Mexican Archæology/Chapter 10

by Thomas Athol Joyce

 

CHAPTER X—THE MAYA: THE CALENDAR, CALENDRICAL FEASTS AND MINOR RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES

BEFORE proceeding further with the account of Maya religion, it will be necessary to give a short description of the calendrical system. This was very similar to that of the Mexicans, but was more elaborate, and enabled the Maya to deal with longer periods of time. Throughout the Maya country a series of twenty day-signs was current, which, combined with the numerals one to thirteen, as described on p. 61, gave a period of 260 days, the Mexican tonalamatl, before the same day-sign recurred with the same numeral. The tonalamatl however did not occupy nearly so prominent a place in Maya ritual as in Mexican, though certain portions of the manuscripts seem to be devoted to it.

Some of the Maya day-signs show a close accordance with the corresponding Mexican signs, others seem at first sight quite different. But Seler has shown, by a careful comparison with the day-names current in the Zapotec country, that most of these differences can be reconciled. He calls attention to the fact that the Zapotec name is in most cases equivocal and can be transited to suit either the Mexican or the Maya sign. The Zapotec themselves used the Mexican signs, to judge from the remains in their country, but they carved them in Maya fashion, i.e. surrounded by a "cartouche" which does not appear in the glyphs of the Aztec period. The use of the cartouche, however, is found extending up through the Cuernavaca region to the Mexican valley, but only on pre-Aztec monuments, as I have stated on p. 174 (Figs. 15 and 33, a; pp. 106 and 176). It may be taken almost for certain therefore that the Zapotec acted as middlemen in the spread of the calendar in one direction or the other. But this is a subject to which I shall return later.

The Mayan day-signs are as follows (Fig. 53 and Appendix I): —

Imix. This sign corresponds to the Mexican Cipactli, and the Zapotec word for it also has reference to the crocodile, while the Maya sign itself bears a close resemblance (not, I believe, hitherto noted) with the form of eye occasionally given to the double-headed earth-monster, as can be seen in Pl. XXVI.

Ik. This glyph contains the peculiar T-shaped eye found in the head which forms the name-glyph of God B (Fig. 46, e; p. 221). This J interpret as an eye from which tears are streaming, symbolical of rain, and it is noticeable that Eecatl, whose head constitutes the corresponding Mexican day-sign, is shown with a weeping eye (Fig. 4, d; p. 35).

Akbal. This is a conventional skull-face, and represents night or darkness, appearing frequently on the "sky-bar." The corresponding Zapotec word also implies night, and the Mexican calli (a house without windows) may well have the same connotation.

Kan. 'This probably represents a grain of "popped" corn, and the Zapotec word may be taken to refer either to corn or a frog. The Mexican sign is a lizard, and was associated with agricultural fertility.

Chicchan. This sign shows the peculiar cross-hatched spot so often seen applied as ornament to the bodies of serpents; the Zapotec name appears to mean "omenbearer," and the Mexican sign is a snake.

Cimi. The head of the death-god, as among the Mexicans.

Manik. A hand in the attitude of conveying food to

Fig. 53.—Maya day-signs; upper rows from the monuments; lower rows from the MS.

 

A.	imix.	F.	cimi.	M.	chuen.	R.	cib.
B.	ik.	G.	manik.	N.	eb.	S.	caban.
C.	akbal.	H.	lamat.	O.	ben.	T.	eznab.
D.	kan.	K.	muluc.	P.	ix.	U.	cauac.
E.	chicchan.	L.	oc.	Q.	men.	V.	ahau

the mouth. Seler suggests that the word may come from may-nik = cloven hoof. The Mexican sign is a deer's head or hoof, and the Zapotec word also means deer. The flesh of this animal was the principal animal food of the Maya.

Lamat. 'The Zapotec word means "divided," and this corresponds with the Maya sign; but it is difficult to see how either can be brought into relation with the Mexican tochtli, a rabbit.

Muluc. Both the Zapotec and Mexican words mean "water," and probably the Maya sign, though much conventionalized, may have a similar significance.

Oc. The sign represents the head or ear of the dog as pictured in the MSS., and thus corresponds to the Mexican itzcuintli.

Chuen. Probably the conventionalized face of a monkey, in which case the sign corresponds to the Mexican ozomatli. The Kakchiquel word for this day is Batz and it will be remembered that in the Quiché legend Hun Chuen and Hun Batz were turned into monkeys.

Eb. The grotesque head with its prominent teeth and fringed "ear"? corresponds to the jaw-bone and bunch of grass of the Mexican malinalli.

Ben. The Zapotec word means "reed," and so corresponds with the Mexican acatl, while the Maya glyph probably represents a reed mat.

Ix. The sign represents the spotted face of the ocelot, which also gives its name to the corresponding Mexican day.

Men. An aged face; the Mexican sign is the eagle, closely connected Sith the aged goddess Tonantzin.

Cib. The sign seems to be connected in some way with honey-wine or mead, and frequently appears upon jars in the MSS. The Mexican sign is the vulture, a symbol of old age, and it will be remembered that in Mexico only the aged were allowed free use of intoxicants. Caban. This seems to be the earthquake sign, used also to typify motion, as the Mexican olin.

Eznab. This sign appears on spearheads, and seems to indicate a flaked stone, thus corresponding with the Mexican tecpatl.

Cauac. This sign represents the thunder-clouds, while the small cross is emblematical of the wind which blows from all quarters; it thus corresponds with the Mexican quiauitl, and the connection is emphasized by the fact that the Kakchiquel word for rain 1s caok, and the Tzental term for thunder is chauk.

Ahau. A face, sometimes, in the more elaborate of the sculptures, the head of a man of rank, which the word ahau implies. Xochitl, the flower, the last sign of the Mexican list, is, it will be remembered, the emblem of the god Xochipilli, the guardian of princes.

Like the Mexicans, the Maya observed the solar year of 365 days, divided into eighteen months of twenty days each, with five days over, called uayeb, and considered unlucky. The names of these months were as follows (Fig. 54 and Appendix II):—

Pop, Uo, Zip, Zotz, Tzec, Xul, Yaxkin, Mol, Chen, Yax, Zac, Ceh, Mac, Kankin, Muan, Pax, Kayak, Cumhu, five Uayeb days.

Unlike the Mexican months, however, these were used in dating, and a given day was expressed with its month-sign, together with a numeral to show which day of the month it was. Thus 6. caban, 5. pop, means the day 6. caban, after 5 days of the month pop have passed. 'The numerals were not expressed on quite the same system as the Mexican. Dots were used for the numerals up to four, but a bar was used for five, two bars for ten, and so on, odd days over a multiple of five being expressed by the requisite number of dots. On the monuments, if the supernumerary dots were few, the space between or on either side of them was filled with small crescents, which are merely ornamental and must

Fig. 54.—Maya month-signs ; upper rows from the monuments ; lower rows from the MSS.

 

A.	pop.	F.	xul.	M.	zac.	R.	pax.
B.	uo.	G.	yaxkin.	N.	ceh.	S.	kayab.
C.	zip.	H.	mol.	O.	mac.	T.	cumhu.
D.	zotz.	K.	chen.	P.	kankin.	U.	uayeb.
E.	tzec.	L.	yax.	Q.	muan.

be carefully distinguished from the dots themselves. Occasionally in the more elaborate carvings the numbers from o to nineteen are expressed by faces. In the case of o the lower jaw is formed by a hand, and numbers over ten are expressed by the face assigned to the corresponding unit but with a fleshless jaw. Ten itself is the head of the death-god. Zero in the normal notation is expressed either by a hand or a figure shaped somewhat like a Maltese cross. The use of the zero is explained later. The Maya, like ourselves, were in the habit of expressing a high number by a succession of

Fig. 55.—Maya period-signs. Upper row, face-signs; lower row, normal signs.A. cycle.B. katun.C. tun.D. uinal.E. kin.

figures which combined to form a numeral, but they did not employ the decimal system. Their system, when applied to the computation of time, was on the whole, but not entirely, vigesimal, and was as follows. Twenty days, or kin, formed a uinal, and the uinal thus corresponded to one of their months; but the next higher unit, the tun, consisted of eighteen uinal, and contained 360 days, being thus equivalent to a year minus the five uayeb days. Twenty tun made a katun (7200 days), and twenty katun went to another period of which the name is not known, but which is usually called a cycle (144,000 days). There are indications that a higher unit still was recognized, the so-called "great cycle," consisting of thirteen cycles (1,872,000 days). Each of these periods was expressed by an appropriate glyph, and these glyphs were in two styles, being either what is usually termed "normal" signs, or face-signs (Fig. 55). The latter exhibit considerable variation, especially that of the great cycle; but the cycle bird-face is recognizable by the jaw-bone in the shape of a hand (recalling the face-paint of the Mexican gods into whose name the numeral five enters as a component part), the katun by a similar bird-face with a normal jaw, the tun by the normal glyph which it bears on its head, or its fleshless jaw, the uinal by its frog-like appearance and the curl at the corner of its mouth, and the kin by the glyph on the forehead or the filed teeth. In many of the more elaborate carvings the significance of the sign is shown more by its position in the series than by anything else. Now a great number of the stelæ bear inscriptions which start with a high number expressed in this manner (Fig. 56); at the top is the great cycle glyph, which is an elaborate affair and really means little more than that a count of days is to follow, since there could hardly be any mistake regarding this period which represents over fifty-one centuries. Below, usually in two columns of glyphs, is a number of days, expressed in cycles, katuns, tuns, uinals and kins, and this is followed by a day-and-month date. In the transliteration of Mayan dates, the numerals alone are given as a rule; thus the date shown in Fig. 56, 5, transliterated as 9. 16.10.0.0. I ahau, 3 zip, means the day 1 ahau, after 3 days of the month zip have passed, being 9 cycles, 16 katuns, 10 tuns, 0 uinals, and 0 kins from the chronological starting-point of the present "Great Cycle." Now the astonishing fact is this, that throughout the whole of the Maya country, i.e. the area over which ruins in the Maya style are scattered, including Chiapas, Guatemala, Yucatan and northern Honduras, if the long count of days (expressed in cycles, katuns, etc.) be reckoned back from the final day-and-month date, the same day is always reached, viz. 4. ahau,

Fig. 56.—Date inscriptions.

 

A.	Normal numerals, reading 9. 15.0.0.0.[1] 4. ahau, 13 yax. (Copan, altar S).
B.	Face-numerals, reading 9. 16.10.0.0. 1. ahau, 3. zip. (Quirgua, stela F).
(After Maudslay)

 

8. cumhu. Thus all Maya reckoning dates from one definite day in the past, and this day must almost certainly be an artificial date in the sense that it must have been obtained by calculation at a far later time, since it is practically four thousand years from the earliest date which can in any sense be claimed as historical.^[2] The starting date itself is found at Quirigua (on a stela which also bears a date in the ninth cycle), and here it is shown to be the concluding date of a cycle thirteen, which must be the last cycle of the preceding "grand cycle." Many, if not most, of the inscriptions seem to be devoted to the calculation of dates; in the course of the glyphs, most as yet unreadable, one continually comes upon a "distance-number" expressed as above, and then the day-and-month sign to which this leads, reckoning from the date last given. In the longer inscriptions, notably that in the "temple of inscriptions" at Palenque, which contains over six hundred consecutive glyphs, these calculations extend over considerable periods of time. The great probability is that such calculations are not historical, but of a ritual nature. The Maya had no system of intercalary days by which the year of 365 days could be squared with true solar time, and it is probable that the feasts appropriate to certain seasons were shifted from month to month when the discrepancy became noticeable. Perhaps then these calculations had reference to the ritual calendar in accordance with which the various festivals were held. It must be remembered that the Maya in their count of days reckoned only elapsed time, expressing only a full tale of days. Thus each date is in one sense one day behind the date as we express it. This sounds complicated, but the difficulty disappears if we regard their method from the same point of view as our own reading of the clock. Whereas we speak of the fifteenth of June while the day is yet incomplete, yet we refer to a point in the third hour after noon in terms of two o'clock, viz. 2.20, or 2.45. "Thus for the first day of a © month we find the symbol zero, and o. zotz means that the month zip is concluded, but that the first day of zotz is not yet complete. So it is that the katuns (and other periods) are known by the name of the last day of the previous katun, 5. ahau, 3. ahau, and so on, and are not named after the day imix which 1s the first of the series of twenty day-signs, and is actually the first day of the time-periods from cycle to tun. The Maya method of dating enabled them to fix the position of a definite day without risk of confusion over long periods of time. If the day-sign with its attendant number, and the position in a definite month, is given, that day is fixed for a period of 52 years. If the number of the tun in which it occurs is also stated, it is fixed for a period of 936 years (i.e. 936 years must elapse before a day with a similar series of signs and numbers can recur). If the number of the katun is also expressed, the position is determined for 18,720 years; and if the number of the cycle as well, a period of 374,400 years.

Since the year contained 365 days, and the day-signs were 20 in number, it is obvious that the year began on one of four days. 'These days, later called "year-bearers," were, at the time of the monuments and the writing of the Dresden codex, ben, eznab, akbal and lamat, which correspond to the days which began the Mexican year, acatl, tecpatl, calli and tochtli. However, the year-bearers as given by Landa, and also as they appear in the Troano-Cortesianus codex, are kan, muluc, ix and cauac. This means that in the interval the commencement of the year had shifted (5 ✕ x)+1 days, x being an unknown quantity. By this time too the long count in its most elaborate form seems to have been abandoned, and the katun became the highest unit, known by the name of its "initial" day, e.g. katun 6. ahau, or katun 4. ahau. It is this method of reckoning which is employed in the books of Chilan Balam. Most of the other races of Maya stock, as far as is known, possessed calendars which included a series of twenty day-signs (see Appendix I) combined with the numerals one to thirteen, but the count of the Kakchiquel was different, being purely vigesimal. The periods involved were one of 400 days ($20\ times20$), called huna, and a larger of 8000 days (20 huna). called may. The huna was known by its initial day ah (corresponding to ben and acatl) together with the number which might

Fig. 57.—Upper row, world-direction signs; lower row, colours.

A. East and yellow.B. North and red.C. West and white.
D. South and black.

be attached to it, and the time count dated from the destruction of a rebellious sub-tribe, the Tukuchi, which occurred in a huna II. ah.

As among the Mexicans, the Maya years were related to the points of the compass. The later Yucatec associated kan-years with the east, muluc-years with the north, ix-years with the west and cauac-years with the south, but the relation of the earlier year-bearers is not clear, owing to the uncertainty which attaches to the glyphs expressing the world-directions. On this point the evidence is very conflicting, but I am inclined to think that most probably they are as shown in Fig. 57. The doubt lies between east and west on the one hand and between north and south on the other. The directions evidently possessed much ritual importance among the Maya, though not perhaps so much as among the Mexicans. In the creation myth in one of the books of Chilan Balam we read of the establishment of four trees at the four quarters, and one at the centre, a legend which recalls the five trees with their respective birds shown in the Mexican codex Borgia and allied manuscripts (Fig. 10; p.79). The "crosses" at Palenque, each of which is surmounted by a bird, probably also had reference to two of the world-directions, in any case their resemblance to the trees of the Borgia codex is striking. The four Bacabs who supported the heavens north, south, east and west, have already been mentioned, and also the four cross-roads on the way to Xibalba. Four colours are associated with the last, and these are the colours which the later Yucatec associated with the points of the compass, viz. yellow (kan) with the east, red (chac) with the north, white (zac) with the west, and black (ek) with the south (Fig. 57). The manuscripts however do not always show the colours in association with the same direction-signs. The colour assigned to the year appears in one of the series of names assigned to the Bacab which was supposed to be its regent. Thus Hobnil, regent of the kan-years, is called Kanal Bacab, Kanzicnal of the muluc-years, Chacal Bacab, Zaczini of the ix-years, Zacal Bacab, and Hozanek of the cauac-years, Ekel Bacab.

The Maya did not limit their calculations to the computation only of the solar calendar, but also reckoned the synodical revolutions of the planet Venus (584 days). Certain pages of the Dresden codex are devoted to this purpose, and the glyph representing the planet is thus known. Some investigators have tried to prove that the reappearances of other planets, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, were also computed, but the evidence is unsatisfactory, and even in many case adverse to the supposition. Our knowledge of the meaning of the Maya glyphs is practically limited to the day-, month- and periodsigns and the names of the gods. 'The latter have been gleaned from the manuscripts. Here the figures of the various divinities are accompanied by a series of four or more glyphs, and after a careful comparison of the glyphs which are attached to one particular figure, it is found that one glyph is constant. It is a fair assumption that the latter expresses the name of the god, though we cannot say how it should be transliterated. As we have seen, the Mexican script 1s purely ideographic, that is to say the pictures are symbolical, or, in the case of names, constitute a rebus. It seems likely that the Maya writing had evolved a little further, and that many of the signs were of a syllabic nature. For instance, in the names of the months we find indications that definite signs were employed to express the syllables yax and kin; but as we cannot say for certain what was the dialect spoken by the builders of the monuments, and as many of the signs are so highly conventionalized that their origin is difficult to trace, the interpretation is beset with many difficulties. Lizana, writing in 1626, speaks of certain old men, sons of priests, who were able to read the manuscripts, and it is probable that the builders of the monuments spoke a tongue closely akin to the historical Maya. In any case a good knowledge of this language will be necessary for future students of the glyphs. As remarked before, it seems unlikely that much information of a historical nature will be extracted from the inscriptions if they are ever read; they probably consist for the most part of calculations for fixing the periodical feasts, and for bringing the year of 365 days into line with true time. It is practically certain, as remarked above, that the Maya did not intercalate days for this purpose, but it is equally certain that a people who were agriculturists and who computed the synodical revolutions of Venus, could not have failed to notice that the months gradually gained upon the seasons. At the time of the discovery the month pop began the year, but it is worth mentioning that the name of the month xul seems to mean "termination," and it is possible that yaxkin was at some period the first month. The displacement of the commencement of a year by a month would not affect the year-bearer, since each month began with the same day-sign, and it is not unlikely that the feasts were shifted from month to month when they became inappropriate to the seasons. If this is so, no doubt many of the longer inscriptions consist of calculations relative to the proper ordering of the festivals. It is not of course absolutely certain that the initial dates of monuments refer to their erection, but even if such dates have a historical value (and I am inclined to believe that most of them have) it is not yet possible to correlate them with our own system of dating, at any rate with any degree of certainty, for the reason that the position of their starting-point, 4. ahau, 8. cumhu, is not fixed. But this is a subject to which I shall return later (p. 360.)

As in Mexico, so among the Maya, the importance of the calendar from the religious point of view, and the close connection between religion and agriculture, gave the priesthood enormous influence throughout the country. According to Landa, a high-priest of the Yucatec was called Ahkin Mai, or Ahaukan Mai; his office was hereditary, and he was succeeded in it by a son or near relation. A less exalted rank was held by the Chilan, or oracular priests, who declared the will of the gods, and performed the functions of diviners and doctors. As might be expected, these functionaries enjoyed great respect, and rarely went abroad except in a litter. The Nacon were officials whose duties were partly sacerdotal and partly military. In their first capacity, as the sacrificing priests, they held office perpetually, but there was also a military aspect to this office, since the commander of the fighting forces was elected from among the Nacon, and held the position for three years. Other priests, who performed definite functions as assistants in certain ceremonies, were called Chac, and seem to have been to some extent the representatives of the Bacabs, since four officiated at once. Priests generally were called Ahkin, and the local clergy were nominated by the high-priest after examination in ritual and "science," i.e. divination, writing and calendrical interpretation. The priesthood at large educated candidates for admission to their order, including also the younger sons of chiefs, who often "entered the church." They lived in buildings close to the temples, and there were similar religious houses for the accommodation of celibate "nuns" who were under the protection of a "mother superior." Any lapse from chastity on their part was punished with death, but any of the inmates might leave the establishment by permission and marry, just as in Mexico. It is probable that the buildings other than temples which survive in the ruined cities are either the residences of princes or religious establishments of this nature.

It seems likely that in the earlier times the priestly rule was paramount, and that the rulers were high-priests or vice versa. Even in Yucatan the traditions seem to point to a later transference of political power from sacred to secular rulers. Among the Quiché too, the first rulers, under whose guidance the principal migrations were made, held authority as the interpreters of the will of the gods assigned to the various divisions of the tribe, and the later chiefs claimed descent from them. Among the Kakchiquel there were two high-priests who held office for life, and were elected by the king and council. One of these seems to have supervised the ritual, while the other was the guardian of the sacred books and presided over the calendar. There were also certain old men who lived in the temple-buildings and were consulted as diviners on ordinary occasions. These were distinguished by their hair, which they wore in plaits.

In Campeche, Diaz mentions priests who wore their hair long and matted with blood, in Mexican style, and he further states that the people of Chiapas brought with them into battle a "priestess or goddess" with an incense-burner and stone idols. This priestess wore body-paint with white down stuck upon it, another Mexican custom. Many of the reliefs of the older Maya culture show priests engaged in various functions, and the elaborate dresses in which these are often clad have given rise to the supposition that many religious offices were performed by priestesses. Figures in flowing robes are particularly noticeable at Menché (PI. XXII; p. 294), but, especially in later Yucatan, women as a general rule were excluded from the more important ceremonies, and I think that these figures merely represent men in priestly insignia, which would naturally be of a.more elaborate nature than the ordinary dress. Sacrifice was common throughout the Maya region, but the question how far human offerings were made in early times is difficult to settle. There is only one scene upon the monuments which may be interpreted as a human sacrifice,^[3] and this occurs at Piedras Negras, but the negative evidence afforded by the other reliefs throughout the Maya region would seem to suggest that the practice was, at most, exceptional. Even the Dresden codex furnishes no definite proof that the rite existed when it was written, though there are scenes which may possibly be interpreted as suggesting the custom. For instance, Fig. 63 (p. 301) shows a head lying on an altar; but as it is clearly the head of the maize-god, the scene may be interpreted as representing merely an offering of grain. In the Quiché myths, the introduction of human sacrifice is associated with the "Yaqui," a name afterwards used of the Mexicans, and it is the god Tohil, whom this people received from Tulan who, by a trick, obtains the right to the hearts of the other tribes in return for the gift of fire. But the open and extensive practice of the rite belongs to a later stage of Quiché history, as the Popol Vuh also demonstrates. It is possible that the practice was, to speak generally, foreign to the original Maya, but was introduced in later times from Mexico, It seems to to have been found among the Kakchiquel, accompanied on certain occasions by cannibalism, and we learn that at a certain festival children were killed with arrows, a ceremony recalling the Mexican festival of Tlacaxipeualiztl. An even closer correspondence with the ritual observed at this festival was found in Yucatan, where the victim was on certain occasions flayed and the priest assumed the skin. Here too the shooting sacrifice was practised; the victim was tied to a tree, with a white mark painted over his heart; the worshippers passed rapidly in front and each discharged arrows at the mark. Cogolludo speaks of many bloody arrows being found in a shrine at Campeche, which had probably been used in this rite. At Chichen Itza human sacrifice was made to the sacred cenote (natural well), which was supposed to be a place of great sanctity. The victim was cast into the water with other offerings and was believed to emerge alive after three days had elapsed. The usual method of sacrifice however in Yucatan was the tearing out of the victim's heart by the Nacon, who anointed the image with the blood. Here the custom had become very prevalent at the discovery, as the fate of Valdivia's crew in 1511 shows. Prisoners of war, slaves and even children constituted the usual victims, and the last were carefully guarded and paraded from village to village until the fatal day arrived. But even at this date human sacrifices were not made on the same scale as in Mexico, and the principal offerings consisted of incense, animals, and the worshippers' own blood. 'To obtain the latter, the tongue, ears or limbs were pierced, and a cord was frequently passed through the wound. Scenes showing the practice of this penitential rite are not uncommon on the early monuments, as can be seen from the slab from Menché (Pl. XXII; p. 294), where the worshipper is passing through his tongue a cord furnished with thorns, while a basket containing the implements for piercing lies on the on the ground beside him. But the ritual of the later Maya will appear best from a short description of the ceremonies observed at the commencement of the year and during the various months.

The new-year ceremonies were especially important, since the fortune to be experienced during the year depended to a very large extent upon their proper performance. They commenced in the Uayeb days of the dying year, that is to say in the second week of July, according to Landa. In preparation for a year beginning on the day-sign kan, an image of the Bacab Hobnil was taken to the pile of stones at the southern entrance to the town (the south being the point associated with the dying year), and a figure of Ah Bolon Tzacab was carried in procession and set up opposite it. Various offerings were made, including the worshippers' own blood, and Hobnil was then carried to the east entrance (the point associated with the commencing year) and left there to watch over the town, while Ah Bolon Tzacab was taken to the temple. Good luck and fertility were expected during the kan years, and if misfortune supervened, a special image of Itzamna-canil was made and sacrifices, including a man, were offered to it. At the end of this year, and in preparation for the Fig. 58.—The ceremonies at the commencement and end of an akbal-year.
(Dresden MS.) next, a muluc-year, the ceremonies commenced at the pile of stones where Hobnil had been left, and a figure of Kanzicnal was substituted for it. The figure of Ah Bolon Tzacab was replaced by one of Kinich Ahau, which was confronted with the new Bacab and then borne to the temple, Kanzicnal being taken to the north entrance, the quarter associated with muluc-years. This year was again supposed to be good, and in the event of misfortune special ceremonies were performed to Yaxkokahmut, another name of Itzamna, including a dance on stilts and the sacrifice of dogs bearing offerings of bread. It may be remarked in passing that both the Dresden and Troano-Cortesianus codices Fig. 59.—The new-year ceremonies at the commencement of a muluc-year.
(Troano-Cortesianus MS.)
(After Seler) illustrate these ceremonies (Figs. 58 and 59), though there is reason to believe that the lower portion of two pages of the former manuscript have been transposed by the carelessness of the scribe. In this MS. (Fig. 58) the upper scene shows the emblem of the presiding god being carried in by a priest in an animal mask, the central picture shows him installed and receiving offerings, the lower (when properly arranged) illustrates the god of the next year confronted with a pillar representing the Bacab On the Uayeb days at the end of the year. Arranged in a column down one side of the page are the signs of the last day of the old year and the first of the new. As stated above the Dresden codex gives the days commencing the year as ben, eznab, akbal and lamat, as do the monuments. The ben-years here seem to correspond to the kan-years of later times, and so on. The Tro.-Cor. (Fig. 59) seems to picture, in the upper register, the ceremonies (including the dance on stilts in the muluc-year) which were corrective of ill-luck, while the lower register shows the year-god and the maize-god, the latter either flourishing, or the prey of birds and beasts, according to the fortune predicted for the year. For the 1x-years the Bacab was Zaczini, and the presiding god Itzamna; the ceremonies began at the north entrance and concluded at the west. Maladies of the eyes, plagues of locusts, wars and changes of dynasties were feared, and the year was considered bad for the food-crop but good for cotton. Ceremonies were performed to Kinich Ahau Itzamna to avert these evils. Cauac years were the most unpropitious of all, for the presiding deity was Uacmitun Ahau, the death-god. The Bacab was Hozanek, and the ceremonies began in the west and terminated in the south. Many deaths were expected, together with plagues of birds and ants, to avert which four idols were made, Chichac-chob, Ekbalam-chac, Ahkan-uolcab and Ahbuluk-balam, and the ceremonies in their honour included a dance round a large fire, across which, when reduced to glowing ashes, the worshippers ran with bare feet.

The principal ceremonies connected with the months were as follows (for the signs, see Fig. 54, p. 250): —

Pop. The year began, according to lame on July 16th. The priests and men of rank fasted for at least thirteen days in preparation, and the commoners employed themselves in cleaning their houses and renewing and repainting all utensils. Chacs or assistant priests were elected for the ceremonies, and the temple court was purified with incense, the Chacs holding cords to form a square, a proceeding which, ceremonially, was supposed to exclude all evil. Finally new fire was made by the Chacs and fresh incense was offered; the proceedings terminated with a feast.

Uo. No special ceremonies attached to this month, but the priests commenced to fast in preparation for the next.

Zip. A festival in honour of Kinich-ahau Itzamna was held, at which the priests exhibited their religious books of bark-paper, and uttered the prognostications, regarding the fortunes of the year, which their calculations had revealed. Next day their bags of charms were exposed to view, including all images of the goddess Ixchel and the divining-stones, and the gods of medicine were invoked. 'The hunters and fishers also held a private festival during this month. The former performed a dance holding arrows and the heads of deer, while the latter painted their fishing-implements blue, a sacred colour. These ceremonies took place on different days, and in honour of special gods whose names are given by Landa. When the fishing-festival was finished. in the towns, the lords repaired to the coast, where it was repeated.

Zotz. Bee-keepers prepared for their festival in the next month.

Tzec. The bee-keepers' festival, to Hobnil and the other Bacabs, during which much honey-wine was offered and consumed. 5

Xul. The great festival to Kukulkan, held at Mani after the destruction of Mayapan. 'The other provinces sent deputations with great feather banners, which were placed in the temple; new fire was made, idols exhibited, and five nights were spent in singing and dancing, during which professional singers went from house to house of the lords. The offerings consisted mainly of food and drink, and the deputations departed taking with them the banners which they had brought. Yaxkin. Preparations were made for a festival to be held in the next month to all the gods (corresponding in some degree to the Mexican Teotleco). 'The implements of all professions and domestic implements were painted blue, and nine blue dots were marked on the hands of children, to make them useful.

Mol. Besides the feast just mentioned, the beekeepers held another, in order that the gods might send a full supply of flowers for the bees. In this month also began the preparations for the manufacture of wooden idols, which was a very serious matter. The wooden idols, which were more highly esteemed than those of stone or clay, were made by professional artists, and it was believed that certain penalties attached to the trade, viz. that the carving of an idol entailed the death of one of the artists, or at least the contraction of some heart-complaint. Certain priests, the Chacs and the artists themselves, observed a rigorous fast, while those who desired idols procured cedar-wood. A special hut was built, and the priests, Chacs and workers were closely secluded in it while the work proceeded, the images in course of construction being sprinkled with blood and censed with copal.

Chen. The new idols, now made, were taken to the temple, and there purified and blessed by the officiating priest, after which they were handed over to the new owners, wrapped in cloth and placed in a basket. The stipulated price was paid in game and the local currency.

Yax. In this or the preceding month the temple in honour of the Chac agricultural gods was renovated, and their pottery, idols and braziers were repainted or renewed.

Zac. The hunters held a festival in order to appease the gods for shedding blood, since bloodshed, except in the cause of religion, was considered displeasing to the supernatural powers, probably because blood was par excellence the divine offering. Ceh. No festival is recorded.

Mac. A ceremony was held by those more advanced in life to the Chac, fertility gods, associated with Itzamna. A large fire was lit in the temple court, into which were cast the hearts of various animal sacrifices, lions, tigers and crocodiles. If animals of this size could not be obtained, imitation hearts, formed of copal, were offered instead. The Chac priests then quenched the fire with water, a ceremony which, by imitative magic, was supposed to ensure a good rainfall.

Kankin. No festival mentioned.

Muan. 'The proprietors of cacao plantations held a festival to their patrons, the Chac, Hobnil and Ekchuah, sacrificing a dog with a cacao-coloured patch and making other offerings, including feathers. At the ensuing feast not more than three cups of wine might be drunk by the participators.

Pax. During this month a ceremony took place which was supposed to bring good luck in warfare. The priests and lords of the provincial towns assembled at the capital and passed five nights in prayer in the temple of the god Cit-chac-coh, together with the Nacon who was carried thither in divine state amidst clouds of incense. After this the populace at large joined in the proceedings, a fire-sacrifice, similar to that in Mac, was made, and the Nacon was carried round the temple. A dog was then sacrified by the Chac, and its heart was offered between two plates, and after each of these officials had broken a vessel containing wine, a feast took place at which only the Nacon remained sober.

After this month no great festival was held until the new-year ceremonies, but various minor local feasts were celebrated, and a great deal of time was spent in eating and drinking.

The later Yucatec, we are told, were in the habit of setting up a "stone" to commemorate the commencement (or the end) of a katun (period of 7200days, or 100 days less than 20 years). It is possible that this was a custom inherited from the earlier Maya, and if so it seems likely that the latter performed the ceremony every katun quarter. Certainly a large number of the stelæ, especially at Quirigua, bear initial dates of katun quarters, but there are also many to which this supposition cannot apply, and which must have served to mark some other occasion. It is certain that these stelæ were objects of worship, since in nearly every case an altar is found in front of each on which, presumably, offerings were made. Apart from the calendrical feasts, the Yucatec practised two interesting ceremonies, one of which was performed over children of about three years of age, and was known by a name signifying "to be reborn." A lucky day was selected, and four Chac were chosen to assist the priest. The ceremony took place in a house which was purified for the occasion; the Chacs sat at each corner, holding cords enclosing the children and their fathers, the latter having fasted for three days; and the priest sat in the centre with a brazier and incense mixed with maize-meal. The boys wore a white head-ornament, and the girls a shell suspended from a girdle; each advanced in turn and offered meal and incense, receiving it from the priest. The cord, brazier and a vessel of wine were then given to a man to carry outside the village, and it was supposed that in this way evil was expelled from the house. The priest then assumed a tunic of feathers, chiefly red, with cotton streamers, and a feather head-dress (possibly similar to the costume shown on Fig. 82; p. 344), and held in his hand a brush made of serpent-tails. The heads of the children were covered with cotton cloths, and a bone was passed nine times over the forehead of each and dipped in a vessel of water with which their brows, faces and the interstices of their fingers and toes were anointed. 'This water had been procured from hollow tree-stumps or mountain pools, and contained certain flowers and cacao. This part of the ceremony evidently possessed a purificatory significance, while the next act seems to signify, as far as the boys were concerned, the entry into boyhood. Their head-ornaments were removed by the priest with a stone knife, and an assistant followed with a handful of flowers and a pipe, handing them to each of the candidates in turn, the bouquet to smell and the pipe to smoke, making at the same time nine passes with them before the face of each. The mothers removed the shell ornament from the girls, who from this time were considered eligible for betrothal; and after several minor ceremonies, including the distribution of gifts among the chief actors, the function was over. The other ceremony, to which allusion is made above, consisted in the confession of sins, similar to, but less elaborate than, that practised by the Mexicans. It was believed that absolution could be given only once, and for this reason it was usually deferred until the penitent was seriously ill. The confession was made to a priest, if the services of one could be obtained, or else to a near relation, husband, wife, father or mother.

Of Kakchiquel ritual little is known; they, and also the Tzental, observed eighteen months of twenty days, and brought the year up to 365 by the addition of five extra days, just as the Maya and Mexicans. Some, at any rate, of their ceremonies appear to have been connected with the tonalamatl count, since we are told that in early times offerings of fresh incense, green branches and bark were made on each seventh and thirteenth day, and a "cat, the image of night," was burned before the god. We are also informed that this was before the "worship of the idol of the great Chay Abah was begun." However, various rites in connection with agriculture were practised, such as fasting before sowing, and the offering of incense at each of the corners of the fields. In later Yucatan, pilgrimages were made from all parts of the country to important shrines, and we are told that the temple at Cozumel was one of the most celebrated at the conquest. Pilgrims were wont to stop to offer incense at deserted temples, and Cogolludo mentions the fact that he found recent offerings of copal in a temple at Uxmal. The present-day Lacandons also offer incense at the ruins, in the belief that they are haunted by the ghosts of their forefathers. Divination formed an important part of a priest's duties, and it was principally for this purpose that the tonalamatl was employed in Yucatan. Thus at the birth of a child its horoscope was cast to determine its future profession. The Kakchiquel too practised divination, not only by means of the tonalamatl, but also with maize-grains, as the Mexicans. They also used blocks of polished obsidian for scrying, one of which was enshrined in a particularly celebrated temple, whither state messengers were sent to consult it on 1mportant occasions. Obsidian was supposed to have been produced in Xibalba at the creation, to be the "sustainer" of mankind, probably as the source from which the will of heaven could be ascertained. Maize was also employed for divination in Yucatan, and omens were taken from dreams and the voices of birds. Various minor superstitions were found, of which a few have been recorded. Thus if a man on a journey stumbled over a stone, many of which were placed at the commencement of a road, he made an offering of a green branch to it, and rubbed his knees with a pebble to prevent fatigue. If a traveller feared he might be late in arriving at his destination, he placed a stone in a tree to stay the course of the sun, or plucked out hairs from his eyebrows and blew them towards the heavens. In eclipses, dogs were pinched to make them howl, and a noise was made by striking the doors or furniture of the huts. An eclipse of the moon was supposed to betoken that the luminary was dying, or was being bitten by ants. The offering of eyebrows, and the pinching of the dogs during an eclipse, were also practised in Peru.

Many of the rites of the present-day Lacandons are survivals of the original worship. It has already been said that they are in the habit of making pilgrimages to ruined sites for the purpose of offering incense; the censers are rude clay bowls, with a mask-like face attached, and each is reserved for a particular god whose image is usually kept within it. The images are of stone and are kept hidden, and inherited from father to son. The censers are renewed at the harvest, the old ones are considered "dead" and left in the ruins. For the manufacture of the new censers, as for the preparation of fresh idols among the early Yucatec, a special hut is built, new fire is made at which incense is kindled in them for the first time, and blood, drawn from the ears of the worshippers with a stone knife, is smeared upon the images of the gods. They also observe a "baptismal" rite, at which a priest singes the hair of the candidates with six miniature torches of pitchpine and confers a name upon them. The torches are then smeared with blood and burnt, together with incense, in the idol house. Confession is made to the cacique, or local chief, if a member of the community is seriously ill, and the penitent believes that some sin of his commission may be the cause. A lightning-god is still worshipped, and in the Uloa valley Gordon came upon the tradition of a golden dragon, believed to inhabit a particular pool, to which offerings were made in former times, but which has withdrawn itself from human view since the Spanish conquest, though it still controls the clouds and rain. It is highly probable that many other interesting and important survivals might be discovered among the present population, but owing to their extreme reticence on such subjects the task is by no means easy. However, the district offers a good field to a student of folklore who is inclined to devote considerable time to the collection of these relics of a former religion, though he must certainly be gifted with an unusual degree of perseverance and patience.

 

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1. By an error the katun number has been drawn as two bars and three dots, instead of three bars.
2. The very early dates which occur at Palenque, a late site, must be themselves artificial or mythical, and so too, I believe, are the dates which occur on the celebrated Leiden plate and Tuxtla figure.
3. There is a wall-painting at Chichen Itza which seems to picture a human sacrifice, but this is on a building which undoubtedly belongs to a later period, when the Maya had already come in contact with Mexican influences, as will be seen later.