Notes on Certain Maya and Mexican Manuscripts Part 2

Kan. Chicchan. Cimi. Manik.

Lamat. Muluc. Oc. Chuen.

Eb. Been. Ix. Men.

Cib. Caban. Ezanab. Cauac.

Ahau. Ymix. Ik. Akbal.

If we commence with any other day the groups will contain respectively the same days, as, for example, if we begin with Ymix as here shown (Table IV).

As I am inclined to believe the author of the plate adopted this order I shall use and refer to this table in speaking of these groups.

TABLE IV.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Ymix. Ik. Akbal. Kan.

Chicchan. Cimi. Manik. Lamat.

Muluc. Oc. Chuen. Eb.

Been. Ix. Men. Cib.

Caban. Ezanab. Cauac. Ahau.

Examining the five names in the third column we find they are the same as those in the bottom line of the quadrilateral of the plate, and also in the same order. Those of the second column are the same as those in the left column of the plate, though not precisely in the same order; those in the first column the same as those in the top line of the plate, except that in our column we have Caban in place of Eb; and those in the fourth column the same as those in the right column of the plate, except that in our column we have Eb instead of Caban. I am satisfied, therefore, that the artist who made the plate has transposed the characters Eb and Caban; that in place of Eb, the left-hand character of the upper line, there should be Caban, and in place of Caban, the middle character of the right column, there should be Eb, and have made this change in my scheme (Fig. 2) and in Plate II.

This, I admit, has the appearance of making an arbitrary change to suit a theory; but besides the strong evidence in favor of this change shown by the arrangement of the days in four columns just given, I propose to present other testimony.

That the characters here interpreted _Eb_ and _Caban_ are the same as those given by Landa, and in the Ma.n.u.script Troano we have positive evidence in the tortous[TN-6] line in the outer s.p.a.ce, of which we have already given an explanation. Hence there is no escape from the difficulty by supposing the artist had reversed the characters in their reference to the names. Either he has reversed them as to place, or we are mistaken in our supposition as to how the four groups were obtained.

If we turn, now, to the Ma.n.u.script Troano, and examine the day columns, comparing them with these four groups as I have corrected them by this single transposition, I think we shall find one clue at least to the object of the arrangement we observe on this plate. As but few are likely to have the Ma.n.u.script at hand, I will refer to Chapter VII of my work (_A Study of the Ma.n.u.script Troano_), where a large number of these day columns are given. In making the comparison I ask the reader to use my scheme (Fig. 2). Commencing with the first column on page 165, we find it to be Manik, Cauac, Chuen, Akbal, Men, precisely the same days as in the bottom line. The next two on the same page are first Akbal, Muluc, Men, Ymix, Manik, and second, Ben, Cauac, Chicchan, Chuen, Caban, taken alternately from the bottom and top lines of the quadrilateral.

On the lower part of the same page (165) is another column with the following days, Ahau, Oc, Eb, Ik, Kan, Ix, Cib, Cimi, Lamat, taken alternately from the right and left sides of the plate as given in our scheme. But there are only nine names in the column, when the order in which they are taken would seem to require ten. By examining the plate (IV) in the Ma.n.u.script the reader will see that there are indications that one at the top has been obliterated. By examining the right and left columns of our scheme we see that the omitted one is Ezanab. By counting the intervals between the days, as explained in my work, we find them to be alternately two and ten, and that by this rule the missing day is Ezanab. The reader will notice in these examples that Eb and Caban belong to the positions I have given them in my scheme (Fig.

2).

Turning to page 166 we find the first column (from "second division,"

Plate IV) to be Kan, Cib, Lamat, Ahau, Eb, the same days as in the right column of our scheme. The second column, Cauac, Chuen, Akbal, Men, Manik, the same as the lower line of the scheme. The first column on page 167 has the same days as the right column of the plate, as corrected in my scheme and our Plate II. The second column of this page presents a new combination. We have so far found the names of a day column all in a single group or line of our plate, or taken alternately from opposite sides; here we find them taken alternately from each of the four sides of the quadrilateral moving around to the left in the order I have heretofore explained. The days in this column are Caban, Ik, Manik, Eb, Caban. One is taken from the upper line (as corrected), then one from the left side, next from the bottom line, then from the right side (as corrected), and then the same from the top line.

It is unnecessary for me to give more examples, as the reader can make the comparison for himself; and he will, as I believe, find my theory sustained.

The only real objection I can see to my explanation of the arrangement of the days in this circle is the fact that it necessitates the transposition of two characters, but it is not unreasonable to suppose that the artist may have made this one mistake.

Fortunately we find on Plates 18 and 19 of the Codex Peresia.n.u.s[1][TN-7]

what appears to be a complete confirmation of the theory here advanced.

This is a kind of tabular arrangement of certain days, with accompanying numbers, as shown in our Fig. 3, which is an exact copy of those portions of Plates 18 and 19 of the Codex Peresia.n.u.s, to which I refer.

I also give in Table V the names of the days and the numbers corresponding with the symbols and characters of Fig. 3. In this table the erased days and obliterated numerals are restored, these being in italics to distinguish them from those on the plate.

TABLE V.

_10. Kan._ 8. Cib. 6. Lamat. 4. Ahau. 2. Eb.

_10. Lamat._ 8. Ahau. 6. Eb. 4. Kan. 2. Cib.

_10. Eb._ 8. Kan. 6. Cib. 4. Lamat. 2. Ahau.

_10. Cib._ 8. Lamat. 6. Ahau. 4. Eb. 2. Kan.

_10. Ahau._ 8. Eb. 6. Kan. 4. Cib. 2. Lamat.

13. _Kan._ _11. Cib._ 9. Lamat. 7. Ahau. 5. Eb.

13. _Lamat._ _11. Ahau._ 9. Eb. 7. Kan. 5. Cib.

13. _Eb._ _11. Kan._ 9. Cib. 7. Lamat. 5. Ahau.

13. _Cib._ _11. Lamat._ 9. Ahau. 7. Eb. 5. Kan.

13. _Ahau._ _11. Eb._ 9. Kan. 7. Cib. 5. Lamat.

3. Kan. 1. _Cib._ _12. Lamat._ 3. Lamat. 1. _Ahau._ _12. Eb._ 3. Eb. 1. _Kan._ _12. Cib._ 3. Cib. 1. _Lamat._ _12. Ahau._ 3. Ahau. 1. _Eb._ _12. Kan._

An inspection of this table shows us that the five days repeated in each column are the same as those on the right of the quadrilateral of our scheme (Fig. 2), and are exactly in the order obtained by arranging the days of the month in four columns in the manner heretofore shown. (See column 4, Table IV.)

If I am correct in my supposition, we then have one clue to, if not a full explanation of, the method of obtaining the day columns in the Ma.n.u.script Troano.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 3.--Copy from Plates 18 and 19, Codex Peresia.n.u.s.]

Not this only, for this table of the Codex Peresia.n.u.s furnishes us also the explanation of the red numerals found over the day columns in the Ma.n.u.script Troano. Take, for example, Plate XIX, first or upper division, given also in my Study of The Ma.n.u.script Troano, p. 176, here the number is IV, corresponding with column 4 of the above table (V), where the days are the same and the numeral prefixed to each day is 4.

Plate XXVI (Study Ma.n.u.script Troano, p. 177), lower division, the days are the same and the number over the column is XIII, corresponding with the sixth column of Table V. This corroborates the opinion I expressed in my former work, that the number over the column was to be applied to each day of the column.

Why is the order of the numerals in the extract from the Codex Peresia.n.u.s precisely the same as the numbering of the Ahaues? I answer, because each column, if taken as referring to the four cla.s.ses of years, will, when the number of the month is given, determine just the years of an Ahau; or a fancy of the artist to follow an order considered sacred.

To ill.u.s.trate, let us take the next to the right-hand column of the table where the numeral is 1, and let us a.s.sume the month to be Pop, or the 1st. Then we have 1 Cib, 1 Ahau, 1 Kan, 1 Lamat, and 1 Eb of the first month, and from this data we are to find the years. As there can be four years found to each of these days, that is a Cauac year with 1 Cib in the first month, a Muluc year with one Cib in the first month, a Kan year with one Cib in the first month, an Ix year with one Cib in the first month, a Kan year with one Ahau in the first month, &c., it is evident that there will be, as the total result, just twenty years.

As I cannot repeat here, without occupying too much s.p.a.ce, the method of finding the years, I must refer the reader to Study Ma.n.u.script Troano, p. 23, _et al._ Hunting them out, by using our Table III, we find them to be as follows:

1 _Cib._ 1 _Ahau._ 1. _Kan._ 1. _Lamat._ 1 _Eb._[TN-8]

Years 10 Cauac. 13 Cauac. 9 Cauac. 5 Cauac. 1 Cauac.

Years 2 Kan. 11 Kan. 1 Kan. 10 Kan. 6 Kan.

Years 7 Muluc. 3 Muluc. 12 Muluc. 8 Muluc. 11 Muluc.

Years 12 Ix. 8 Ix. 4 Ix. 13 Ix. 9 Ix.

If we turn now to Table XVII (Study Ma.n.u.script Troano p. 44), we will find that these are precisely the counted years (those in the s.p.a.ce inclosed by the dotted lines) in Ahau number VI.

If we a.s.sume the month to be the 11th then the numbers of the Ahaues will correspond exactly with the numbers of the columns of our Table V.[8]

As it may be supposed that using the same numeral to any five days of the twenty in this way will produce a similar result, let us test it by an example. For this purpose we select the same column of our foregoing table, No. V--that with the number 1 prefixed--Cib, Ahau, Kan, Lamat, Eb, but in place of Lamat we insert Cimi. Hunting out the years as heretofore we find them to be as follows:

1 _Cib._ 1 _Ahau._ 1 _Kan._ 1 _Cimi._ 1 _Eb._ Years 10 Cauac. 13 Cauac. 9 Cauac. 7 Cauac. 1 Cauac.

Years 2 Kan[TN-9] 11 Kan. 1 Kan. 12 Kan. 6 Kan.

Years 7 Muluc. 3 Muluc. 12 Muluc. 10 Muluc. 11 Muluc.

Years 12 Ix. 8 Ix. 4 Ix. 2 Ix. 9 Ix.

If we try to locate these years in an Ahau in Table XVII (Study Ma.n.u.script Troano p. 44), we shall find it impossible to do so, nor can we locate them in any table that can be made which has either twenty-four or twenty years in an Ahau, while on the other hand the twenty years obtained by using a column of the table from the Codex Peresia.n.u.s can be located in some one of the Ahaues obtained by any division of the Grand Cycle into consecutive groups of twenty-four years that can be made. It would require too much s.p.a.ce to prove this a.s.sertion, but any one who doubts its correctness can test it.

As the extract we have given from the Codex Peresia.n.u.s relates only to one of the four groups of days--that on the right of the quadrilateral--I will supply in the following tables, Nos. VII, VIII, and IX, the arrangement of the groups of the other three sides; adding the other (Table VI), also, so as to bring the four together in the order of the sides of the quadrilateral, commencing with the line on the right, next the upper one, and so on.

While this is undoubtedly the order in which they are to be taken; which is the proper one to commence with? is a question yet to be discussed.