·     The word cha’anil meaning “public” is (apparently) not related to a root chan = “sky”; i.e. it isn’t derived from “sky-like” implying “(in the) open air”. Instead, it’s from the meaning “watched (by the public)”, related to cha’an = “guardian” = “someone who watches over someone else”.

·     YAX Lintel 1 E1-F2: u.<BAAH:hi> ti.<CHAN:na:li> IX.1.WITZ’ NAH.<ka:KAN> è ubaah ti cha’anil Ix Juun Witz’ Nah Kan = “It is the image in public performance of Ix Juun Witz’ Nah Kan”.

o AT-E1168-lecture11.t0:47:53-48:30: For example on a lintel from Yaxchilan we have an image of a ruler and an image of his wife. And each is accompanied by a caption that begins with ubaah: ubaah ti ch’am ak’ot “this is his image in the taking dance”; and in the case of the queen ubaah ti chanal or ti chanil “this is her image in a public event” – one of the few references to how Mayas actually thought of these big dances. So the king is dancing [and] the queen is in this publicly viewable event – literally something that can be viewed by people.

·     XLM region Door Jamb A1-A4: u.<BAAH:hi> tu.<CHAN:li> ya.<ja:wa> AHK[WINIK] è  ubaah tu’cha’anil yajaw Ahk Winik = “It is the image in public performance of the vassal of Ahk Winik”.

o Looper-TBLG.p18.pdfp29.c1.para3.l+5: … an expression reading ub’ah ti’ cha’nil [Sim: typo, this should be tu’ rather than ti’], which occurs as a caption for dancing figures on a door jamb, probably from Xcalumkín (Fig. 5.35). It is possible to interpret the cha’nil element as a term for “public ceremony,” derived from the root cha’n, meaning “to watch” (Tokovinine 2003). Modern Mayan languages, particularly Ch’orti’, preserve related terms such as cha’an, “ceremony,” and noh cha’an, “important ceremony, rain making ceremony” (Wisdom 1950: 690). The derivation of this term for performance from a word meaning “to watch” suggests the importance of audience involvement in the event.

·     Tokovinine-ACMTfPP is the paper which explains this reading, with reference to YAX Lintel 1 E1-F2 (it is, in fact, the whole point of the paper). Tokovinine-ACMTfPP.p3.para1.l+11: The word is likely to have the same etymology as the "one's guardian" title that, according to Lacadena and Wichmann (in press), was based on the verb cha'n "to watch", attested as chan (the glottal is lost in the Late Classic inscriptions) in Chol and Chontal. Therefore, cha'nil as a term for public ceremony may be translated literally as "something being watched" and implies performing before an audience.