Chapter III: Part 3

The dog, Maya, _pek_, is one of the most conspicuous. It is the native breed, with smooth coat and erect ears. In many instances it is associated with the sign for night, _akbal_, and with the god of death (Cod. Tro., pp. 2, 3, 32, 33); also with the storm and the lightning. For that reason Dr. Schellhas and Dr. Seler regard him as a symbol of lightning.[95] But I am persuaded that while not disconnected with this, the dog represents primarily some star or constellation. At times he is dotted with spots to represent stars, Cod. Dres., p. 21; the _akbal_ sign refers to the night. His body is often in human form, carrying a torch in each hand, Cod. Dres., p. 39. (Compare Cod. Tro., p. 23*.) In Cod. Dres., p. 40, he falls from the sky; and in ibid., p. 47, he is slain by the shaft of Itzamna. (Compare id. 2, where Itzamna is sitting upon him.) He plays on the medicine drum, Cod. Tro., p. 20, and is associated with the rains, id. pp. 26, 27. He represents the end and beginning of time-periods, Cod. Cort., p. 32.

The spotted leopard, the jaguar, Maya, _balam_, whose name is attached to the Chacs, and which appears in the calendar and in many of the myths of the Mayan stock, is represented in a number of passages of the Codices, as Cod. Dres., pp. 8, 26; Cod. Tro., pp. 17, 20, 21, 22. In one part, Cod. Tro., 14, he enters dressed as a warrior with a human body.

The monkey, _maax_, is not often depicted, but is found with astronomic relations, Cod. Tro., 25*; his sign is distinguishable by the markedly prognathic jaws.

Deer are numerous, especially in the Cod. Troanus, where the pages 9–12 are occupied with a series of pictures of the animal in snares. On page 14 a large one is shown, sitting on his rump, his organ erect and prominent. I have little doubt these represent a constellation. In Cod. Dres., p. 2, a composite figure with deer’s hoofs appears three times, sailing through the sky on the serpent’s head. (Compare Cod. Cort., p. 14.)

The small edentate, the nine-banded armadillo, _Tatusia novemcincta_, in Maya, _ibach_, is shown twice in the Cod. Tro., both times caught under a trap, once, p. 9, under the wind sign, again, p. 22*, under the _cauac_ sign. What it represents is unknown.

9. _Figures of Birds._

Birds had important symbolical functions, and a number are figured in the Codices. In their identification I have had the advantage of the advice of Mr. Witmer Stone, who has pursued his ornithological studies in Yucatan itself. The following are recognizable:—

1. The red macaw, _Ara macao_, Maya, _moo_ or _ahlo_; the type is shown in Fig. 29. This was the symbol of Kin ich.

2. The horned or eared owl, a large raptorial bird of the genus _Bubo_, Maya, _coz_.[96] He is usually shown in full face to display his ears or horns, _e. g._, Cod. Tro., 18*. He appears as an associate of the gods of death and war, and symbolizes clouds, darkness, and inauspicious events. His horns frequently appear on the head-dress of Cuculcan to indicate the departing sun and night, like the _akbal_ sign. (See Cod. Tro., pp. 19, 29*, 35*.) He is often associated with the number 13, and may represent in the calendar the 13–day period.

3. Two species of vulture, the king vulture, _Vultus papa_, and the turkey vulture, _Cathartes aura_, both abundant in Yucatan, Maya, _kuch_ and _ahchom_. The former is the bird seated on the “tree of life,” tearing out the eyes of the victim, Cod. Dres., p. 3; Cod. Tro., pp. 15, 17, or the entrails, Cod. Tro., p. 15, 17. The naked head and neck of the vulture on a human body is seen Cod. Dres., pp. 8, 13, 19, 38; Cod. Cort., p. 10, etc. His head is his monogram, frequent in Cod. Peres., pp. 4, 7, 9, etc. (See Fig. 29, No. 2.) Its body is sometimes black, at others more or less white.

4. The quetzal bird, _Trogon splendens_, is distinctly shown in Cod. Dres., p. 16, above the middle figure.

5. The crested falcon, _Spizætus tyrannus_, the _moan_ bird, in Maya _muan_ or _muyan_. This has well-developed tufts of erectile feathers on the head and resembles in the drawings the horned owl. It is believed by Förstemann to be the symbol of the Pleiades; by Seler, to be associated with the clouds and rains. Both are probably correct.[97] (See Fig. 28.)

6. The pelican or cormorant is drawn with a human body and the “fish and oysters” sign in Cod. Cort., pp. 20, 21.

7. Blackbirds, of which two species live in Yucatan, are portrayed in Cod. Tro., p. 31.

8. The wild turkey is easily recognized by his head and “wattle” among the food offerings.

10. _Figures of Reptiles._

Among reptilians, the turtle or tortoise (Maya, _ac_) is one of the most prominent. By Dr. Schellhas it has also been called a _Blitzthier_, or animal symbolical of the lightning, basing his opinion especially on Cod. Dres., p. 40, where a human figure with a tortoise head is seen holding a torch in each hand. It is distinctly represented as a celestial body in Cod. Cort., pp. 13, 17, 37, and 38; and when we are informed that the Mayas called a portion of the constellation Gemini by the name “the tortoise,” it is quite clear that we are dealing with an astronomical, not a meteorological, emblem.

Dr. Förstemann has advanced the theory that at least one and an important function of the tortoise was as a symbol of the summer solstice, in accordance with which he explains Cod. Dres., p. 40; and that on the earth-plane it indicated the northeast and northwest directions. His arguments for this opinion, if not conclusive, certainly attach to it a high probability.

Between the tortoise and the snail (Maya, _hub_ or _ut_) there is in the Codices some mythical relation. In the Aztec symbolism the snail is often an emblem of death; but also of birth. It is likely that the same holds true of the Maya designs. The animal is associated distinctly with the beneficent deities, notably with Itzamna and Cuculcan, Cod. Dres., 5 and 37. But it is also visible in close relation with the god of death, Cod. Dres., pp. 9, 12, 13, 14, 23.

Regarding it as a counterpart of the tortoise, Dr. Förstemann has given various reasons for holding that it symbolizes the winter solstice and the directions southwest and southeast, and thinks it probable that it is found in the hieroglyph of the month _mol_, which occurs about that season of the year.[98]

The frog, Maya, _much_, _uo_, is a well-known symbol of water and the rains. It is shown falling from the sky in Cod. Cort., p. 17; and on p. 12, Itzamna, in his character as a rain god, appears with the body of one.

The scorpion (Maya, _zinaan_) is depicted several times, especially in Cod. Cort., p. 7, and Tro., pp. 9, 13, where it is of large size. Its symbolic sense is not clear. The Mayas applied the term _zinaan ek_, “scorpion stars,” to a certain constellation, but it is possible they derived it from the Spaniards. Another possibility is that the animal represents _the earth-plane_. The word _zinaan_ is derived from the radical _zin_, which means to stretch out, to extend; and the entire earth, as one extended plane, was called _zinil_.

The rattlesnake appears to be the only serpent which is represented as a symbol. It was distinctively called, both in Tzental and Maya, “the Snake King” (Maya, _ahau can_, Tzental, _aghau chan_). Its rattles were termed _tzab_, and hence its name _ahau tzab can_, also in use. According to the _Dicc. Motul_, the natives believed there were four varieties, corresponding to the four sacred colors, white, black, red, and yellow.

It is shown in the Codices, realistically, biting a man’s foot, Tro., p. 7; astronomically, in the sky among the stars, Cod. Dres., p. 43; Cort., pp. 12, 13; as the head-dress of the serpent goddess, already described; as the companion of Itzamna and Cuculcan, frequently; as the body of Itzamna, Cod. Cort., 10, in Cod. Dres. and Cod. Tro. It carries the “constellation band,” and may generally be regarded as one of the symbols of Time.

11. _Occupations and Ceremonies._

Among the illustrations are a number which throw light on the habits and customs of the ancient Mayas. We see persons engaged in spinning and weaving, Cod. Tro., pp. 11*, 16*, etc., Cod. Dres., p. 45; others making idols, Cod. Tro., p. 12*, Dres., p. 6, etc. Various religious ceremonies are pictured, as piercing the tongue, Cod. Tro., pp. 16*, 17*; baptizing children, which was performed at the age of four years,[99] Cod. Tro., 20*; and the important functions at the end of the years, depicted both in Cod. Tro., pp. 20–24, and Cod. Dres., pp. 25–28.[100]

A curious scene is that Fig. 29, from the Dresden MS., p. 35.

In the center, resting upon an altar of three degrees surmounted by the sign _caban_, earth, is the head of the god of fertility, his soul escaping from his nostril. Below, on each side of the altar, are two figures, one playing on a flute, the second on the medicine drum. Above are also two, one shaking the sacred rattle, the second squatted before a flaming altar, in one hand the holy staff, _caluac_, while the other lifts above his head the “fish and oyster” sign, symbol of the products of the sea. On the right hand are other offerings, the turkey and the dog; and below them a ladder, _eb-che_, probably signifying the day _eb_, on which this ceremony took or should take place. Its successful result is shown in the picture which follows it in the Codex.

* * * * *

Those who would follow Förstemann’s (and my own) views in understanding the Codices, must accustom themselves to look upon the animals, plants, objects, and transactions they depict as largely symbolic, representing the movements of the celestial bodies, the changes of the seasons, the meteorological variations, the revolutions of the sun, moon, and planets, and the like; just as in the ancient zodiacs of the Old World we find similar uncouth animals and impossible collocations of images presented. The great snakes which stretch across the pages of the Codices mean Time; the torches in the hands of figures, often one downward and one upward, indicate the rising and the setting of constellations; the tortoise and the snail mark the solstices; the mummied bodies, the disappearance from the sky at certain seasons of certain stars, etc. A higher, a more pregnant, and, I believe, the only correct meaning is thus awarded to these strange memorials.

-----

Footnote 43:

The account of Hernandez is given by Las Casas, _Historia de las
Indias_, cap. CXXIII. The monk says that the principal lords alone
knew the histories of the gods.

Footnote 44:

Lizana’s work, of which only one complete copy is known to exist (in
Madrid), has been partly republished by Brasseur in the Appendix to
Landa, _Cosas de Yucatan_. He says the votaries came from Chiapas and
Tabasco, p. 359.

Footnote 45:

The _Dicc. Motul_ defines _Hunab Ku_ thus: “the one true and living
God; the greatest of all the gods of Yucatan was so named, and he had
no idol, because they said that he could not be represented, seeing
that he was incorporeal.” This dictionary, to which I shall often
refer, is one of the Maya language, composed at the Convent of Motul,
about 1570. A copy is in my possession.

Footnote 46:

In my work, _American Hero-Myths_ (Philadelphia, 1882), Chap. IV, “The
Hero-gods of the Mayas,” I have treated at considerable length the
duplicate traditions relating to Itzamna and Cuculcan.

Footnote 47:

“Todos conforman en que este (Cuculcan) entró por la parte del
poniente.” Herrera, _Historia de las Indias_, Dec. IV, cap. 2. Looking
toward the North, Itzamna was the right-hand god, Cuculcan the
left-hand; hence, the arrival of the former was called _nohnial_,
“right-hand coming,” of the latter, _dzicnial_, “left-hand coming.”
(Cogolludo, _Hist. de Yucatan_, Lib. IV, cap. IV.)

Footnote 48:

“En los Repertorios mas generales tienen pintado el 7 signo en figura
de hombre y de Culebra, que llaman _Cuchul chan_, y han explicado los
Maestros que es culebra de plumas que anda en el agua.” Nuñez de la
Vega, _Constituciones Diocesanas_, Parte II, p. 132.

Footnote 49:

The word _chac_ means “strong; the color red; heat; water.” The _Dicc.
Motul_ says: “Significa agua en algunas maneras de decir; tambien dios
de las aguas, relampago y trueno; _chacal ik_, tempestad de agua,
huracan.”

Footnote 50:

Mr. J. Walter Fewkes is certainly correct in his argument that the
“ceremonial circuit,” of the Mayas,—the direction of movement in their
ceremonies—was sinistral, that is, from right to left, in most
instances. This should be remembered in studying the pictorial portion
of the Codices. See Mr. Fewkes’ article, “A Central-American
Ceremony,” in the _American Anthropologist_, July, 1893.

Footnote 51:

An article by Dr. C. Schultz-Sellack, entitled “Die Amerikanischen
Götter der vier Weltrichtungen,” in the _Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_,
Bd. XI, may be profitably read in this connection, though some of its
statements are antiquated.

Footnote 52:

_Relacion de la Villa de Valladolid_ (1579), caps. I and X. This
_Relacion_ was printed in the Compte Rendu of the Congress of
Americanists, the Madrid Meeting.

Footnote 53:

Landa, _Rel. de las Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 72 (Madrid Ed.). The ruins
of this ancient fane are still plainly visible from the sea. J. L.
Stephens, _Travels in Yucatan_, vol. II, p. 358.

Footnote 54:

Carrillo, _Historia Antigua de Yucatan_, p. 207.

Footnote 55:

See the article “The Folk-lore of Yucatan,” in my _Essays of an
Americanist_ (Philadelphia, 1890).

Footnote 56:

In Maya, _ppuch tun_ means to stone to death, matar à pedradas, _Dic.
Motul_.

Footnote 57:

Beltran, _Arte de la lengua Maya_, p. 217. Another name he gives is
_Ox kokol tzek_, “thrice beaten bones.”

Footnote 58:

Dr. Seler (_Verhand. Berlin. Anthrop. Gesell._, 1886, S. 416)
considers Hun Ahau to be a calendar name; but it is significant,
without having recourse to this roundabout explanation. Xibilbay, “the
place of disappearance,” is the Quiche name for the underworld,
corresponding to the Mictlan of the Nahuas. Both the terms in the text
may therefore be borrowed. See my _Essays of an Americanist_, pp. 127,
143.

Footnote 59:

There are some reasons to believe that at the time of the composition
of the Cod. Dres. the priests calculated that the world had then been
in existence 3744 years. See Förstemann, in _Compte Rendu du Congrés
des Américanistes_, VII Session, p. 746. Elsewhere, however, another
suggestion as to the meaning of that number is offered.

Footnote 60:

See my _Essays of an Americanist_, p. 269; and also an article by me,
“Notes on the Codex Troano and Maya Chronology,” in the _American
Naturalist_, September, 1881.

Footnote 61:

See the interesting observations of Mr. F. H. Cushing in my _Native
Calendar of Central America and Mexico_, p. 8.

Footnote 62:

Thus in the _Popol Vuh_, pp. 4, 6, it is called “the quadrated earth,
four-pointed, four-sided, four-bordered.”

Footnote 63:

“OL; el corazon formal y no el material.” _Dic. Motul._

Footnote 64:

“E alom, e qaholom.” _Popol Vuh_, p. 6. Ximenes adds: “y mas en los
nacimientos de los niños son los que asisten.” _Origen de los Indios_,
p. 158.

Footnote 65:

See numerous examples in Prof. Cyrus Thomas’s suggestive monograph,
“Notes on certain Maya and Mexican Manuscripts,” in the third annual
_Report_ of the Bureau of Ethnology (Washington, 1884). Mr. Francis
Parry, in an article entitled “The Sacred Symbols and Numbers of
Aboriginal America,” in _Bull. of the Amer. Geog. Soc._, 1894, classes
it as a “sun symbol;” but in this, as in most of his identifications,
I find myself unable to agree with him.

Footnote 66:

The doubts expressed by Dr. Schellhas as to the worth of mythology in
these studies (_Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, 1892, p. 102), are
justified by the confusion of Mayan with Mexican myths in Dr. Seler’s
writings; but I hope to show not by the facts themselves.

Footnote 67:

Schellhas, “Die Göttergestalten der Mayahandschriften,” in
_Zeitschrift für Ethnologie_, 1892. This is a classical article which
I shall have frequent occasion to quote.

Footnote 68:

Brasseur, _Le MS. Troano_, p. 214.

Footnote 69:

Without pausing to discuss whether this is “tooth” or “tongue,” it is,
at any rate, a serpentine trait, as may readily be seen by comparison
with many serpents pictured in the Codices. I may add that Professor
Cyrus Thomas writes me that he also considers the “long-nosed god” to
be Itzamna.

Footnote 70:

The phrase of Cogolludo is: “con dientes muy disformes.” The name
_Lakin Chan_, is in the Tzental dialect. The Maya would be _Likin
can_; though _lakin_, east, appears in the “Books of Chilan Balam.”

Footnote 71:

_Caluac_ is from _calacal_, “cosa muy agujerada” (_Dicc. Motul_). The
mayordomo was called _ah caluac_, the baton being his staff of office.
Landa omits the prefix by mistake, _Rel. de Yucatan_, p. 40. It is
well shown on a later page.

Footnote 72:

Waldeck, _Voyage Pittoresque dans l’Yucatan_, pp. 37, 74, etc. (Paris,
1838.) This writer recognized the tapir snout on various masks and
statues at Palenque, and adds that he found the animal still venerated
by the natives. Dr. Seler does not mention Waldeck’s remarks, but
extends the identification to the figures in the codices. _Zeitschrift
für Ethnologie_, 1888.

Footnote 73:

On the symbolism of the tapir see the erudite remarks of Don Alfredo
Chavero in the _Antiguedades Mexicanas publicadas por la Junta
Colombina de Mexico_,—Texto, p. xxxv (Mexico, 1892).

Footnote 74:

_Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 109 (Madrid Edition).

Footnote 75:

In the _American Anthropologist_, July, 1894, Mr. J. Walter Fewkes
devotes an article to what he calls “the long-nosed god” in the
Cortesian Codex (Itzamna). He does not mention the similarity of the
nose to the snout of the tapir, and his conclusion is that it is a
“snake rain god,” “probably Cuculcan,” “parallel with Tlaloc.” He
thinks the heads portrayed in the Codices are “masks or ceremonial
helmets.” It is needless to point out the divergence between his
opinions and mine on these points.

Footnote 76:

Landa: _Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan_, p. 87.

Footnote 77:

The name has various orthographies; that which I here adopt appears to
have most in its favor. It is a compound of _cucul_, covered (_i. e._,
with feathers), and _can_, snake; (_cucul_ also means “revolving”).

Footnote 78:

Examples are frequent; a good one is Cod. Tro., p. 24*_a_. Not to be
confounded with the _moan_ hairs around the mouth, nor with the chin
beard of the black monkey.

Footnote 79:

Space does not permit me to enter into the symbolism and myths
connected with “the feathered serpent” of Central American mythology.
Mr. Fewkes has argued that it also extended to the Pueblo tribes, and
traces may be found still further north. See Fewkes, in _American
Anthropologist_, July, 1893.

Footnote 80:

Father Lara, in his _Vocabulario Tzental_, MS., gives the name of one
variety of bee as _xanab xux_; in Maya, _xux_ is usually translated
“wasp,” “abispa brava.” As a radical, it seems to mean “to go or sink
slowly into something.”

Footnote 81:

The two bees, one waking, one sleeping, Cod. Tro. 33*, are placed
between signs representing the winds.

Footnote 82:

The word _cab_ has various meanings: a bee; a bee-hive; honey; the red
or white clay with which potters painted their jars; strength or
power; town, place, or world; short or low; down, downward, or below
(all given in the _Dicc. de Motul_).

Footnote 83:

“Thus it is that are named, sung, and celebrated those who are the
grandmother and grandfather, whose name is Xpiyacoc, Xmucane,
preserver, protector, twofold grandmother, twofold grandfather. * * *
They alone, the Maker, the Former, the Ruler, the Serpent clothed in
feathers, They who beget, They who impart life, They rest upon the
waters like a growing light. They are clothed in color green and blue.
Therefore their name is _Gucumatz_, ‘Feathered Serpent.’” _Popol Vuh_,
pp. 4, 6.

Footnote 84:

The root _muc_, in all the Mayan dialects, also means “to cover over,
to hide, to bury.” The word _mucul_ (“that which is disappearing”) is
applied to the moon when in the wane (luna menguante).

Footnote 85:

See Crescencio Carrillo, in _Anales del Museo Nacional de Mexico_,
Tomo III, and Dr. Boas, in _Proceedings of the American Antiquarian
Society_ for 1890, pp. 350–357; the _Dic. Motul_ gives the Maya word
for one with head thus flattened, “_pechhec hol_, el de cabeza chata.”
Landa, _Cosas de Yucatan_, cap. XXX, speaks of the custom.

Footnote 86:

Former students have been unable to explain this design. It is also
found in Mexican pictography, as Cod. Vien., pp. 20, 22.

Footnote 87:

In Cod. Tro., p. 29*, et seq., the black god has a girdle, to which
are attached the leg and claw of a scorpion. The name of the large
black scorpion in Maya is _ek chuh_, literally “the black scorcher.”
Dr. Seler appositely suggests that this may be a rebus for the name of
the god.

Footnote 88:

“En figura de feroz negro, como una imagen de esculptura, con los
miembros de hombre. * * * Fué gran guerreador y crudelissimo. * * *
Quiere decir negro principal, ó Señor de los negros.” Nuñez de la
Vega: _Constituciones Diocesanas_, p. 9; _Carta Pastoral_, IX. (Rome,
1702.)

Footnote 89:

“En muchos pueblos de las provincias de este obispado tienen pintados
en sus Repertorios ó Calendarios siete negritos para hacer
divinacionès y prognosticos correspondientes à los siete dias de la
semana, comenzandola por el viernes à contar.” Nuñez de la Vega:
_Constituciones Diocesanas_, p. 9.

Footnote 90:

I add the following definitions: “MAI, polvillo que sale del tabaco,
etc., cuando le tratan con las manos. MAAY, espuma del palo que se
quema. BOLON MAYEL, qualquier olor suavissimo y transcendente.”
_Bolon_, nine, in the last word is used in Maya as an expression of
admiration. (See p. 25.) The term is from Landa, _Cosas de Yucatan_,
c. 7.

Footnote 91:

Among feminine forms I find _ix-bouat_, prophetess; _ix-cunal than_,
conjuress.

Footnote 92:

The _Dicc. Motul_ gives: _Ah-koh keuel_, for the wizard wearing a mask
and clothed in the skin of the jaguar.

Footnote 93:

See _The Native Calendar of Central America and Mexico_, p. 5.

Footnote 94:

My count does not agree entirely with that of other observers (Fewkes,
Schellhas). I have limited my identifications to such figures as
seemed to me beyond reasonable doubt.

Footnote 95:

There may be here an ikonomatic allusion, or play on words. The word
_pek_, dog, is close to _pec_, to sound, to make a noise, which was
used for the thunder, as in the current phrase _pecni caan_, “the sky
rang” (sonó el cielo, _Dicc. Motul_).

Footnote 96:

In Spanish, _bujarro_. The _Dicc. Motul_ says of it, _sub voce, coz_,
“ave de rapina; coge gallinas y grita como muchachos.”

Footnote 97:

Some writers have thought that the _moan_ bird was a mythical animal;
but Dr. C. H. Berendt found the name still applied to the falcon. In
the form _muyan_, it is akin in sound to _muyal_, cloud, _moan_,
cloudy; which may account for its adoption as a symbol of the rains,
etc.

Footnote 98:

Förstemann, _Entzifferung_, No. III.

Footnote 99:

_Relacion de la Villa de Valladolid_ (1579), cap. 14.

Footnote 100:

These are described at length by Landa, and their representations in
the Codices have been explained by Thomas in his _Manuscript Troano_.

IV. The Graphic Elements.

Having made this satisfactory progress in explaining the numeral and the pictorial portions of the Codices, we are well prepared to approach the more difficult part of our task, the interpretations of the hieroglyphs themselves.

Fortunately, an even superficial inspection of the manuscripts shows us that we are not without material aids to this end. It is clear that many of the hieroglyphs are those of the twenty days and the eighteen months of the Maya year, which are preserved to us in the work of Bishop Landa; others, again, by their arrangement, must be connected with the cardinal points; and others suggest, by their appearance and disposition, that they portray the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and stars; others are in the columns of numerals, and must have numerical values; and others are so related to the pictures that they are plainly a repetition of them in a partial and conventional manner, as the written characters for divinities, which are usually merely the head of the divinity more or less cursively expressed.

1. _The Direction in which the Glyphs are to be read._

The first step in the decipherment of any inscription is to ascertain the direction in which it is to be read.

In my earliest essay on this subject,[101] I stated that whatever the prevailing rule in this respect might have been, the native artists had no hesitation in disregarding it, when artistic or other reasons presented themselves. This is the conclusion which has since been arrived at by conservative later students. I shall have numerous illustrations of it to offer in the following pages. Most of the diversity in this respect was not capricious, however, but in accordance with rules, some of which have been ascertained.

Three points in this connection will immediately attract the attention of the student. The movement of the principal figures in the records, both manuscript and mural, is generally from right to left; the main portion of the composite characters are drawn on the right, and the minor portions or affixes are added on the left;[102] and in placing numerals on a line, the upright strokes which mean the fives are placed to the right, and the dots which mean units less than five are placed to the left. These facts look as if the lines were _written_ from right to left. The general opinion, however, is that expressed by Pousse and by Thomas, that the characters when arranged in lines are to be read from left to right, and when in columns from top to bottom.[103] That this rule does not hold good in a number of instances, as I shall show, need not surprise us, as precisely the same uncertainty in the arrangement is found in the Mexican picture-writing, as Chavero has pointed out,[104] and exists to-day in the manuscripts of the Tuaregs of the Sahara.[105] Dr. Förstemann has shown conclusively that the numerical elements in the long computations to which I have referred (above p. 30) are to be read from below upward and from right to left.[106]

Great aid in settling this question in any given instance can be obtained by a close examination of the _rubrication_ of the manuscript. The native scribe, before he filled in the glyphs or letters, divided his sheet into small compartments by faint red lines, bounding as it were the different sentences or paragraphs he intended to set down. Each such sentence consists usually of four or six characters, arranged either in a column or in a square, the whole of which may be called a “cartouche.” The following diagram illustrates the manner in which the separate glyphs are to be read in ordinary cases:—

┌──────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────────┬──────────┐
│ _a_ │ _a_ _b_ │ _a_ _b_ │ _a_ │
│ │ │ │ │
│ _b_ │ _c_ _d_ │ _c_ _d_ │ _b_ │
│ ├─────────────────────┴─────────────────────┤ │
│ _c_ │ │ _c_ │
│ │ │ │
│ _d_ │ picture picture │ _d_ │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘

Without the aid of the rubrics, from an independent study of the characters themselves, M. Pousse demonstrated that this is a necessary arrangement of the majority of the written passages.[107]

The signs for the days are usually placed in columns on the left of the groups of hieroglyphic characters, the numeral belonging to each being inscribed above it; while immediately below the groups are numerals in black and red, generally indicating certain days. This disposition of the elements of the writing shows that it was intended for a “time-count,” as I have before stated. For the somewhat voluminous analysis of the Codices in this direction, the reader is referred to the works of Förstemann and Thomas, who have paid fruitful attention to this department.

2. _Composition of the Glyphs._

I have already stated, p. 10, that the main elements of the Mayan hieroglyphic writing are not numerous. The apparent complexity of many of the glyphs arises from the combination of a number of frequently recurring elements which are placed in different positions and relations, and each of which has many variant forms, dependent on the degree of skill or care of the scribe or sculptor, and the material which he used for the record.

Usually each glyph or katun consists of one main element with a number of others drawn in or around it, which are generally known as “affixes.” An element within another is called an “infix;” placed in front of it, a “prefix;” behind it, a “suffix” or “postfix;” above it, a “superfix;” and below it, a “subfix.” The same element will often be found first in one and then in another of these positions; and a certain class of elements are employed as affixes only. I shall refer to the single elements as “simple characters,” and to the complex glyphs as “composite characters.”

3. _The Proper Method of Studying the Glyphs._

The proper method to adopt in studying composite characters is first carefully to separate them into the simple characters of which they are composed, noting the relative positions of these.

The next step is vitally important and often most difficult. It is to determine what visible objects these simple characters were intended to represent. They are often so conventionalized or so negligently sketched that the most careful students have reached absurdly different opinions as to what they were designed to portray.[108]

This identification accomplished, the student should proceed to ascertain the name of the object in the Maya language; because, though it may be employed as pure ideogram in one connection, in another it may be used for its phonetic value according to the “ikonomatic,” or rebus method, as I have above explained, and instances of which I give in these pages. I do not believe that a further phonetic analysis—that to the isolation of distinct alphabetic elements—as has been pursued by a number of writers already referred to, is justified by the nature of the Maya script, or will yield useful results.

4. _An Analysis of Various Graphic Elements._

I shall now proceed, in the manner above described, to examine a number of simple and composite characters, not by any means exhausting the stock, but rather merely offering suggestions and examples for future students. In their application it must always be remembered that any Maya character may be employed in either of three values: 1, As an ideogram; 2, as a rebus; 3, as an astronomical or numerical sign.

The _hand_ contributes to some of the most numerous hieroglyphs in the Mayan writing; and the significant poses assigned it in the pictures and statues prove how expressive it was to this people.

The forms presented in Fig. 30 by no means exhaust its delineations. They are drawn from gesture-speech and each is significant. No. 1, from the Cod. Cort., is the usual sign “to give;” No. 2, from the Cod. Tro., shows it in hasty writing; No. 3 is the hand closing (“la main qui se ferme,” Brasseur). It is the sign for the day _manik_, and is explained by Dr. Seler, “to eat;” but I take it to be the rebus for _mach_, “to grasp” (“asir, tomar con las manos,” _Dic. Motul_). No. 4, the hand closed, thumb downward (_pollice verso_), has probably an inauspicious significance (very common, _e. g._, Cod. Per., pp. 2, 3, 6, 7); No. 5 is the “supporting hand” (very frequent, usually in composition); No. 6 is intended to show the hand, palm upward, forming a cup (Cod. Dres., p. 40, Cod. Tro., p. 21),—it would signify “offering;” No. 6½, from the stelæ of Copan, must mean union or friendship. The two hands held as No. 7 occur repeatedly in Cod. Dres., pp. 6, 7, in the Tro. and Cort. often thus, , to which Thomas, by means of his “key,” assigns the wonderful meaning, “a meat pie”! Nos. 8 and 9 are explained by Seler as the supporting hand; No. 10 shows the hand and arm pointing; No. 12, Cod. Tro., 30, 31, is the index finger extended; No. 11, Cort., p. 28, shows the closed hand as a suffix to the sign _ik_.[109]

Phonetically the hand is _kab_, which also means “arm, finger, juice, sap, tears;” and as a rebus it could stand for _kaba_, name.

By some writers all the signs, Fig. 32 are supposed to represent the _eye_. Nos. 1 and 2 may also stand for a tooth, and for the small bells worn as ornaments. No. 3 has been called the “weeping eye,” and by Brasseur “une hache;” but I take it to be the space within the closing hand (Figs. 31, No. 3). No. 4 shows the eyelashes of the closed eye, and signifies sleep or death. No. 5 is the “ornamented” or “serpent” eye, and, according to Thomas, is the characteristic of a deity. Nos. 6 and 8 are supposed by Seler to be the eye torn out. They are extremely common affixes. Schellhas explains No. 6 as “the head and creeping foot of a snail.” I am persuaded that it is a bird’s wing, or the chief feather of a wing, and means “superior,” “supremacy,” or something of that kind.[110] For that reason it always appears in the sign of Kin ich ahau. No. 8 I regard also as copied from a feather ornament.[111] No. 7, called by Seler the “bleeding eye,” I take to be a sign for stars.

In Maya, _ich_, the eye, also means “face” and “twins.”

The design, Fig. 33, No. 1, abundant in the Codices and on the stone and ceramic remains, shows eyes, but is believed by Förstemann to represent the planet Venus, and to be a variant of Fig. 37, No. 4. Seler thinks it an ornamental _kin_ (see Fig. 36). It is carved on the great tortoise of Copan, and Nos. 2, 3, and 4 are from the pottery of that city, on which it is the most common glyph I have noted. In No. 5, from Cod. Dres., p. 57, it is postfixed to a human figure reversed. Brasseur explains it as “the spectacles of Tezcatlipoca,” and for a name, we may call it “the spectacles glyph.”

The human _ear_ has been represented by No. 2, Fig. 34, as has been proved by de Rosny and Thomas. No. 1 (Cod. Cort., p. 16) is either an ear or an ear ornament. It is not the ordinary ear-ring, which is clearly shown in Figs. 12, 17, etc. This latter is often used as an affix, and has been confused with the serpent rattle, and with No. 3, which is the lower jaw bone, _cham_ or _camach_. (See Cod. Cort., pp. 35, 36, etc.)

The ear is _xicin_, which also means “shell.” Ear-rings are _tup_, a word which as a verb signifies “to stop up, to cover over, to extinguish.”[112]

The group of signs, Fig. 35, beginning with a person seated, are, in the opinion of Seler, all derivatives from “man.” Nos. 2, 3, and 4 he calls “eyes,” and Nos. 5–11 outlines of the mouth, jaws, and face, with a general value, “person.” Other suggestions are, that the crescentic outlines, Nos. 6, 7, 11, refer to a crescent moon, or an ear (Schellhas), or to a serpent’s mouth (Allen); while No. 10 may be an eye and eyelashes (Allen), a comb (Valentini), a claw, a feather, part of a plant, etc. It may be called the “comb sign.”[113]

My belief is that some of these affixes show the necklace on which beads and precious stones were strung. This was called _u_, which is also the word for moon, and in sound is akin to _uil_, food.[114]

By the latter fact I would explain the frequent appearance of this sign on the neck of vases and on haunches of venison (Cod. Tro. 22, etc.). The picture of a necklace shown in the _Lienzo de Tlascala_, p. 7, will demonstrate how close is the resemblance. That in Landa’s alphabet (see above, p. 15) this sign is given for _u_, confirms my supposition.

The hieroglyphs of the _sun_, Fig. 36, Nos. 1 and 2, cannot be mistaken. In the latter, the four teeth indicate the biting heat. This design often occurs on war shields. No. 1 is that usually employed in composition. The word for sun is _kin_, which has the further meanings, “day, light, festival, time, news, to rule;” from it are derived _kinal_, “heat, hot;” _kinam_, “strength, bravery, power, poison, fear, veneration;” _ah-kin_, “a priest,” etc. The _kin_ sign usually indicates a beneficent divinity.

The third sign in Fig. 36 is that for moon (Schellhas). Dr. Seler, however, claims that it is the symbol of “night,” and that where it means 20 (see above, p. 21), it is not derived from _u_, moon, but from _uinic_, man. He explains the figure as a human head with a “bleeding eye,” and bare teeth.

In all these points I think he is in error. Maya grammar does not authorize the derivation of _uinal_ from _uinic_ (in which Seler follows Brasseur); but it may come from _u_, month, _uin_ or _uen_, “relating to a month.” His statement that the 20–day period was not spoken of as an _uinal_, is disproved by Landa, who calls it _uinal hun ekeh_, “a dark month,” to distinguish it from one lighted by the moon. A close examination of most of the drawings will show that the line on which the supposed bare teeth are shown is not that of the mouth, but that of the necklace above mentioned, which has the value _u_. Cf. Fig. 3, No. 3.

No. 1, Fig. 37, I introduce from Mexican pictography; it is the sacred green jade jewel, the _xihuitl_, meaning “precious, divine.” By it I explain the very common No. 2, a modification either of it or of the _kin_ sign, constantly associated with deities (on the hand, Cod. Dres., p. 21; on the leg, id., 12; on the back, id., 39; and always on the head-dress of the God of Growth).

No. 3 may be a modification of the _kin_. It is given in Landa’s alphabet, where it stands for _be_, footprints. It may also be the stones of the hearth, and signify “house.” As a “directive sign,” it stands for the point south, and the color yellow; and it appears as an occasional variant of the day-signs _lamat_, _muluc_, and _chuen_.

No. 4 is thought by Seler to be merely an ornamental form of the _kin_ sign; but by Förstemann is taken for the monogram of the planet Venus, at least in the Cod. Dres., where it is very frequent on pp. 46–50. It is repeated with slight variations on the Copan pottery.

The flint knife was an important implement. Landa speaks of the numerous large ones kept by the priests for slaughtering their victims.[115] They were called _ta_, and _licil dzicil_; in Tzental, _chinax_, from _chi_, to bite. Fig. 38, Nos. 1, 2, and 4, show the usual forms in which they are drawn, the small squares at the end being the biting edges. No. 3, surmounted by the “trinal” sign, refers probably to lightning. No. 6 is a rare sign for a dog, showing his biting teeth (Cod. Tro., p. 25). The flint knife typifies sacrifice, death, war, the East, and fire. As a rebus, it could stand for _ta_, excrement; _tah_, a dramatic representation, etc.

No. 5 is a very common affix. It has been regarded as a variant of the knife (Seler, etc). But it is too constantly distinguished from it to have this meaning. I consider it the sacred bean, with which divination was practiced and lots cast. This was called _bul_, a word which, as an affix, means “all,” the whole of anything, as _bulkin_, “the whole day.” This may suggest its signification.

The curious objects in Fig. 39 were long a puzzle to me, and have not been explained by previous writers. I believe them to be representations of the food products of the sea, showing a fish and two shellfish. My reasons for this are that in Cod. Dres., p. 34, they are seen along with other food-offerings (see Fig. 30); in some places the fish tail is unmistakeable (Cod. Dres., pp. 6, 7, 36); in Cod. Cort., pp. 20, 21, they are associated with a fishing bird,—a pelican or cormorant; in Cod. Dres., p. 50, the two shells are replaced by one conch shell; and in Cod. Dres., p. 67, a fish and two shells are painted separately, to represent food from the sea. The two shells are often seen in other relations, as sprinkled with blood (Cod. Tro., p. 18*), and as an affix (see Fig. 31, No. 10). I shall refer to this as the “fish and oyster” sign.

Shells had a peculiar sacredness in Maya symbolism. The robes of some of the priests were bordered with them.[116]

Some other sacred food-offerings are shown in Fig. 40. The first is the haunch of venison tied up (identified as such by Brasseur); the second is the fish, here shown with a subfix; the third is the wild turkey, represented by his head in a dish. Another is the iguana (see p. 122, No. 14); and a fifth is the object shown on p. 122, No. 12. It has been explained as a grain of corn sprouting from the ground, or a mole emerging from its hole (Schellhas). The true explanation is that of Brasseur, that it portrays the forequarter and head of a food-animal, tied up. He does not specify what animal, but in some of the drawings I distinctly recognize the dog, with his sharp teeth, the species raised by the Mayas to be eaten on festival occasions, as stated by Landa.[117]

Nos. 1 and 2, Fig. 41, are variants of an element often occurring with a _ben-ik_ superfix. Dr. Seler, who is apt to see gory human heads everywhere, thinks it is one carried in a sling and means “conquered in war.”

Dr. Förstemann, with greater probability, considers that it symbolizes an astronomical event connected with the motions of the sun. (See the significant designs, Cod. Tro., 28* _b_.)

The _ben-ik_ sign referred to is rendered by Seler to mean conquest and destruction; by Förstemann, astronomically, as the lunar month of 29 days; in a general sense, I would say, “strength and deific power.” It is a very constant association of the two day-signs so named, _ben_ giving the idea of motion, and _ik_ of life and power.

In No. 3 is a long worm-like figure under the _ben-ik_ sign. Brasseur pointed out that it is a variant of the day-sign _men_, and explained it as a caterpillar (_chenille_). Seler speaks of it as an eagle, and as a symbol of “mother earth;” Schellhas, as perhaps the serpent goddess. It sometimes is drawn to have a fish-like appearance (Cod. Per., p. 7), and may symbolize the waters; the more so as it has occasionally as a superfix the “cloud-balls.”

No. 4 is explained by Brasseur as the girdle, _xoc_, around the body; and I prefer this to later suggestions. A similar design was the tress of hair, _kax pol_ or _kaaxi_, worn by women (see Cod. Tro., p. 27; Cod. Dres., p. 45). Its signification would seem to be “to tie together, to join,” or, as a rebus, “rain, to rain,” for _kaxala_ (llover, y la lluvia).

No more prominent hieroglyph than No. 1, Fig. 42, can be found in the Mayan inscriptions, and none which has proved such a stumbling block to interpreters. Valentini has called it the picture of a censer or brazier; de Rosny thought it a variant of the _ahau_ sign; Dr. Seler explained it as a precious stone; and Thomas as “a stone heap!” It is the upper figure in the “Initial Series” of glyphs at Palenque, Copan, Quirigua, etc. (see above, p. 24), and recurs with but slight variations in all the Codices.

I first announced what it represents and its signification at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, August, 1894.[118] It is the picture of a _drum_, the large variety, made of the hollow trunk of a tree resting upon short feet, the trunk being sawed across partly through so as to give two vibrating surfaces, which were often decorated with cross-hatching. Such drums are described by the early Spanish writers, and one is shown in the Atlas to Duran’s History.[119] Their sound could be heard for two leagues, and they were important adjuvants in the services in the temples.

In the hieroglyphics the significance of this design is primarily phonetic. The name of this particular kind of drum was _pax che_, from _pax_, musical instrument, and _che_, wooden; a large one was _bolon pax che_, the word _bolon_, nine, being a superlative prefix in Maya. Employed according to the ikonomatic method, this expressed the word _paxan_, a very common term in Maya, meaning “it is finished,” and applied to anything completed, ended, or destroyed, in a good or bad sense.[120] This is why in the numeral signs it marks the end of a series (see above, p. 22), and in the so-called “Initial Series” (which I believe to be terminal), it surmounts and thus closes (reading from below upward) the rows of computation signs. For the same reason it is the support of the figure representing the dying year in the ceremonies at its termination (Cod. Tro., pp. 20–24), and is often associated with the deities of old age, destruction, and death.

Several other varieties of drums were in use among the Mayas. That shown Fig. 42 No. 2, is noteworthy. It is the _dzacatan_ (Berendt), or medicine-drum (from _dzacah_, to cure, to practice medicine). It was used in the sacred ceremonies (see Fig. 30), and Itzamna is portrayed playing upon one (Cod. Dres., p. 34). Its representations in the Codices are peculiar, and have been entirely misunderstood by previous writers. I show them in Fig. 43, Nos. 1, 2, 3. In a more highly conventionalized form we find them in the Cod. Troano, thus: which has been explained by Pousse, Thomas, and others, as making fire or as grinding paint. It is obviously the _dzacatan_, what I have called the “pottery decoration” (see p. 58) around the figures, showing that the body of the drum was of earthenware.

Fig. 42, No. 3 shows the ordinary hand drum, the _huehuetl_ of the Mexicans. Its name in Maya is _tunkul_, properly _tankul_, which means either “before the gods,” or “now one worships” (ahora se adora, Baeza.) It was either of wood and was struck with a stick; or of pottery with a skin stretched over its mouth, when the sound was produced by the fingers. Some were large and stood upright, as shown in Fig. 43.[121] Representations of these are common in the Codices, and have generally been mistaken for vases. (See Cod. Cort., p. 27.) Even Nos. 4 and 5, Fig. 44, are probably some such musical instruments. (See Cod. Cort., pp. 12, 30, 31.)

Few glyphs are more frequent than No. 1, Fig. 45, either alone or in such combinations as Nos. 2 and 3. The guesses as to what it represents have been singularly divergent. Brasseur said, a kind of gourd; Seler, a tree; Schellhas, the zapote; Rosny and Förstemann, the phallus, etc.

None of these suggestions seems to me tenable. I believe it represents a common feather decoration made of short green or blue feathers, attached to a style or staff. It is frequent on Mexican and Maya figures, and in No. 4, Fig. 45, I copy one from a Maya war dress. The lower portion represents the ornament to which I allude. It was called _yax kukul_, and this gives the phonetic rebus value of the sign, which is _yax_, green, and (metaphorically) new, young, fresh, strong, virile, etc.

Care must be taken not to confound this with the character seen in the sign of the dog (see p. 70), which really represents the ribs and breast-bone, although called a “phallus” by Rosny, an “article of food” by Thomas, a “breastplate” by Allen, and a “vertebral column” by Seler.[122]

The three feathers which surmounted the _yax kukul_, as shown in No. 4, Fig. 45, also developed in the hieroglyphs to an important sign. It is shown in Fig. 46, No. 1, and is the uppermost sign in the “Initial glyph” of Palenque (see p. 137) and was a mark of eminent distinction. (See Fig. 47, No. 2.)

These three feathers indicated in Maya symbolism the highest place and power. They appear on the head of the important statue unearthed by Dr. Le Plongeon at Chichen Itza, which he calls “Chac Mool,” in the form given Fig. 46, No. 2. Three was a sacred number with the Mayas, and with this in mind I shall refer to it as the “trinal” sign.

In Mexican writing the three feathers appear in the ikonomatic sign for _tecpan_, royal, in the _Lienzo de Tlascala_, pp. 56, 57, 78. As feather in Maya is _kukum_, which is allied in sound to _ku_, god, _kul_, divine, etc., we see what an appropriate rebus the “trinal” makes.

Rounded figures, identified by Seler as “feather balls,” are sometimes portrayed above the _men_, or “Mother Earth” sign, and in other relations. See Cod. Peres., p. 7, for a good example.

A number of drawings in the Codices represent textile materials—mats, cotton cloth, wicker-work, etc. That Fig. 47, No. 1 is frequent, both as an affix and as part of costume. Thomas calls it a trellis or lattice work; Seler, an imitation of a snake skin; Förstemann, of the shell of a tortoise. In some places it is clearly a part of a helmet made of interlaced and twisted cords attached to a frame. (See Cod. Tro., pp. 2, 3, 6, 19, 22*, 23*.)[123] In Nos. 2 and 3 it appears as a written character with superfixes. It forms part of the sign of the day _chicchan_, and is attached to the sign of the sun and of the world.

This cross-hatching I regard as showing woven stuff, or that twisted, knotted, and plaited; and I consider its value when used phonetically to be “strong, mighty,” because the word for “strong” in Maya is _chich_, and that for twisting and interlacing cords is _chich-kuch_,—again a simple rebus.[124]

The designs, on p. 129, are supposed by Seler and Thomas to represent a house, the roof of which is indicated by the cross-hatched or plaited objects, and . I regard them as meaning a _canopy_, the practical and symbolic uses of which article are often referred to by the early visitors to these tribes.[125]

In Fig. 48, No. 1, I give a frequent postfix. In the pictures it portrays the wing of a bird, the foot of an animal, the claw of a reptile or insect, or the tail of a dog (Cod. Tro., p. 27).

No. 2 is the conventional sign for _smoke_, as may be seen in Cod. Tro., pp. 5*, 6*, etc.

No. 3 is called by Seler an ideogram for “man” or “person.”

No. 4 I introduce from the Mexican pictography to illustrate the use of black dots. They have many significations which I have not traced in Mayan Codices, such as seed, salt, ashes, stars, sand, earth, and from the latter, place, region, world.[126] In the sign for the day, _ix_, I believe we see the dots with the signification _xiix_, “grain-husks.” A line or lines of dots mean “speech” or vocal sound, as attached to the drum, Fig. 44, No. 3; coming from the mouth of a dog, Cod. Tro., p. 20, singing, etc. Some have mistaken this for the sign of death. Dots in Maya are _ua_ or _ual_, akin in sound to _u_, month, _uil_, food, and may be allusive for these ideas.

The _kan_ and _imix_ signs are often associated under two superfixes enclosing dots, as in Fig. 49, No. 1. These have been interpreted by Seler to indicate copal gum, or the burning of incense. The sign is associated with various deities, especially those of a beneficent character.

The same objects, however, occur elsewhere as superfixes over various glyphs, as Fig. 49, No. 2, where it is not easy to assign them any such meaning.