Ernst Förstemann

“ The first god is D, who, however, has B's head on top of his own. An object like a spyglass projects from the eye of B, which one could hardly venture to pronounce a nose-peg. The sign 4 (Ahau) refers to D; but what is the meaning of 3, the hieroglyph of the serpent deity H? Is the sun wounded?
The second god is the baldheaded old deity, whom Schellhas designates as N. The hieroglyph 7, apparently referring to the five Uayeyab days, is his sign; we found it on page 4b and shall again find it on page 21c, and this time likewise with the old man. ”

“ Hence the days must be not
Imix, Akbal, Manik, Oc, Eb, Cib, Ezanab, Ahau, Kan, Cimi, Lamat, Oc, Ix, Cib, Cauac, Imix, Kan, Cimi, Muluc, Chuen, Ben, but
Cib, Ezanab, Ik, Chicchan, Manik, Chuen, Ben, Men, Cauac, Imix, Akbal, Chicchan, Muluc, Chuen, Ix, Cib, Cauac, Imix, Kan, Cimi, Lamat. Let us now consider the 20 groups, disregarding the first (really zero) which has no figure and no hieroglyphs. ”

“ The hieroglyphs—four for each of the five subdivisions—are arranged in the following order:—
Of these 9, 13 and 17-20 are wholly effaced and 14 for the most part. The very first group refers to human sacrifice, for 1 is a head with an axe affixed to it, 2 contains the hand (i) which so often appears as the sign of grasping, especially in representations of the chase; here it has the same superfix as on page 22a, which on pages 4a-10a and 11a, b, appears as prefix. 3 is the head of god H, perhaps given here as a symbol of wounding (serpent god?) ”

“ Of the hieroglyphs, 1 and 2 are the familiar sign of the serpent deities H or I, though here they are not drawn exactly alike. They also appear together on page 6a. 3 ( = r) I think is the sign for the week of 13 days, which recurs in groups 5, 11, 14 and 16, and hence is distributed 4 times, though not regularly, among the 4 × 13 days. Sign 4 is the death bird.
2. Day 19 = Ik; Aztec Ehecatl, wind, air, breath. The deity pictured is B, the god who is found the most frequently, and with the most varied attributes, of all the gods in our manuscript. ”

“ Is the snail in his head-ornament to be understood as the sign for retarded motion?
The second figure is the wounding serpent deity H, likewise represented here as feminine, with a lock of hair; the copal pouch hangs from her neck, her nose-peg resembles a flower as on page 19a. A bird is sitting on her head and is devouring a piece of an animal's body; we have already met this representation in the preceding Tonalamatl. Hieroglyph 6 designates the deity H, 7 (Imix-Kan) probably denotes the devouring of the flesh and sign 8, which is an Ahau with a prefixed knife, may also refer to this. ”

“ The god D holds in front of himself an animal, which may be a rabbit. His signs are hieroglyphs 11 and 12, while 13, the principal part of which is a grasping hand, clutching a Moan sign, seems to refer to the animal in the picture. 10 is b and 14 is a.
4. Lastly, two beings in human guise, showing thus a closer connection with what follows. They are the black god L with his hieroglyph in 18 enlarged by an Imix, and a woman holding a Kan sign in her hand, hieroglyph 20 likewise showing the ordinary combination of Imix-Kan. ”

“ The third god is D sitting, by way of exception, on some object (stone?) . Something resembling the pestle of an ordinary mortar is hanging down in front of his headdress, and he is holding a very similar object to his mouth. His two hieroglyphs are also those which usually refer to him.
The most striking figure is that of the fourth god, whom I do not recognize. He seems to be attracting to himself a bird flying down from above, whose bill almost touches his mouth. His hieroglyph has the sign Yax (strength) for a prefix and the fourth hieroglyph is c.
Page 8b. ”

“ The female figure is an animal (on page 19a the female is represented more in resemblance to the human form) with a bird-head, to which belongs the compound sign s, still unexplained; the male figure is a barking (or howling?) dog, as on page 21b. Hieroglyph 7 is composite and contains first the sign generally belonging to the dog and suggesting a skeleton, which also represents the 14th month, and secondly, a Cimi closely related to it, precisely the same as in the parallel passage 21b. ”

“ As on page 15a, the pair at the left are falling down and also have leaves about them. They are god B, who holds a Kan sign in his hand, and a woman, whose eyes are closed and who holds the sign of death before her breast. B is falling down in a similar fashion in Cort. 17. Hieroglyphs 1-8 belong to this pair. Of these, 1, 5 and 8 and also 7 refer to death, 3 with the determinative sign, 4, added (which is the sign q with a Ben-Ik) , refers to B, while signs 2 and 6 belonging to god D, who occurred in the preceding Tonalamatl, should be noted. ”

“ There are but two pictures of persons, which refer, therefore, only to the first or to the first two subdivisions and which, for lack of space, are wanting for the others. On the left walks the person doomed to sacrifice, his arms are bound on his back, his head is barely visible and his eyes are apparently torn out. There is an object in front of his breast resembling a wreath. Behind this figure crouches a second, who holds an object in his hand which probably represents a rattle. ”

“ Day 8 = Chuen; Aztec Ozomatli, ape. There is no agreement at all here, but everything points to the day 3 lying 5 days back, the picture of the Cimi as well as the hieroglyphs, even the third with the Akbal sign and the uplifted arm (as on page 36a) , also the fourth (c) which is generally thought to be the death-bird. It even seems here as if the scribe had had the preceding year in mind ”

“ In the second group 5 is the same as 1, 6 is the cross b, and 7 and 8 are the hieroglyphs for A.
2c contains the following Tonalamatl:—
There are illustrations for only the first two of the three subdivisions; the two figures composing them are engaged in the occupation mentioned under 2b. At the left sits a deity, who is probably E, whose head develops into a second, which is that of an animal; on the right sits the god D.
The three groups of four hieroglyphs each are arranged as follows:—
Of these hieroglyphs 1, 5 and 9 are the head already numbered 1 and 5 on 2b ”

“ With this the fish and bird in our second and third pictures agree very well. I shall not venture to explain the other two in the first and fourth pictures. Perhaps future explanations of the curious head-ornament of the four gods will shed further light on the subject. ”

“ In the year named after this day, and indeed on the 174th day of the same (1 Cipactli) , in February 1502, the emperor Ahuitzotzin died; compare especially Brinton, "Essays of an Americanist" (1890) , pp. ”