Chapter 43 of 52 · 10125 words · ~51 min read

CHAPTER XVI

THE AZTEC CALENDAR.

ASTRONOMICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE AZTECS--CONTRADICTIONS OF AUTHORS RESPECTING THE CALENDAR--VALUE OF THE RESEARCHES OF VARIOUS WRITERS--THE FIRST REGULAR CALENDAR--THE MEXICAN CYCLE--THE CIVIL YEAR--THE AZTEC MONTHS--NAMES OF THE DAYS AND THEIR SIGNIFICATION--THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE AZTEC YEAR--THE RITUAL CALENDAR--GAMA'S ARRANGEMENT OF THE MONTHS--THE CALENDAR-STONE--THE FOUR DESTRUCTIONS OF THE WORLD--THE CALENDAR OF MICHOACAN--RECKONING OF THE ZAPOTECS.

Perhaps the strongest proof of the advanced civilization of the Nahuas was their method of computing time, which, for ingenuity and correctness, equaled, if it did not surpass, the systems adopted by contemporaneous European and Asiatic nations.

The Nahuas were well acquainted with the movements of the sun and moon, and even of some of the planets, while celestial phenomena, such as eclipses, although attributed to unnatural causes, were nevertheless carefully observed and recorded. They had, moreover, an accurate system of dividing the day into fixed periods, corresponding somewhat to our hours; indeed, as the learned Sr Leon y Gama has shown, the Aztec calendar-stone which was found in the plaza of the city of Mexico, was used not only as a durable register, but also as a sun-dial.

[Sidenote: THE AZTEC CALENDAR.]

Although the system of the Aztec calendar as a whole is clear and easily understood, yet it is extremely difficult to describe with certainty many of its details, owing to the contradictory statements of nearly all the earlier writers, who visited Mexico and there in different localities picked up scraps of what they afterwards described as being the 'calendar of the Mexicans,' not taking into consideration that the many and distinct kingdoms surrounding the Aztec territory, although using essentially the same system, differed on many important points, such as the names of years, months, days, the season of beginning the year, etc. This difficulty increases when we attempt to make Mexican dates agree with our own. Even Boturini, who gathered his information in Mexico, makes many mistakes; and Veytia, although we must accord him the credit of having thoroughly studied the subject, and of having reduced it to a clear system, is at fault in many points. Of the older writers, such as Sahagun, Las Casas, Duran, Motolinia, and others, no one is explicit enough on all points to enable us to follow him; and such details as they unite in giving are mostly contradictory. Torquemada, who draws a great portion of his material from Motolinia, contradicts himself too frequently to be reliable. Leon y Gama, although he spent much labor in trying to clearly expound the system, has also fallen into some errors, attributable, perhaps, to his not having the valuable aid of Sahagun's writings, and to his having placed too much trust in the writings of Torquemada and the manuscript of the Indian Cristóbal del Castillo, as is shown in the review of Gama's work by Sr José Antonio Alzate in the _Gacetas de Literatura_. Baron von Humboldt's description, valuable as it is on account of the extended comparisons which he draws between the Mexican, Asiatic and Egyptian calendars, is on that account too intricate to be easily understood. From all these descriptions Gallatin, McCulloh, and Müller, with perhaps a few others, have each given us a very good résumé, but without attempting to reconcile all the contradictions.

The first notice we have of any regular calendar is given by Ixtlilxochitl, who states that in the year 5097 from the creation of the world, an assembly of learned men met at the city of Huehuetlapallan, and determined the reckoning of the years, days, and months, leap years and intercalary days, in the order in which they were found at the time of the conquest.[618] Previous to this time it is said that the only reckoning kept was regulated by the yearly growth of the fresh grass and herbs from which the name of the Mexican year _xihuitl_, 'new grass,' is derived. It is also said that a rough computation of time was made by the moon, from its appearance to its disappearance, and that this period called _metztli_, 'the moon,' was divided into two equal parts, named respectively _mextozolitzli_, the time when the moon was awake or visible, and _mecochiliztli_, the sleep of the moon, or the time when it was invisible.[619] Of the larger divisions of time, accounts are very conflicting. Two, three, four, and five ages are said by various writers to have existed, at the end of each of which the world was said to have been destroyed, and recreated at the beginning of the age next following. The common aboriginal belief was, however, that at the time of the conquest, the world had passed through three ages, and was then in the fourth. The first age, or 'sun,' as it is also called, was the Sun of Water, _atonatiuh_; the second, the Sun of Earth, _tlalchitonatiuh_; the third, the Sun of Air, _ehecatonatiuh_.[620] This is about all we know of any division of time, before the assembly at Huehuetlapallan which is said to have introduced the regular calendar.

[Illustration: The Aztec Cycle.]

[Sidenote: THE MEXICAN CYCLE.]

The Mexican calendar contains the following divisions of time: The 'age,' consisting of two periods of fifty-two years each, was called _huehuetiliztli_; the 'cycle,' consisting of four periods of thirteen years each, was named _xiuhmolpilli_, _xiuhmolpia_ or _xiuhtlalpilli_, meaning the 'binding up of the years.' Each period of thirteen years or, as it was called by the Spanish historians, 'indiccion,' was known as a _tlalpilli_, or 'knot,' and, as stated above, each single year was named _xihuitl_, or 'new grass,' The age was not used in the regular reckoning, and is only rarely mentioned to designate a long space of time. The numeral prefixed to the name of any year in the cycle, or xiuhmolpilli, never exceeded four, and to carry out this plan, four signs, respectively named _tochtli_, 'rabbit,' _calli_, 'house,' _tecpatl_, 'flint,' and _acatl_, 'cane,' were used. Thus the Aztecs commenced to count the first year of their first cycle with the name or hieroglyphic Ce Tochtli, meaning 'one (with the sign of) rabbit;' and the second year was Ome Acatl, 'two, cane;' the third, Yey Tecpatl, 'three, flint;' the fourth, Nahui Calli, 'four, house;' the fifth, Macuilli Tochtli, 'five, rabbit;' the sixth, Chicoace Acatl, 'six, cane;' the seventh, Chicome Tecpatl, 'seven, flint;' the eighth, Chico ey Calli, 'eight, house;' the ninth, Chico nahui Tochtli, 'nine, rabbit;' the tenth, Matlactli Acatl, 'ten, cane;' the eleventh, Matlactli occe Tecpatl, 'eleven, flint;' the twelfth, Matlactli omome Calli, 'twelve, house;' and the thirteenth, Matlactli omey Tochtli, 'thirteen, rabbit.' This numeration continued in the same manner, the second tlalpilli commencing again with 'one, cane,' the third tlalpilli with 'one, flint,' the fourth with 'one, house,' and so on to the end of the cycle of fifty-two years. It will easily be seen that during the fifty-two years none of these four signs could be accompanied by the same number twice, and therefore no confusion could arise. Instead, therefore, of saying an event happened in the year 1850, as we do in our reckoning, they spoke of it as happening, for instance, in the year of 'three, rabbit' in the twelfth cycle.[621] Still, some confusion has been caused among different writers by the fact that the different nations of Anáhuac did not all commence their cycles with the same hieroglyphic sign. Thus the Toltecs commenced with the sign tecpatl, 'flint;' and the Mexicans, or Aztecs, with tochtli, 'rabbit;' while some again used acatl, 'cane;' and others calli, 'house,' as their first name.[622] A cycle was represented in their paintings by the figures of tochtli, acatl, tecpatl, and calli, repeated each thirteen times and placed in a circle, round which was painted a snake holding its tail in its mouth, and making at each of the four cardinal points a kink with its own body, as shown in the plate on the opposite page, which served to divide the cycle into four tlalpillis.[623] These four signs, rabbit, cane, flint, and house were also, according to Boturini, used to designate the four seasons of the year, the four cardinal points, and lastly, the four elements. Thus, for instance, tecpatl also signified south; calli, east; tochtli, north; and acatl, west. In the same manner tecpatl was used to designate fire; calli, earth; tochtli, air; and acatl, water.[624]

The civil year was again divided into eighteen months and five days. Each month had its particular name, but the five extra days were only designated as _nemontemi_ or 'unlucky days,' and children born at this time, or enterprises undertaken, were considered unlucky. In hieroglyphical paintings these months were also placed in a circle, in the middle of which a face, representing either the sun or moon, was painted. This circle was called a _xiuhtlapohualli_, or 'count of the year.' Concerning the order in which these months followed one another, and the name of the first month, hardly two authors agree; in the same manner we find three or four various names given to many of the months. It would appear reasonable to suppose that the month immediately following the nemontemi, which were always added at the end of the year, would be the first, and the only difficulty here is to know which way the Aztecs wrote; whether from right to left or from left to right. On the circle of the month given by Veytia, and supposed to have been copied from an original, these five days are inserted between the months Panquetzaliztli and Atemoztli, and counting from left to right, this would make Atemoztli the first month, which would agree with Veytia's statement. But Gama and others decidedly dissent from this opinion, and name other months as the first. I reserve further consideration of this subject for another place in this chapter, where in connection with other matters it can be more clearly discussed, and content myself with simply inserting here a table of the names of the months as enumerated by the principal authors, in order to show at a glance the many variations. I also append to it the different dates given for the first day of the year, in which there are as many contradictions as in the names and position of the months.

NAMES OF MEXICAN MONTHS ACCORDING TO VARIOUS AUTHORS.

[Sidenote: NAMES OF THE AZTEC MONTH.]

Each month, as before stated, was represented by its proper hieroglyph, having a certain meaning, and generally referring to some feast or natural event, such as the ripening of fruit, or falling of rain, happening during the month, although in this case also there are many differences between authors regarding the meaning of the names.

[Illustration: The Aztec Year.]

Tititl, which according to Gama was the first month, is translated by Boturini as 'our mother,' or 'mother of the gods,' while Cabrera calls it 'fire.'[627] Itzcalli, according to Boturini, means 'regeneration;' the Codex Vaticanus translates it 'skill;' and Veytia, 'the sprouting of the grass.'[628] Atlcahualco means the 'abating of the waters.' The Tlascaltec name of this month, Xilomanaliztli, signifies the 'offering of green maize.' In other localities this month was also known by the name of Quahuitlehua, the 'burning of the mountains,' or rather of the trees on the mountains, previous to sowing.[629] Tlacaxipehualiztli means the 'flaying of the people;' the other name of this month, Cohuailhuitl, is the 'feast of the snake.' Tozoztontli, Tozcotzintli, and Hueytozoztli are respectively the small and great fast or vigil; while some translate these words by 'pricking of veins,' 'shedding of blood,' or 'great and small penance.'[630] Toxcatl is a 'collar' or 'necklace.'[631] Etzalqualiztli is translated by Boturini 'bean stew,' or 'the eating of beans,' while Veytia calls it 'the eating of maize gruel.' Tecuilhuitzintli and Hueytecuilhuitl mean respectively the small and great 'feast of the Lord.' Miccailhuitzintli is explained both as 'the feast of dead children,' and 'the small feast of the dead;' another name for this month is Tlaxochimaco, meaning 'distribution of flowers.' Hueymiccailhuitl is either 'the feast of dead adults,' or 'the great feast of the dead.' Xocotlhuetzin, another name for this month, means 'the ripening of the fruit.' Ochpaniztli is 'the cleaning of streets.' Teotleco, or 'the arrival of the gods,' was the next month, and was also named Pachtli, or Pachtontli, the latter being translated by 'humiliation,' and the former by 'moss hanging from trees.' Hueypachtli was 'the great feast of humiliation,' also called Tepeilhuitl, or 'feast of the mountains.' Quecholli means 'peacock,' but the interpreter of the _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_ calls it the 'serpent of the clouds.' Panquetzaliztli is 'the raising of flags and banners.' Atemoztli, the last month, means the 'drying up of the waters.'[632] The plate on the preceding page shows the order of the months and the pictures by which they were represented.

[Illustration: The Aztec Month.]

[Sidenote: NAMES OF THE AZTEC DAYS.]

Each month contained twenty days, which were divided into four groups or weeks, as we may for convenience call them; and at the end of each group a public market or fair was held. There is no difference of opinion as to the names of the days or the order in which they follow one another, but it is very difficult, and in many cases impossible, to reconcile one with another the different hieroglyphic signs denoting these days given in the codices or in the various representations of the calendar. The names of the days are: Cipactli, a name of which it is almost impossible to give the correct meaning, it being variously represented as an animal's head with open mouth armed with long tusks, as a fish with a number of flint knives on its back, as a kind of lizard with a very long tail curled up over its back, and in many other monstrous shapes. It is called the 'sea-animal,' the 'sword-fish,' the 'serpent armed with harpoons,' and other names. Ehecatl is 'wind;' Calli, 'house;' Cuetzpalin, 'lizard;' Coatl, 'snake;' Miquiztli, 'death;' Mazatl, 'deer;' Tochtli, 'rabbit;' Atl, 'water;' Itzcuintli, 'dog;' Ozomatli, 'monkey;' Malinalli, 'brushwood,' or 'tangled grass;' Acatl, 'cane;' Ocelotl, 'tiger;' Quauhtli, 'eagle;' Cozcaquauhtli, a species of vulture, known in Mexico as 'rey de los zopilotes;' Ollin, 'movement;' Tecpatl, 'flint;' Quiahuitl, 'rain;' and Xochitl, 'flower.' It will be seen that the days having the names or signs of the years,--namely: Tochtli, Calli, Tecpatl, and Acatl--stand first in each week. The five nemontemi had no particular name. The cut given above shows the method by which the Aztecs represented their month, with the hieroglyphic names of each day.[633]

[Sidenote: INTERCALARY DAYS.]

As three hundred and sixty-five days do not make the year complete, the Mexicans added the missing thirteen days at the end of the cycle of fifty-two years. But Gama asserts that they came still nearer to our more correct calculations, and added only twelve days and a half.[634] It has been frequently attempted to fix accurately the time when the Mexican year commenced according to our dates, but there is no agreement on this point between the old historians, as will be seen from the table given, and although many elaborate calculations have been made for the purpose of verifying the one or the other statement, the result is in no two cases the same. Gama calculated, and Humboldt and Gallatin confirmed his statement, that the first year of a Mexican cycle commenced on the 31st day of December, old style, or on the 9th day of January, new style, with the month Tititl and the day Cipactli.[635]

[Sidenote: THE RITUAL CALENDAR.]

We come now to another mode of reckoning known as the ritual calendar, which, as its name implies, was used for adjusting all religious feasts and rites and everything pertaining thereto. The previously described reckoning was solar, while that of the ritual calendar was lunar. The periods into which it was divided were of thirteen days each, thus representing about half the time that the moon was visible. The year contained as many days as the solar calendar, but they were divided into entirely different periods. Thus, in reality there were no months at all, but only twenty weeks of thirteen days each; and these not constituting a full year, the same kind of reckoning was continued for one hundred and five days more, and at the end of a tlalpilli thirteen days were intercalated to make up for the lost days. The names of the days were the same as in the solar calendar but they were counted as follows. To the first day the number one was prefixed, to the second, two, to the third, three, and so on to thirteen; when the fourteenth name was again called one, the fifteenth, two, and so on to thirteen again, after which the same count was continued to the end of the year. But as in this reckoning it naturally happens that one name has the same number twice, accompanying signs were added to the regular names, which were called _quecholli_, 'lords or rulers of the night.' Of these there were nine, _xiuhtecutli_, _tletl_, 'lord of the year, fire;' _tecpatl_, 'flint;' _xochitl_, 'flower;' _centeotl_, 'goddess of maize;' _miquiztli_, 'death;' _atl_, 'water,' represented by the goddess Chalchihuitlicue; _tlazolteotl_, 'goddess of love;' _tepeyollotli_, a deity supposed to inhabit the centre of the mountains; _quiahuitl_, 'rain,' represented by the god Tlaloc.[636] As stated above, one of these signs was understood to accompany the regular name of each day, commencing with the first day of the year; but they were never written or mentioned with the first two hundred and sixty days, but only with the last one hundred and five days, to distinguish them from the former.[637] For the purpose of making this system more comprehensible, I insert a few months of the Mexican calendar, showing the solar and lunar system together, as arranged by Gama.

+===========+===============+====================+===================+ | |Months and days| | | |Months and | of the Mexican|Days and weeks of |Accompanying signs,| |days of | civil or solar|the Mexican ritual, |or 'lords of the | |our era | calendar. |or lunar, calendar. |night.' | +-----------+---------------+--------------------+-------------------+ | January 9|Tititl 1|1 Cipactli |Tletl 1 | | 10| 2|2 Ehecatl |Tecpatl 2 | | 11| 3|3 Calli |Xochitl 3 | | 12| 4|4 Cuetzpalin |Centeotl 4 | | 13| 5|5 Coatl |Miquiztli 5 | | 14| 6|6 Miquiztli |Atl 6 | | 15| 7|7 Mazatl |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 16| 8|8 Tochtli |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 17| 9|9 Atl |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 18| 10|10 Itzcuintli |Tletl 1 | | 19| 11|11 Ozomatli |Tecpatl 2 | | 20| 12|12 Malinalli |Xochitl 3 | | 21| 13|13 Acatl |Centeotl 4 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 22| 14|1 Ocelotl |Miquiztli 5 | | 23| 15|2 Quauhtli |Atl 6 | | 24| 16|3 Cozcaquauhtli |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 25| 17|4 Ollin |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 26| 18|5 Tecpatl |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | | | 27| 19|6 Quiahuitl |Tletl 1 | | 28| 0|7 Xochitl |Tecpatl 2 | | |---------------| | | | 29|Itzcalli 1|8 Cipactli |Xochitl 3 | | 30| 2|9 Ehecatl |Centeotl 4 | | 31| 3|10 Calli |Miquiztli 5 | +===========+===============+====================+===================+

+===========+===============+====================+===================+ |Months and |Months and days|Days and weeks of |Accompanying signs,| |days of |of the Mexican |the Mexican ritual |or 'lords of | |our era |civil calendar.|calendar. |the night.' | +-----------+---------------+--------------------+-------------------+ |February 1| 4|11 Cuetzpalin |Atl 6 | | 2| 5|12 Coatl |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 3| 6|13 Miquiztli |Tepeyollotli 8 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 4| 7|1 Mazatl |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 5| 8|2 Tochtli |Tletl 1 | | 6| 9|3 Atl |Tecpatl 2 | | 7| 10|4 Itzcuintli |Xochitl 3 | | 8| 11|5 Ozomatli |Centeotl 4 | | 9| 12|6 Malinalli |Miquiztli 5 | | 10| 13|7 Acatl |Atl 6 | | 11| 14|8 Ocelotl |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 12| 15|9 Quauhtli |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 13| 16|10 Cozcaquauhtli |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 14| 17|11 Ollin |Tletl 1 | | 15| 18|12 Tecpatl |Tecpatl 2 | | 16| 19|13 Quiahuitl |Xochitl 3 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 17| 20|1 Xochitl |Centeotl 4 | | |---------------| | | | 18|Atlcahualco 1|2 Cipactli |Miquiztli 5 | | 19| 2|3 Ehecatl |Atl 6 | | 20| 3|4 Calli |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 21| 4|5 Cuetzpalin |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 22| 5|6 Coatl |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | -- | | 23| 6|7 Miquiztli |Tletl 1 | | 24| 7|8 Mazatl |Tecpatl 2 | | 25| 8|9 Tochtli |Xochitl 3 | | 26| 9|10 Atl |Centeotl 4 | | 27| 10|11 Itzcuintli |Miquiztli 5 | | 28| 11|12 Ozomatli |Atl 6 | |-----------| | | | |March 1| 12|13 Malinalli |Tlazolteotl 7 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 2| 13|1 Acatl |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 3| 14|2 Ocelotl |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 4| 15|3 Quauhtli |Tletl 1 | | 5| 16|4 Cozcaquauhtli |Tecpatl 2 | | 6| 17|5 Ollin |Xochitl 3 | | 7| 18|6 Tecpatl |Centeotl 4 | | 8| 19|7 Quiahuitl |Miquiztli 5 | | 9| 20|8 Xochitl |Atl 6 | | |---------------| | | | 10|Tlacaxipe 1|9 Cipactli |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 11| -hualiztli 2|10 Ehecatl |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 12| 3|11 Calli |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 13| 4|12 Cuetzpalin |Tletl 1 | | 14| 5|13 Coatl |Tecpatl 2 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 15| 6|1 Miquiztli |Xochitl 3 | | 16| 7|2 Mazatl |Centeotl 4 | | 17| 8|3 Tochtli |Miquiztli 5 | | 18| 9|4 Atl |Atl 6 | | 19| 10|5 Itzcuintli |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 20| 11|6 Ozomatli |Tepeyollotli 8 | | 21| 12|7 Malinalli |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 22| 13|8 Acatl |Tletl 1 | | 23| 14|9 Ocelotl |Tecpatl 2 | | 24| 15|10 Quauhtli |Xochitl 3 | | 25| 16|11 Cozcaquauhtli |Centeotl 4 | | 26| 17|12 Ollin |Miquiztli 5 | | 27| 18|13 Tecpatl |Atl 6 | | | |--------------------|-------------------| | 28| 19|1 Quiahuitl |Tlazolteotl 7 | | 29| 20|2 Xochitl |Tepeyollotli 8 | | |---------------| | | | 30|Tozoztontli 1|3 Cipactli |Quiahuitl 9 | | | | | -- | | 31| 2|4 Ehecatl |Tletl 1 | +===========+===============+====================+===================+

The five nemontemi were counted in this calendar as other days, that is, they received the names which came in the regular order, but, nevertheless, they were believed to be unlucky days and had no accompanying signs.

[Illustration: The Calendar-Stone.]

[Sidenote: THE AZTEC CALENDAR-STONE.]

Besides the preceding cuts of the Mexican calendar systems, as they were represented by Gemelli Careri, Veytia, and others, the calendar-stone is the most reliable source by which the extent of the astronomical science of the Aztecs can be shown. Gama, and after him Gallatin, give very accurate descriptions of this stone; I insert here a résumé from the latter author. On this stone there is engraved in high-relief a circle, in which are represented by certain hieroglyphics the sun and its several motions, the twenty days of the month, some principal fast-days, and other matters. The central figure represents the sun as it is usually painted by the Mexicans. Around it, outside of a small circle, are four parallelograms with the signs of the days, Nahui Ocelotl, Nahui Ehecatl, Nahui Quiahuitl, and Nahui Atl. Between the two upper and lower parallelograms are two figures, which Gama explains as being two claws, which are the hieroglyphics representing two eminent astrologers, man and wife. Gama further explains these four signs of the days in this place, as having reference to the four epochs of nature, of which the Aztec traditions speak. The first destruction of the sun is said to have taken place in the year Ce Acatl and on the day Nahui Ocelotl. The second sun was supposed to have died in the year Ce Tecpatl and on the day Nahui Ehecatl; the third destruction occurred also in the year Ce Tecpatl and on the day Nahui Quiahuitl; and lastly, the fourth destruction took place in the year Ce Calli, on the day Nahui Atl. But Mr Gallatin thinks that these four parallelograms had yet some other purpose; for on the twenty-second of May and on the twenty-sixth of July, which days are Nahui Ocelotl and Nahui Quiahuitl, if we accept the thirty-first of December as the first day of the Mexican cycle, the sun passed the meridian of the city of Mexico. But in this case the other two days, Nahui Ehecatl and Nahui Atl cannot be explained in connection with any other astronomical event. Between the lower parallelograms are two small squares, in each of which are five oblong marks, signifiying the number ten; and as the central figure is the _ollin tonatiuh_, or sun, the number ten in these two squares is supposed to mean the day Matlactli Ollin. Below this again are the hieroglyphics Ce Quiahuitl, and Ome Ozomatli. The day Matlactli Ollin in the first year of the cycle is the twenty-second of September; Ce Quiahuitl in the year Matlactli omey Acatl, which year is inscribed at the head of the stone, is our twenty-second of March; and Ome Ozomatli in the same year would be our twenty-second of June. Here are therefore designated three of the principal phenomena as they happened in the first year of the cycle, viz: two transits of the sun by the zenith and the autumnal equinox. In the year designated on the stone Matlactli omey Acatl, there are given the spring equinox and summer solstice. In a circle surrounding these figures are represented the twenty days of the months. From the central figure of the sun there runs upward, as far as the circle of days, a triangle, the upper and smallest angle of which points between the days Cipactli and Xochitl, thus confirming the idea that Cipactli was always the first day of the month. Gama, Gallatin, Humboldt, Dupaix, and others have given correct pictures of the stone as is proved by recent photographs; but in my cut the figures are reversed. It is a copy from Charnay, whose photographs were in 1875 the best authority accessible; and I failed to notice that this, unlike Charnay's other plates, was a photo-lithograph reversed in printing. Not only did I fall into this error, but in my earlier editions charged other writers with having made a similar one. The cut does not otherwise mislead, but it must be noted that instead of running from left to right, the days really run from right to left. From the circle of days, four triangles, or rays, project, exactly dividing the stone into four quarters, each of which has ten visible squares, and, as the rays cover twelve more, there would be fifty-two in all. In each square are five oblong marks, which multiplied by fifty-two, give two hundred and sixty, or the first period of the Mexican ritual year. Outside of the circle of these squares the four quarters are each again divided by a smaller ray, and, as stated before, at the head of the stone, over the principal triangle is the sign of the year Matlactli omey Acatl. Round the outer edge are a number of other figures and hieroglyphics, which have not yet been deciphered, or whose interpretations by different writers present so many contradictions that they would have no value here.[638]

[Sidenote: CALENDAR OF THE TARASCOS.]

The only information we have of the calendar used in Michoacan is furnished by Veytia, and this is only fragmentary. Enough is known, however, to show that their system was the same as that of the Aztecs. Instead of the four principal signs of the Aztecs, tecpatl, calli, tochtli, and acatl, in Mechoacan the names _inodon_, _inbani_, _inchon_, and _intihui_ were used. Of the eighteen months only fourteen are mentioned by name. These are: Intacaci, Indehuni, Intecamoni, Interunihi, Intamohui, Inizcatolohui, Imatatohui, Itzbachaa, Intoxihui, Intaxihui, Intechaqui, Intechotahui, Inteyabchitzin, Intaxitohui. The five intercalary days were named _intasiabire_.[639] The days of the month, divided into four equal parts by the above-mentioned four principal signs, were called: Inodon, Inicebi, Inettuni, Inbeari, Inethaati, Inbani, Inxichari, Inchini, Inrini, Inpari, Inchon, Inthahui, Intzini, Intzoniabi, Intzimbi, Inthihui, Inixotzini, Inichini, Iniabi, Intaniri.[640]

The Zapotecs in Oajaca, according to the description of Burgoa, used the same calendar as the Aztecs, with this difference, that the year always commenced on the twelfth day of March, and that the bissextile year was corrected every fourth year, by adding, instead of five, six intercalary days.[641]

FOOTNOTES:

[618] _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, tom. ix., p. 322. 'En un año que fué señalado con el geroglifico de un pedernal, que segun las tablas parece haber sido el de 3901 del mundo, se convocó una gran junta de astrólogos ... para hacer la correcion de su calendario y reformar sus cómputos, que conocian errados segun el sistema que hasta entónces habian seguido.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 32.

[619] _Id._, pp. 31-2.

[620] _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Hist. Chich._, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix., p. 205; _Id._, _Relaciones_, in _Id._, pp. 331-2, 459; _Camargo_, _Hist. Tlax._, in _Nouvelles Annales des Voy._, 1843, tom. xcix., p. 132; _Ternaux-Compans_, in _Id._, 1840, tom. lxxxvi., pp. 5-6; _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 3; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 57; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _S'il existe des Sources de l'Hist. Prim._, pp. 26-7; _Spiegazione delle Tavole del Codice Mexicano_ (Vaticano), in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. v., pp. 164-7; _Explicacion del Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, in _Id._, pp. 134-6. 'Cinco Soles que son edades ... el primer Sol se perdio por agua.... El segundo Sol perecio cayendo el cielo sobre la tierra.... El Sol tercero falto y se consumio por fuego.... El quarto Sol fenecio con aire.... Del quinto Sol, que al presente tienen.' _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 297. 'Le ciel et la terre s'étaient faits, quatre fois.' _Codex Chimalpopoca_, in _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. i., p. 53. 'Creyeron que el Sol habia muerto cuatro veces, ó que hubo cuatro soles, que habian acabado en otros tantos tiempos ó edades; y que el quinto sol era el que actualmente les alumbraba.' _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., p. 94. 'Hubo cinco soles en los tiempos pasados.' _Mendieta_, _Hist. Ecles._, p. 81, repeated literally by _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 79; _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom. ii., pp. 118-29; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., p. 325; _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, pp. 510-12.

[621] _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 296-7; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. ii., lib. vi., pp. 256-7; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 397-8; _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., p. 16 et seq.; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 42 et seq.

[622] 'No todos comenzaban á contar el ciclo por un mismo año: los tultecos lo empezaban desde _Tecpatl_: los de Teotihuacan desde _Calli_; los mexicanos desde _Tochtli_; y los tezcocanos desde _Acatl_.' _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., p. 16; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 58. 'So begannen die Aculhuas von Texcoco ihre Umläufe mit dem Zeichen Ce Tecpatl, die Mexicaner dagegen im Ce Tochtli.' _Müller_, _Reisen_, tom. iii., p. 65; _Boturini_, _Idea_, p. 125.

[623] 'Esto circulo redondo se dividia en cuatro partes.... La primera parte que pertenecia á Oriente llamabanle los trece años de las cañas, y asi en cada casa de los trece tenian pintada una caña, y el número del año corriente.... La segunda parte aplicaban al septentrion, que era de otras trece casas, á las cuales llamaban las trece casas del pedernal; y asi tenian pintado en cada casa un pedernal.... A la tercera ... parte Occidental, llamabanle las trece casas, y asi verémos en cada parte de las trece una casilla pintada.... A la cuarta y última parte que era de otros trece años, llamabanla las trece casas del conejo; y asi en cada casa de aquellas verémos pintada una cabeza de conejo.' _Duran_, _Hist. Indias_, MS., tom. iii., appendix, cap. i.

[624] Gemelli Careri gives these names in a different order, calling tochtli south, acatl east, tecpatl north, and calli west; further, tochtli earth, acatl water, tecpatl air, and calli fire. _Gemelli Careri_, in _Churchill's Col. Voyages_, vol. iv., pp. 487-8; _Boturini_, _Idea_, pp. 54-8. The above are only figurative names, as the words for the cardinal points and also for the elements are entirely different in the Mexican language.

[625] Boturini repeats Martin de Leon and Gemelli Carreri.

[626] Humboldt and Gallatin repeat Leon y Gama.

[627] 'Itetl, Ititl, barriga o vientre.' _Molina_, _Vocabulario_. 'Vientre, la madre, á excepcion del padre.' _Salva_, _Nuevo Dicc._ 'Titl ... significa fuego. Tititl escrito en dos sílabas y seis letras nada significa en el idioma mexicano' _Cabrera_, in _Ilustracion Mex._, tom. iv., p. 468.

[628] 'Izcalia, abiuar, tornar en si, o resuscitar.' _Molina_, _Vocabulario_.

[629] 'Quiahuitl-ehua ... significa _la lluvia levanta_.' _Cabrera_, in _Ilustracion Mex._, tom. iv., p. 464.

[630] 'Toçoliztli vela, el acto de velar o de no dormir.' _Molina_, _Vocabulario_.

[631] 'Garganta totuzcatlan, tuzquitl.' _Ib._

[632] For the various etymologies of the names of months, see: _Spiegazione delle Tavole del Codice Mexicano_ (Vaticano), in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. v., pp. 190-97; _Explicacion del Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, in _Id._, pp. 129-34; _Leon_, _Camino del Cielo_, fol. 96-100; _Boturini_, _Idea_, pp. 50-52; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 64-5; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 66-83; _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom. i., pp. 349-352; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 502-36; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 250-300.

[633] This order is varied by a few authors. Veytia gives the following entirely different system: 'Si el año era del carácter Tecpatl, con este se señalaba el primer dia de cada mes, y seguian anotándose los demas con los geroglificos siguientes en el órden en que los he puesto; de manera que el vigésimo dia de cada mes se hallaba Ollin.... Si el año era del segundo geroglifico Calli, por este se comenzaba á contar, y á todos los dias primeros de cada mes se les daba este nombre.' The same method he contends is followed also in those years of each tlalpilli which commence with Tochtli and Acatl. For _cozcaquauhtli_ he uses the name _temeztlatl_, or metate. _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 76-80; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 294-5. Gemelli Careri states that Cipactli was not always the first day of the month. _Churchill's Col. Voyages_, tom. iv., p. 489; _Duran_, _Hist. Indias_, MS., tom. iii., appendix, cap. ii.; _Ritos Antiguos_, p. 22, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. ix.; _Motolinia_, _Hist. Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., p. 36. Boturini adds to Ollin the word Tonatiuh, and translates it 'movement of the sun.' _Idea_, p. 45. Gama places Ollin between Atl and Itzcuintli. _Dos Piedras_, pt i., p. 26; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, tom. i., p. 59; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 463. See also hieroglyphics in _Codex Telleriano-Remensis_, pl. ix., in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. i., and _Codex Borgian_, in _Id._, vol. iii., pl. 24; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., p. 304. In Nicaragua where the Aztec language was spoken by a large portion of the population, the calendar and the names of the days were the same as Aztec, with but some slight differences in spelling. Oviedo gives the names of the days as follows: '_Agat_, _oçelot_, _oate_, _coscagoate_, _olin_, _tapecat_, _quiaüit_, _sochit_, _çipat_, _acat_, _cali_, _quespal_, _coat_, _misiste_, _maçat_, _toste_, _at_, _izquindi_, _ocomate_, _malinal_, _acato_.... Un año ... tiene diez çempuales, é cada çempual es veynte dias.' _Hist. Gen._, tom. iv., p. 52.

[634] Sahagun, and after him several others, do not agree with this, but pretend that one day was added every fourth year, on which occasion a certain feast was celebrated, but Gama has clearly demonstrated that this is a mistake. 'El año visiesto, que era de cuatro en cuatro años.' _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., p. 75. 'Otra fiesta hacian de cuatro en cuatro años á honra del fuego, en la que ahugeraban las orejas á todos los niños; y la llamaban _Pillabanaliztli_, y en esta fiesta es verosimil, y hay congeturas que hacian su visiesto contando seis dias de _nemontemi_.' _Id._, tom. iv., pp. 347-8. Boturini expresses the same opinion. 'Determinaron cada quatro años añadir un dia mas, que recogiesse las horas, que se desperdiciaban, lo que supongo executaron contando dos veces uno de los Symbolos de el ultimo mes de el año, á la manera de los Romanos.' _Idea_, p. 137. 'El año de visiesto que era de quatro à quatro años.' _Leon_, _Camino del Cielo_, fol. 100. 'They order'd the bissextile, or leap-year, after this manner. The first year of the age began on the tenth of _April_, and so did the second and third, but the fourth or leap-year, on the ninth, the eighth on the eighth, the twelfth on the seventh, the sixteenth on the sixth, till the end of the age, which was on the twenty-eighth of _March_, when the thirteen days of the leap-years, till the tenth of _April_, were spent in rejoicing.' _Gemelli Careri_, in _Churchill's Col. Voyages_, vol. iv., p. 490. Veytia following Boturini adds one day every fourth year by repeating the last day. _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 110-20. 'La correccion no se hacia hasta el fin del ciclo, en que se intercalaban juntos los 13 dias.' _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., p. 24. 'Les Mexicains ont évidemment suivi le système des Perses: ils conservoient l'année vague jusqu'à ce que les heures excédantes formassent une demilunaison; ils intercaloient, par conséquent, treize jours toutes les _ligatures_ ou cycles de cinquante-deux ans ... à chaque année du signe _tochtli_, les Mexicains perdoient un jour; et, par l'effet de cette _rétrogradation_, l'année _calli_ de la quatriéme indiction commençoit le 27 décembre, et finissoit au solstice d'hiver, le 21 décembre, en ne faisant pas entrer en ligne de compte les cinq jours inutiles ou complémentaires. Il en résulte que ... treize jours intercalaires ramènent le commencement de l'année au 9 janvier.' _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom. ii., pp. 60-1. 'Non frammettevano un giorno ogni quattro anni, ma tredici giorni ... ogni cinquanta due anni.' _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., p. 62. 'They waited till the expiration of fifty-two vague years, when they interposed thirteen days, or rather twelve and a half, this being the number which had fallen in arrear.' _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., p. 112; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 469. In this connection I also give the remarkable statement of Pedro de los Rios in his interpretation of the Codex Vaticanus: '_Item_, si ha da notare, che il loro bisesto andava solo in quattro lettere, anni, o segni che sono Canna, Pietra, Casa, e Coniglio, perchè come hanno bisesto delli giorni a fare di quattro in quattro anni un mese di quelli cinque giorni morti che avanzavano di ciascun anno, cosi avevano bisesto di anni perchè di cinquantadue in cinquantadue anni, che è una loro Età, aggiungevano un anno, il quale sempre veniva in una di queste lettere o segni perchè come ogni lettera o segno di questi vinti habbia tredici del suo genere che le servano, _verbi gratiâ_.' _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. v., pp. 174-5. In the Explicacion del Codex Telleriano-Remensis we read: 'Á 19 de Fevrero los cinco dias muertos que no avia sacrificios; estos eran los dias que sobravan de los de veynte en veynte del año: y siempre en cumpliendose los 365 dias, dexavan pasar estos, y luego tornavan a tomar el año en la letra que entrava.' _Id._, p. 134. To this Lord Kingsborough adds in a note: 'The Mexicans reckoned 365 days to their year; the last five of which had no sign or place appropriated to them in the calendar; since, if they had been admitted, the order of the signs would have been inverted, and the new year would not always have commenced with Ce Cipactli. These days, therefore, although included in the computation of the year, were rejected from the calendar, until at the expiration of four years an intercalation of twenty corresponding signs might be effected without producing any confusion in it. It would appear, however, that this intercalation did not actually take place till at the expiration of 52 years; for it is impossible, except on this supposition, to understand the _intercalation of years_ mentioned in the Vatican MS. as occurring at the expiration of every period of 52 years, when an entire year was intercalated: but admitting the postponement of an intercalation of a month every four years during a period of 52 years, such an intercalation would then become quite intelligible; since thirteen Mexican months, of 20 days each, exactly constitute a ritual year of the Mexicans which contained 260 days, and was shorter than the civil year by 105 days; and this is the precise number of months of which the intercalation would have been postponed.' _Mex. Antiq._, vol. vi., pp. 103-4.

[635] _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., pp. 62-89; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp. 69-86. Veytia's reason for commencing the year with Atemoztli is, that on the calendar circle which he saw, and of which I insert a copy, this was the month following the five nemontemi. This appears very reasonable, but nevertheless Gama and Gallatin's calculations show it to be an error. See _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 74-5.

[636] Boturini gives the rulers of the night as follows: Xiuhteucyòhua, Señor de el Año; Ytzteucyòhua, Señor de el Fuego; Piltzinteucyòhua, Señor de los Niños; Cinteucyòhua, Señor de el Maiz; Mictlanteucyòhua, Señor de el Infierno; Chalchihuitlicueyòhua, Señor de el Agua; Tlazolyòhua, Señor de el Amor deshonesto; Tepeyoloyòhua, Señor de los Entrañas de los Montes; Quiauhteucyòhua, Señor de las Lluvias. _Idea_, p. 58.

[637] _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., pp. 29-31, 52-3; _Boturini_, _Idea_, pp. 57-9; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., p. 61.

[638] _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp. 94-103; _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_, pt i., pp. 89-114. Further description, and mention of the astronomical system will be found in _Humboldt_, _Vues_, tom. i., pp. 332-92, and tom. ii., pp. 1-99, 356-80; _Torquemada_, _Monarq. Ind._, tom. ii., pp. 295-305; _Las Casas_, _Hist. Apologética_, MS., cap. cxli.; _Sahagun_, _Hist. Gen._, tom. i., lib. ii., pp. 49-76, tom. iv., pp. 282-309, 338-49, tom. ii., lib. vii., pp. 256-60, 264-5; _Explanation of the Codex Vaticanus_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, vol. vi., pp. 196, 200; _Boturini_, _Idea_, pp. 42-59, 109-10, 122-4, 137-40, 153-5; _Id._, _Catálogo_, pp. 57-72; _Motolinia_, _Hist. Indios_, in _Icazbalceta_, _Col. de Doc._, tom. i., pp. 35-8; _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 30-138; _Carbajal Espinosa_, _Hist. Mex._, tom. i., pp. 517-31; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 457-82; _Gomara_, _Conq. Mex._, fol. 294-97; _Gemelli Careri_, in _Churchill's Col. Voyages_, tom. iv., pp. 487-90; _Leon y Gama_, _Dos Piedras_; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp. 57-115; _Laet_, _Novus Orbis_, pp. 241-2; _Prescott's Mex._, vol. i., pp. 110-27; _Pimentel_, _Mem. sobre la Raza Indígena_, pp. 41-3; _Nebel_, _Viaje_, pl. l.; _Herrera_, _Hist. Gen._, dec. iii., lib. ii., cap. xviii.; _Ixtlilxochitl_, _Relaciones_, in _Kingsborough's Mex. Antiq._, tom. ix., pp. 322-4; _Acosta_, _Hist. de las Ynd._, pp. 397-9; _Clavigero_, _Storia Ant. del Messico_, tom. ii., pp. 56-65; _Müller_, _Reisen_, tom. iii., pp. 63-90; _McCulloh's Researches in Amer._, pp. 201-25; _Klemm_, _Cultur-Geschichte_, tom. v., pp. 128-30; _Tylor's Researches_, pp. 92-4; _Id._, _Anahuac_, p. 103; _Schoolcraft's Arch._, vol. i., pp. 44-5; _Montanus_, _Nieuwe Weereld_, pp. 266-7; _Peter Martyr_, dec. iv., lib. viii., pp. 537-8; _Baril_, _Mexique_, pp. 194-5, 211-15; _Morton's Crania Amer._, p. 150; _Malte-Brun_, _Précis de la Géog._, tom. vi., pp. 445, 293; _Macgregor's Progress of Amer._, vol. i., p. 22; _Chambers' Jour._, 1835, vol. iv., p. 254; _Lafond_, _Voyages_, tom. i., p. 118; _Touron_, _Hist. Gén._, tom. iii., pp. 21-2, 24-5; _Poinsett's Notes Mex._, pp. 111, 75-6; _Simon's Ten Tribes_, pp. 149-57; _Kendall's Nar._, vol. ii., p. 328; _Prichard's Nat. Hist. Man_, tom. ii., p. 507; _Cabrera_, in _Ilustracion Mex._, tom. iv., pp. 461-70; _Müller_, _Amerikanische Urreligionen_, pp. 93-4; _Humboldt_, _Essai Pol._, tom. i., p. 92; _Thompson's Mex._, p. 213; _Falliés_, _Études Hist. sur les Civilisations_, Paris, (n. d.) pp. 57-62.

[639] 'Los cuatro meses que faltan son los que corresponden á nuestro enero, febrero y marzo, porque al manuscrito le falta la primera hoja, y solo comienza desde el dia 22 de marzo, y concluye en 31 diciembre, confrontando sus meses con los nuestros.' _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., p. 138. 'Il est dit que l'année commençait au 22 mars avec le premier jour In Thacari.' _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., p. 467.

[640] _Veytia_, _Hist. Ant. Mej._, tom. i., pp. 137-8; _Brasseur de Bourbourg_, _Hist. Nat. Civ._, tom. iii., pp. 463, 467; _Gallatin_, in _Amer. Ethno. Soc., Transact._, vol. i., pp. 104-5.

[641] 'Dabanle diez y ocho meses de à 20. dias, y otro mas de cinco, y este al cabo de quatro años como nuestro Bisiesto lo variaban à seis dias, pos las seis horas que sobran cada año.' _Burgoa_, _Geog. Descrip._, tom. i., pt ii., fol. 136.