Animal Figures in the Maya Codices | Page 6

body of the bird which forms but a
portion of the whole head-covering. Landa (1864, p. 148)[292-*] notes
the dress of the leader in the rites. He wears a jacket of red feathers
worked with other feathers and from it hang long plumes. He also
wears a feather head-dress.
Entire birds appear as the sole head-covering only in connection with
female figures and then only in one section of the Dresden (16-18) and
a parallel passage in the Tro-Cortesianus (94-95). In both these places
the conception and the bearing of children are shown together with
their baptism. The bird above the head of each female figure seems to
be a badge of office, possibly the totems which are held by the women
and given to the children. The parrot, quetzal, vulture, screech owl and
the horned owl appear in this connection. It is to be noted that the birds
associated with these women are not really represented as head-dresses
at all. They are quite different from the head decoration composed of a
bird's head and feathers seen in other parts of the manuscripts. In the
Dresden especially, these birds above the women's heads are shown in
almost every case standing with the claws clasping the necklace at the
back of the neck. Landa (1864, pp. 144-154) gives an interesting
account of the method of baptising children. He also states (p.
304)[292-[+]] that in the month Yaxkin an old woman brought the little
girls to the general feast. This old woman was dressed in a garment of
feathers. It was understood that this devoted old woman was not
permitted to become intoxicated[293-*] lest she should lose in the road
the plume of her office.
The serpent appears as a head-dress exclusively with female figures
and then usually when the woman is in the act of offering something or
is associated with water or rain. The centipede occurs only with god D.
Quadrupeds are employed as head-dresses only very seldom. The head
of a deer is, in three places, used as a part of the head decoration of god

M and the head of a jaguar appears in two places only.
SECULAR OCCUPATIONS. Animals appear frequently in scenes
showing various occupations. These, although appearing at first sight
as secular, have to do with the religion of the people and they show in
every case acts undertaken in behalf of the deities. It is almost
exclusively in the Tro-Cortesianus that these religious-secular
occupations are shown.
Hunting scenes occur in one section of this codex (38-49). The whole
aim of the hunt in these pages is to obtain animals for sacrifice. In
almost every case the various animals are shown as being captured
alive, either in a pitfall or a trap of the "jerk-up" type. This was
undoubtedly in order that the animal might be killed the moment it was
offered to the gods by having its heart cut out. Deer are most
commonly represented in this hunting section although peccaries and
armadillos also appear. Fishing is shown in one place at least (Dresden
33a).
The practice of agriculture is shown in Tro-Cortesianus 24-28. The
sprouting grain is represented as being eaten by a vulture and a jaguar.
Certain gods in this section which relates to the planting of maize are
shown as being attacked by vultures and blow-flies. Another
occupation of the natives depicted in the Tro-Cortesianus (103-112) is
apiculture. This, again, has clearly some religious significance.
Pottery-making is shown in the same manuscript (95-101). It is,
however, a purely religious ceremony. The renewal of the
incense-burners is shown. Animals occur very infrequently in this
section. The quetzal and two vultures are noted seated on top of an
oven-like covering under which is the head of god C, probably
representing the idol. There are several other occupations shown in this
codex such as weaving (79c) and the gathering of the sap of the rubber
tree (102b), but as animals do not occur in any connection with these
operations, it is not necessary to dwell upon them.
ANIMAL GLYPHS. It remains finally to speak of the various animals
which are represented in glyph form as well as drawn in full in the
pictures proper. The creatures pictured in the codices are often

accompanied by their glyphs which appear in the lines of signs directly
above. In many cases, the animal pictured below is not represented by
its glyph above and, vice versa, the animal glyph may appear without
its picture below. The same is seen also in connection with the
representation of the gods and their glyphs. Both the picture and the
glyph usually appear but either may appear alone. Many times when
the glyph, either of a god or an animal, is shown with no accompanying
picture, the reason seems to be that there is