Notes on Certain Maya and Mexican Manuscripts | Page 7

they stand in the calendar,
commencing with Kan, writing them in four columns, placing one
name in each in succession, thus:
Kan. Chicchan. Cimi. Manik. Lamat. Muluc. Oc. Chuen. Eb. Been. Ix.
Men. Cib. Caban. Ezanab. Cauac. Ahau. Ymix. Ik. Akbal.
If we commence with any other day the groups will contain
respectively the same days, as, for example, if we begin with Ymix as
here shown (Table IV).
As I am inclined to believe the author of the plate adopted this order I
shall use and refer to this table in speaking of these groups.
TABLE IV.
1. 2. 3. 4. Ymix. Ik. Akbal. Kan. Chicchan. Cimi. Manik. Lamat. Muluc.
Oc. Chuen. Eb. Been. Ix. Men. Cib. Caban. Ezanab. Cauac. Ahau.
Examining the five names in the third column we find they are the

same as those in the bottom line of the quadrilateral of the plate, and
also in the same order. Those of the second column are the same as
those in the left column of the plate, though not precisely in the same
order; those in the first column the same as those in the top line of the
plate, except that in our column we have Caban in place of Eb; and
those in the fourth column the same as those in the right column of the
plate, except that in our column we have Eb instead of Caban. I am
satisfied, therefore, that the artist who made the plate has transposed the
characters Eb and Caban; that in place of Eb, the left-hand character of
the upper line, there should be Caban, and in place of Caban, the
middle character of the right column, there should be Eb, and have
made this change in my scheme (Fig. 2) and in Plate II.
This, I admit, has the appearance of making an arbitrary change to suit
a theory; but besides the strong evidence in favor of this change shown
by the arrangement of the days in four columns just given, I propose to
present other testimony.
That the characters here interpreted Eb and Caban are the same as
those given by Landa, and in the Manuscript Troano we have positive
evidence in the tortous[TN-6] line in the outer space, of which we have
already given an explanation. Hence there is no escape from the
difficulty by supposing the artist had reversed the characters in their
reference to the names. Either he has reversed them as to place, or we
are mistaken in our supposition as to how the four groups were
obtained.
If we turn, now, to the Manuscript Troano, and examine the day
columns, comparing them with these four groups as I have corrected
them by this single transposition, I think we shall find one clue at least
to the object of the arrangement we observe on this plate. As but few
are likely to have the Manuscript at hand, I will refer to Chapter VII of
my work (A Study of the Manuscript Troano), where a large number of
these day columns are given. In making the comparison I ask the reader
to use my scheme (Fig. 2). Commencing with the first column on page
165, we find it to be Manik, Cauac, Chuen, Akbal, Men, precisely the
same days as in the bottom line. The next two on the same page are

first Akbal, Muluc, Men, Ymix, Manik, and second, Ben, Cauac,
Chicchan, Chuen, Caban, taken alternately from the bottom and top
lines of the quadrilateral.
On the lower part of the same page (165) is another column with the
following days, Ahau, Oc, Eb, Ik, Kan, Ix, Cib, Cimi, Lamat, taken
alternately from the right and left sides of the plate as given in our
scheme. But there are only nine names in the column, when the order in
which they are taken would seem to require ten. By examining the plate
(IV) in the Manuscript the reader will see that there are indications that
one at the top has been obliterated. By examining the right and left
columns of our scheme we see that the omitted one is Ezanab. By
counting the intervals between the days, as explained in my work, we
find them to be alternately two and ten, and that by this rule the missing
day is Ezanab. The reader will notice in these examples that Eb and
Caban belong to the positions I have given them in my scheme (Fig. 2).
Turning to page 166 we find the first column (from "second division,"
Plate IV) to be Kan, Cib, Lamat, Ahau, Eb, the same days as in the
right column of our scheme. The second column, Cauac, Chuen, Akbal,
Men, Manik, the same as the lower line of the scheme. The first column
on page 167 has the same