This sign frequently appears on pages 8b-9b, 16b-17b, 17c-20c. We find it with slight variations once on each of the four pages 25-28. It is the 6th on page 25; the 8th on 26; the 6th on 27; the 6th on 28. Its lower part, especially the (phallic?) sign added at the left, suggests the hieroglyphs of the Bacabs, as we find them on pages 52, 55, 56, etc.; they might refer to the separation of the ritual year of 364 days into 4 × 91 days. On the other hand it has been considered simply as the reproduction of the carrying-frame pictured below it (compare above under page 17c.)
While the hieroglyphs, hitherto discussed, demonstrate the connection between the parts on the left of the four pages, two other signs prove the connection of the portions on the right.
One of these looks like the Ik sign surrounded by a dotted circle; it occurs on page 25 as the 13th sign, on page 26 as the 15th, on page 27 as the 14th and on page 28 as the 15th. To this sign are prefixed successively the numbers 9, 7, 11 and 6.
The second is unquestionably the hieroglyph for the numeral 20 or for the moon. It is effaced on page 25 and on pages 27 and 28 has a prefix, which on page 26 is used as a superfix. This sign is the 14th on page 25, the 16th on page 26, the 15th on page 27 and the 16th on page 28. The prefixed numbers are 7, 16, 5 and 6.
The meaning of these two signs and that of the apparently irregular numbers is still a mystery. The latter will be discussed presently.
The 4th sign on all the four pages seems to refer to a period like the one hitherto discussed. On page 26 the sign resembles that for the 13th Uinal (Mac) and hence appears to refer to the Tonalamatl, as in the first column on page 24. Above it is the sign for the south. The corresponding hieroglyphs of the other pages are obliterated, but strange to say the vestiges suggest that they too hadbelowthem the sign for the south. Now the south and the Bacab of the south preside over the fourth quarter of the year from which ensues the transition to the new year in question here.
Among the signs on the left side we should expect to find those of the gods to whom the expiring year belonged. On page 25 it ought to be B. Sign 5, however, though it can with difficulty be identified, points rather to god K. Sign 3 on page 26 corresponds better; this is the hieroglyph of the tiger already known to us, which is carried by the priest in the upper section of page 8a; here its prefix is the sign for the west. On page 27 we ought to see the grain-god E carried by the priest; his hieroglyph may be destroyed, but sign 5, which is Kan-Imix (food and drink) is his determinative. Finally the 5th sign on page 28 is, just as we should expect, the hieroglyph of A and, in addition, we find his determinative in 7.
But what is to be said of the fact that the tiger appears again on page 28 in sign 3, and this time with the sign for the east?
The Ahau on page 27, sign 16, refers to the god D of the middle section.
There maybe some reference here to sacrifice, thus:—the 11th sign on page 25 is Kan-Imix, the 12th on page 27 is Kan, which is followed in the 13th sign on page 27 by another one with a Yax and a suggestion of a second Kan-Imix. Also the curious sign in the 8th place on page 27, which we have already discussed under page 8b, is used to denote the sacrifice on pages 18a and 15b. Here its position with reference to sign 6 is the same as on page 8b. On page 26 the prefix of sign 13, which is half destroyed, may be recognized as a serpent. Signs 12 and 15 on page 25 are unintelligible. Unfortunately the following signs are entirely effaced:—Sign 1 on pages 25, 26 and 27, as well as 2 on all the four pages, 3 on page 25, 9 and 10 on all the four pages, 11 onpages 26, 27 and 28, 12 on pages 26 and 28, 13 on page 28, 14 on pages 26 and 28, and 16 on page 27.
4. The Middle Pictures.
On each page at the right there is a house, the back wall of which is always marked with the cross often met with. In front of the house with his back turned towards it, sits a deity. Each of the four deities has the front of his body covered with a gala mantle. Now we know that the god of the new year was set up before the house of the chieftain. On page 25 the god is K with his eyes apparently destroyed, and on page 26 it is B with a Kin sign on his head covering, hence designated here as a sun or day-god. On page 27 the god is D, and on page 28, A with the cross-bones on his robe, his own hieroglyph on his cheek, and the Akbal sign on his forehead. Only on the last page, therefore, and apparently by mistake, the god in the top picture is the same as in the middle picture.
At the left of each page,i.e., opposite the house and the god, is a flaming altar, bearing the sign Ix equivalent to fire.
The centre, between the gods and the altars, is occupied by vessels of which there are two on each of the first three pages and but one on the fourth; they contain food, without doubt intended for the sacrificial feast. On page 25 the lower vessel contains Kan (maize) and the upper probably a food prepared from Kan. Or are the spines on the back of the iguana indicated on this vessel? (Compare 40c and Cort. 8 and 12c). The contents of the lower vessel on page 26 are still unknown (birds?). The upper vessel contains a Kan, but the sign has a superfix, which corresponds to the sign for the west. On page 27 the lower vessel contains a fish and the upper the sign for the south. Lastly, the single vessel on page 28 contains the cross-bones (mammal?) and above them the Kan sign repeated three times.
Finally here on the last three pages, we find some numbers, which are still undetermined; on page 26 there is a 7 with the lower vessel, and on page 27 with the upper vessel two dots with a cross between them (perhaps this may mean 20-2 = 18, which is used in place of the usual clumsy numeral?). On page 28 wesee above the vessel a 6, and below it, in place of a second vessel, a double Chuen sign, as in the upper section of the page, therefore it can hardly be the Akbal sign resembling Chuen.
5. The Middle Hieroglyphs.
On each page these signs consist of butoneline containing 5, 6, 3 and 3 glyphs respectively. The first of these signs in all of the four places is the same (o), which very suitably refers to the change in the year. The second sign is always the hieroglyph of the god represented in the middle section:—K on page 25, B as the sun-god on page 26, and D on page 27. The second sign on page 28, which is the head without an underjaw and with the prefixed four, probably referring to four fast-days, must, therefore, be an uncommon sign for A, who was similarly designated on page 25 in sign 8 of the upper section.
If the gods in the top thirds are those of the past year and those in the middle the gods of the year just beginning, we should expect to find in each top third the deity who is represented in the middle of the preceding page. But this does not hold good. For then we should expect to find K on page 26 and not the tiger, on page 27 B or G and not E, on page 28 D and not A, and on page 25 A and not B.
Hence there is some confusion here. Yet it seems to be in the nature of a correction, that on page 26 the third sign, next to that of the sun-god, is actually the sign for E who is in the top section on page 27, and that the sixth sign is Kan-Imix belonging to this god.
On pages 25 and 26 this line also refers to the past year,i.e., to the year set down in the top third. The fourth sign on page 25 is a Manik,i.e., originally a grasping hand denoting taking away, disappearance, and the fifth sign on this page is a Muluc, which seems to denote the ending of the Muluc years. The fifth sign on page 26, is, in fact, the tiger pictured above.
The lunar hieroglyph as the third sign on page 25 and theaas the fourth on page 26 are strange and unaccountable. Both appear to be almost without significance here and seem almost like mere points between the names of gods in groups of two each.
The Ahau as the third sign on page 27 is the usual determinative of D, whose hieroglyph stands beside it.
On page 28 the main part of the third sign corresponds to the sixth of the upper section. I do not know, however, how to explain either the upper part suggesting a mat or the familiar leaf-shaped prefix.
6. The Bottom Pictures.
In the left-hand lower corner of each page we see the sign for the year of 360 days, which at the same time designates the heap of stones, on which the stelae were erected, the two thick black lines indicating the two columns of hieroglyphs usually found on them. A tree is growing out of this sign, having on its trunk an abbreviated Cauac sign, at least, on pages 26, 27 and 28, which probably refers to rain as the most desired event of the year. The tree on page 25 has no leaves, but the top is carved into the shape of the head of the god B. In the other three cases it has leaves, but instead of ending in the god's head the tree is draped with a mantle and a breech-clout, and a serpent is coiled about it denoting a period of time (here, the year). Furthermore there are foot-prints on the trunk or the drapery of the tree, which represent it as the goal of a pilgrimage.
If the top and middle thirds refer to the mere transportation of the idols, the bottom thirds refer to the feasts connected with this act, or, at any rate, to those dedicated to thenewgod. For we see here on page 25 the god B, on 26 the god K, on 27 A and on 28 D,i.e., the same deities as in the middle sections, yet so placed that the first two and the last two have changed places.
Each of the four deities hold in one hand a hen with its head cut off; "degollavan una gallina" is the statement made by Landa concerning these feasts. Perhaps all four gods, at any rate the last three, are scattering grain; this was one form of divination; we found the other on page 2. There are besides, on every page, several small objects between the two pictures, just as in the middle section. On page 25 the object is probably an altar, but instead of the flame it has the number 19. Above this is the sign for the west (the Ix days) with that for the sun, and on top of them the signwhich we found in the middle section of page 26 as the contents of the lower vessel. On page 26 we see a vessel containing a bird, then another whose contents are indicated by Yax and a double Kan sign. Above it is the sign for the moon or for 20 with a prefix, and above this a 9. At the bottom of page 27 there is a vessel containing two Kan signs and a fish; above this another vessel the contents of which are the same as we found in the vessel in the middle section of page 26 and in that of the lower section of page 25. Above these is again the sign for the moon or 20 with a superfix, which is the same as the prefix on page 26, and beside it is a 16. Page 28 has the usual haunch of venison (Landa:—"una pierna de venado"), above this is a vessel with a bird and Kan and above this again the sign for the moon or for 20 with the same superfix and the numeral 15. I shall discuss below the numbers scattered over these four pages.
7. The Bottom Hieroglyphs.
These hieroglyphs also form butoneline on each page and each line contains six hieroglyphs. Thefirstof each line is always the same (p). It consists of a surface divided into four quadrants thus suggesting the four cardinal points, the four Bacabs presiding over them and the four kinds of years. The superfix seems to be the abbreviated hieroglyph of the north; the sign for the north, however, is Muluc and these four pages begin with the Muluc years.
Thesecondsign is the head of D as the supreme god; to this a Yax is joined on pages 26-28 as the symbol of strength, and on page 25, but probably by mistake, the abbreviated sign for the west.
Thethirdsign always represents one of the four cardinal points:—on page 25 the east, on page 26 the south, on page 27 the west and on page 28 the north; here then the usual order is reversed and the signs are set down according to the diurnal instead of the annual course of the sun, probably occasioned merely by exchanging the sign for the west (Ix), which belongs on page 25, with that for the east (Kan), which belongs on page 27.
The other three signs do not stand in the same order on every page.
Thefifthsign on pages 26 and 28 and thefourthon page 27 show correspondence most clearly. This sign is always a head, undoubtedly that of the god pictured in the bottom third. But on page 25 it is the hieroglyph of E, who is pictured on the top of page 27, instead of that of B.
In the same way the 6th sign on page 25, the 4th on page 26, the 5th on page 27 and the 4th on page 28 have something in common. One element of the hieroglyph is always the sign for the year of 360 days, combined on page 25 with cross-bones and the Cauac sign, on 26 with Yax and Kan, and on 27 and 28 simply with Yax.
The most puzzling and divergent of these hieroglyphs are the remaining ones. The 4th on page 25 has an oblique cross (or bones?) and the abbreviated glyph for the west, the 6th on page 26 is the head of E, the 6th on page 27 is the 360-day sign combined with Kin and Cauac, and the 6th on page 28 is the usual Kan-Imix sign. Here, too, there seems to have been a displacement.
Before I leave the four pages 25-28, I will glance at the numerals, which are scattered over them and which apparently have no connection with one another. I have discussed these numerals in my article "Die Mayahieroglyphen" in Volume LXXI, No. 5, of the Globus, and the following is borrowed therefrom.
First of all, I believe that I proved there, that the sign composed of two dots with a cross between them is an abbreviation for the usual clumsy representation of the numeral 18 and designates it like a duodeviginti by 20-2. Next, that in this passage as on pages 18a, 18c, 19c, 46b and 50c, the sign is combined with the hieroglyphs Yax-Kin. Third, that it is closely related to the god D, inasmuch as it stands on page 27b close beside the picture of that god.
Assuming this as a known fact, we find scattered over these four pages the following numbers:—
It is very remarkable that the sum of the numbers on each of the first three pages is equal to 52, and as an accidental freak it would be most surprising; somewhere on the fourth page six units may have been omitted; but perhaps the 6, which stands above thetwoChuen signs in the centre, is to be counted twice. The 52, however, designates the very 52 years, which are treated of on these four pages.
As yet I know no reason to account for the fact that the 52 is here separated into these apparently very irregular numbers. The discovery of this reason would be an important step in advance. Or does it means 52days, perhaps those which follow a Tonalamatl coming in the middle of the year?
Page 28 is followed in the Manuscript by three empty pages. The scribe's object in reserving them is beyond our ken; possibly they were intended to represent the period of 8 years.
Pages 29-45 (i.e., to the end of the first part of the Manuscript) all belong together. After the Maya manner there is very little system displayed in their arrangement, and though here and there there may be occasion to consider the three parts of each page consecutively, I will discuss them here as follows:—First, the top thirds, which are most difficult owing to the destruction of a large portion of them; then the middle, and last the bottom thirds. They all consist in great part, with a few interruptions, of representations of the regular Tonalamatl, such as we find represented from the beginning of the Manuscript to page 23.
The element which these pages have in common is the fact that the god B, who can hardly be Kukulcan or Quetzalcoatl, occurs on almost all of them. He is the god of wind, fire, breath,i.e., the true god of life and is here represented in his relation to the most varied manifestations and activities of a human being, so that this section bears a certain resemblance to the Tro-Cortesianus. With this is closely connected his relation to allfour cardinal points, which so often occur. He may have been the local god of the region from whence this Manuscript came; in the Tro-Cort. It seems rather to be C who lays claim to this office.
Pages 29a—30a.
This is a Tonalamatl of 4 × 65 days, each part subdivided into 5 × 13 days. The four days written on the left are those which may begin the year.
In each of the five sections B is pictured in a sitting posture, the first four times on a tree (the tree of life rather than the sacrificial tree).
In the first picture he holds in one hand the haunch of venison, so often occurring as an offering, the last time on page 28; the object above it is probably the Kan sign. There is a vessel at the god's feet, probably a receptacle for the venison, bearing the hieroglyph of the 13th day Cib, which, however, refers rather to a bird.
In the second picture an animal with a protruding tongue lies on its back at the feet of the god, who kneels upon its stomach. This probably represents the lightning-dog as vanquished. The same animal is pictured on the next page and also on page 40b and perhaps on page 60. There are a number of small dots around B's head, which on page 11c we attempted to interpret as the starry sky.
I can find nothing of special importance in the third and fourth pictures, but in the fifth, B is sitting in a house, which is marked repeatedly with the sign Caban (ground). Here the god is holding the hatchet (machete) in his hand, as if prepared for some terrestrial activity. Four hieroglyphs in the usual order belong to each of the five pictures. They are almost entirely destroyed, but the vestiges show that the fourth sign was always that of B, while the third sign with the first picture had the abbreviated hieroglyph of the west as a prefix; with the second picture it had that of the south, and therefore with the third and fourth it must certainly have had the signs of the east and north. We should expect the signs with theseprefixes to contain references to Ix, Cauac, Kan and Muluc, but they are not distinguishable.
Thus B is represented in pictures 1-4 as ruler of the four cardinal points and in 5 as the ruler of the earth in general.
Pages 30a—31a.
This passage looks like an amplification of the middle picture on page 29a. Here B is represented with the hatchet in his left hand and holding aloft by the tail with his right hand the animal, which is spitting out something upon a stepped pyramidal structure, probably the pyramid of a teocalli. That this is probably meant to represent lightning is rendered almost a certainty by the picture on page 40b. In this passage there are several red and black numerals scattered around the animal in an irregular manner, which we find nowhere else in our Manuscript, but with which the Tro-Cortesianus has made us familiar. The sum of the black numbers still legible is 23, probably a 3 is effaced and the sum should be 26, the sum which so often occurs in the Cod. Troano 8-13 with the animal represented there. The red numbers likewise do not admit of exact determination. This passage also contained hieroglyphs, four standing side by side on each of the two pages. The legible portion is limited to the Cimi sign in the third place, perhaps an Imix in the second, and possibly an Ahau in the first.
Pages 31a—32a.
In my article "Zur Entzifferung, etc., VI," published in the year 1897, I discussed this passage more in detail, and the following will be in continuation of what I stated there.
The real aim of the computation on these pages is to find a number in which the following periods of time are united with the Tonalamatl of 260 days:—1. The ritual year of 364 days, and consequently also a quarter of it, the Bacab period of 91 days. 2. The period of 104 days, being the number of days which remain after a Tonalamatl has been deducted from a ritual year. The hypothesis advanced by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall ("Note on the Ancient Mexican Calendar System," Stockholm, 1894) and also the entirely different opinion held by Mr. Charles P. Bowditch ("The Lords of the Night and the Tonalamatl of the CodexBorbonicus" in the American Anthropologist, N. S., Vol. II, New York, 1900) prove the existence not only of merely arbitrary Tonalamatls for the purpose of prediction, as those in our Manuscript, but also of Tonalamatls having a fixed position in certain years. But after the manner peculiar to priestcraft, the number sought is found only by an indirect and mysterious process.
In the first place we find on page 32a all the days set down in the following manner:—
That is to say, a series counting from the day XIII Akbal, the New Year's day of the year I Kan, recurring every 52 years, furthermore a series which shows the same difference of 91 from the day XIII Akbal to XIII Ix, XIII Chicchan, etc., and finally ends with XIII Akbal again, after it has run through a period of 20 × 91,i.e., 1820 days = 7 Tonalamatls, like a similar representation of 7 Tonalamatls on page 51. Above these 20 days, and to the left of them, numbers are set down rather irregularly, which begin with 91 and are multiples of that number. The signs of the days corresponding to these numbers are joined to them; but they are omitted with the numbers of lowest value. Hence we have:—91, 182, 273, 364 (4), 455 (5), 546 (6), 637 (7), 728 (8), 819 (9), 910 (10). Then with a bound follow 1456 and 1820; with the last number Akbal is reached in the natural way, which day the scribe had erroneously set down again with 1456 in place of Cauac.
The number 728 already united the numbers 91, 104 and 364, but did not include the number 260. This inclusion is accomplished by the number 3640 on page 32, quite on the left where we find the numbers 10 and 2, under which only a 0 has been omitted. With the usual hiatuses this series seems to end on page 31, where I think the numbers 4, 0, 16 and 0 ought to stand, but they are almost wholly effaced; this would then be 320 × 91, 280 × 104, 112 × 260, 80 × 364 = 29,120.
We have thus gone far in advance of the first problem, but a second always presents itself in these series, it is that of using these periods for larger numbers, which refer to a not too remote past or to a future not too distant. The first numbers are, as a rule, in the neighborhood of 1,252,680, the close of the eleventh Ahau-Katun, and the latter in the neighborhood of 1,480,440, the close of the thirteenth Ahau-Katun. The Manuscript presents the following:—
In connection with this it should be noted first that I have restored the 8 in the statement of the months, and second that the two numbers on the right were found with the aid of page 63 only by an easy conjecture. For with the reading of the Manuscript 10, 13, 3, 13, 2, I do not agree, but read instead 10, 13, 13, 3, 2; the number below, however, is given in the Manuscript as 7, 2 and then a black 14 joined to a red 5; I read this 7, 2, 14, 19.
The three numbers nearest the bottom have red circles around them, indicating subtraction, or, according to my present point of view, addition.
Now let us see how the computer arrived at the large numbers.
Day XIII Akbal, the New Year's day of the 1 Kan years, is given; also the differences of the series 91 and 104, therefore also in the proportion of 7 to 8. If we combine these last two numbers by addition and then by multiplication with 260, the result is (7 + 8) × 260 = 3900. If, however, 7, 8 and 3900 be combined by multiplication the product is 7 × 8 × 3900 = 218,400 = 2400 × 91 = 2100 × 104 = 840 × 260 = 600 × 364 = 1120 × (91 + 104). We have already met with the 218,400 on page 24, which was obtained by the addition of 33,280 + 185,120.
My opinion is as follows:—First 11 Ahau-Katuns = 1,252,680, were taken as a point of departure, and to this sum wasadded 15,600 = 4 × 3900, and 243 as the interval between the normal date IV Ahau and XIII Akbal. The result was 1,268,523. The position of this day, however, is XIII Akbal 11 Xul (1 Ix).
Then the 3900 mentioned above was added to this number and the result was 1,272,423 = XIII Akbal 16 Pop (12 Muluc).
Then to the 1,268,523 was added the 218,400 and the sum was 1,486,923 = XIII Akbal 1 Kankin (1 Kan), the very place in that year where a Tonalamatl ends.
The following numbers were thus obtained:—
These numbers are suppressed in the Manuscript. But if the encircled numbers are added to them, viz:—121 (interval between XIII Akbal and IV Kan), 17 (interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ahau), and 51,419 (= 197 × 260 + 199; 199, however, is the interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ik), the result is the three large numbers set down in the Manuscript, which have the following properties:—
1) 1,272,544 = IV Kan 17 Xul (12 Muluc). This number = 13,984 × 91 = 12,236 × 104 = 3496 × 364. It also = 4894 × 260 + 104, the interval between IV Ahau and IV Kan.
2) 1,268,540 = IV Ahau 8 Mol (1 Ix) = 4879 × 260 = 3485 × 364 = 74,620 × 17. 17 is the interval between XIII Akbal and IV Ahau.
3) 1,538,342 = IV Ik 15 Zac (12 Muluc). It also = 5916 × 260 + 182. The 182, however, the half of the ritual year of 364 days, is the interval between IV Ahau and IV Ik and between IV Ik and IV Kan. The fact that the interval is the same in each case is clearly the reason for the choice of the days IV Kan and IV Ik, which are otherwise not at all prominent.
It is remarkable that the third number is obtained by the addition of 51,419,i.e., of 197 × 260 + 199 (there are 199 days between XIII Akbal and IV Ik). But it was evidently desirable to obtain as large a number as this. On page 63 a number of nearly similar value is associated with it, viz:—1,535,004. It is set down almost in the middle between the 13th and 14th Ahau-Katuns, for it is 57,902 days greater than 1,480,440, and 55,978 days less than 1,594,320.
Now, however, the Manuscript presents in the last column but one of page 31 a number, 2,804,100, which occupies a very unique position, since it is nearly twice as great as all the other large numbers, with the exception of those in the serpents. It must refer to the year 9 Muluc, and to the date IV Ahau 13 Mol. It has many remarkable properties, for it is:—
1) = 10,785 × 260
2) = 17,975 × 156 (156 = IV Kan - IV Ahau).
3) = 35,950 × 78 (78 = IV Ik - IV Ahau and IV Kan-IV Ik).
4) = 719 × 3900. We have already met with this 3900 above. Now, however, the 2,804,100 by virtue of its magnitude creates the suspicion that it may be composed of two ordinary large numbers. It might be
5) 1,308,580 + 1,495,520, therefore 14,380 (91 + 104).
6) 1,380,600 + 1,423,500, therefore 3,900 (354 + 365).
That is to say, the important 3900 multiplied by the days of the lunar year and also by those of the solar year, hence the 719, referred to under 4, separates into these two parts. The lunar year of 354 = 6 × 29 + 6 × 30 days was not unknown to the Mayas. We shall find its half, 177 days, several times on pages 51-58.
We might also use the two important numbers 14,040 and 18,980, the first of which is divisible by 260 and 360, and the second by 260 and 365, without remainder.
Then we have the large number desired:—
7) 147 × 18,980 + 14,040.
8) 200 × 14,040 - 3900.
What future student will penetrate more deeply into the meaning and purpose of these numbers?
We might now expect to interpret also the upper right-hand corner of page 31, but here almost everything is in a deplorable state of obliteration. In the first three of the five columns over each of the three large numbers there was a date consisting of a numeral and a hieroglyph, but these admit of no certain nor even probable determination.
Four hieroglyphs still remain in the fourth column, respecting which compare my treatise "Zur Maya-Chronologie" in the Berliner Zeitschrift für Ethnologie XXIII, pp. 141-155.
In the top sign I recognize an Imix with a prefix and probably also a superfix. I think this denotes the period of 18,980 days.
I am forced to pass over the second entirely, inasmuch as a red 6 inserted in it remains a mystery (6 × 18,980 = 113,880?).
As I stated in the above-named work, I think the third is three times the sacred period of 2920,i.e., 8760 days.
Finally, the fourth sign certainly denotes the period of 7200 days.
Whether or not there was a fifth sign above the one now at the top is as uncertain as the meaning of the whole.
The most remarkable thing about it is that in three other passages of this Manuscript these three signs appear in close proximity to another. On page 61 we find the third in the 11th place in the second column, the first in the 12th place in the same column, and the fourth in the 14th place in the first column. Page 70 has the first sign in the middle of the 4th column; the second somewhat lower down in the 3d column and the 4th two places below. Finally all three signs appear in succession on the top of page 73 in the same order as on page 31.
The fifth column on page 31 may have contained another numeral belonging to the series, the loss of which is not so serious a matter, but there may have been one or two hieroglyphs above it, the obliteration of which is greatly to be deplored.
Pages 32a—39a.
This is a large section extending over eight pages, which is difficult of interpretation owing to the prevailing disorder and because a large part of the hieroglyphs are effaced. Here, too, the principal subject is the god B, who is represented in manifold activity. A series of numbers extends through the entire representation. I read them as follows:—
There are thus 18 divisions, the different lengths of which reveal no rule. They embrace 208 days,i.e., 2 × 104, which may well be considered as a continuation of the computation in the preceding section, of which the 104 was so important anumber. The red numbers are entirely lacking in the beginning, then they are very slightly indicated, and finally they are distinctly written out on pages 36-39. I assume that the scribe has set down the 4th, 3d and 2nd numbers from the end, one too little. The last number has been entirely omitted. I have supplied these omissions though in a manner somewhat different from that adopted by Cyrus Thomas, "Aids," p. 28. I would note in addition that a period such as this, consisting of 208 days = 16 weeks, might be explained in an entirely different way, if there were a column of five days at the left having a difference of 8 days; then the whole would signify four Tonalamatls. But there is no such series of days.
Another point of view presents itself, however. If we take cognizance of the fact that a group of four hieroglyphs usually belongs to a picture, then it is evident that here there are such groups not for 18, but for about 22 subdivisions. It may, therefore, be assumed that about four subdivisions averaging 13 days are not specified, in which case this passage would extend not over 208, but over 260 days. The very irregularity in the arrangement of these numbers is an argument in favor of this hypothesis; it may be occasioned by the fact, that the pictures do not correspond exactly to the subdivisions. For the present, however, we shall discuss the single pictures assuming that there are 18 subdivisions.
1. Pages 32a-33a. Here at the very beginning it is uncertain whether the signs at the end of page 32 and at the beginning of page 33 are to be regarded as a single group of 8 hieroglyphs, as seems to follow from the numbers, or as two groups of 4 hieroglyphs each. At the end of page 32 we see two persons facing one another, one of whom, to be sure, is barely visible. The other wears a head-covering like a man's silk hat, similar to that worn by the priests on the inscriptions of Palenque. It is a remarkable fact that of the four hieroglyphs above these figures, 1, 2 and 4 (the last probably the god C) seem to have the sign for the west as a prefix, while the prefix of 3 (Imix) suggests the usual representation of the tortoise head. Below the persons there is a Kan sign, the prefix of which is also the sign for the west.
On page 33, B is represented walking and carrying the Caban sign in his hand. The first of the four hieroglyphs is the sign for B, the second is Imix, probably again with the sign for the west as a prefix, the third is an Akbal sign with Kin, and the fourth is the cross-hatched sign with Kan.
2. The rest of 33a is occupied by two persons, one of whom is clad in a gala mantle, but neither admit of further identification. They are occupied in fishing, inasmuch as they are sitting on the shore of a body of water and are either casting a net or drawing it in. There is a fish between them and above it is a vessel with something apparently cooking in it. Of the 8 hieroglyphs belonging to this picture, only the following are distinguishable:—the 1st containing an Akbal, the 3d, which is the common crossbwith a 9, the 4th, an Imix also with 9, and of the 7th only the prefix Yax. The 3d and 4th appear again on page 35a, 28 days later.
3. Page 34, like page 3, represents a human sacrifice. The victim, very vaguely drawn, lies on a step-shaped sacrificial stone, or on the pyramid of a teocalli. There is a Caban (earth) sign between the sacrifice and the pyramid, and also on the walls of the buildings; the shrieking of the victim is plainly indicated. As on page 3, there are four persons in the form of gods surrounding the sacrifice, but here they are different ones. The one at the left above is the black god (L?), holding the rattle-stick (Seler, "Mittelamer. Musikinstrumente," p. 111), and at the right, above, F, the companion of the death-god, is sitting with a rattle in his hand. Below, the two have changed places, F is on the left and L on the right. The former is beating the drum and the latter blowing a wind-instrument. The sounds emitted by the two instruments are represented by drawings. This may, therefore, be regarded as an instrumental quartette. The following objects are also in this picture:—at the left above is a vessel the contents of which are cooking; at the left below, another vessel with three Kan signs, and at the right above, a Kan sign with a bird's head and below the food known to us from pages 27b and 29b. These four objects refer to the sacrificial feast. Lastly, at the bottom on the right there is a ladder, probably intended for scaling the pyramid. Ten hieroglyphs inthe upper line belong to this picture:—the first, which is effaced, is followed by a Cauac, then comes the crossb, then a Cimi appropriate to the sacrifice, and lastly a head with an Akbal eye, probably D's. The first sign in the lower row is likewise destroyed, the second sign is a Kan, the next is the crossb, both having a different prefix, then here too is the hieroglyph of B with Yax as a prefix, and the last is an unknown sign.
4 and 5. Page 35a. According to the numbers there are two sections here, but neither the pictures nor the hieroglyphs can with certainty be assigned to either. On the left is a house in which C sits holding a Kan sign in his hand; on the roof, as if guarding him, and also holding a Kan sign, lies the god B. In the Cort. 24b-25b, there are six gods lying on houses, within which other gods are also represented in a recumbent position. Then follow two vessels, again denoting the sacrificial feast, the contents of which are probably cooking, and which, from the sign on the second, are probably liquid. Above these are three others, one with the Cimi sign (human flesh?), one with a bird and the third with the haunch of venison. At the right of these is an implement, which is unfamiliar to me and is similar to that held in the god's hand on pages 5c and 6c. And quite on the right sits B with foot-prints pictured below him and on his clothing.
The hieroglyphs on page 35, when they were all legible, numbered 14 and were arranged in two rows. 4 of the upper row are preserved, the lower part of the first is a year-sign (?), similar to that which often appears on pages 25-28, the upper element is the cross, and the prefix is the one resembling a leaf, which occurs so frequently. The second sign is an Imix with a prefixed 9, the third a cross and the fourth a head (probably D's) with Akbal. In the second row there is a cross with a prefixed 9 (sign of the second or third month?). These two signs with the prefixed 9 are perhaps to be read as a calendar date IX Imix 9 Zip (1 Ix), as on page 33a. Ix, however, belongs to the west, which is the predominant cardinal point from 32a onward. The second sign is a compound of Kin and Akbal (day and night) which often occurs here, the third is the compound of the Moan and Caban signs with the number 1 above each, andthe fourth is the hieroglyph of B. The fifth sign is unfamiliar to me. The sixth contains an Imix with the sign for the west as a prefix, and the seventh is effaced.
At this point the representations begin to display a more orderly arrangement.
6. Page 36a. Here the head of B forms the head of a serpent (cf. pages 61 and 62) represented in pouring rain, while on page 35b it is emerging from the water. Of the four hieroglyphs 1 and 2 are entirely and 3 for the most part destroyed, and 4 is the usual Kan-Imix.
7. The lightning-beast with flames pouring forth from his forepaws and tail, is plunging down from the rectangle, which primarily designates stars and then the sky in general. This rectangle occurs for the first time here, but will often be met with later. Here it may be a combination of Mars and Venus. Of the four hieroglyphs, 1 is effaced, 2 is a compound of Kan and Kin, 3 a head with Akbal and Kin (D?) with the uplifted arm as a prefix, and 4, corresponding with the picture, is the compound of the rain sign Cauac with the prefix of the storm-god K.
8. Here B himself is the bringer of lightning. In one hand he holds a burning torch and flames are bursting from his carrying-frame. The third hieroglyph is his sign. It is doubtful whether the fourth is the hatchet (machete) or is not rather intended for an ear pierced for the purpose of ritual blood-letting, as on pages 44b and 45b; the first and second signs are rather indistinct.
9. Page 37a. Unless I am entirely mistaken, B is here represented with his arms bound behind his back. Cf. the pictures on page 2, top, and 60, bottom. Are the ends of the rope fluttering in front of the god intended to render this still more plain? Hieroglyph 1 contains the signt, which resembles, but is not the same as, the year sign. This sign has already occurred frequently, especially on pages 25a-28a, and the last time on page 35 in the first hieroglyph. As on page 35, hieroglyph 4 is the compound Kin-Cauac, but here it is joined to the year-sign,i.e., it denotes the Kin-Cauac year, just as it does on page 26a. 3 is again Cauac and 2 is the hieroglyph for B.
10. Rain is falling from the heavenly shield, already seen on page 36, here however designating different planets (Mars andMercury?) and the figure represented in the rain is the one which we have already seen on pages 12c, 17a and 21c. It is that of the old Uayeyab god N with a hatchet in one hand and an unfamiliar object in the other like the one on page 39a, and with another unknown object on his back shaped like a shield marked with a Kin. That this figure is really meant to represent N follows from the fourth hieroglyph (which, however, is not his regular sign 5 Zac), which is repeated on the head of the figure. The lower part of the hieroglyph is replaced by the year-sign just as it is in the hieroglyph on page 47, left, middle. The third hieroglyph contains 2 Caban signs, the first and second cannot be clearly identified.
11. This is a deity which I hardly think appears elsewhere. It has an animal's head resembling that of a bear, thus recalling page 7a, and it also has the paws of a bear. Of the hieroglyphs only a Kin-Akbal is recognizable.
12. Page 38a. Here we have another heavenly shield (Mars and Venus?) and under this shield B is represented seated and strangely enough facing himself, the figures not being back to back as on page 68a. Hieroglyphs 1 to 3 are wholly and 4, which is a head, is for the most part destroyed.
13. B is here represented in very close connection with a female figure. Cf. pages 21c-23c. The representation on page 68b is a still closer parallel to this passage. The first hieroglyph is destroyed for the most part, the second is B, the third is probably only a determinative of the latter, but has the sign for the west, and the fourth is Kan-Imix.
14. B holding a Kan sign is sitting on an object, which may be meant for the stone on which the idols were set up at the change of the year. Of the hieroglyphs the third is again B, and the fourth is probably the frequent signa. The first sign is the most remarkable. In the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, Vol. XXIII, p. 147, I stated that this was the sign for the change of the year, which is its meaning on pages 41b, 52b and 68a. The Kan year follows here after the Cauac year of page 37. The prefix of the sign is the hieroglyph for the east to which the Kan years belong. The Kan sign in B's hand also corresponds to this. The second hieroglyph is destroyed.
15. Page 39. The picture represents the lightning-beast with two flaming torches walking under the heavenly shield (Mercury and Jupiter?). Of the hieroglyphs the third belongs to B, the fourth has as a prefix the sign of the storm-god K, but otherwise admits as little of determination as do the first and second.
16. Here we see B in the rain holding in one hand a machete, and in the other a strange implement similar to that on page 37a. Of the hieroglyphs the second was the god's sign, the third isa, and the fourth may be an Akbal sign with Kin. The first sign somewhat suggests the sign for the Moan; its prefix is curious.
17. Here in place of the picture and the superscription, owing perhaps to lack of space and in order not to omit the last picture, we have a vertical row of seven hieroglyphs interrupted between the sixth and seventh by the red and black numeral belonging here. The top sign is effaced and the second is B's. I will not venture to determine the third, which contains a Yax. Could it belong to the serpent deity H? The fourth is probably Kan-Imix and the fifth is indistinct. And the same is true of the sixth, the prefix of which we have already met with as the sixteenth hieroglyph on page 24, and shall meet with again on pages 53, 56, 58, 61, etc. The seventh sign, which is quite at the bottom, consists of a vessel with a foot-print beneath it; it seems to be in the place of the picture.
18. The entire section ends with a picture of B, who carries the hatchet and probably the copal pouch. The hieroglyphs are wholly obliterated.
Pages 40a—41a.
The following Tonalamatl, one of the form of 10 × 26, has suffered much from the carelessness of the scribe and from injury. I have attempted to restore it as follows:—
The first row should be read from top to bottom, and then the second in the same order.
The six subdivisions all refer to some activity of B. Among the 6 × 4 hieroglyphs his sign occurs five times as the fourth and only in the last group as the third. Let us now examine the six groups individually.
1. B is traversing the water in a canoe, as on pages 29c and 40c, with the paddle in his hand. All the hieroglyphs belonging to him are obliterated.
2. B is sitting on the laterally elongated headq, which here, as on page 69, is enlarged and drawn with special care. Seler ("Charakter der aztekischen, etc. Handschrift" in the Zeitschrift für Ethnologie, 1888, p. 83) discusses this sign in connection with the day Men. It seems to me to denote unlucky days, the influence of which may here be checked by B. B holds in his hand a hatchet. The head (q) is repeated in the third sign, perhaps also in the second, and the superfix of these two signs is probably the same as that of the sign beneath the picture of B. The first sign is mostly destroyed.
3. As on pages 30a and 31c, and again just as on page 69a, B is sitting on the tree of life or sacrificial tree. A branch of this, which he grasps in one hand, ends in a serpent-head, and the root of the tree also represents B's head. Around the god's head are again the familiar dots, probably signifying stars. Of the hieroglyphs, the first is probablyf, the second is destroyed, the third may be a variant ofa, although it recalls the sign which, I believe, has the meaning of 73 days on pages 46-50; the prefix of 1 also suggests this meaning.
4. B's head is again surrounded by stars and he holds in one hand the outline of a hieroglyph. He is sitting on a peculiar ornamented structure resembling the crenelations of a wall. This wall displays the spiral which we found also on pages 33b-35b, and which in the treatise, "Zur Maya-Chronologie" (Zeitschrift für Ethnologie XXIII, p. 147), I regarded as an abbreviation for a serpent and hence as a symbol of time. It is further to be noted that B is wet with rain and with this the third hieroglyph is in keeping, if it is actually intended to denote the rainy season and not the week of 13 days ("Zur Entzifferung" V, 6); still the red numeral 13 below is more in keeping with the second meaning. The second sign is an Ahauwith the leaf-shaped prefix, which also appears in the first sign of the third group. The first is effaced.
5. B, represented with a gala mantle hanging down in front and with the copal pouch, is sitting on a head, which looks like his own, especially as to the eyes, but which notwithstanding probably belongs to D and is marked with Ik (wind) and Cauac (cumulus clouds). Of the hieroglyphs the first and second do not admit of positive identification, and the third is Kan-Imix.
6. The god is sitting on a mat in a house. All the hieroglyphs except his own are obliterated.
Pages 42a—44a.
Another Tonalamatl of the form of 10 × 26; I have restored the effaced day-signs as follows:—
Thus the month days are the same as in the preceding Tonalamatl, but should be read in a different order:—Oc, Cib, Ik, Lamat, etc.
Here each of the 8 subdivisions has 6 hieroglyphs, and the order is as follows:—
A few of these signs are common to all the groups. Thus the first sign (v), as far as what remains is distinguishable, seems to occur in all the groups. It has the leaf-shaped prefix, but I cannot understand the rest of it; we shall find it again several times on pages 29c-41c.
Again the sign in the sixth place, as far as we can see, is always the head without an underjaw and the tuft of hair tied up on top of it (O, according to Schellhas), which we found above on page 25 and which we shall meet again on pages 65-69 no less than 13 times, with regular intervals of 6 signs between them. Indeed that passage is a remarkable parallel to this one.
That the sign for B, who here too plays the most important part, occurs often, is self-evident. It appears in the fourthplace, in the 1st, 3d, 4th, and 7th groups, and in the third of the 8th group; in the 6th group it is destroyed. In the 2nd and 5th groups B has neither picture nor sign.
The hieroglyphs of the cardinal points I shall mention in connection with the separate groups. They are especially conspicuous in this section, being sometimes represented in full and sometimes in an abbreviated form as mere prefixes.
1. B with arms crossed sits above a serpent denoting time, and holding in its coils the crossb, which so often refers to astronomical conditions. Above the head of the serpent is the vessel with the three Kan signs, which we have already found several times on pages 25-28. It is remarkable that the flourish, which usually appears as the nose-ornament of the sun-god G (e.g., pages 11b and c), is added to these Kan signs. As the stars are again indicated on B's head, he plainly denotes a time-god here. The third hieroglyph, the sign of the east, corresponds with this meaning, and the Kan sign, which we see in the fifth hieroglyph probably combined with Ahau, also belongs to the east; the prefix of the fourth hieroglyph is the sign for the west.
2. A deity whom we shall probably have to call F, the god of human sacrifice, is sitting on a stepped pyramidal structure (a teocalli as a place of sacrifice?). He holds something in his hands, resembling a long and broad scroll, joined to which is the head of the god of the north, C, and in the third hieroglyph of this group the sign for the north also appears, prefixed to the head of F, who seems to be repeated in the fourth hieroglyph. The fifth hieroglyph with an Imix is unintelligible to me.
3. Page 43. B is sitting in the water, the copal pouch hangs from his neck and the hatchet is raised as if ready to attack. The second hieroglyph clearly denotes water, while the third is the sign for the west and the fourth is the sign for B, its prefix being the sign for the east abbreviated; the order of the cardinal points is thus exactly the reverse of that in the first group. The fifth hieroglyph is not clear to me, but it appears to be repeated in the same place in the next group.
4. B is sitting here astride a sort of bench again holding the hatchet in his hand. Belonging to this picture in the thirdhieroglyph is the sign for the south, which is repeated in an abbreviated form in the fourth hieroglyph.
The fifth is Kan, joined to what appears to be the same sign as the one found in this place in the preceding group. The second sign is indistinct.
5. This is an aged deity, probably M according to Schellhas, seated on an indefinite object. In front of the deity is a Cauac sign, which contains exactly the same cumulus clouds as those in the sign 5 Zac, which belongs to N. Cauac, however, belongs to the south, and therefore corresponds with the north of the second group on page 42. Sign 5, a Kan, corresponds exactly with the same sign in the fifth place of the preceding group.
6. Page 44. B seems to be in a state of collapse. Behind him is a second person, who is either trying to support him or to pull him up by some kind of a sling. I think the second person is E, the grain-deity, if it is not Seler's young god. If the hieroglyphs were not completely effaced, they would probably shed some light on this interesting passage.
7. Here we see B, holding a fish in his hand, and sitting on a hieroglyph, which is compounded of Imix and a prefix, which resembles the tortoise head and which appeared once before in this combination on page 32a. This passage recalls page 40a, where B is seated on the laterally elongated headq. Nothing more can be said of the hieroglyphs, than that 6 is the head without an underjaw.
8. B is sitting here in a house; his sign in the third place has Yax as a prefix. Hieroglyph 5, with the number 4 prefixed, recalls the one which we found on page 21c belonging to the baldheaded old man. Hieroglyph 4 is the common Kan-Imix.
Page 45a.
The last page on the front of the first section of this Manuscript is used for a series, which presents itself as a second improved edition of the series which was found on pages 31a-32a. The very fact that the writing is so much better proclaims it an amendment. The chief aim of both series is the same, viz:—to bring into unison the numbers 91, 104, 260 and 364. But the two series gain this end by different means. On page 32 theseries begins with 91, and at first has only 91 as a difference, until with 728 a multiple of 104 and 364 is obtained, then it returns to the simple difference 91, in 1456 it obtains again the 104 and 364, loses these two last numbers once more in 1820 and finally in 3640 obtains the desired multiple of all four numbers, which is retained in 7280, 14,560, 21,840 and 29,120. The series on page 45a proceeds much more briefly. It begins at once with 728 (91, 104, 364), loses the 104 in 1092, gains the 260 and loses the 104 in 1820, arrives at divisibility by all four numbers in the 3640, loses the 104 again in 5460, but then comes to a standstill after having obtained the same multiples (double at that) of 3640, which I mentioned just now in the preceding series. Indeed it can be seen from what is legible in the third column above, that the series went still further. But so much is obliterated that I have obtained the numbers 14,560 and 21,840 in both series only by conjecture.
In the earlier passage the starting-point of the series is the day XIII Akbal and in the one before us it is the day XIII Oc. In the former the days specified were 91 days apart from each other, and here they are separated by 104,i.e., XIII Ezanab, XIII Ik, XIII Cimi, XIII Oc.
The initial days of the two series, XIII Oc-XIII Akbal, are separated by 13 days, and the reversed series, XIII Akbal-XIII Oc, by 247 days. Hence the subject of both passages is essentially the week of thirteen days,i.e., the year of 364 (28 × 13) days.
Now this series is also accompanied by a number amounting to millions. It is in the second column of page 45; only, in order to understand it, we must add a zero as the bottom figure; then it becomes 1,278,420. XIII Oc stands below this number as the beginning of the series. The first column has 30 as an encircled number and below it the normal day IV Ahau.
The large number must have been formed as follows:—
The point of departure was 230, the interval between IV Ahau and XIII Oc, to this was added 98 × 260 = 25,480, the sum being 25,710. The result of this number added to 11 Ahau-Katuns = 1,252,680, was 1,278,390, which number is notrevealed in the Manuscript. It is concealed in XIII Oc 3 Mol (2 Muluc). But 1,278,390 = 42,613 × 30,i.e., it is divisible by the interval XIII Oc-IV Ahau.
Now if we add to this large number the 30 set down in the Manuscript, the result will be the above-mentioned 1,278,420. This number in the Manuscript has the date IV Ahau 13 Chen. (2 Muluc). It is, of course, divisible by 30 and by 260, hence = 42,614 × 30 and 4917 × 260. It corresponds not merely in this respect with the largest number on page 31a, viz:—2,804,100, but also with regard to its divisibility by 78, 156, 195, which are all multiples of 13.
On page 45a, top left, there were doubtless five hieroglyphs, of which the two topmost ones are effaced. First we see only the sign of the eleventh or twelfth month, Zac or Ceh, with an uncertain number prefixed, then the signs for beginning and end are distinctly legible. Ceh begins and Zac ends the year of 364 days; see page 4 of my treatise "Zur Entzifferung V."
Pages 29b—30b.
We come now to the middle section of pages 29-45, in which we shall not be so hampered by obliteration in our attempts at interpretation, as we were in the upper section.
We have here first a Tonalamatl of the usual kind, arranged as follows:—
That is to say, the 52 days divided into four equal parts.
To these four divisions, as on page 23b, belong the four usual forms of animal food, which are joined in three places to Kan (bread) and probably denote sacrifice. They are, first a mammal, which, however, is erroneously represented by a fish; second, a fish, third an iguana and lastly a bird. I would add, that in the hieroglyphs above, the east, north, west and south correspond in turn with these representations of food.
The hieroglyphs are arranged as follows:—
Of these, 2, 6, 10 and 14 are the cardinal points just mentioned; 4, 8, 12 and 16 are the sign for B, and 1, 5, 9 and 13 are the head with the tuft of hair and the Akbal eye to which I attribute the meaning ofbeginning. Likewise the remaining four signs, 3, 7, 11 and 15, although they are not exactly alike, have something in common, the 15th being a distinct Imix; they are not yet wholly intelligible to me.
Four pictures of B belong to these hieroglyphs. In the first the god is seated with crossed arms on two of the ordinary astronomical signs (Jupiter and Mars?). In the second, where he is pointing forward with his hand, there are footprints on his seat, as, for example, on page 35a. In the third the seat contains the usual cumulus clouds in clusters. Finally, in the fourth, he is seated on the tree of life or of sacrifice, the hatchet is in his hand and he is clad in the gala mantle; cf. pages 31c, 40a, 69a.
Pages 30b—31b.
This passage is in some respects closely related to the preceding Tonalamatl, but in other respects it differs significantly from this and from what is usual, for the Tonalamatl is divided here into only four principal divisions of 65 days each, which begin very regularly with the days VIII Oc, VIII Men, VIII Ahau and VIII Chicchan. There are neither subdivisions nor the usual pictures belonging to them. But on the other hand each of the longer periods of time written down here have eight hieroglyphs for each section in the usual order.
B's sign occupies the places 6, 4, 4 and 4; from this it follows that here too he forms the principal subject.
Here, as in the preceding Tonalamatl, the first place in each group contains the sign denoting beginning, while the eighth sign is invariably the head without an underjaw, which seems to me to refer tofasting, as if a fast-day fell at the end of every 65 days.
In the fifth place we see in succession the four animals, which in the preceding Tonalamatl are not included in the groups of hieroglyphs. Here they stand in the order of mammal, bird, amphibian and fish, but the bird in the second group is replaced by the sign which usually occurs with the dog (lightning-beast).
The signs in the second place are those of the cardinal points, and they are given in the same order as in the preceding Tonalamatl,i.e., east, north, west and south, so that they do not belong to the same animals as they do there.
The third signs are the cardinal points again, but in the abbreviated form discovered first by Schellhas, and in a different order:—west, north, east and south, and always joined to the head of C around which everything revolves as around the polar star. The Kan sign with different accompanying signs occupies the seventh place in the first group, and the sixth in the other three.
Four signs still remain:—the fourth of the first group I am inclined to consider the abbreviated sign for the sun; the seventh of the second, rain with the sign for the west as a prefix; the seventh of the third, Caban, ground, with the sign for the east as a prefix; the seventh of the fourth is Kan with the Yax sign above it, probably denoting the vegetable kingdom.
Pages 31b—35b.
This entire passage is devoted to a single Tonalamatl, which is divided and written out in an unusual manner. Like the preceding it is divided into four parts of 65 days each, but the remarkable thing about it is that these divisions of 65 days are each subdivided into two periods of 46 and 19 days, and the 46 days again into eight unequal parts, which are exactly the same each time, while the 19 days run their course without further subdivision. On pages 33, 34 and 35 this 19 is always on the left at the bottom, on page 32 it is wanting, probably because it was self-evident and there was no suitable place for it.
We shall next discuss the division of these four periods of 46 days each. This division is indicated with especial exactness on these pages, since not merely the length of the separatedivisions and the week days are specified, but also the month days. This representation has the additional peculiarity, that the two columns on each page must be read from bottom to top, and of each group of two days standing side by side, the one on the right is to be read first and then the one on the left. If the Tonalamatl were written in the usual manner, it would have the following form:—
Instead of this we read in greater detail as follows (the pages and the statedlengthof time are in parentheses):—
In spite of the seemingly wholly irregular division of time, the following relation, which is certainly not accidental, results from this arrangement:—the first of the eight members of each row is one of the days which may begin the year and the months, and the eighth, on the other hand, one of the four regents of the year. The remaining six members are the remaining 12 of the 20 days repeated twice and the second always corresponds with the fifth of its own series, and the third to the sixth and the fourth to the seventh of the following series.