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.

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 werewrittenfrom 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 therubricationof themanuscript. 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:—

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.”

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 toascertain 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.

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.

Fig. 31.—The Hand.

Thehandcontributes 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 inFig.30by 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 daymanik, and is explained by Dr. Seler, “to eat;” but I take it to be the rebus formach, “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 signik.[109]

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

By some writers all the signs, Fig.32are supposed to represent theeye. 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 itto 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.

Fig. 32.—The Eye and Similar Figures.

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 Förstemannto represent the planet Venus, and to be a variant of Fig. 37, No. 4. Seler thinks it an ornamentalkin(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.”

Fig. 33.—The “Spectacles.”

Fig. 34.—The Ear.

The humanearhas 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,chamorcamach. (See Cod. Cort., pp. 35, 36, etc.)

The ear isxicin, which also means “shell.” Ear-rings aretup, 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]

Fig. 35.—Crescentic Signs.

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

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

Fig. 36.—Sun and Moon Signs.

The hieroglyphs of thesun, 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 iskin, which has the further meanings, “day, light, festival, time, news, to rule;” from it are derivedkinal, “heat, hot;”kinam, “strength, bravery, power, poison, fear, veneration;”ah-kin, “a priest,” etc. Thekinsign usually indicates a beneficent divinity.

The third sign in Fig.36is 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 fromu, moon, but fromuinic, 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 ofuinalfromuinic(in which Seler follows Brasseur); but it may come fromu, month,uinoruen, “relating to a month.” His statement that the 20–day period was not spoken of as anuinal, is disproved by Landa, who calls ituinal 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 valueu. Cf. Fig.3, No. 3.

No. 1, Fig.37, I introduce from Mexican pictography; it is the sacred green jade jewel, thexihuitl, meaning “precious, divine.” By it I explain the very common No. 2, a modification either of it or of thekinsign, 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).

Fig. 37.—Supposed Derivatives of the Sun Sign.

No. 3 may be a modification of thekin. It is given in Landa’s alphabet, where it stands forbe, 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-signslamat,muluc, andchuen.

No. 4 is thought by Seler to be merely an ornamental form of thekinsign; 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.

Fig. 38.—The Knife Signs.

The flint knife was an important implement. Landa speaks of the numerous large ones kept by the priests for slaughteringtheir victims.[115]They were calledta, andlicil dzicil; in Tzental,chinax, fromchi, 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 forta, 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 calledbul, a word which, as an affix, means “all,” the whole of anything, asbulkin, “the whole day.” This may suggest its signification.

Fig. 39.—The “Fish and Oyster” Sign.

The curious objects in Fig.39were 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]

Fig. 40.—The Sacred Food-Offerings.

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]

Fig. 41.—Theben-ikand other Signs.

Nos. 1 and 2, Fig.41, are variants of an element often occurring with aben-iksuperfix. Dr. Seler, who is apt to see goryhuman 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.)

Theben-iksign 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,bengiving the idea of motion, andikof life and power.

In No. 3 is a long worm-like figure under theben-iksign. Brasseur pointed out that it is a variant of the day-signmen, 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 polorkaaxi, 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,” forkaxala(llover, y la lluvia).

Fig. 42.—The Drum Signs.

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 calledit the picture of a censer or brazier; de Rosny thought it a variant of theahausign; 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 adrum, 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 waspax che, frompax, musical instrument, andche, wooden; a large one wasbolon pax che, the wordbolon, nine, being a superlative prefix in Maya. Employed according to the ikonomatic method, this expressed the wordpaxan, 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 iswhy 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.42No. 2, is noteworthy. It is thedzacatan(Berendt), or medicine-drum (fromdzacah, 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 thedzacatan, 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, thehuehuetlof the Mexicans. Its name in Maya istunkul, properlytankul, 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 arecommon 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.)

Fig. 43.—A Standing Drum. (From the Cortesian Codex.)

Fig. 44.—Graphic Delineations of Drums.

Fig. 45.—Theyaxand other Feather Signs.

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 calledyax kukul, and thisgives the phonetic rebus value of the sign, which isyax, 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 theyax 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.

Fig. 46.—The “Trinal” Feather Emblem.

In Mexican writing the three feathers appear in the ikonomatic sign fortecpan, royal, in theLienzo de Tlascala, pp. 56, 57, 78. As feather in Maya iskukum, which is allied in sound toku, 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 themen, or “Mother Earth” sign, and in other relations. See Cod. Peres., p. 7, for a good example.

Fig. 47.—The “Cross-hatched” Signs.

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 daychicchan, 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 ischich, and that for twisting and interlacing cords ischich-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 acanopy, 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 forsmoke, as may be seen in Cod. Tro., pp. 5*, 6*, etc.

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

Fig. 48.—Some Linear Signs and Dots.

Fig. 49.—The Use of Dots.

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 significationxiix, “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 areuaorual, akin in sound tou, month,uil, food, and may be allusive for these ideas.

Thekanandimixsigns 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.

Fig. 50.—Linear Prefixes.

Modifications of Fig. 50, No. 1 are quite frequent. This sign has had various explanations, as typifying fire, lightning, or wind (Seler, Schellhas); but I believe it represents divine or magical power exerted by blowing. As I have explained in myNagualism, “the act of blowing was the essential feature in the practice of the ‘medicine men.’ It symbolized the exercise and transfer of spiritual power.”[127]Where the deity is portrayed with this addition, he is in the act of exerting his divine influence. For examples, see the “bee god,” in Cod. Tro., pp. 5* and 10*, where the head is as in No. 2; and the scorpion, in Cod. Tro., p. 2, precisely like one in the Cod. Porfirio Diaz, lam.I. At times it also conveys the idea of speech, or vocal sound, or that from a drum, etc.,e. g., Fig.44, No. 3.

No. 3 represents the usual mode of portraying the antennæ of scorpions, insects, etc., of interest because the word for these in Maya,matzab, also means the rays of the sun and of light, and the figure might so be interpreted.

Dr. Förstemann believes that the circle of dots, as in the lower portion of No. 2, means “movement or precession;” as in Cod. Dres., p. 68. Thesign is so surrounded, indicating the junction of two time-periods; or, as others would say, the crooked lightning darting from the sky.

Fig. 51.—The “Cloud-Balls” and the “Cork-screw Curl.”

In Fig.51, Nos. 1 and 2, copied from the great tortoise of Copan, show the rain-clouds as conceived by the native artist. In the Codices they are seen in the day-signcauac; and elsewhere. An almost identical conception appears in the pictography of the northern tribes.[128]Seler speaks of them asWolkenballen, “cloud-balls,” an appropriate name for the element.

Fig. 52.—Symbols for the Earth.

No. 3 has been explained by Thomas and Seler as the portrayal of trickling fluid; or, again, by the latter, as a “nose ornament.” Dr. Schellhas first saw its real intention. It is a picture of a twisted lock of hair, or “cork-screw curl,” worn by the Maya women. It appears in the monograms of various goddesses. Ideographically it has two meanings, one, woman orfemale; the other, down or downward; either from its name (which we do not know), or because it hangs downward. In the latter sense, it is in the hieroglyph of the Earth, as that which is down or below us, Fig.52; although, as the Earth is the feminine principle in nature,—Mother Earth,—I would suggest that this is the intimation conveyed by the sign.

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