresden 36b (Pl. 19, fig. 11), where it is shown attacking a serpent.

This vulture is associated with god B in Dresden 69b, with god M in Tro-Cortesianus 70a (Pl. 18, fig. 12), and with god D in Tro-Cortesianus 67a (Pl. 17, fig. 1). The last may be the king rather than the black vulture, as suggested above. The black vulture occurs only once as the usual head-dress, in Dresden 17b (Pl. 18, fig. 13), and here in connection with a female figure and the idea of birth. Two birds, probably vultures, appear over the enclosure around the head of god C in Tro-Cortesianus 100b (Pl. 19, fig. 12). In the Lower Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers occurs a black vulture in bas-relief with a necklace represented (Pl. 19, fig. 14).

The glyph of the king vulture has already been discussed. There are other glyphs which seem to show the black vulture, although it is quite possible that no sharp distinction was made between the two in regard to the glyphs at least. In one case (Pl. 18, fig. 18), the wrinkled skin of the head and neck is indicated much as in the case of the king vulture. A few other glyphs are shown (Pl. 18, figs. 16, 19, 22, 27), as well as a variety from the Nuttall Codex in which the minute hair-like feathers of the head are variously represented, usually much exaggerated as a sort of crest or comb. Pl. 18, fig. 22, is interesting as being the only case in the Maya codices where the whole figure is shown in the glyph. As noted in the case of the glyphs of the king vulture, the greater number of these occur quite alone. They seem to indicate that a full drawing of the bird is meant to be understood as occurring below.

Several of the carved glyphs (Pl. 19, figs. 8-10) show the black vulture heads in some detail with the conspicuously open nostril and hooked beak. A carving of the entire bird may be shown on Stela D from Copan (Pl. 28, fig. 5), where the naked head and neck are marked off by lines indicating wrinkled skin. The same lines on the neck of the bird depicted on Pl. 28, fig. 2, will probably identify it as a vulture, and, if the square ornament above the beak certainly is part of the figure, it is unquestionably the king vulture. The knob is not, however, clearly on the bird's beak. There are two interesting glyphs which occur on the eastern facade of the Monjas at Chichen Itza. The glyphs in this inscription are unlike the usual Maya hieroglyphs, although several of the so-called constellation signs can be made out. The two glyphs in question represent the entire body possibly of a vulture, that on Pl. 17, fig. 13, probably the king vulture, and that on Pl. 18, fig. 14, the black vulture.

HARPY EAGLE (_Thrasaetos harpyia_). In the Nuttall Codex, what is undoubtedly the harpy eagle is of frequent occurrence. This great bird is not uncommon in the forests of southern Mexico and Central America, and must have attracted the notice of the people from its size. The elongated feathers at the back of the head form a conspicuous crest, a feature that characterizes this species in most of the representations. A stone carving from Chichen Itza (Pl. 20, fig. 10) pictures a harpy eagle eating an egg-shaped object, and another similarly engaged is copied from the Codex Vaticanus 3773 (Pl. 20, fig. 14). The former is considered to be a vulture by Maudslay, but the presence of feathers covering the head excludes this interpretation. In two stone glyphs (Pl. 20, fig. 1, 3), occurs a large bird apparently devouring something held in its talons, as in Pl. 20, fig. 10. From this general resemblance, it seems probable that both represent the harpy, although no crests are shown on the glyphs. In the Dresden and the Tro-Cortesianus occur a few figures of crested birds that probably are the same species. The crest feathers are reduced to two, however, or, in some cases, what may be a third projecting forward from the base of the bill (Pl. 20, figs. 5, 7, 12, 13). The last two figures are not certainly identifiable, though it is probable that they represent the harpy.

The eagle seems to be the bird associated with warriors in the codices. Seler (1900-1901, p. 89) notes that the eagle and the jaguar are both the mark of brave warriors among the Nahuas. In the Aubin manuscript, the warrior god, _Yaotl_, is always associated with the eagle (_quauhtli_). In the Maya pantheon, god M is usually considered the war god, as he is almost always armed with a spear. He is seen in Dresden 74 (Pl. 20, fig. 13), and in Tro-Cortesianus 109c with an eagle as a head-dress. There are other gods, however, who wear a similar head covering. God L appears in Dresden 14b (Pl. 20, fig. 7) and again in 14c (Pl. 20, fig. 5) with an eagle head-dress. God D in Dresden 23c (Pl. 20, fig. 11) has an eagle coming from a _Tun_ sign on top of his head. The eagle is probably represented at the prow of a boat in Dresden 43c (Pl. 20, fig. 12) in which god B is rowing. In Tro-Cortesianus 88c (Pl. 20, fig. 4), a bird which may represent the eagle appears sitting on a _Cimi_ (death) sign. Above in the glyphs the character for the south is shown. Here, clearly, there is some connection between the signs of the cardinal points in the line of glyphs and the various creatures pictured below.

There seems to be only one glyph which can in any way be taken for that of the eagle in the Maya manuscripts and this appears only once, in Tro-Cortesianus 107c (Pl. 20, fig. 9). This identification may be questioned, as there is no drawing of an eagle associated with the glyph. Attention has already been called to the two stone glyphs in Pl. 20, figs. 1, 3. There are various drawings of the glyph for the eagle in the Nahua and Zapotecan codices (Pl. 20, fig. 8), as the Nahua day, _Quauhtli_, has the meaning eagle. It is interesting to note in the glyph from the Nuttall Codex (Pl. 20, fig. 8) the tips of the feathers are crowned with stone points, a frequent way of representing birds of prey among the Mexican peoples.

YUCATAN HORNED OWL (_Bubo virginianus mayensis_). Stempell makes a serious mistake by confusing the eared owl shown in full face with that shown in profile in the drawings, for he considers both to represent the great horned owl. The figures are, however, quite different in every way. The owl in full face view is unquestionably the great horned owl (Maya, _ikim_), the Yucatan form of which is recognized by the subspecific title _mayensis_. This is the bird opposed to the "Moan-bird" which, as will be shown later, is associated with death. In Pl. 21 are some truly remarkable figures which seem to represent this horned owl, the first modelled in stucco from Palenque, the second carved in stone from Yaxchilan, and the third carved in wood from Tikal. Figs. 1 and 3 show the bird in flight with extended wings. The two erectile tufts of feathers or "horns" are conspicuously represented in fig. 3, at either side of the bird's head and between them the flat top of the crown is secondarily divided in like manner into three parts, representing the "horns" and the top of the head. The beetling brows, heavy hooked beak, and spread talons combine to give a fierce and spirited mien to the great bird. Pl. 21, fig. 2, may be a greatly conventionalized owl in which the essential characteristics of the bird are reproduced in a rectangular design. The large bill is conspicuous in the center, and in each upper corner terminates one of the ears. The eyes are represented by rectangular areas at the base of the bill, each with three vertical bars across it. Below the beak, or at either side of the tip, are the feet, each with the claw cross-hatched. What seem to be the reduced and highly conventionalized wings fill the lower corner of each side of the figure.

The shield in the center of the Tablet of the Sun at Palenque (Pl. 22, fig. 6) shows a face in which the motif seems to be the full-face view of the horned owl. The hooked bill curves over the mouth at each side of which is the curious scroll seen in the same connection in the figures of Pl. 21. The ears are somewhat shorter in proportion than usual and below each, at the sides of the face, is a large ear-plug, similar to that elsewhere found. The eyes are still further conventionalized with a decorative scroll surrounding each. Another example of the conventionalized owl's head is on Stela 1 from Cankuan (Maler, 1908, Pl. 13). We are not yet ready to advance an explanation of the reason why the owl should occupy such a prominent position in the art of the Mayas.

In only one case is the horned owl found in the Maya manuscripts. In Tro-Cortesianus 95c (Pl. 22, fig. 2), this owl appears as the head-dress of a woman in that portion of the codex where baptism and naming are shown. An owl's head seems to be shown on the end of a warrior's staff in the bas-relief of the Lower Chamber of the Temple of the Tigers at Chichen Itza (Pl. 22, fig. 4). Pl. 22, figs. 5, 7, show two owls from the Aubin manuscript; the first is considered to be the screech owl (_chiqualli_) and the second the horned owl (_tecolotl_, in Nahuatl). Pl. 22, figs. 1, 3, show two drawings of owls from Nahua manuscripts.

YUCATAN SCREECH OWL or MOAN BIRD (_Otus choliba thompsoni_). A second species of owl is represented by the figures on Pl. 23. This has likewise two feathered tufts or "ears" on its head and is always shown with the head, at least, in profile, but the tufts one in front, the other at the back of the head. The facial disc is not very prominent the beak rather long, the tail short, and the plumage somewhat mottled. A dark ring usually surrounds the eye. It is, with little doubt, the screech owl, the only other form of eared owl commonly met with in the Central American region, and in Yucatan is represented by the race above indicated. This owl, under the name of the Moan bird,[338-*] is always associated with the idea of death among the Mayas. The familiarity of this species and its mournful quavering cry uttered at night have no doubt led to its association with death and mystery as with owls in other parts of the world.

This Moan bird has an important place in the Maya pantheon, as it is the representative in many places of god A, the Death god. It appears with a human body in Dresden 7c (Pl. 23, fig. 1), 10a (Pl. 23, fig. 8), and 11a (Pl. 23, fig. 3) and in Tro-Cortesianus 66a (Pl. 23, fig. 2). In each of these places, it occupies the space in which one of the regular gods is usually found. In Dresden 10a, the day reached in the _tonalamatl_ reckoning is _Cimi_, meaning death, and here, as has been noted, is found the Moan bird, the symbol of death, with another sign of death in the circle just above the head of the bird (Pl. 23, fig. 8).