CMGG entry for aj muuch      (This article is part of the Learner's Maya Glyph Guide and Concordance.)

Translation: toad
Part of speech: Noun

Spellings of aj muuch

                                                                                 

mayavase.com                              Safronov                                                 Safronov                         

K5164 G1                                       New York / Caracas Panel A9              New York / Caracas Panel C2

a{j}.<mu:chi>                                 <a[ku?]:lu>.<mu:chi>                           <a[*ku?]:lu>.<mu:chi>

 

A picture containing text  Description automatically generated 

mayavase.com

K5164

 

·     The iconography of K5164 shows a lady reclining at a slight angle on the ground or floor. She has conjured a vision serpent, from whose mouth the head and upper torso of an “Old Man God” emerges. It is not clear to me what role the toad plays in this, as there doesn’t seem to be one represented in the iconography.

·     Bíró (John Harris reading group, May 2022): Ahkul Muuch Ahkul Xukub was the name of a god associated with Sak Tz’i’.

·     EB lists two different words for “toad” amal and aj muuch (both listed in both directions: Classic Maya à English and English à Classic Maya).

·     Sim:

o The aj  in aj muuch seems a bit odd to me, especially as it doesn’t appear in the name Ahkul Muuch (i.e. muuch itself appears to be sufficient as the word for “toad”).

o All the more so in that EB gives only one reference (K5164) for aj muuch, while giving three for amal. (K0531, K2041, K1181) – though the a{j} in K5164 seems to be a fairly confident reading.

o The vases with amal all show very vividly a large toad as a/the main character in the “story”, much more so than the single vase K5164 with a(j)-muuch (which doesn’t show a toad in the iconography at all).

o MHD reads Amuuch for K5164 G1.