Briiitou.] ^O'* [Oct. 6, 



ably is the origin of the Maya chuea (a word which has no sig- 

 nification in that dialect) and of the name chouen in the National 

 Book, the Popol Vuh, of the Quiches.* 



The Zapotec syllable loo is given us the name of the 11th, the 

 14th and the 20th days, but is probably an abbreviation of dif- 

 ferent words. Taken alone, it has various meanings, as, face ; 

 ej^es ; above; point; beginning, first, etc. Here it maybe in- 

 tended for bil-loo, monkey, as the form of the name generally 

 given in Cordova's Calendar is pel-loo. 



The Twelfth Day. 



1. Maya, eb ; 2. Tzental. euob ; 3. Quiche-Cak., e or ee ; 4. Zapotec, 

 pija ; 5. Nalmatl, malliiialli and itlnn. 



The Nahuatl and Zapotec names both signify the brush or 

 broom of twisted twigs or stiff grass used for cleaning and dust- 

 ing, and this grass itself. 



In Maya, eb is the plural of e, which means points or ends, 

 like those of pins, or thorns (puntas como de alfiler, aguja, espina 

 y cosas asi, Dive. 3Iotul), and plainly was intended to designate 

 the broom by reference to its numerous points. From the same 

 idea, rows of teeth received the same name. The Tzental and 

 the Quiche names, e and euob, the latter a plural, were from the 

 same radical and had the same signification. All five, therefore, 

 convej'ed similar ideas, and it is noteworthy that the day-name 

 itlmi, used in Meztitlan, is from tlantli, tooth. f 



The Thirteenth Day. 



1. Maya, ben; 2. Tzental, ben; 3. Quiche-Cak., ah; 4. Zapotec, quii, or 

 i, or laa; 5. Naliuatl, acatl. 



The Nahuatl means reed or stalk, as do also the Zapotec quii 

 and laa. The Quiche-Cak. ah denotes a green cornstalk or 

 sugar cane (la caiia 6 la canadulce; 6 mais tierno, Ximenes). 

 The Tzental and Maya ben has been more difficult to analyze. 

 Pio Perez and Dr. Seler expressed themselves at a loss to offer 



* The brothers Hun Batz and Hun Cliouen were conquered and transformed into mon - 

 keys by the victors. Popol Vuh, p. 119. The present pertinence of this myth is that it 

 shows that the words batz and chouen were both understood to refer to species of monkeys 

 by the Quiches. 



t Though it may possibly be a shortened form of itztlan, the name of a phmt used in 

 making such brooms. Coinp. Sahagiin, Hisloria de Naeva Espana, Lib. .xi, cap. vii. 



