16 BUKEAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bill. 28 



rendered impossible any authentic concordance of fixed historically 

 leitified dates of the Mexican calendar with our chronology. 



The chronolog-ic unit, 20 days, is contained eighteen times in 365 

 days. Each of these eighteen twenties — falsely called "months" by 

 tlie Spanish — was dedicated to a special deity and gave rise to a special 

 lestival, which was connected with the season of the year, the work to 

 be done at that season, and with that which was expected of the season. 

 I'ive days were left over, to which, as superfluous, a certain sinister 

 meaning was ascribed. The Mexicans called thenr nemontemi or 

 nen-ontemi, that is, "the superfluous, supplementary days", with 

 the secondary significance, "the useless days, which were consecrated 

 to no deit}', useful for no civic business" — acam pouhqui, "which 

 neither fell to any nor were dedicated to any, which were held in no 

 esteem", as appears from the Aztec text of book 2, chapter 37, of the 

 historical work by Father Sahagun, in which they are explained in 

 these words: Estos cinco dias a ningun dios estan dedicados, y por eso 

 les llamavan nemontemi, que quiere decir por demas (" These five 

 days are dedicated to no god, and hence they are called nemontemi, 

 which is to say superfluous "). They were held to bo harmful days 

 (baldios y aciagos). For with the word nen, "that which exceeds", 

 was also connected the idea of "superfluous'', "untit", "useless". 

 No action of an}^ importance whatever, nor any which transcended 

 the circle of the most necessary offices of life, was undertaken. 

 The house was not swept, no cause was tried, and the unfortunate 

 person who was born on one of these days, "is destined to no 

 happiness; miserable and wretched and poor shall he live upon the 

 earth" (quihiotinemiz ompa onquiztincmiz yn tlalticpac). But these 

 days had, especially, a prophetic power for the whole 3^ear (ayac 

 teauaya, a3'ac manaya, auh yn aca oncan teaua, quilmach cenquicui) 

 "No one quarreled, no one got into any dispute, for whoever quarreled 

 on these da3^s, it was believed, would ^dwa3^s continue to do so ", Ave 

 read in Sahagun's Aztec text. And still more explicit is another 

 passage, which Sahagun gives in the following words: Guardabanse 

 en estos dias fatales, de dormir entre dia, ni de renir unos con otros, 

 ni de tropezar, ni de caer, porque decian que si alguna cosa de estas 

 les acontecia que siempre les habia de acontecer adelante ("The3^ were 

 careful during these fatal da3's not to fall asleep during the da3', not 

 to quarrel together, not to trip or to fall, because they said that if any 

 of these things befell them, the3^ would continue to befall them thence 

 forevermore"). 



We find the same notion in Yucatan. On these da3'S men left the 

 house as seldom as possible, did not wash or comb themselves, and 

 took special care not to undertake any menial or difficult task, doubt- 

 less because the3^ lived in the conviction that they would be forced to 

 keep on doing it through the whole ensuing year. The Mexicans were 



