80 A STUDY OF THE MANUSCRIPT TROANO. 



the plate that relates to the Muliic years; the peculiarly marked dog, bearing 

 these symbols on its back; the little dog images on the feet, together with 

 the agreement in other particulars, are sufficient to warrant us in concluding 

 that these figures relate to the ceremonies he describes. Taking the figures 

 and statement together I conclude that the little plain dog-images, three of 

 which are represented, were those carried during the dance, while the 

 spotted one bearing the characters on its back — of which there is but a 

 single figure — represents that which was to be sacrificed. In the collection 

 of pottery made by Colonel Stevenson in 1880 among the Pueblos of New 

 Mexico, are quite a number of plain little animal images, chiefly those of 

 birds, which he informs me were used in like manner by the Indians of 

 these pueblos. 



If I am correct in this interpretation, we will then be warranted in con- 

 cluding that the double character (Fig. 10) signifies "bread," doubtless 

 /Tffy^ "bread of maize." Taken separatelj' we knowthat the upper is used 

 ^iOi^ as the symbol of the day Ymix or Imix, and the lower of Kan; 

 t~yrrj hut the primary' significations of these words, or rather the words 

 Fig. 10. that these symbols stand for, is somewhat doubtful. Perez gives no 

 definition of the former, neither in his lexicon nor Cronologia. Brasseur 

 gives the following signification in his Vocabularj^ — "Deep pit; issue from 

 a focus or of the breast"; but in a note to the Cronologia (§ II) he makes 

 this remark: "Ymix, written Imox in the Quiche Calendar, in that of Chiapas 

 is represented under the image of a mai-ine monster of a peculiar form ; it 

 is the CipactU of the Mexican Calendar, given by Nunez de la Vega, as the 

 first father of the race of these countries." The latter (Kan) has several 

 significations, such as "a cord or string of henequin," "yellow," "a certain 

 measure," "red earth," "clay," &c. He also gives as other meanings, " in- 

 creased," "elevated," "manifest," "consolidated," &c. But I judge from 

 Perez's language that the ancient signification was somewhat uncertain. 



The Maya word for "maize" is Ixim, and I am strongly' inclined to 

 believe that Imix is but a synonym, also that the symbol was originally 

 used to signify this great food plant. I think it also probable that the sym- 

 bol for Kan was used originally to represent the "grain" of corn, hence the 

 gathered and stored corn or ears, and that the name was derived from the 



