In the manuscript of Hernandez, which Las Casas had before him when he was writing his _Apologetical History_, the names of all the twenty were given; but unfortunately for antiquarian research, the good bishop excuses himself from quoting them, on account of their barbarous appearance. I have little doubt, however, that had he done so, we should find them to be the names of the twenty days of the native calendar month. These are the visitors who come, one every morning, with flowing robes, full beard and hair, and bring with them our good or bad luck--whatever the day brings forth. Hernandez made the same mistake as did Father Francisco de Bobadilla, when he inquired of the Nicaraguans the names of their gods, and they gave him those of the twenty days of the month.[1] Each day was, indeed, personified by these nations, and supposed to be at once a deity and a date, favorable or unfavorable to fishing or hunting, planting or fighting, as the case might be. [Footnote 1: Oviedo, _Historia General de las Indias_, Lib. xlii, cap. iii.] Kukulcan seems, therefore, to have stood in the same relation in Yucatan to the other divinities of the days as did Votan in Chiapa and Quetzalcoatl Ce Acatl in Cholula. His name has usually been supposed to be a compound, meaning "a serpent adorned with feathers," but there are no words in the Maya language to justify such a rendering. There is some variation in its orthography, and its original pronunciation may possibly be lost; but if we adopt as correct the spelling which I have given above, of which, however, I have some doubts, then it means, "The God of the Mighty Speech."[1] [Footnote 1: Eligio Ancona, after giving the rendering, "serpiente adornada de plumas," adds, "ha sido repetido por tal número de etimologistas que tendremos necesidad de aceptarla, aunque nos parece un poco violento," _Historia de Yucatan_, Vol. i, p. 44. The Abbé Brasseur, in his _Vocabulaire Maya_, boldly states that _kukul_ means "emplumado ó adornado con plumas." This rendering is absolutely without authority, either modern or ancient. The word for feathers in Maya is _kukum_; _kul_, in composition, means "very" or "much," as "_kulvinic_, muy hombre, hombre de respeto ó hecho," _Diccionario de Motul_, MS. _Ku_ is god, divinity. For _can_ see chapter iv, §1. _Can_ was and still is a common surname in Yucatan. (Berendt, _Nombres Proprios en Lengua Maya_, MS.) I should prefer to spell the name _Kukulkan_, and have it refer to the first day of the Maya week, _Kan_.] The reference probably was to the fame of this divinity as an oracle, as connected with the calendar. But it is true that the name could with equal correctness be translated "The God, the Mighty Serpent," for can is a homonym with these and other meanings, and we are without positive proof which was intended.