Ernst Wilhelm Förstemann

“ The days occur in the same manner as the months. It is true that Kin is only a part of hieroglyph 10, the rest of which is effaced, but the familiar compound of Caban and Muluc appears in 18 and 24 and Cimi is in 17, as we have seen. In sign 13, Ahau is combined with a red number, which must lie between X and XV. But this should not be regarded as forming a calendar date with the 10 Yaxkin near by, for Ahau is never the tenth day of a month. Can 16 be the sign of the twelfth month, Ceh, combined with that for 7200? Hieroglyphs 3 and 8 are effaced and I do not understand 4, 11 and 15. ”

“ The beginning of the year for the Mayas, although of course not for all parts of the country, is fixed, as a rule, to fall on the 16th of July. This would agree admirably with the eighth and ninth sections, which represent the time of the longest day and of thunder-storms.
The second hieroglyph is B's, the fourth the cross b, probably referring here to a union of two years, and the third with its Cauac to the duration of the rainy season or to the god N.
11. The rain seems to fall with less violence. B is seated, clad in the gala mantle with a Kan on his head, as the sign of grain. ”

“ The lightning-beast with flames pouring forth from his forepaws and tail, is plunging down from the rectangle, which primarily designates stars and then the sky in general. This rectangle occurs for the first time here, but will often be met with later. Here it may be a combination of Mars and Venus. Of the four hieroglyphs, 1 is effaced, 2 is a compound of Kan and Kin, 3 a head with Akbal and Kin (D?) with the uplifted arm as a prefix, and 4, corresponding with the picture, is the compound of the rain sign Cauac with the prefix of the storm-god K.
8. ”

“ It can hardly be said that there are comprehensive hieroglyphs here, forming the heading of the six groups. The sign for woman occurs only in 2, 8 and 24, and the cross b only in 14 and 18, but it is sufficient to make it clear that here, too, connection with a woman is the principal theme. Let us pass, therefore, directly to the single groups.
The first group contains A and a woman. The god, however, is not facing the woman but sits beside her. The Cimi sign in 1, the familiar c in 3 and the unknown sign in 4 (=6) hardly explain this particular proceeding. ”

“ Of the above the third hieroglyph of each group, i.e., 7, 11, 15, 19 (probably also 3) is always the same and is the sign of D, the moon and night-god. In detail we should expect to find five pictures here, but owing to lack of space only the first of these is given. It represents a deity with a Kan sign in its hand and a serpent on its head, who is probably E, and he is falling down here in exactly the same manner as the four deities on page 15 at the beginning of this section. ”

“ The women themselves are designated by hieroglyphs 3, 8 and 12. The first woman carries the god A and hieroglyphs 1 and 4 are his regular signs. The second woman has on her back a Kin sign, above that a Yax, and this combination overtopped by a cross between two dots also forms hieroglyph 5; compare the upper section of the same page. That this hieroglyph is nothing else than a designation of god D follows from hieroglyph 7. Finally the fourth woman carries a figure, which has a Moan sign for a head and to which hieroglyphs 9 and 11 certainly refer. ”

“ The twenty-second sign is the familiar Kan-Imix. The twenty-third sign (w) is not intelligible to me; it occurs on pages 19c, 40b, 58, on the right, with a superfix suggesting K.
7. Water, in which a small human being seems to be emerging from a snail (the symbol of birth) . Above the water is B, grasping a serpent which is in the water, as if to protect the new-born being from the serpent. The twenty-fifth (with Kin) is the so-called bat-god, who on page 50 at the left ends the series {159}of twenty gods. The twenty-seventh sign (with Yax) is still undetermined. ”

“ Of the left halves of the pages we have now examined all except the twenty hieroglyphs of the gods. I shall mention them according to the upper place in line 16; the lower in line 19, where the hieroglyphs move forward only one place, is only referred to when the two signs differ. They offer many problems still unsolved.
The first sign on page 46 is an unknown sign, which, however, is repeated several times on the right side of the pages; the second is probably an Ahau (i.e., D) with a prefix suggesting the snail, the symbol of birth ”

“ 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. {88}
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 hieroglyphs and the figures show that preparations for a human sacrifice are treated of here and that the subject is, therefore, closely connected with page 3a, where the sacrifice itself is represented.
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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In that case, we shall have to subtract 502 every time from the days set down in the Manuscript. This new series may be represented thus:—
It is certainly remarkable that the last number, 10748, corresponds so closely to the time of the revolution of Saturn, which is computed at 10753 days. For owing to the slowness of its progress, the Mayas may have known not only the apparent but also the actual revolution of Saturn. Besides the apparent revolution of Saturn (378 days from one superior conjunction to the next) could not be made to coincide very well with the length of the solar year. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Page 35a. According to the numbers there are two sections here, but neither the pictures nor the hieroglyphs can with certainty be assigned to either. On the left is a house in which C sits holding a Kan sign in his hand; on the roof, as if guarding him, and also holding a Kan sign, lies the god B. In the Cort. 24b-25b, there are six gods lying on houses, within which other gods are also represented in a recumbent position. Then follow two vessels, again denoting the sacrificial feast, the contents of which are probably cooking, and which, from the sign on the second, are probably liquid. ”