THOMAS] THE CAKCHIQUEL CALENDAR 279 



3()5 days, that is, of 18 months of 20 daj's each and 5 added daj's, for 

 even the supposition that tliese a(hled days were neither numbered 

 uor counted does not give the order found in the Annals. Xor will 

 Goodman's supposition that they counted 366 days to the j*ear give 

 this succession, though he counts the system alluded to in the 

 Annals as distinct from the Cakchiquel Annual Calendar. Brinton 

 says : 



The calendar-s in use were of two different kind-s, the one called qliol kilt, lit- 

 erally "the vainer or appraiser of days." which was employed excln.sively for 

 astrological and divining purposes, to decide on which were Incky and unlucky 

 days, and may kill . " the revolution or recurrence of days." which was for chrono- 

 logical purposes." 



I find no other explanation of a calendar which would end in the 

 manner mentioned in the Annals, than a }"ear of 20 months of 20 daj's 

 each, or 400 days, the days being numbered in the usual- Mayan 

 method of 1 to 13. Seler* gives this explanation and Goodman also 

 adopts it for their chronological year. That if we count this num- 

 ber of months to the year the different years will end on the same 

 day is evident, and that the day numbers will follow one another in 

 the order mentioned above can be seen by reference to the above 

 condensed calendar. If we count 20 months, the j'ear beginning with 

 1 Yiz will end with 10 Ah, and the next year will begin with 11 Yiz; 

 or if we commence with the column headed 11, and count 20 months, 

 the year will end with 7 Ah, and the next year \\ill begin with 8 Yiz; 

 if we commence with the column headed 8, and count 20 months, the 

 year will end with 4 Ah, etc. This appears to be the onlj' explanation 

 of this singular calendar, if we suppose the annalist to be correct in 

 his statements as to the dates on which the years ended. 



As proof that tlie annalist counted 400 daj's to the j^ear we have 

 the following evidence from the above quotations: By number 1, we 

 learn that the Revolt, which he takes as the beginning of his era, took 

 place on 11 Ah; by number 5 we see that the first year of the Revolt 

 ended on 8 Ah; in number 4 it is stated that "One year less ten days 

 after the revolt was hanged the chief orator Ahmoxnoy, on the day 11 

 Akbal." The day 11 Akbal will occur twice only in the ordinary year 

 of 365 days, and twice only in the year of 400 daj's. As the Revolt 

 occurred on 11 Ah, the fii"st year thereafter must have begun with 

 the day 12 Yiz. The day 11 Akbal would occur first at the end of 6 

 months and 10 days — or 130 days. That 10 days added to this could 

 not have completed the year will be conceded. The next occurrence 

 of 11 Akbal would be at the end of 19 months and 10 days, or 390 

 days, 10 days more reaching the day 8 Ah, the end of the first year. 

 Although neither 140 nor 400 days correspond witli any natural 

 phenomena it is safe to assume that 400 days was the period the 

 annalist referred to and not 140 daj's. 



o Annals of the Cakchiqnels, Philadelphia, 1885, p. 31. 



i* Transactions Berlin Anthropological Society. June, 1889. 



