Morley-AIttSotMH.pdfp43.fig24
tzi:<ka.<BAHLAM:HAAB>.ka>
Morley-AIttSotMH.pdfp43.fig24
tzi:<ka.<XOOK:HAAB>.ka>
Morley-AIttSotMH.pdfp43.fig24
tzi:<ka.<IXIIM:HAAB>.ka>
Morley-AIttSotMH.pdfp43.fig24
tzi:<ka.<BAHLAM:HAAB>.ka>
Morley-AIttSotMH.pdfp43.fig24
tzi:<ka.<CHAN:HAAB>.ka>
· The ISIG = “Initial Series Introductory Glyph” is a nickname given when very little was understood about Maya glyphs. At the time, it was noticed that many monuments began with this extra-large glyph, and that a very regular pattern of glyphs followed it. That pattern was dubbed the “Initial Series”, making this glyph the “Initial Series Introductory Glyph”.
o It is often found at the very start of an inscription on a stela.
o The simplest form of the opening of such an inscription, i.e. the Initial Series is:
§ ISIG.
§ LC – the Long Count: an “odometer” which counts the number of days since the last creation of the world 0.0.0.0.0 (sometimes written as 13.0.0.0.0) corresponding to specific day in the past, with a Julian date in 3114 BCE.
· Thie LC consists of a baktun, katun, tuun, winal, and k’in place.
· The k’in corresponding to a day.
· There are 20 k’ins in a winal.
· There are 18 winals in a tuun.
· There are 20 tuuns in a katun.
· There are 20 katuns in a baktun.
§ Tzolk’in date – consisting of a number coefficient and a Tzolk’in day name (the Tolk’in and Haab date together form the CR = Calendar Round date).
§ SS: the Supplementary Series – optional information about the LC date, in addition to the Initial Series.
§ Haab date – consisting of a number coefficient and a Haab month name (the Tolk’in and Haab date together form the CR = Calendar Round date).
§ First event of the inscription.
· Features of the ISIG – it consists of a “fixed” part and a “variable” part:
o A. Fixed - tripartite:
§ Top: reduced variant of tzi (itself a trilobate element).
§ Middle:
· Two symmetrically placed ka syllabograms, flanking the variable element.
· The two ka elements are usually ka-combs but can occasionally be the full fish variant of ka instead.
· As ka-combs they can also have a sort of “flourish” at the top end – a wavy end (probably emphasizing the fin of the fish).
§ Bottom: HAAB.
There is variation in the middle and bottom – the ka elements can flank only the variable element, or they can flank both the variable element and the HAAB (with the variable element being stacked on top of the HAAB). i.e., either:
§ tzi:<ka.<variable-element>.ka>:HAAB, or
§ tzi:<ka.<variable-element:HAAB>.ka>
o B. Variable:
§ This is the patron of the HAAB-month of the CR (Tzolk’in and Haab date) corresponding to the LC.
§ The patrons are according to the following table:
# |
Classical Maya name |
Colonial Yucatec name |
Patron |
Mnemonic / Comment |
1 |
K’an-jalaw |
Pop |
BAHLAM |
The most important mammal, so comes first. |
2 |
Ihk’at |
Wo |
“JGU” / CHUWAJ |
The Underworld is a dark (= IHK’) place. Alternatively: the Underworld is associated with “woe”. |
3 |
Chakat |
Sip |
“SNB” |
The SNB sips blood which is “red” (= CHAK). |
4 |
Suutz’ |
Sotz’ |
XOOK |
The bat and the shark (and the crocodile) have an unusual, up-turned nose. |
5 |
Kasew |
Sek |
KAB = “earth” or CHAN = “sky” |
Secular = earth (and hence also sky) |
6 |
Chikin |
Xul |
LEM + anthropomorphic head with a very distinctive line curving from the eye. Dorota: this special long curved line is associated with dwarfs. |
XuL: L è LEM |
7 |
Yaxk’in |
Yaxk’in |
K’IN / K’INICH |
The first K’IN is the most important K’IN. |
8 |
Mol |
Mol |
AK’AB |
Moles live in darkness. |
9 |
Ihk’-sihoom |
Ch’en |
UH / Chac Chel
Chinchilla-ItCotMG.p434.pdfp11.para2.l-1 (date unclear) says it’s the “Lunar Maize God”. |
Ihk’ è black è darkness, and the moon is most visible in darkness. Alternatively: Ch’en è Chak Chel è Moon Goddess. |
10 |
Yax-sihoom |
Yax |
Variants (2): · A. Abstract variant: EK’ · B. Head variant: “Venus monster”, with long pointed snout |
Yax è Y, cut off the bottom of the Y è V è Venus è Chak Ek’ è Ek’ (and “Venus monster” also). |
11 |
Sak-sihoom |
Sak |
CHAN = “snake” |
“A sackful of snakes” (MHD “blcodes contains AC6a” gives 460 hits of bllogosyll = kan – but only 5 of them are in an ISIG, and only one of the 5 is clearly associated with month YAX) |
12 |
Chak-sihoom |
Keh |
TOK |
With the four “SIHOOM (rain god) months”, CHAK is the “greatest” – the greatest rain god è “storm” = TOK. See SIHOOM and TOK in the CMGG. |
13 |
Mak |
Mak |
IK’ – variants (2): · A. Abstract variant of IK’ = “wind”: · B. God-head variant of “3” (which has an infixed IK’).
|
Muck is icky. |
14 |
Uniw |
K’ank’in |
Variants (2): · A. Abstract variant: “double-arch”. · B. Head variant: monster head CHAPAAT? with the characteristics of two fangs curving backwards, hanging from the top of the mouth (at the end of the snout) |
The K’-K’ of K’ank’in suggests: the two fangs of the centipede and the “double arches”.
|
15 |
Muwaan |
Muwan |
K’UH |
The Bird Deity is divine. |
16 |
Pax |
Pax |
SIBIK.TE’ = <PAX-deity-head> = no mandible, instead, a scroll to the right, some touching dots attached under the cruller around the eye (= head version of logogram-TE’) |
“A Passion for Ink” è SIBIK |
17 |
K’anasiiy |
K’ayab |
“TMG” / JUUN IXIIM |
ka-na-si (Hokkien) è “The Young Maize God keeps dying” |
18 |
Hul-ohl |
Kumk’u |
CHAN = “snake”, with optional infixed BIH
The mouth is closed compared to the snake for Sak, where the mouth is open. |
Most important reptile, so comes last
MHD maps both the one in QRGStC and the one in COLSPan (Zürich Panel) to MHD.AC8a, which, in other contexts is the head variant of BIH. But neither of these concrete examples have a quincunx infixed in the top of the head. |
19 |
Wayhaab |
Wayeb |
UH? |
A search in MHD on “blsem contains ISIG/Wayeb” yields three hits. Unfortunately, in two of them, the patron infixed in the ISIG is too eroded to tell what it is. In the third case, MHD speculates that it might be the moon glyph UH (which the uneroded infixed glyph does indeed look like). Unfortunately, this would “clash” with the patron of Ch’en (month 9), for which there is a sufficient number of uneroded examples to establish that its patron is UH).
The month of Wayeb very rarely appears as the first or major event of an inscription anyway because it was considered to be an unlucky month. Events recorded in inscriptions were usually rituals and victories and these would generally not have occurred in the 5 days of the unlucky month of Wayeb. |
· As almost all the HAAB months have 20 days, the patron infixed in the ISIG will change every 20 days (after 5 days if the month is Wayeb).
.