Notes on Certain Maya and Mexican Manuscripts Part 11

I take for granted, therefore, that the year _Acatl_ or Cane applies to the top or red loop. This, I am aware, necessitates commencing the year with 1 c.i.p.actli, thus apparently contradicting the statement of Gemelli that the Tochtli year began with c.i.p.actli. But it must be borne in mind that this author expressly proceeds upon the theory that the counting of the years began in the south with Tochtli. If the count began with 1 Cane, as both the expounder of the Vatican Codex and Duran affirm, c.i.p.actli would be the first day of this year, as it appears evident from the day lists in the Codices that the first year of all the systems commenced with this day. That Acatl was a.s.signed to the east is affirmed by all authorities save Boturini, and this agrees very well with the plate now under consideration. There is one statement made by the expounder of the Vatican Codex which not only enables us to understand his confused explanation, but indicates clearly the kind of painting he had in view, and tends to confirm the opinion here advanced.

He says that "to signify the first day of the world they painted a figure like the moon," &c. Let us guess this to be c.i.p.actli, as nothing of the kind named is to be found. The next figure was a cane; their third figure was a serpent; their fourth, earthquake (Ollin); their fifth, water. "These five signs they placed in the _upper part_, which they called _Tlacpac_, that is to say, the _east_." That he does not mean that these days followed each other consecutively in counting time must be admitted. That he saw them placed in this order in some painting may be inferred with positive certainty. It is also apparent that they are the five days of the first column in the arrangement of the Mexican days shown in Table No. XI, though not in the order there given, which is as follows:

Dragon, Snake, Water, Cane, Movement.

The order in which they are placed by this author is this:

Dragon? Cane, Serpent, Movement, Water.

Which, by referring to page 35, we find to be precisely the same as that of the five days wedged in between the loops in the _upper_ left-hand corner of Plate 44 of the Fejervary Codex; thus agreeing in order and position with this author's statement. Duran, as we have seen, also places the east at the top. The same thing is true in regard to the calendar wheel from the book of Chilan Balam hereafter shown.

Accordingly, I conclude that the top of this plate--the red loop--will be east; the left-hand or yellow loop, north; the bottom or blue loop, west, and the right-hand or green loop, south. This also brings the year Acatl to the east, Tecpatl to the north, Calli to the west, and Tochtli to the south. As the commencement was afterwards changed to Tochtli, as we are informed by Chavero (and as appears to be the case in the Borgian Codex), it would begin at the south, just as stated by Gemelli and other early writers, who probably refer to the system in vogue at the time of the conquest.

Shultz-Sellack[TN-18] alludes to this plate in his article heretofore quoted, but considers the red loop the south, notwithstanding his a.s.signment of red among the Aztecs to the east. He was led to this conclusion, I presume, by two facts: First, the close proximity of the fourth column of days to this red loop, and second, the figure of the sun at the foot of the tree or cross, the sun of the first creation having made its appearance, according to Mexican mythology, in the south. But it is far more likely that the artist intended here to be true to known phenomena rather than to a tradition which was in contradiction to them. The presence of this figure _above_ the horizon is, I think, one of the strongest possible proofs that this part of the plate denotes the east.

According to Gemelli[44] the south was denoted by a "blue field," and the symbol Tochtli; east by a red field, and the symbol Acatl; the north by a "yellow field," and the symbol Tecpatl, and the west by a "green field," and the symbol Calli. In this plate we have precisely the colors he mentions, red in the east, and yellow in the north, but green is at the south, and blue at the west.

Sahagun remarks[45] that "at the end of fifty-two years the count came back to _Cetochtliacatl_ (one-Rabbit-Cane), which is the figure of the reed dedicated to the east, which they called _Tlapcopcopa_ and _Tlavilcopa_, nearly towards the fire or sun."[46]

This language is peculiar and important, and indicates that he had a Mexican painting similar to the plate now under discussion before him, in which the year symbols were at the _corners_ instead of at the _sides_. On this supposition only can we understand his use of the term "_Cetochtli-acatl_," and the expression "nearly towards the fire," &c.

His use of the term "fire" in this connection undoubtedly indicates red.

His language is therefore in entire harmony with what we find on this plate.

According to Gemelli and Chavero the element _earth_ was a.s.signed to the south; in this plate, in the right s.p.a.ce inclosed by the green loop, we see the great open jaws representing the earth out of which the tree arises. From a careful examination of this figure, so frequently found in this and other Mexican Codices, I am convinced it is used as the symbol of the grave and of the earth. The presence of this symbol and of the figure of death in this s.p.a.ce, as also the figures of the G.o.ds of death and the under world in the corresponding s.p.a.ce of the Cortesian plate, strongly inclined me for a time to believe that this should be considered the north, as in the Aztec superst.i.tions one cla.s.s of the dead was located in that region; but a more thorough study leads me to the conclusion that these figures are intended to represent the earth and to symbolize the fact that here is to be found the point where the old cycle ends and the new begins. I will refer to this again when I return to the description of the Cortesian plate.

All the authorities, except Boturini, refer the year Tecpatl or Flint to the north, which agrees with the theory I am advancing, and in the lower left-hand corner we find in the red circle the figure of a flint, which according to my arrangement applies to the north, represented by the yellow loop.

How, then, are we to account for the presence of this symbol on the head of the right figure in the red or eastern loop? Veytia says, "They (the Mexicans) gave to fire the first place as the most n.o.ble of all (the elements), and symbolized it by the flint." This I acknowledge presents a difficulty that I am unable to account for only on the supposition that this author has misinterpreted his authorities, for no one so far as I can find gives the "sun" or "age of fire" as the first, the only difference in this respect being as to whether the "sun of water" or the "sun of earth" was first. This difference I am inclined to believe (though without a thorough examination of the subject) arises chiefly from a variation of the cardinal point with which they commence the count, those starting at the south commencing with the element earth, those beginning at the east with water.[47] Not that the authors themselves always indicated these points, but that a proper interpretation of the original authorities would have resulted in this conclusion, supposing a proper adjustment of the different calendar systems of the Nahua nations to have been made. I think it quite probable that the artist who painted this plate, of the Fejervary Codex believed the first "sun" or "age" should be a.s.signed to the east, and that here the flint indicates origin, first creative power or that out of which the first creation issued, an idea which I believe is consonant with Nahua traditions. I may as well state here as elsewhere that notwithstanding the statement made by Gemelli and others that it was the belief or tradition of the Mexicans that the sun first appeared in the south, I am somewhat skeptical on this point.

Such a tradition might be possible in an extreme northern country, but it is impossible to conceive how it would have originated in a tropical region.

The calendar and religious observances were the great and all-absorbing topics of the Nahua nations, and hence it is to these, and especially the first, that we must look for an explanation of their paintings and sculpture, and not so much to the traditions given by the old Spanish authors.

Finally, the a.s.signment of the year symbols to the four points at which we find them was not, as these early authors supposed, because of their significance, but because in forming the circle of the days they fell at these points. This fact is so apparent from the plates of the Codices that it seems to me to forbid any other conclusion.

In the bottom, blue loop, which we call the west, we see two female figures, one of them with cross-bones on her dress. This agrees precisely with the statement of Sahagun heretofore given, to wit, "for they held the opinion that the dead women, who are G.o.ddesses, live in the west, and that the dead men, who are in the house of the sun, guide him from the east with rejoicings every day, until they arrive at midday, and that the defunct women, whom they regard as G.o.ddesses and call _Cioapipiltin_, come out from the west to receive him at midday (or south?), and carry him with rejoicing to the west." Before comparing with the plate of the Cortesian Codex, we call attention to some other plates of the Mexican Codices, in order to see how far our interpretation of the plates of the Fejervary Codex will be borne out.

Turning now to Plates 65 and 66 of the Vatican Codes B[48] (shown in our Plate IV), we observe four trees (or crosses) each with an individual clasping the trunk. One of these individuals is red, the other white, with slender red stripes and with the face black, another green, and the other black. On the top of each tree, except the one at the right, is a bird; on the right tree, or rather broad-leaved tropical plant, which is clasped by the black individual, is the figure of the tiger or rabbit.

As these are probably intended to represent the seasons (spring, summer, &c.), the ages, or the years, and consequently the cardinal points, let us see with what parts of the plate of the Fejervary Codex they respectively correspond.

By turning back to page 50 the reader will see that the days of the first column, viz, c.i.p.actli, Coatl, &c., or numbers 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 were referred to the east, the second column 2, 6, 8, 12, 16 to the north, &c. Each of the four trees has below it, in a line, five day characters.

Below the fourth one are Xochitl, Malinalli, Cuetzpalin, Cozcaquauhtli, and Tochtli, precisely those of the fourth column, and which, in accordance with our interpretation of the Fejervary Codex, are a.s.signed to the south.

Referring to the first or left-hand of these four groups, we observe that the clasping figure is red, and that the days in the line underneath are 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, those of the east, agreeing in all respects with our interpretation of the Fejervary plate.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PL. IV

COPY OF PLATE 65, VATICAN CODEX, _B_

COPY OF PLATE 66, VATICAN CODEX, _B_]

The days below the second group, with the white and red striped individual, are 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, indicating the north, and those below the third, with the green individual, 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, denoting the west.

So far the agreement with our theory of the other plate is perfect, but in this case we have taken the figures from the left to the right, this being, as we have seen in the _Tonalamatl_, or table of days, copied from this Codex, the direction in which they are to be read when in a line.

We notice also that the bird over the first tree, although differing in some respects from it, is the same as that in the top or red loop of the other plate, and that over the third tree the same as that in the blue or bottom loop, agreeing also in this respect.

From these facts we understand that the black figure is sometimes at least a.s.signed to the south.

I am fully aware of the difficulties to be met with in attempting to carry out this a.s.signment of colors, in explanation of other plates of this and other Codices, nor do I believe colors can be relied upon. They form some aid in the few plates of general application to the calendar, and where there are reasons, as in the cases given, to suppose the cardinal points will be indicated in some regular order. The same thing is true also in regard to the Ma.n.u.script Troano. For example, if we suppose character _a_ of Fig. 7 to denote the east, _b_ north, _c_ west, and _d_ south, we shall find them arranged in the following different ways:

______ ______ abcd cdab c b c a d a d b ______ ______

______ ______ a d c d c b a b ______ ______

Combine with these colors and other distinctive marks, then vary them in proportion, and we should have an endless variety, just as we see in the Mexican Codices. We can only hope to solve the problem, therefore, by selecting, after careful study, those plates which appear to have the symbols arranged in their normal order.

Turning to plate 43 of the Borgian Codex, we find it impossible to make it agree, either with the plate of the Fejervary Codex or the Vatican Codex. Here we find the days 1, 5, 9, 13, 17 a.s.sociated with the green figure in the lower left-hand square; 2, 6, 10, 14, 18 with the yellow figure in the lower right-hand square; 3, 7, 11, 15, and 19 with the black figure in the upper right-hand square, and 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 with the red figure in the upper left-hand square. What adds to the difficulty is the fact that the symbol of the _Cane_ accompanies the black figure, thus apparently indicating that this denotes the year Acatl. That these groups are to be taken in the same order as those of Plate 44 of the Fejervary Codex, that is around to the left, opposite the sun's course, is evident from the days and also from Plate 9 of this (Borgian) Codex, where the twenty days of the month are placed in a circle.

In this latter the order of the four years is indicated by the first days of the years, viz, _c.i.p.actli_, _Miquiztli_, _Ozomatli_, and _Cozcaquauhtli_ placed in blue circles at the corners in the following order:

-------------------------------- Ozomatli. Miquiztli. Cozcaquauhtli. c.i.p.actli. --------------------------------

In the lower right-hand corner of Plate 4, same Codex, is a square with the four quadrants very distinctly colored and arranged thus:

------------------- Yellow. Green. Blue. Red. -------------------

and a large red circle in the center, on the body of what is evidently intended as a symbol of _c.i.p.actli_. As this appears to be a figure of general application, we presume that it commences with _c.i.p.actli_, the day on which the cycles began. As the four names of the days with which the years began probably show, as arranged in the above square, their respective positions in the calendar wheel, I infer that, in their normal arrangement, _c.i.p.actli_ corresponded with the red, _Miquiztli_ with the green, _Ozomatli_ with the yellow, and _Cozcaquauhtli_ with the blue. This brings the colors in precise accordance with those on the cross in the lower right-hand square of Plate 43; and if we suppose the black figure to correspond with the blue it brings the colors in the same order, but the day groups are s.h.i.+fted around one point to the left.

It is probable therefore that this plate, like a number of others in the same Codex, is intended to denote the relation of colors and day groups to each other in some other than the first or normal year, or possibly to the seasons or the four Indications of the cycle.

But be this as it may, I do not think the difficulty in reconciling the arrangement of the colors and days in this Codex will warrant the rejection of our explanation of the plates of the other codices. That Plate 44 of the Fejervary Codex is one of general application must be admitted, as is also the "Table of the Bacabs" from the Cortesian Codex; and if the true a.s.signment to the cardinal points is made anywhere it will certainly be in these. Turning now to the latter, as shown in our Plate II, where the erased characters are restored, we note the following facts, and then with some general remarks conclude our paper, as we have no intention of entering upon a general discussion of the Mexican Calendar, which would be necessary if we undertook to explain fully even the plates of the codices we have referred to.

As before remarked, the Cortesian plate is arranged upon the same plan as that of the Fejervary Codex, evidently based upon the same theory and intended for the same purpose. In the latter the four year symbols are placed in the outer looped line at the four corners, and so distinguished as to justify us in believing they mark their respective quadrants. In the former we find the four Maya year-bearers, Cauac, Kan, Muluc, Ix, in corresponding positions, each distinguished by the numeral character for 1 (see 31, 1, 11, and 21 in our scheme, Fig. 2), the first, or the right, corresponding with the green loop and the year Tochtli; the second, at the top, corresponding with the red loop and the year Acatl; the third, at the left, corresponding with the yellow loop and the year Tecpatl, and the fourth, at the bottom, corresponding with the blue loop and the year Calli. This brings Cauac to the south, Kan to the east, Muluc to the north, and Ix to the west, and the correspondence is complete, except as to the colors, which, as we have seen, cannot possibly be brought into harmony. This view is further sustained by the fact that the G.o.d of death is found on the right of each plate, not for the purpose of indicating the supposed abode of the dead, but to mark the point at which the cycles close, which is more fully expressed in the Cortesian plate by piercing or dividing the body of a victim with a flint knife[49] marked with the symbol of Ezanab (the last day of the Ix years) and the symbol of Ymix, with which, in some way not yet understood, the counting of the cycles began.

In the quotation already made from Sahagun we find the following statement: "Tecpatl, which is the figure of a flint, was dedicated to _Mictlampa_, nearly towards h.e.l.l, because they believed that the dead went towards the north. For which reason, in the superst.i.tion which represented the dead as covered with mantas (cloths) and their bodies bound, they made them sit with their faces turned toward the north or _Mictlampa_."

Although he is referring to Mexican customs, yet it is worthy of note that in this Cortesian plate there is a sitting mummied figure, bound with cords, in the left s.p.a.ce, which, according to my interpretation, is at the north side.

Since the foregoing was written I have received from Dr. D. G. Brinton a photo lithograph of the "wheel of the Ah-cuch-haab" found in the book of Chilan Balam, which he has kindly allowed me to use. This is shown in Fig. 9.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 9.--Calendar wheel from book of Chilan Balam.]

In this (smaller circle) we see that Kan is placed at the top of the cross, denominated _Lakin_, or east; Cauac at the right, _Nohol_, or south; Muluc at the left, _Xaman_, or north; and Hiix at the bottom, _Chikin_, or west.

Although this shows the marks of Spanish or foreign influence, yet it affords corroborative evidence of the correctness of the view advanced.

The upper and larger circle is retained only to show that the reading was around to the left, as in the Cortesian plate.

This result of our investigations, I repeat, forces us to the conclusion that _a_, Fig. 7, is the symbol for east, as stated in my former work, _b_ of north, _c_ of west, and _d_ of south.