MesoAmerican calendar

MesoAmerican calendar

meanings of day-names – BY, Fig. 15c

#	*usual name*	Ha	Te	Mi	Za	*other aberrant name*
1	alligator		light	root	day	sun (Le) [luminosity of Lagenaria phosphorea ?]; fish (Ot)
2	wind
3	night	grain	house	palm		house (Tz); grain (C^o) [should be palmnuts ?]
4	iguana			hard	black	net (Ca, Ix, Ma); quetzal (Pi); maizebud (Me)
5	serpent	soot
6	death
7	deer					quetzal (C^o)
8	rabbit		greet
9	rain			river	water	pay (Aw) [coin-fare to Kharon ?]
10	hound			liana		foot (Yu) [foot tripped by liana ?]
11	monkey		ashes
12	tooth		twist		sun
13	reed
14	leopard					heart (Pi)
15	bird		eagle	tobacco	eagle	quail (Aw); cobweb (Me)
16	owl	spider	buzzard	edge	crow	god (Me, Ot)
17	earthquake	incense	sun			incense (Ca, Ix, Aw, Ma); prince (Pi)
18	flint		stone	soot	cold	obsidian (C^o); nails (Ot)
19	storm	fire	rain	grass	cloud	turtle (Pi) [which eateth grass]
20	lord		flower	eye	flower	hunter (Ca, Ix, Aw, Ma)

Ha = Hacaltec; Te = Tekiztlatec; Mi = Mixe; Za = Zapotec;

Le = Lenca; Tz = Tzeltal; Ca = Cakc^icel; Ix = Ixil; Ma = Mam; C^o = C^ol; Aw = Awacatec; Yu = Yucatec;

Ot = Otomi; Pi = Pipil; Me = Metztitlan; ... Ke = Kekc^i

Edmonson's translation is sometimes wrong:

1. Maya (Yu/C^o/Ca) names (Imix/Imux/Imox) mean "beetle (large insect)", not "alligator"

4. Maya (Yu, Ha) names (Kan, Kana>) mean "ripe", not "iguana"

6. [C^o & Ca] Toh is "rain", not "death"

7. [Yu] Manik, [Ke] Mayik is not "deer", but "gesture"

8. [Yu] Lamat, [C^o] Lambat is not "rabbit"

9. [Yu] Muluc, [Ke] Moloc is not "water"

10. Maya (Yu & C^o) name Oc is "coyote", not "foot"

meanings of month-names – BY, Fig. 16b

#	Yu	Po	Tz	Mi	*C^i*	*Maz*	Ot	*Matl*
1	end	bird	incense	hound		grow	flight	crane
2			green		fruit	wood	tortilla	twins
3	gather	tree	mud		nausea	broken	water	falling
4	well	green	plant	stone	five	cloud	old	grandfather
5	green	white	amaranth		burn	want	flower
6	white	hound	white		depth	wind	maize
7	DEER		RED	tree		count	flay
8	COVER	COVER	COVER	tree			flight
9	yellow			bat		blood	smoke	vigil
10	owl	owl	arrive	leopard	lie	owl	maize	youth
11	drum	crab	lord	house	mosquito	fruit
12	TURTLE	SQUASH	opossum	wet	stand	fat		porridge
13	dark		opossum	squash		anger		porridge
14	MAT	SOFT	7	viper	grow		dead	dead
15	FROG	DAMP	6	viper	fall	yellow	dead	dead
16	stag		5	liver	heavy	greens	broom	sweep
17	bat		4	mouth	hot	worm	moss
18	skull		3		maize		moss
*i-c*	specter		lost		unseen		dead

Yu = Yucatec; Po = Pokomam; Tz = Tzeltal

Mi = Mixe; C^i = C^inantec; Maz = Mazatec; Ot = Otomi; Matl = Matlatzinca

symbolic associations:

A DEER is used (in Codex Borgia) to demonstrate the 20 day-signs just as is Tlaloc (in Codex Laud) = C^ac "RED".

SQUASH is used, like TURTLE, in ball-game of netherworld in Dennis Tedlock's translation of the Popol Vuh.

MATs are SOFT cushions.

FROGs are DAMP, WET.

some of these lists could use re-alignment, thus:--

Yu	Po	Tz	Mi	*Maz*
	bird	green
GATHER		mud		BLOOD
WELL	TREE	plant		OWL
GREEN	GREEN	amaranth	hound	fruit
WHITE	WHITE	WHITE		FAT
*[omitted]*	hound	*[omitted]*		*[omitted]*
deer		red	stone	anger
cover	cover	cover
YELLOW				YELLOW
owl	owl	arrive	tree	greens
drum	crab	lord	tree	worm
turtle	squash	opossum	bat
DARK		opossum	LEOPARD
mat	soft	7	house	grow
frog	DAMP	6	WET	wood
stag		5	squash	broken
bat		4	VIPER	CLOUD
skull		3	viper	want
SPECTER		lost	LIVER	WIND
end		INCENSE	MOUTH	COUNT

symbolic associations:

Upon being "GATHERed unto the fathers" (frequent Biblical expression for dying), one must cross (according to the poem Balders Draum in the Edda) a river of BLOOD.

An olive-TREE was planted by the OWL-goddess Athene beside a WELL (GM 16.c).

FAT is WHITE.

In the DARK, LEOPARDs prowl.

VIPER: cf. Mix-coatl "CLOUD-snake", the "cloud-snake" being often mentioned in Wic^ol mythology.

Samskr.ta "LIVER" yak-r.t would be in Teutonic *yah-, name (in book of Thili^m) of the god who is a frightening-to-death (S^emo^t 33:20) SPECTER -- unless viewed in the whirlWIND (according to book of >iyob).

INCENSE is ingested (by MOUTH) by at his consecration each priest of the Guji Oromo, beginning a COUNT of 8-years' term in office (N&RD, p. 223).

BY = Munro S. Edmonson: The Book of the Year. U. of UT Pr, Salt Lake City, 1988.

GM = Robert Graves: The Greek Myths. 1955.

N&RD = Dan Bauer & John Hinnant: "Normal and Revolutionary Divination." In:-- Ivan Karp & Charles Bird (eds.): Explorations in African Systems of Thought. IN U. Pr, Bloomington, 1980. pp. 213-236