Part 11

The hieroglyphs form nine groups of four signs each. The first hieroglyph, as is always the case in this part of the Manuscript, is the sign which I have denoted by _f_, and the second is always B's hieroglyph. The cardinal points are everywhere specified by two signs each; in places 3 and 4 of group 1, the west comes first and beside it is the sign for the east, erroneously used for that of the west (a like error occurred in the preceding Tonalamatl); in group 2 there are two signs for the north; in group 3 that for the east with the sign for the west beside it erroneously given for the east, and in group 4 two signs for the south. In groups 5, 6 and 7 we find in the 4th place the head of C, and the same sign in group 7 in the 3d place, where it is joined to another head, which may be that of a woman. The 3d sign of group 5 is incomplete and cannot be determined. The 3d sign of group 6 displays a repetition of the astronomical signs represented below. There still remain the 3d and 4th signs of groups 8 and 9. Of these the 3d in group 8 is _w_, which is as yet unexplained. The 4th might be interpreted either as Oc (day 7) or as Xul (end). Its prefix is a Yax sign. Finally, in group 9 the 3d sign is Manik (day 4), the 4th the elongated head _q_ with the Ben-Ik superfix, which Seler assigns to Men (day 12).

Pages 33c--39c.

The beginning of this Tonalamatl is indicated by a large red dot on page 33. It resembles the Tonalamatl almost exactly above it on pages 31b-35b, inasmuch as its arrangement is an unusual one. I will here, as I did above, give it the form in which it would present itself if it were set down in the usual order:--

XIII 9 IX 11 VII 20 I 10 XI 15 XIII Ahau Chicchan Oc Men.

In this passage as in the earlier one, instead of employing the above concise order, a preference has been shown throughout for carrying out the whole series in such a manner that the week days are set down each time and not merely in the left column. It, therefore, has the following form in the Manuscript:--

XIII Ahau (9) IX Muluc (11) VII Ahau (20) I Ahau (10) XI Oc (15) XIII Chicchan (9) IX Ix (11) VII Chicchan (20) I Chicchan (10) XI Men (15) XIII Oc (9) IX Cauac (11) VII Oc (20) I Oc (10) XI Ahau (15) XIII Men (9) IX Kan (11) VII Men (20) I Men (10) XI Chicchan (15)

I have arranged the whole series in four parallel periods of 65 days each, for the 65 appears throughout the computation, although the entire Tonalamatl is written out in _one_ continuous line. On the right of page 35 the scribe seems to have wished to erase an entirely incongruous 4, and in writing the last 15, on page 39, he began to use the red paint prematurely, so that the top one of the three lines is red.

Attention should also be called to the fact that the second of my vertical columns contains the year-regents, the others only the days following immediately after them, while 12 month days do not occur at all. Also the intervening periods 9 + 11 (= 20), 20, 10, 15 doubtless reveal some design.

In order to avoid repetition, I think it proper to mention first, that in the twenty groups of four hieroglyphs each, the sign _f_ always stands in the first place, but the hieroglyph of B, who is represented 20 times, usually appears in the second place, in the first and second groups in the third place, and in the 18th and 19th his sign does not appear at all. I will discuss the remaining hieroglyphs in their place in each of the 20 groups.

1. B is sitting in a house and holding the Kan sign in his hand.

The second hieroglyph is apparently meant for the Ahau sign (referring to the 17th day), which usually does not belong to B. This hieroglyph, which certainly bears a resemblance to Ahau and with which we have become very familiar in the inscriptions, occurs again in this Manuscript on pages 46b, c, 50b, 54b, 65a and 66a. The fourth sign is a combination of Cauac and Manik.

2. B is seated on what may be a tree, below him is the cross _b_, and he holds the hatchet in his left hand.

The second sign with an emphasized 6 as a prefix (cf. the same sign with the 6 on page 48, bottom, left, below the gods), has the usual Ben-Ik superfix, perhaps to denote that a lunar month has now elapsed, for this passage extends from the 20th to the 40th day of the Tonalamatl. The rest of the hieroglyph is unintelligible. In the 4th place we see a vessel with Imix, probably denoting pulque.

3. B is sitting in water, the hatchet raised in his right hand and his face turned upward.

The 3d hieroglyph is again Imix and the 4th a compound of Ik and Muluc:--wind and clouds.

4. B is seated on a reproduction of his own head or D's, beating a drum with his hand.

The 3d hieroglyph denotes the serpent-god H with the number 3 as a prefix. The 4th hieroglyph is a Chuen with the sign for the south prefixed,--at any rate the upper part of that sign.

5. B is standing in the pouring rain and looking backward.

The 3d sign here is a Caban apparently in a vessel. Following this in 4 is the hieroglyph which I have proposed to interpret as the sign for _beginning_ (Globus, Vol. LXVI, page 79). This sign occurs again in groups 7, 12, 15, 17 and 19, and must therefore be connected with the principal idea embodied in this Tonalamatl.

6. B with folded arms is sitting in a house.

Aside from the usual leaflike prefix, the third sign is composed of two parts. The upper part looks like a plaited mat and suggests that the word for the first month of the year (Pop) is expressed by mat. The lower part is the sign, which occurs frequently especially on pages 25-28, and which very much resembles the familiar sign for a year of 360 days. We shall meet it again in the continuation of this Tonalamatl on pages 36 and 38. The three passages refer to the 74th, 139th, and 204th days of the Tonalamatl, and hence are 65 days apart.

The 4th sign is the cross _b_, with possibly the sign of the east as a prefix.

7. B is seated on the cross _b_, which is here undoubtedly meant for an astronomical sign. He holds a Kan sign in his hand and there is an Ahau sign on his back.

The naked crouching personage, pointing upward, should have especial mention here. The same figure recurs above as a prefix to the 4th hieroglyph. We have already seen it in the 39th hieroglyph on page 24, and shall meet it with especial frequency in the second part of the Manuscript. It is placed sometimes, as in this case, _before_ a sign, sometimes _after_ a sign and again two of these figures are placed back to back as on page 22c, and one of them is even placed upside down before another sign, where it seemed to me to be a sign for Mercury ("Zur Entzifferung VII," p. 11). This figure is represented independently only on the right of page 58. In the passage under present consideration this personage appears again on page 38. The two figures are connected one with the 85th and the other with the 215th day, and are, therefore, divided by exactly half a Tonalamatl or 130 days. Here we find it as a prefix of the supposed sign for _beginning_ of which mention was made in discussing the 5th group. The 3d sign is the same astronomical one, which we saw below under B. It might refer to the Moan and to the change of the year, and thus indicate that a Mercury revolution was coincident here with the beginning of the solar year.

8. B is walking in the rain, both arms are stretched upward, and the pouch hangs from his neck. At the left top there is a black spot suggesting those which usually occur beside the sun and moon.

The 3rd sign is Manik, with a prefix. The 4th is an indistinct head, which may be C's, with an Imix sign as a prefix.

9. B is walking with the pouch hanging from his neck, and the hatchet in his hand.

The 3d sign, which is unusual, is very obscure, but suggests the fish on page 44c or that on page 36b. The 4th sign with the prefix of the north is very indistinct.

10. B is standing in _water_, his face turned upward while water is pouring from a cloud. The third sign is very complex. The top, left, suggests a serpent, the right a hand, the bottom, left, a Chuen and the element at the bottom, right, may be intended for a bird's head. Exactly the same sign, with the 4th part merely indicated, occurs 65 days later on page 38. The 4th sign is the familiar compound Kin-Akbal.

11. B is sitting in a tent, on the roof of which there is a vessel containing food of some kind.

The third sign, which is very complex, is indistinct. The 4th sign likewise consists of four parts, the left, bottom, part is probably the vessel, above it is a spiral (which usually means serpent or time). The right, bottom, is again the sign resembling the year-sign which was spoken of in discussing group 6. The component at the right, top, is indistinct.

12. B is sitting here on no less than four astronomical signs, he has the hatchet in his hand and the design on his back may be a shield or the elaborately ornamented sun-glyph Kin.

The third sign (denoting _beginning_?) has already been discussed in connection with group 7, which is 65 days earlier. The fourth is the sign of the year of 360 days or the month Pax with the Ben-Ik as a prefix. These signs are here suggestive of the beginning and end of the year.

13. _Above_ B are astronomical signs (Jupiter and Mercury?) and also the sun and moon. The rain is pouring down upon the god, and a fish is placed beside him. He seems to have the same chisel in his hand which we saw him using on page 41b in connection with the beginning of the year. This again would correspond to the date indicated in the preceding picture. The shield (?) also is the same here as in the preceding group.

The third sign ought to represent the fish; the drawing seems to have been unsuccessful and the sign looks more like a bird and also resembles the third sign in the ninth group on page 36. The fourth sign is a Kin-Akbal.

14. B is seated on the elongated head _q_, which has an ordinary prefix. He is pointing upward with his right hand and the left looks as if opened to receive something.

The third hieroglyph contains a _q_ like the one under the god, the fourth is an indistinct head (C's?) with an unintelligible prefix.

15. B is standing in water while rain is again pouring down upon him. He holds the hatchet raised in his left hand, while the fingers of the right are extended upward in an unusual manner. This is repeated in the third hieroglyph.

The third hieroglyph, however, is the same as the third in the tenth group 65 days earlier, only here the hand is more distinct, while the element below it is vague. The fourth sign is again the one denoting beginning. Compare the fifth group (130 days earlier).

16. B with arms folded is sitting in a house with the Cauac sign below.

The third and fourth hieroglyphs contain the sign resembling that for the year, which was mentioned in discussing the sixth group (130 days earlier). In the third a Kin is prefixed to this sign, while the superfix of the fourth is what I take to be a mat, which also occurred in the sixth group. The prefix is a figure suggesting the serpent-deity, which we have already met with in the tenth and fifteenth groups.

17. B, holding the hatchet, is seated on a Moan head, and the third sign is probably intended to represent the same Moan head, in front of which we find the same crouching person met with in the seventh group, 130 days earlier.

The fourth hieroglyph is again the sign for beginning, which we have already often met with, as, for example, 65 days earlier in the twelfth group.

18. B is sitting in the pouring rain under astronomical signs (Mars and Mercury?) to which those of the sun and moon are added. The god's face is upturned and he holds the hatchet in his hand.

The third hieroglyph may be the vulture head, to which a part of the unintelligible second hieroglyph may also refer. This second sign stands in the place of B's hieroglyph, which is wanting here.

The fourth sign contains the enigmatical numeral 8, which we found on pages 36b and 37b, and has the Imix sign as a prefix, as in the first of these two passages. The same compound appears on pages 67a-68a.

19. B is seated here on his own head, as in the fourth group he is sitting on D's. His hands are empty.

The second sign is again the vulture head instead of B's hieroglyph. The third is probably the head of the lightning beast, and the fourth is again the sign supposed to denote beginning.

20. B is sitting in water and holding in his hands a vessel with a Kan sign upon it.

The water (with Imix prefixed) is denoted by the third sign, while the fourth represents a head (with what is probably a hand pointing to the right above it), which I should prefer to consider the grain-deity E.

In conclusion I would call attention to the remarkable fact that every four pictures, which are separated from each other by four of the other pictures, _i.e._, after every 65 days, correspond in certain respects with one another, _viz_:--

1. Pictures 1, 6, 11 and 16. In all, and _only_ in these, B is sitting in a house or tent, in 6 and 16 with his arms folded.

2. Pictures 2, 7, 12 and 17. In the first three the god is seated on astronomical signs and in the fourth on the Moan head, which I think refers to the Pleiades.

3. Pictures 3, 8, 13 and 18. Here in the last two B is sitting _beneath_ astronomical signs. In all four pictures water, clouds and rain are represented.

4. Pictures 4, 9, 14 and 19. In the first and fourth the god is seated on D's head and on his own, and in the third on the elongated head _q_.

5. Pictures 5, 10, 15 and 20. Like the third of these five classes, these pictures are likewise distinguished by water, clouds and rain.

Now the first set of pictures is between the week days XIII and IX, the second between IX and VII, the third between VII and I, the fourth between I and XI, the fifth between XI and XIII, while the month days are quite different. Hence the conjecture is but natural that the pictures and week days bear some relation to one another, though that relation is still shrouded in obscurity.

Pages 40c--41c.

I 10 XI 10 VIII 10 V 10 II 3 V 9 I Ahau Eb Kan Cib Lamat.

This is a Tonalamatl of the most ordinary kind, in which an unsuccessful attempt has been made to divide the subdivisions into equal parts.

In the groups of four hieroglyphs each, which belong to each of the six parts, the sign _f_ always occupies the first place, and B the third. Let us now examine the six parts separately.

1. B is sitting in a boat and rowing (as on the top of the same page). Around his head there is again the suggestion of what may denote the starry sky, and in this picture his nose-peg is unusually large.

The second sign is an Imix, but it might also denote the thirteenth month Mac and therefore the Tonalamatl (13 × 20). The fourth sign is a fish forming a connecting link between the water represented below and the rest of the group.

2. B is seated on the Caban sign and his arms are apparently resting on an altar standing in front of him, on which fire is burning, indicated by the Ik sign, while the moon is placed below the altar.

The Caban sign below is repeated in the second hieroglyph, combined here as usual with a sign which may be Muluc.

The fourth sign is a head. I think the scribe meant to set down an 8 before it, but as there was not sufficient space for the heavy line _after_ the three small circles, he indicated it by a black dot _below_ the circles. Now, if we call the head D's, which of course cannot be asserted positively, this would be day VIII Ahau, and this, in fact, is twenty days from the beginning day I Ahau, as it is meant to be in this passage. There is no representation of food; can this have been a fast day?

3. B is seated on four astronomical signs. He wears the gala mantle and holds a serpent in his hand.

The second sign is _b_, and at the same time one of the astronomical signs. The fourth is the iguana prepared as food, recognizable by the spines on its back, as on page 25b. It is drawn in precisely the same curious fashion in Cort. 8 and 12c; hence it is represented in the picture by the serpent.

4. B is falling down from above headfirst. I believe that the numerous footprints below him are only intended to represent swift motion. The descent from above may only be intended here to bring the god into closer relationship with the head of the bird of prey in the fourth sign. That this head is again as usual joined to Kan, may refer merely to the fact that it was the Maya custom to eat bread with animal food. Compare page 27b. The second sign might be the abbreviation for the south.

5. B is seated on a mat with his hand extended as if to receive something. He is wet with water.

The second sign contains the mat, with what may be the sign below it, and the leaf-shaped prefix probably denoting the plant from which the mat is plaited. The very same combination is given on page 35c and a similar one on 38c. The fourth sign has the prefix of the west followed by two Kans, as if on this day (V Akbal) it had been the custom to eat tortillas without meat.

6. B is standing holding the hatchet. The fourth sign must denote venison, the fourth article of animal food. The second seems to represent the day Eb, with which the remaining 52 days begin, and if the prefixed 9 indicates nothing more than that the ninth day of the month is here meant, it is further evidence that the "Dresdensis" began the days with Kan and not with Imix.

In the discussion of this Tonalamatl I have omitted the mention of a very peculiar feature, which as yet does not admit of explanation. I refer to the numbers below the pictures. With the first picture we find 6 + 20, with the second 20, with the third 19 + 20, with the fourth 6 + 20, with the fifth 19 + 20, and with the sixth 6 + 20, _i.e._, with the exception of the second, 26 or 39, two multiples of 13. Now the question arises, should not one of these multiples have been set down with the second picture? There was no space left for a prefixed 19. Therefore the idea suggests itself that what we took to be an altar with the sign Ik above it, is intended for nothing else than this 19, and Ik is the 19th day, if we count from Kan as the starting-point.

Pages 42c--45c.

This is a Tonalamatl consisting of 4 × 65 days. If written out in the usual way it would run as follows:--

XIII 17 IV 8 XII 8 VII 8 II 8 X 8 V 8 XIII Akbal Lamat Ben Ezanab.

Since, however, the subdivisions are divided and the individual month days also are given for all the parts of the whole Tonalamatl, the representation follows the order which we have already found on pages 31b-35b and 33c-39c. In this place, as in the two former ones, I will reproduce in four lines what is set down in the Manuscript in one single line extending over all four pages.

XIII Akbal (17) IV Ahau (8) XII Lamat (8) VII Cib (8) II Kan (8) X Eb (8) V Ahau (8) XIII Lamat (17) IV Chicchan (8) XII Ben (8) VII Imix (8) II Muluc (8) X Caban (8) V Chicchan(8) XIII Ben (17) IV Oc (8) XII Ezanab (8) VII Cimi (8) II Ix (8) X Ik (8) V Oc (8) XIII Ezanab (17) IV Men (8) XII Akbal (8) VII Chuen (8) II Cauac (8) X Manik (8) V Men (8)

Thus the days Chicchan, Lamat, Oc, Ben, Men, Ezanab, Ahau, and Akbal are repeated here twice, and the others occur but once. The 4 (17 + 48) strongly recalls the 4 (19 + 46) on pages 31b-35b. The repetition of six times eight days in each quarter of the Tonalamatl is closely connected with the fact that there are six Chuen signs on each page, two of which, however, are omitted on page 44. From this it follows, as we have already found on pages 25-28, that Chuen really denotes 8 days and that the count of the days in the "Dresdensis" begins with Kan. But the numbers 12, 15, 16 and 17 are entirely unexplained. They show no recognizable order and always stand near the bundle of Chuen signs. They recall the numbers on pages 25-28, which are equally irregular and unintelligible, and upon which, it is probable, light will break at the same time as it does upon these now under consideration.

We come now to the purport of this passage, which seems to be a further amplification of the contents of pages 29c-30c. The meaning is simply as follows:--every 65 days the god B discards a cardinal point and the deity presiding over it and installs another.

From this point of view let us now examine the four pictures.

1. Page 42. B is represented here as a warrior with the front of his body painted red. He is aiming a blow with his hatchet at a person sunk down before him, who, from the ornament above his head, seems to be the grain-deity E, the ruler of Kan and of the east, although the contents of this passage really demand a deity of the south, a ruler of Cauac. In a very similar way on page 27, E occurs with the completed Cauac years, instead of with the Kan years just beginning. Behind B's head is the sign of the discarded cardinal point, the south, while below it is a vessel with food, clearly a piece of venison with Kan.

2. Page 43 deals not with the removal of the old cardinal point, but with the introduction of the new one. Here B is rowing in a boat, as in other passages (29c), and Muluc, the north, has certainly a close relation to water. We see here two kinds of food, while none is represented on page 45. The same bird's head, which we find at the bottom of the corresponding page 28, is placed in front of the canoe, and on 29c it is combined with the representation of rowing a boat. On the left is the picture of a vessel with Kan and the iguana. There is something resembling a net between the boat and the bird.

3. Page 44 likewise refers to the introduction of the new cardinal point, west, which is represented on page 26 by the tiger Ix. The two hieroglyphs in the middle of this passage must surely refer to an animal; the lower is the skeleton of an animal, which we so often find as the sign of the lightning-dog, but also as that of the month Kankin, and the upper I take to be a rather vague picture of the day Oc, which certainly denotes the dog. Below these two signs the fish is represented as the fourth species of animal food.

The picture belonging to these hieroglyphs is very remarkable. B stands opposite a seated personage wearing an animal's snout, which somewhat resembles that of the wind-beast on pages 44b and 45b and also the nose of the storm-god K, who occurs on the corresponding pages 25 and 26 both with the coming and the departing Ix years, as he does here with the coming years. In the picture before us, the two personages seem to be throwing something resembling a rope at each other, as if these ropes were to be tied together. Is this meant to suggest the casting of lots by means of the knotting of cords, as it is represented on page 2? Or of hunting with snares?

Page 45 refers to the displacement of the Ix period by the Cauac period, _i.e._, of the west by the south. The end of the former is represented here. The lightning-beast, which occurred in the preceding period, here lies on his back and B sits astride his body brandishing in each hand a burning torch as an appropriate symbol of the south. On pages 29a and 30c we already saw the god riding on the lightning-dog.