238 DAY SYMBOLS OF THE MAYA YEAR [EVH. ANN. 16 
significance, as is shown by its presence sometimes in the symbols for 
the days chicchan and oc. It is worthy of note that Dr Seler introduces 
into his manik series the character above shown as haying some rela- 
tion to and being possibly a variation of that symbol. Before attempt- 
ing to trace the symbol of the day in its combinations with other 
characters, with a view of ascertaining its orignal signification, refer- 
ence will be made to the signification of the day names in the different 
calendars. 
The signification of the Nahuatl word atl is water; the Zapotec 
names are also words for water. Yohil was the name of the principal 
Quiche deity, and appears to have been the god of thunder and rain, 
and, as Seler presumes, was the representative in these nations of the 
Maya Chae and Mexican Tlaloc. According to Brasseur, toh signifies 
“a heavy or sudden shower” or ‘‘thunder shower.” Drs Seler and 
Brinton both derive the Maya and Tzental names from the radical mul 
or mol, “to join together, collect, heap up,” and suppose it refers to 
the gathering together of the waters (that is, the clouds) in the heavens. 
This brings the signification of these two names into harmony with 
that of the names of the other calendars, and is probably a correct 
interpretation. 
There are but few places where the symbol of this day is found in 
connection with other characters that I have been able to interpret 
entirely satisfactorily. 
The compound character shown in plate LXy, 46, is from Dres. 16¢. 
Judging by the evident parallelism of the groups in this division, this 
character is the symbol of the bird figured below the text. In this pie- 
ture is easily recognized the head of the parrot. As moo is the Maya 
name of a species of parrot (“the macaw”), and the circular character 
of the glyph is like the symbol for muluc, except that the cireumscrib- 
ing line is of dots, we may safely accept this term as the phonetic value. 
The fact that the small character is double, as is the o in the word, is 
another indication that the rendering is correct, and probably accounts 
for the circle being of dots. (See above under akbal.) This interpre- 
tation appears to be further supported by the form of the symbol for 
the month Mol as found at Dres. 47¢. (See plate Lxtvy, 50.) 
The hint furnished by these characters may enable us to gain a cor- 
rect idea of the signification of the dotted line which surrounds one of 
the characters in each group of Dres. 7c, one of which is shown in plate 
Lxy, 47. As the inclosing line of dots appears in some eases (but not 
all, for in some instances 0 or w appears to form the chief phonetic 
element) to indicate mo or mu, it is possible that this glyph may be 
properly interpreted by muhul, ‘a gift, dower, present,” or ‘‘to present 
a gift or dower, to offer a present.” Hence the whole character shown 
in plate Lxv, 47, may be interpreted “to make a gift of cacao.”! 


‘For explanation of the inclosed comb-like characters, Landa’s ca, see Sixth Annual Report of the 
Bureau of Ethnology, page 355. 
