THOMAS] THE EIGHTH DAY 235 
thread to be seen. Over each is the character shown in plate LXV, 
38. This is evidently an incomplete manik symbol. As the supposed 
aspirate sign is present, it is probable that hooch, “to pare off, to 
scrape,” or hoochci, “to pare off, or scrape the hennequin,” will furnish 
an appropriate rendering. 
THE EIGHTH DAY 
Maya, /amat ; Tzental, lambat; Quiche-Cakchiquel, canel or kanel; Zapotec, lapa or 
laba ; Nahuatl, tochtli. 
The various forms of the symbol of this day are shown in plates Lxv, 
33 to 37, and Lxvuit, 39-40, That given by Landa is seen in LXV, 33; 
it is also found very frequently in the codices as Lxy, 34. The three 
other forms found in the codices are shown in LXV, 35, 36,37. The form 
on the Palenque Tablet is given in Lxyuit, 40; that of the Tikal inscrip- 
tion is similar to Landa’s figure, if we are correct in our determination, 
of which there is some doubt, as the dots are effaced. 
A comparison of plate LXV, 36, with the symbol of the day Ahau, shown 
in LXVIUI, 5, leads at once to the impression that the former was derived 
from the latter, and that, if in any sense phonetic, the equivalents of the 
two are closely related. As will be shown hereafter, the Ahaw symbol 
has las its chief phonetic element, if it be considered in any sense pho- 
netic. We should therefore expect to find, in the verbal equivalent of 
this Lamat symbol, / as a prominent element. In the form shown at 
LXV, 33, it would seem that we see an effort to intimate by the character 
itself the presence of the b element. That the symbol shown in plate 
LXV, 38, has b as its chief element is shown elsewhere. It is possible, 
therefore, that this Zamat symbol had no original signification purely its 
own, but that it is a composite derived from the Ahau, and what I have 
termed the b symbol. Without anticipating the proof that the Ahau 
symbol has / as its chief phonetic element, I call attention to the fact 
that it is the upper character in the symbol for likin, “east” (plate 
LXvill, 12), As the lower character is the well-known symbol for kin, 
“day” or “sun,” we must assume that the value of our Ahau, in this 
ease at least, is li. As another suggestion, I would add that it may 
have been derived from a figure used in some game. As the figure is 
usually divided into apartments or cells, most of which inclose a dot, 
the Maya word lem, lemah, “meter, encajar, poner dentro, introducir” 
(Perez), would not inappropriately express the idea. Its use as a day 
symbol would then be simply for its phonetic value. This is based, of 
course, on the derivation I suggest below. Nevertheless it must be 
admitted that these are but mere guesses. 
In his article so frequently referred to Dr Seler has little to say in 
regard to the signification of the names of this day. He remarks that 
“the word kanel is given by Ximenes—with what authority I know 
not—with the signification ‘rabbit,’ thus corresponding to the Mexican 
name for this character (Tochtli).” He says he is unable to interpret 
the words lambat and lamat. In his subsequent article he interprets 
