E, ye signifies “the edge,” “sharpness,” “the notch;” eb, ebil, ebal, yebal, “a row of notches,” “flight of steps,” “stairs.” In Quiche-Cakchiquel e signifies “the tooth,” “the edge;” ee is the plural form in Cakchiquel of the word, as eeb of the Quiche; euob is also a plural form in the Tzental, as I think, from a singular eu-ee. The name must denote the same thing in all the languages, i. e., “a row of teeth,” “flight of steps”—a signification which harmonizes excellently with many Mexican forms of the character [plate [LXVI], 12] as well as with the Meztitlan name of it (itlan, “his tooth”).
Dr Brinton says that “in Maya eb is the plural of e, which means ‘points’ or ‘ends,’ like those of pins or thorns, and plainly was intended to designate the broom by reference to its numerous points. From the same idea, rows of teeth received the same name. The Tzental and Quiche names e and euob—the latter a plural—were from the same radical and had the same signification.” He says the Nahuatl and Zapotec names both signify the brush or broom of twisted twigs, or stiff grass used for cleaning and dusting, and also this grass itself. Thus he brings the names of the five calendars into harmony. This explanation corresponds with that given by Clavigero of the Mexican term, which he says is the name of a certain plant of which brooms were made.
I am inclined to believe the symbol in this instance is a mere pictograph intended to represent the tip of some lanceolate leaf, the dots denoting the hairs along the edge. The tips of the “reed grass,” as shown in the symbolic representation of Zacatla (“Nombres Geográficos” by Peñafiel; plate [LXVI], 13), would give precisely the dot-bordered tooth in the symbol. It is to be observed, however, that the Mexican symbol for this day, the usual form of which is shown in [LXVI], 14, is essentially different and has joined with the green blades the skeleton underjaw. In some instances, as at Malinaltepec (“Nombres Geográficos”), the entire skull is added. A more elaborate form of the symbol, from the Borgian Codex plate 26, is given in [LXVI], 15. Here the skeleton jaw is replaced by the roots of the plant; observe, however, the brush-like projections above. Are we to see in this associated death’s-head a reference to death, or rather to the earth, a symbolism undoubtedly found in the Tro. Codex? Or must we suppose that behind the name is to be found the signification of the Meztitlan name itlan, from tlantli, “tooth?” Dr Seler remarks that “it seems to me quite possible that the point surrounded by dots in the character eb is an abbreviation of figure 326” (the prefix to our plate [LXIV], 48).[245-1]
Maya, ben or been; Tzental, ben; Quiche-Cakchiquel, ah; Zapotec, quii, ii, or laa; Nahuatl, acatl.
The symbol of this day is subject to but few and, with one or two exceptions, but slight variations. Landa’s figure is represented at [LXVI], 16, those usual in the codices in [LXVI], 17, 18, 19, and an irregular form found in Dres. 10c in symbol 20 of the same plate. When used in combination with other glyphs and otherwise than as a day symbol, the form, though usually typical, is subject occasionally to wide variations, though there is considerable doubt whether the latter are to be considered ben symbols.
Dr Seler contends that the figure originated from the plaited reed or mat, which, if correct, enables us to trace it by gradations to a wholly different figure. But before referring further to these, it is best that the signification of the names should be given, as determined by linguistic evidence.
The Nahuatl name acatl signifies “reed,” “cane,” or “stalk;” and, according to Ximenes and Brasseur, the Quiche-Cakchiquel ah also signifies “reed,” especially the “cornstalk” or “sugar cane.” The Zapotec quii has also the same signification, “reed,” and Dr Brinton says laa has the same meaning, but Dr Seler says he can not find it with this signification in the lexicons, nor do I find it in any to which I have access. The Maya and Tzental ben, however, presents a more serious difficulty in the attempt to bring it into harmony with the others. Dr Seler contents himself with reference to certain words which have been or ben as their root. This root, he says, signifies “consumed,” and the words to which he refers mean “to be consumed,” “to waste away,” “to fail, be lacking, go away.” This is also the signification to which Dr Brinton refers. “I find,” he says, “that in Tzental the dried cornstalk (caña de mais seco) is called cagh-ben, and from this I doubt not this day-name in that dialect and the Maya was taken and syncopated. The verb ben or been in Tzental means ‘to walk, to go,’ but in the above compound the ben is from the Maya stem benel, ‘to be used up, to be dead.’”
The opinion of Dr Seler, above stated, that the symbol of this day originated from the delineation of the plaited reed or mat, is based on the representation of the mat both in symbols and figures in the Mexican and Maya codices. Some of these are shown in our plate [LXVI], 21 to 24. The first, 21, is from the Mendoza Codex, and is found also in Tro. 20*d. These are undoubtedly intended to denote mats or something of a kindred nature. The same figure is seen on the roofs of temples and houses, one of which is shown in [LXVI], 22, from Tro. 10*c. In these instances they appear to indicate the thatching with which the roof is covered. The form is sometimes varied, as in [LXVI], 23, from Tro. 10*a. The symbol which, it is presumed, refers to the mat as seen in Tro. 21*d, is given in [LXVI], 24; that representing the house in Tro. 10*c is seen in [LXVI], 25; another of a slightly different form, from Tro. 7*c, in [LXVI], 20; and another, referring also to a house or to the roof, as Dr Seler supposes, is given in [LXVI], 27.
There can be no question that plate [LXVI], 21, is intended to represent a mat or something of that nature, nor that the character shown at 24 is the symbol used to represent this mat, straw, or plaited fabric; nor can it be doubted that the figures shown at 22 and 23 are conventional figures for houses of some kind. It must also be admitted that the characters shown at 25, 26, and 27 are symbols denoting these houses. According to Dr Seler’s interpretation, figures 24 and 27 are, in some cases, used “to denote a seat on a mat [24]; sometimes the mat roof of the temple or the temple itself” (27). In his opinion these characters, especially 27, contain “the element of the mat and a symbol of carrying—the hand or elements which have been borrowed from the figure of the hand—and in these hieroglyphs the transition of the realistically delineated mat into the character ben may be distinctly traced.”