﻿116 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  EXAMPLE 
  op 
  rebus-writing: 
  the 
  aztec 
  hieroglyphs 
  por 
  personal 
  and 
  place 
  

  

  NAMES 
  WERE 
  CONSTRUCTED 
  ON 
  THIS 
  BASIS 
  

  

  The 
  phonetic 
  principle 
  upon 
  which 
  rebus-writing 
  is 
  based 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  homophones 
  — 
  i: 
  e., 
  

   words 
  which 
  sound 
  alike 
  or 
  similar, 
  but 
  which 
  have 
  different 
  meanings. 
  The 
  above 
  rebus 
  

   should 
  be 
  read 
  : 
  "I 
  believe 
  Aunt 
  Rose 
  can 
  well 
  bear 
  all 
  for 
  you." 
  

  

  The 
  Aztec 
  calendar 
  consisted 
  of 
  a 
  year 
  

   of 
  1 
  8 
  months 
  of 
  20 
  days 
  each, 
  and 
  a 
  clos- 
  

   ing 
  period 
  of 
  five 
  days, 
  into 
  which 
  it 
  was 
  

   believed 
  all 
  the 
  bad 
  luck 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  was 
  

   crowded. 
  No 
  one 
  started 
  upon 
  a 
  jour- 
  

   ney 
  during 
  these 
  five 
  days, 
  for 
  fear 
  some 
  

   misfortune 
  would 
  befall 
  him; 
  no 
  wood- 
  

   cutter 
  ventured 
  into 
  the 
  forest 
  to 
  hew 
  

   wood 
  during 
  this 
  period, 
  lest 
  wild 
  beasts 
  

   should 
  devour 
  him 
  ; 
  the 
  houses 
  were 
  left 
  

   unswept 
  ; 
  the 
  housewives 
  made 
  no 
  pot- 
  

   tery 
  vessels 
  ; 
  children 
  so 
  unfortunate 
  as 
  

   to 
  be 
  born 
  on 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  five 
  days 
  

   were 
  by 
  that 
  very 
  fact 
  predestined 
  to 
  

   misfortune 
  for 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  their 
  lives 
  ; 
  it 
  

   was, 
  in 
  fact, 
  the 
  "Friday 
  the 
  13th" 
  of 
  

   their 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  next, 
  and 
  among 
  the 
  Aztec 
  the 
  

   only 
  time 
  period 
  higher 
  than 
  the 
  year, 
  

   was 
  the 
  xihuitlmolpia, 
  or 
  cycle 
  of 
  52 
  

   years. 
  And 
  if 
  they 
  believed 
  the 
  closing 
  

   five 
  days 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  were 
  fraught 
  with 
  

   ill 
  luck, 
  they 
  regarded 
  the 
  closing 
  night 
  

   of 
  their 
  52-year 
  period 
  with 
  far 
  greater 
  

   terror, 
  since 
  it 
  was 
  held 
  that 
  at 
  the 
  close 
  

   of 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  periods 
  would 
  some 
  day 
  

   come 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  AZTEC 
  HIEROGLYPHS 
  RESEMBLED 
  REBUS- 
  

  

  \V 
  KITING 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  last 
  night 
  of 
  the 
  xihuitlmolpia 
  

   fires 
  were 
  extinguished 
  on 
  the 
  hearths 
  

   and 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  Tenochtitlan 
  

   moved 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  city 
  and 
  took 
  up 
  posi- 
  

   tions 
  on 
  the 
  surrounding 
  hills, 
  waiting 
  

   feverishly 
  either 
  for 
  the 
  destruction 
  of 
  

   the 
  world 
  or, 
  in 
  the 
  event 
  of 
  sunrise, 
  the 
  

   dawn 
  of 
  another 
  xihuitlmolpia. 
  Once 
  

   the 
  sun 
  had 
  arisen, 
  however, 
  great 
  were 
  

  

  the 
  rejoicings. 
  Fires 
  were 
  rekindled 
  and 
  

   the 
  crisis 
  was 
  over 
  for 
  another 
  52 
  years. 
  

   The 
  hieroglyphs 
  for 
  the 
  names 
  of 
  per- 
  

   sons 
  and 
  places, 
  the 
  second 
  group 
  men- 
  

   tioned 
  previously, 
  were 
  built 
  up 
  on 
  the 
  

   basis 
  of 
  our 
  own 
  old-fashioned 
  rebus- 
  

   writing, 
  an 
  example 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  given 
  on 
  

   this 
  page. 
  This 
  depends 
  upon 
  the 
  fact 
  

   that 
  many 
  words 
  of 
  different 
  meaning 
  

   have 
  the 
  same 
  or 
  similar 
  sounds, 
  such 
  as 
  : 
  

   to, 
  too, 
  two, 
  bear, 
  bare, 
  reed, 
  read, 
  etc. 
  

   In 
  the 
  rebus 
  given 
  above 
  the 
  pictures 
  

   actually 
  represent: 
  an 
  eye, 
  a 
  bee, 
  a 
  leaf, 
  

   an 
  ant, 
  a 
  rose, 
  a 
  can, 
  a 
  well, 
  a 
  bear, 
  an 
  

   awl, 
  the 
  number 
  4, 
  and 
  a 
  ewe; 
  but 
  they 
  

   may 
  be 
  transcribed 
  as 
  : 
  "I 
  believe 
  Aunt 
  

   Rose 
  can 
  well 
  bear 
  all 
  for 
  you." 
  It 
  was 
  

   in 
  this 
  manner 
  that 
  the 
  hieroglyphs 
  for 
  

   Aztec 
  personal 
  and 
  place 
  names 
  were 
  

   constructed. 
  

  

  HOW 
  THE 
  AZTEC 
  RECORDED 
  HISTORICAL 
  

  

  EVENTS! 
  THE 
  ACCESSION 
  OP 
  

  

  MONTEZUMA 
  

  

  Finally, 
  the 
  third 
  group 
  of 
  signs 
  rep- 
  

   resented 
  events 
  and 
  natural 
  objects, 
  such 
  

   as 
  death, 
  war, 
  conquest, 
  accession 
  of 
  

   rulers, 
  natural 
  phenomena, 
  gold, 
  jade, 
  

   etc. 
  Thus 
  a 
  mummy-like 
  human 
  figure 
  

   wrapped 
  in 
  cloths 
  and 
  tied 
  with 
  ropes 
  

   represented 
  death. 
  A 
  shield 
  with 
  jave- 
  

   lins 
  crossed 
  behind 
  it 
  stood 
  for 
  war; 
  a 
  

   burning 
  temple 
  for 
  conquest, 
  etc. 
  

  

  The 
  signs 
  of 
  this 
  last 
  group 
  were 
  the 
  

   most 
  limited 
  in 
  number, 
  but 
  they 
  were 
  at 
  

   the 
  same 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  importance, 
  

   since 
  they 
  alone 
  gave 
  point 
  and 
  life, 
  as 
  it 
  

   were, 
  to 
  the 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  

   groups. 
  

  

  