Aids to the Study of the Maya Codices: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-85, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 253-372Thomas, Cyrus
History
Aids to the Study of the Maya Codices: Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1884-85, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1888, pages 253-372
Thomas, Cyrus
Codex Dresdensis Maya; Maya language
If my interpretation of No. 14 (_Xamach_ or _Chimix_) be right, it is
probably phonetic also. It is composed, as will be seen by reference to
the figure, of two symbols closely resembling that for the day Ymix,
except that the top portion of one is omitted. The resemblance in sound
to a duplication of Ymix is apparent. The slight but permanent variation
of the right hand portion from the usual Ymix symbol and the omission of
the top portion of the left hand one are scarcely explainable on the
supposition that they form simply a conventional sign; but if phonetic
the reason is apparent, as the _m_ sound is not repeated in the Maya
name. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the month _Mac_,
found in the last or bottom line of Plate 49, is precisely the same as
the right portion of No. 14, with Landa's symbol for _Ca_ added. This
probably justifies us in concluding that the true name of this month is
_Camach_, "the jaw" or "jaws," and that Landa's figure is simply a rude
representation of the lips or mouth.
I have expressed the opinion[370-1] that the chief phonetic element of
No. 8 (the stone symbol), if used to represent sound, is _p_ or _pp_.
This opinion seems to be confirmed by the fact that this character is
found as a part of the symbol for the month _Pop_ on Plate 50 of the
Dresden Codex. (See the second character in the first transverse line
below the day columns in the preceding Fig. 362.) The method of
determining the months referred to in these plates of the codex has been
given in the preceding part of this paper.
The interpretation given above of symbol No. 24 (the moo or ara) will
probably be accepted by all students of these manuscripts, and if so its
phonetic character must be conceded. That it is used in the place above
alluded to (Dresden Codex, Plate 16_c_) to denote this bird is proved by
the parallelism of the groups and the figure of the parrot under it. If
we turn now to Plate 48 of this codex we observe that the second
character of the first line below the day columns and the first character
in the upper line of the lower group or square is, in each case, a bird's
head. It is easily proved by means of the numeral series with which these
are connected that they denote, in both cases, the month Moan (from the
moo), proving that Brasseur's surmise was correct.[370-2] If the same
bird is represented by two symbols, one pictorial and the other having no
resemblance to any feature or character of the thing denoted, it is
probable the latter is phonetic. This conclusion is strengthened in this
case by the strong resemblance of the first part of No. 24 to the symbol
for the month Mol.
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