white water lily in a stylized presentation and turned to 

 the back. 



Gl. 1. Abundance of maize. 



Almanac 53 (pp. 29a-30a) 



Tl. A Chac is seated on what Thompson has called "a 



world directional tree." Beneath him is ajar with a cab 

 scroll indicating that it holds honey. I would conjecture 

 that this association might imply balche^ made from 



chocar 

 plants. 



ng 



T2. A Chac is seated on what Thompson again identifies as 



a "world directional tree." Since the artist has taken the 

 liberty to figure a pinnatifid leaf we might suggest that 

 the plant is Bursera from which copal is derived. This 

 was used in the most sacred Mayan ceremonies. The 

 Chac wears a head dress of reversed water lilies that 

 appear knotted. 



T3. A Chac is seated on another tree so identified by 



Thompson as associated with a world direction. It has 

 one flower pointed upwards and another down. The 

 figuring of the flower is much like some of the water lily 

 identifications made by Rands (1953). It may be a 

 hybridized plant motif. 



T4. The "world tree" portrayed here has protruding thorns 



on the trunk and is probably, as suggested by Thomp- 

 son, a ceiba tree also known as the pochote tree, Ceiba 



life 



.) Britt. and Baker. Roys (1933) notes 

 ifChilam Balam it is stated (p. 91) "It 



is not bad to gnaw the trunk oi \hQ pochote tree. 



♦9 



Commentary: Thompson believes these pictures represent the 

 Chacs seated on "the red tree of the east, the white tree of the 

 north, the black tree of the west, the yellow tree of the south." 



chacah 



hai 



?/ Chi lam 



prising the first hut of the Canul family in "The Ritual of the 



106 



