XXX INTRODUCTION. 



He came from the nortli, from the west. There are priests, there are 

 fathers, 



But what priest, what prophet, shall explain the words of the books, 

 In the Ninth Ahau, which ye will not understand?"^ 

 From this designedly obscure chant we perceive that the ancient priests 

 inscribed their predictions in books, which were afterward explained to the 

 people. The expression bin alic u than uoohe — literally, "he will speak the 

 words of the letters" — seems to point to a phonetic writing, but as it may 

 be used in a figurative sense, I shall not lay stress on it.^ 



4.— THE EXISTING CODICES. 



The word Codex ought to be confined, in American archaeology, to 

 manuscripts in the original writing of the natives. Some writers have 

 spoken of the "Codex Chimalpopoca," the "Codex Zumarraga," and the 

 "Codex Perez," which are nothing more than manuscripts either in the native 

 or Spanish tongues written with the Latin alphabet. 



Of the Maya Codices known, only three have been published, which I 

 will mention in the order of their appearance. 



The Dresden Codex. — This is an important Maya manuscript preserved 

 in the Royal Library at Dresden. How or when it came to Europe is not 

 known. It was obtained from some unknown person in Vienna in 1739. 



' I add a few notes ou this text : 



Enhi is the preterit of the irregular verb hal, to he, pret. cnhi, fut. enac. Katun yum, father or 

 lord of the Katuu or cycle. Each Katuu was under the protection of a special deity or lord, who con- 

 trolled the events which occurred in it. Tii coo pop, lit., "for the rolling up of Pop," which was the 

 first month in the Maya year. iTbJoni is an archaic future from liul; this form in o»i is mentioned hy 

 Buenaventura, Arte de la Lengua Maya, 1684, and is frequent in the sacred language, hut does not occur 

 elsewhere. Tucal ya, ou account of his love; hut ya means also " suffering," " wound," and "strength," 

 and there is no clue which of these significations is meant. Ahkinob; the original has tukinob, which I 

 S'jspect is an error; it would alter the phrase to raeau "In that day there are fathers" or lords, the word 

 yum, fatlier, being constantly used for lord or ruler. The ahkin was the priest ; the aliholat-was a diviner 

 or prophet. The 9th Ahau Katun was the period of 20 years which began in 1541, according to most 

 native authors, but according to Lauda's reckoning in the year 1501. 



'In quoting and explaining Maya words and phrases iu this article, I have in all instances fo\- 

 ]nv:ed tho Diccionario Maya-Espanol del Conrento de Molul (Yucatan); a copy of which in manuscript 

 (one oftbeonlytwo in existence) is inmy possession. It was composed about 1580. The still older M.aya 

 dictionary of Fiither Villalpando, printed in Mexico in 1571, isyet iu existence in one or two copies, but i 

 have never seen it. 



