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| Sunday, 1 January 2006 |
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Ancient calendar of Mayas, Incas, Aztecs by Gamini G. Punchihewa The year of 2005 is fast ending, while a new year is fast knocking at our doors to usher in a prosperous, happy and peaceful new year.
Let us at this juncture peep into the great civilisation of the Incas, Mayas and Aztecs stretching back to 500-1000 B.C. as they too had invented a calendar having 18 months, each month having 20 days, with an extra five day period, called 'Uyeb' meaning an unlucky period. These ancient people called Incas (present Peru), the Mayas and Aztecs (of present South and Central Mexico), besides inventing that Ancient Calendar of theirs had the prowess of building towering stone Pyramids, and Monolithic colossal monuments having intricate and elaborate sculptures. In the past and present, Archaeologists drawn from countries like Germany and USA have excavated exposing the vast amphitheatre of ancient Mexico released from its vast jungle grasp. Origins For their eighteen month calendar, they had 18 symbols with another assigned for the unlucky 5 day period named as Uyeb. New Year for the ancient Mayas fell in the month of July. Each month bore some significance in coinciding with their cultural and religious patterns. They were staunch believers of the Sun God to whom they propitiated, even through human sacrifice. Like in the world over, when the New Year dawned, (that was in July) they adorned themselves in new clothes. They even went to the extent of destroying their old pottery and fibre mats replacing them with new ones. In chronical order, here is a list of their 18 months. First month of new year (July) the month of honey called Pop, second month Ue, third month Zip, fourth month - Zotz, fifth month - Tree, sixth month - Xul, seventh month - Yaxkin, eighth month - Mol, ninth month - Chen, tenth month - Yax, eleventh month - Zac, twelveth month - Coh, thirteenth month - Mac, fourteenth month - Kankia, fifteenth month - Muwan, sixteenth month - Pax, seventeenth month - Kavah, eighteenth month - Cumku, and the extra five days (unlucky period) as Uyeb. Special significances Ue - the second month was the one destined for festivals, when the Gods who helped the fishermen and hunters had to be pleased. It was also the month of great rejoicing, dancing and fortification! So in this manner, each month had its own significances involving some cultural, religious or spiritual affairs, or even some festivity. The fifth month was the month of honey. Bee keepers join in the festival, where they invoked the blessings of the Gods of Honey to increase the flow of honey. During the ninth month, Chen, the people had to seek forgiveness for the sins committed, by offering new idols. In the tenth month Yax, the Mayas hunted the animals and shed their blood for seeking forgiveness, as if this ritual was not practised, the other animals would not allow them to kill again! The last three months of the Maya's year, the months of Kayab, (umbuy, together with the unlucky five day period, Uyeb, were months dedicated towards personal rejoicing connected with such varied festivals. Such festivities were conducted in privacy like drinking which one explorer had commented thus Ended in considerable Adultery! Aztec's Calendar Delving into the Aztec's Calendar, they too had evolved a similar calendar system which was in two forms - the ritualistic one and the other a solar calendar having the same number of days as the Mayas running into 360 days (having 20 days for each month covering 18 months). They too had eighteen, twenty day months. Explorer Victor Walfgang Von Haygen In the book - The Ancient Sun Kingdoms of the Americas (1962) (1967) consists lively 137 illustration running into 352 page, this great explorer had trekked into the depths of the ancient relics of the Mayas, Incas and Aztecs and amassed a mine of priceless information on the very spots which are all transcribed into this priceless monograph. This article is based on the specific contents on this voluminous book. With due acknowledgement to the trustees of the British Museum. Quoting from this book, the author has described the Calendar of the Aztecs thus: "There were twenty day names - dalli (house), Zeotal (snake), Malinalli (grass), nechtill (rabbit) and so on and on which combined in sequence numbered thirteen, designated the days, such as, 1-grass, 2-Reed, 3-Eelet, etc. to 13 - being the lizard, when the next period covered. In this example the name - 'Grass' coming up in its regular position would coincide with the number 8, the next period followed by 9, Reed 10, Ocelot etc; to 13. Each year was named after the day on which it began; thus a year known as I (the Reed) would recur every fifty-two years. Stone calendar A well preserved Aztecs Calendar depicting this eighteen, 20-day month, with the Sun God carved on its centre with other solar symbols are among the many archaeological finds unearthed in Central Mexico. This monumental monolithic calendar is said to be 13 feet in height weighing 24 tons! It had taken two years for the carvings to be completed (i.e.) from 1479-81 A.D. With the invasion of the spaniards in the 16th Century A.D., the time honoured treasures and the pristine civilization of the ancient Mayas, Aztecs and Incas were completely and wilfully destroyed and went into oblivion till past excavations brought to light their glorified civilization. The Aztecs too had the eighteen month calendar with different names for each such month, connected with some religious festival significances. |
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