As among the Mexicans, the Maya years were related to the points of the compass. The later Yucatec associated kan-years with the east, muluc-years with the north, ix-years with the west and cauac-years with the south, but the relation of the earlier year-bearers is not clear, owing to the uncertainty which attaches to the glyphs expressing the world-directions. On this point the evidence is very conflicting, but I am inclined to think that most probably they are as shown in Fig. [57]. The doubt lies between east and west on the one hand and between north and south on the other. The world-directions evidently possessed much ritual importance among the Maya, though not perhaps so much as among the Mexicans. In the creation myth in one of the books of Chilan Balam we read of the establishment of four trees at the four quarters, and one at the centre, a legend which recalls the five trees with their respective birds shown in the Mexican codex Borgia and allied manuscripts (Fig. [10]; p. 79). The “crosses” at Palenque, each of which is surmounted by a bird, probably also had reference to two of the world-directions, in any case their resemblance to the trees of the Borgia codex is striking. The four Bacabs who supported the heavens north, south, east and west, have already been mentioned, and also the four cross-roads on the way to Xibalba. Four colours are associated with the last, and these are the colours which the later Yucatec associated with the points of the compass, viz. yellow (kan) with the east, red (chac) with the north, white (zac) with the west, and black (ek) with the south (Fig. [57]). The manuscripts however do not always show the colours in association with the same direction-signs. The colour assigned to the year appears in one of the series of names assigned to the Bacab which was supposed to be its regent. Thus Hobnil, regent of the kan-years, is called Kanal Bacab, Kanzicnal of the muluc-years, Chacal Bacab, Zaczini of the ix-years, Zacal Bacab, and Hozanek of the cauac-years, Ekel Bacab.
The Maya did not limit their calculations to the computation only of the solar calendar, but also reckoned the synodical revolutions of the planet Venus (584 days). Certain pages of the Dresden codex are devoted to this purpose, and the glyph representing the planet is thus known. Some investigators have tried to prove that the reappearances of other planets, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Saturn, were also computed, but the evidence is unsatisfactory, and even in many cases adverse to the supposition.
Our knowledge of the meaning of the Maya glyphs is practically limited to the day-, month- and period-signs and the names of the gods. The latter have been gleaned from the manuscripts. Here the figures of the various divinities are accompanied by a series of four or more glyphs, and after a careful comparison of the glyphs which are attached to one particular figure, it is found that one glyph is constant. It is a fair assumption that the latter expresses the name of the god, though we cannot say how it should be transliterated. As we have seen, the Mexican script is purely ideographic, that is to say the pictures are symbolical, or, in the case of names, constitute a rebus. It seems likely that the Maya writing had evolved a little further, and that many of the signs were of a syllabic nature. For instance, in the names of the months we find indications that definite signs were employed to express the syllables yax and kin; but as we cannot say for certain what was the dialect spoken by the builders of the monuments, and as many of the signs are so highly conventionalized that their origin is difficult to trace, the interpretation is beset with many difficulties. Lizana, writing in 1626, speaks of certain old men, sons of priests, who were able to read the manuscripts, and it is probable that the builders of the monuments spoke a tongue closely akin to the historical Maya. In any case a good knowledge of this language will be necessary for future students of the glyphs. As remarked before, it seems unlikely that much information of a historical nature will be extracted from the inscriptions if they are ever read; they probably consist for the most part of calculations for fixing the periodical feasts, and for bringing the year of 365 days into line with true time. It is practically certain, as remarked above, that the Maya did not intercalate days for this purpose, but it is equally certain that a people who were agriculturists and who computed the synodical revolutions of Venus, could not have failed to notice that the months gradually gained upon the seasons. At the time of the discovery the month pop began the year, but it is worth mentioning that the name of the month xul seems to mean “termination,” and it is possible that yaxkin was at some period the first month. The displacement of the commencement of a year by a month would not affect the year-bearer, since each month began with the same day-sign, and it is not unlikely that the feasts were shifted from month to month when they became inappropriate to the seasons. If this is so, no doubt many of the longer inscriptions consist of calculations relative to the proper ordering of the festivals. It is not of course absolutely certain that the initial dates of monuments refer to their erection, but even if such dates have a historical value (and I am inclined to believe that most of them have) it is not yet possible to correlate them with our own system of dating, at any rate with any degree of certainty, for the reason that the position of their starting-point, 4. ahau, 8. cumhu, is not fixed. But this is a subject to which I shall return later (p. 360.)
As in Mexico, so among the Maya, the importance of the calendar from the religious point of view, and the close connection between religion and agriculture, gave the priesthood enormous influence throughout the country. According to Landa, a high-priest of the Yucatec was called Ahkin Mai, or Ahaukan Mai; his office was hereditary, and he was succeeded in it by a son or near relation. A less exalted rank was held by the Chilan, or oracular priests, who declared the will of the gods, and performed the functions of diviners and doctors. As might be expected, these functionaries enjoyed great respect, and rarely went abroad except in a litter. The Nacon were officials whose duties were partly sacerdotal and partly military. In their first capacity, as the sacrificing priests, they held office perpetually, but there was also a military aspect to this office, since the commander of the fighting forces was elected from among the Nacon, and held the position for three years. Other priests, who performed definite functions as assistants in certain ceremonies, were called Chac, and seem to have been to some extent the representatives of the Bacabs, since four officiated at once. Priests generally were called Ahkin, and the local clergy were nominated by the high-priest after examination in ritual and “science,” i.e. divination, writing and calendrical interpretation. The priesthood at large educated candidates for admission to their order, including also the younger sons of chiefs, who often “entered the church.” They lived in buildings close to the temples, and there were similar religious houses for the accommodation of celibate “nuns” who were under the protection of a “mother superior.” Any lapse from chastity on their part was punished with death, but any of the inmates might leave the establishment by permission and marry, just as in Mexico. It is probable that the buildings other than temples which survive in the ruined cities are either the residences of princes or religious establishments of this nature.
It seems likely that in the earlier times the priestly rule was paramount, and that the rulers were high-priests or vice versa. Even in Yucatan the traditions seem to point to a later transference of political power from sacred to secular rulers. Among the Quiché too, the first rulers, under whose guidance the principal migrations were made, held authority as the interpreters of the will of the gods assigned to the various divisions of the tribe, and the later chiefs claimed descent from them. Among the Kakchiquel there were two high-priests who held office for life, and were elected by the king and council. One of these seems to have supervised the ritual, while the other was the guardian of the sacred books and presided over the calendar. There were also certain old men who lived in the temple-buildings and were consulted as diviners on ordinary occasions. These were distinguished by their hair, which they wore in plaits.
In Campeche, Diaz mentions priests who wore their hair long and matted with blood, in Mexican style, and he further states that the people of Chiapas brought with them into battle a “priestess or goddess” with an incense-burner and stone idols. This priestess wore body-paint with white down stuck upon it, another Mexican custom. Many of the reliefs of the older Maya culture show priests engaged in various functions, and the elaborate dresses in which these are often clad have given rise to the supposition that many religious offices were performed by priestesses. Figures in flowing robes are particularly noticeable at Menché (Pl. [XXII]; p. 294), but, especially in later Yucatan, women as a general rule were excluded from the more important ceremonies, and I think that these figures merely represent men in priestly insignia, which would naturally be of a more elaborate nature than the ordinary dress. Sacrifice was common throughout the Maya region, but the question how far human offerings were made in early times is difficult to settle. There is only one scene upon the monuments which maybe interpreted as a human sacrifice,[7] and this occurs at Piedras Negras, but the negative evidence afforded by the other reliefs throughout the Maya region would seem to suggest that the practice was, at most, exceptional. Even the Dresden codex furnishes no definite proof that the rite existed when it was written, though there are scenes which may possibly be interpreted as suggesting the custom. For instance, Fig. [63] (p. 301) shows a head lying on an altar; but as it is clearly the head of the maize-god, the scene may be interpreted as representing merely an offering of grain. In the Quiché myths, the introduction of human sacrifice is associated with the “Yaqui,” a name afterwards used of the Mexicans, and it is the god Tohil, whom this people received from Tulan, who, by a trick, obtains the right to the hearts of the other tribes in return for the gift of fire. But the open and extensive practice of the rite belongs to a later stage of Quiché history, as the Popol Vuh also demonstrates. It is possible that the practice was, to speak generally, foreign to the original Maya, but was introduced in later times from Mexico. It seems to have been found among the Kakchiquel, accompanied on certain occasions by cannibalism, and we learn that at a certain festival children were killed with arrows, a ceremony recalling the Mexican festival of Tlacaxipeualiztli. An even closer correspondence with the ritual observed at this festival was found in Yucatan, where the victim was on certain occasions flayed and the priest assumed the skin. Here too the shooting sacrifice was practised; the victim was tied to a tree, with a white mark painted over his heart; the worshippers passed rapidly in front and each discharged arrows at the mark. Cogolludo speaks of many bloody arrows being found in a shrine at Campeche, which had probably been used in this rite. At Chichen Itza human sacrifice was made to the sacred cenote (natural well), which was supposed to be a place of great sanctity. The victim was cast into the water with other offerings and was believed to emerge alive after three days had elapsed. The usual method of sacrifice however in Yucatan was the tearing out of the victim’s heart by the Nacon, who anointed the image with the blood. Here the custom had become very prevalent at the discovery, as the fate of Valdivia’s crew in 1511 shows. Prisoners of war, slaves and even children constituted the usual victims, and the last were carefully guarded and paraded from village to village until the fatal day arrived. But even at this date human sacrifices were not made on the same scale as in Mexico, and the principal offerings consisted of incense, animals, and the worshippers’ own blood. To obtain the latter, the tongue, ears or limbs were pierced, and a cord was frequently passed through the wound. Scenes showing the practice of this penitential rite are not uncommon on the early monuments, as can be seen from the slab from Menché (Pl. [XXII]; p. 294), where the worshipper is passing through his tongue a cord furnished with thorns, while a basket containing the implements for piercing lies on the ground beside him. But the ritual of the later Maya will appear best from a short description of the ceremonies observed at the commencement of the year and during the various months.
Fig. 58.—The ceremonies at the commencement and end of an akbal-year.
(Dresden MS.)
