564 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 28 



here confine myself to referring; simply to it, especially as it really 

 contains nothing that contradicts my view. 



11. Ix, /'. In Aztec this day is called Ocelot! ; in Zapotec, Eche; 

 in Kiche and Cakchikel, Balam. All these mean the jaguar. The 

 Kiche. however, has also the word Hix for it, which is the same in 

 Tzental. The Maya word is written Ix, Gix, Hix, and means the sor- 

 cerer. But jaguar and sorcerer are actually synonyms, for to the lat- 

 ter the power is ascribed of transforming himself into the former, and 

 the verb balam in Kiche denotes precisely this transfornuition (Brin- 

 lon. Calendar, page 30). 



The Maya glyph with its two lines and three dots, therefore, 

 seems plainly to denote the striped and spotted jaguar skin, which 

 possibly is a symbol of the starry heavens (a more detailed account is 

 given in Brinton's Calendar, jiage 56). Ocelot! among the Xahuas is 

 specifically the designation of the Great Bear, as Ozomatli, the eighth 

 day, is that of the Little Bear. But the deity belonging to it is actu- 

 ally represented among the Mayas by a jaguar (Schellhas, Gotter- 

 gestalten, page 31). In the Dresden codex, page 2(')a, at the end of 

 the Ix year, the priest carries away the image of the jaguar. 



12. Men, .s-. The Tzental and Kiche-Cakchikel word Tziquin 

 means bird, the Aztec, Quauhtli, specifically the eagle. Now, the bird 

 among Central American peoples is the symbol of knowledge and of 

 wisdom, as the owl was among the Athenians. In harmony Avith such 

 a view this day is called Naa by the Zapotecs, as it is called Men by 

 the Mayas, both meaning knowledge and understanding, Ah-men, 

 " the wise one ". 



The glyph is a head. Below the eyes are various markings which 

 might very well mean bird's feathers. Doctor Seler has been at 

 various times reminded of the Aztec goddess, Tonantzin, the great 

 earth mother who is adorned with eagle's feathers. 



Among the mythical birds of the Mayas the most important is the 

 Moan (Schellhas, Gottergestalten, page 29), which occurs often in 

 their glyphs, and Avhich denotes a month of the year. In Globus, 

 volume 65, number 15 (1894), I have considered whether Moan is 

 the sign of the Pleiades. This suggestion may be of use in connection 

 with this day, but I do not ascribe nuich importance to the fact that 

 the consonants agree in Moan and Men. 



13. Cib, t. The Aztec Cozcaquauhtli means the vulture, literally 

 the king vulture, named after its feather ornament. The Tecolotl of 

 the Pipiles means the owl. The Zapotec Loo, or Guil-loo, seems also 

 to denote a bird, for ba-loo denotes crow or raven. The meaning 

 of the Maya word Cib and of the Tzental Chabin is very uncertain 

 (Brinton, Calendar, page 31) ; but that the Mayas actually regarded 

 the vulture as the symbol of the deity of this day is confirmed below 

 ^see Schellhas, Gottergestalten, page 31). 



