TnoMAsi CHARACTERS YMIX AND KAN. gl 



yellow or golden color. On Plates XIX* and XX* of the second part of the 

 Manuscript — lowest division — we observe wouien bearing burdens on their 

 backs in baskets; the substance carried by three out of six is represented 

 by Kan symbols, and is probably gathered maize. 



It is worthy of notice that one of the names of their chief deity Zamua 

 or Itzamna, is Itzen-caan, signifying the "dew of heaven," or "substance 

 from heaven." Itsen and Itzmn are given by the lexicons as equivalents, 

 and tzen, and its derivatives, contains throughout the idea of food or that 

 which sustains life. Ixkan-Leox was the name of a female divinity supposed 

 to be the spouse of Zamna; the signification of the name, according to 

 Brasseur, is " Celle de la fronde jaune aux grains de niais^'; in other words, the 

 " silk." In the upper division of Plate 19 (Codex) is tlie figure of a woman 

 bearing the same characters on her back, one above another, as on the Manu- 

 script plate. Just behind her is the figure of a man or male deity, which I 

 judge from the long beard to be Kukulcan, or Zamna, bearing on his back 

 the same two characters. From these facts and others which might be 

 mentioned I am satisfied there was an intimate connection in the minds of 

 this people between maize and this deity. 



The two symbols in this form (Fig 11), and also in reverse order, some- 

 times with and sometimes without the accompanying cliar- 

 acters over them, are of very frequent occurrence in the i^^S /t*>v 

 Manuscript and Codex. That characters similar to the ac- VE^ V)[ [ j) / 

 companying ones here shown are used in the Jlexican Codi- ^"^- ^^• 



ces to represent cakes of bread or tortillas is well known; whether they have 

 the same signification in this connection is a point that will be discussed 

 hereafter. 



Our next step will be to determine, if possible, which of the figures shown 

 on these plates represent the Uayeyab idols. As we have already shown, 

 there were, according to Landa, four of these, as follows : Kan-u- Uayeijah, 

 for the Kan years; Chac-u-Uayeyah, for the Muluc years; Zac-u-Uaycyah, 

 for the Ix years, and Ek-u-Uayeyab, for the Cauac years. We may assume, 

 I think, without any fear of being in error, that the left-liand figures in the 

 lowest division of the four plates of the Codex are intended as representa- 

 tives of these images. They are the only ones placed on the stone-heap 



6 M T 



