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CORNELL
UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY
,
I
GIFT OF
I-irs
Garl Vail
QUEEN M60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX
'
QUEEN MOO
AND
THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX
AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON,
M.D.
AUTHOR OF
'
SACRED MYSTERIES AMONG THE MAYAS AND THE QUICHES

A SKETCH OF THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS OF PEBD AND THEIK
CIVILIZATION, ETC., ETC., ETC.
SECOND EDITION
NEW YORK
1900
PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR

AGENT
London, England. Keoan Paul, Trench, TbObner &
Charing Cross Koad, W. C.
Co.,
Paternoster House
Entered according to act of Congress, April,
1896,
by Auotrsnjs Le Plongeon,
Washing1n
in the oiHce of the Librarian of Conirress, at
AU rights of translation and reproduction reserved
Press of J.
.T.
Astor Place,
Little
&
Co.
New York
jr
'
'*.
>
TO
ALICE
D.
MY
WIFE,
LE PLONGEON,
MT CONSTANT COMPANION DURINa MY EXPLORATIONS

OP THE
RUINED CITIES OP THE MAYAS,
WHO,
IN ORDER TO OBTAIN A GLIMPSE OP THE HISTORY OP THEIR BUILDERS,
HAS EXPOSED HBRSBLP TO MANY DANGERS,
SDPPBRED PRIVATIONS, SICKNESS, HARDSHIP;
MY PAITHPUL AND INDEPATIGABLE COLLABORATOR AT HOME;
THIS
WORK
IS
APPECTIONATBLY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
AUGUSTUS LE PLONGEON,
Brooklyn, Febbdary
15, 1896.
M.D.
LIST OF
AUTHORS QUOTED.
Charencey, Hyacinthe de.

Acosta, Jos6 de.
Chou-King.
Acts of the Apostles.
Chronicles.
JElian, Claud inus.
Cicero,
Alcedo, Antonio de.
Cieza de Leon, Pedro.
Ancona, Eligio.
Clement of Alexandria.
Clement of Rome.
Aristotle.
B.
Marcus
Tullius.
Codex Cortesianus.
Cogolludo, Diego Lopez
Bancroft.
Colebrooke, H. T.
Beltran de Santa Rosa, Pedro.
Confucius
Bernal Diez del Castillo.
Cook, Captain James.
de.
Kong-foo-tse.
Berosus.
Bhagavata, Purana.
Birch, Henry.
Blavatsky, H. P.
Brasseur de Bourbourg.
Brinton, Daniel G.
British
and Foreign Review.
De
Book
of.
Rougfi, Olivier Charles Camille.
Diodorus Siculus.
Dion Cassius.
D'Orbigny, Alcide Dessalines.
Brugsch, Henry.
Bunsen, Christian Karl Julius.

Burckhardt Barker, William.
C.
Cartaud de
D.
Daniel,
Dubois de Jancigny, Adolphe
Du
Chaillu, Paul.
Duncker, Maximilian Wolfgang.
la Villate.
E.
Chablas.
Champollion Figeac.
Champollion le Jeune.
Pliili-
bert.
Ellis,
William.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo.
LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED.

Euclydes.
Layard, Sir Henry.
Eusebius.
Lenormant, Francois.
Le Plongeon, Alice D.
Le Plongeon, Augustus.
F.
Lepsius, Karl Richard.
Flaubert, Uustave.
Leviticus,
G.
Book
of.
Lizana, Bernardo.
Garcilasso de la Vega.
London Times.
Book of.
Gordon Gumming,
Lyell, Charles.
Lucius
Genesis,
C. F.
nL
(Pope).
Grose, Henry.
M.
Macrobius.
H.
Mahabharata, Adiparva 'Vyasa(otherwise Krishna Dwaipa^'ana).
Haeckel, Ernest.
Haliburton, R. G.
Heber, Bishop Reginald.

Heineccius, Johana Gott.
Herodotus.
Herrera, Antonio dc.
Hilkiah (the High Priest).
Manava-Dharma-Sastra.
Marco Polo.
Marcoy, Paul (Lorenzo de
Markham, Clement R.
^Matthew's Gospel.
Jlolina, Cristoval de.
Homer.
Jloore, Thomas.
Moses de Leon.
Horapollo.
Horrack.
Hue, Abbs Evariste
Miiller,
Friedrich Maximilian.
Rfigis.
Humphreys, Heni-y Noel.

I.
Isaiah,
Book
N.
New York
Herald.
of.
O.
J.
Joshua,
St. Bricq).
Book
of.
Juvenal, Decimus Junius.
Oman, John Campbell.

Ordoliez y Aguiar
Osburn, William.
Ramon
de.
Ovidius.
K.
Kenrick, John.
Kings, n.
Book
Paley, Dr.
of.
Papyrus IV., Bulaq Museum.
Kingsborough (Lord), Edward King,
Pausauias.
Klaproth, Heiurich Julius.
Philostratus.
Piazzi S:nyth, C.
Pictet, Adolplie.
Landa, Diego de.

Las Casas, Bartolomfi do.
Pierrot.
Pio Perez, Juan.
LIST OF AVTE0R8 QUOTED.

Plato.
Sclater, P. L.
Plinius.
Seiss,
Plutarch.
Squier,
Popol-Vuh.
Porphyry.
Stephens, John L.
Proclus.
Strabo.
Joseph Augustus.
George E.
St. Hilaire,
Barth616my.
Procopius.
R.
Tertullian.
Ranking, Jolin.
Rau, Charles.
Rawlinsou, George.
Rawliuson, Sir Henry.
Renan, Ernest.
Theopoinpus de Quio.
Thucydides.
Torquemada, Juan de.
Troano MS.
Two
Chelas.
Rig-veda.
Ripa, Father.
PWlipp
Robertson, William.
Valentini,
Rochefort.
Valmiki, Ramayana.
Rockhill Woodville,
J. J.
W.
Roman, Fray Geronimo.

Rosny, Leon de.
W.
Ward, William.
Wheeler,
J.
Talboys.
Wilkinson, Sir Gardner.

Salisbury, Stephen.
Wilson, John.
Santa Buena Ventura, Gabriel de.
Wiittke, Heinrich.
Sayce, A. H.
Y.
Schelllias.
Schoolcraft,
Henry R.
Young, Dr.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
& Co., of New York, from photograpJis and
drawings hy the author.
Engraved hy F. A. Ringler
I.
....
....
....
Fossil Shells
Map
Maya Empire,
xviii
from Troano MS.

xlii
xliv
III. Modern Map of Central America, with Maya symbols
IV. Map of Drowned Valleys of Antillean Lands, by Prof. J. "W.
Spencer, by his permission
xlv
Ix
V. Map of West Indies, from Troano MS
VI. Banana Leaf, a token of hospitality among the South Sea
II.
of
Islanders.
VII. Serpent
Prom Captain Cook's
Heads found
in
Atlas
Cay's Mausoleum, Chiclleii
Head with Crown, carved on the entablature of the

wing of King Canclii's palace at
Uxinal
VIII. Serpent
east fa9ade of the west
...
IX. Ruins of Prince Coil's Memorial Hall at Cliicrieii

X. Columns of the Portico of Prince Coh's Memorial Hall,
discovered by the author
....
XI. Altar at the Entrance of Funeral Chamber in Prince
CoU's
...
...
.....
Memorial Hall, discovered by the author

XII.
One
of
the
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
Burmese Embassy at Paris

Sculptured Wall in the Chamber at the Foot of Prince
Coh's Memorial Hall
Part of the East Fapade of AVest Wing of King Canclii's
Palace at Uxinal, with Cosmic Diagram
Maya Cosmic Diagram
Sri-Santara, Hindoo Cosmic Diagram
Ensopli, Chaldean Cosmic Diagram
XIV.
11
Atlautes supporting the Table of the Altar in
Prince Coil's Memorial Hall

XIII. Officials at
.... ...
...
.
12
13
14
16
17
33
.36
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
^^^^
PLATES
Phoenician Features, discovered by the author

in 1875 in the royal box tennis court at Chiclien.
XX. Head with
XXI. A Native Girl of Yucatan

XXII. Caribs of the Island of
Vincent.
St.
58
63
From Edwards's
" History of the British Colonies in the West Indies "

XXIII. Portal of Eastern Pa9ade of the Palace at Chiclien. Tab-
64
showing the Creator in the Cosmic Egg

From the Temple of Death at
69
leau
...
XXIV. Kneeling Cynocephalus.
Uxmal
XXV.
XXVI.
77
Portico, with inscription resembling those of
Maya
Portrait of a
Nobleman
called
Palenque
Cancoli.
81
bas-
on one of the antas of tlae portico of Prince Coh's

Memorial Hall at Chictien
relief
XXVII.
Portrait of a
Maya
on one of the
Memorial Hall
Nobleman
called
Clliich.
antse of the portico of Prince
...
Maya
relief
Coh's
82
Bas-relief on
Chieftain called Cul.
XXVIII. Portrait of
one of the jambs of the entrance to the funeral chamber
in Prince Coil's Memorial Hall
XXIX. Priest and Devotee. Sculptured slab from Manchg, now
in the British
XXX.
Museum
...
Photographed by Mr. Marshall H.

reproduced by his permission
Saville
XXXI. Queen ZoD. One of the atlantes supporting the table of
the altar in Prince Coil's Memorial Hall
Obelisk, from Copan.
...
...
XXXII.
A Maya
Matron.
One
Memorial Hall
Used in religious ceremonies
XXXIV. Slab from Altar in the Temple of God of Rain. Palenque
XXXV. Restoration of the Portico of Prince Coil's Memorial Hall.
Drawing by the author
XXXVI. Fish. Bas-relief from Pontiff Cay's Mausoleum at Chi-
Caiiob
Vase.
clien
XXXVII
XXXVIII
82
84
84
86
109
130
.121
Sculptured Zapote Beam, forming the lintel of the en^''^"^'^ '-^
Hall.
funeral
chamber
Casts from moulds
in
Prince Coli's Memorial
made by
tlie author
Fresco Painting in Funeral Cliamber in Prince Coil's 5Iemorial Hall. Queen Sldo when yet a young girl consult-
'
XXXIX.
82
....
82
supporting the
of the atlantes
table of the altar in Prince Coil's
XXXIII.
82
bas-
ing Pate by the ceremony which the Chinese call Pou

XL. Fresco painting. Queen M6o asked in ^Marriage
XLI. Attitude of Respect among the Egyptians
.
122
128
130
.131
PAGE
PLATES
XLII. Attitude of Respect
among the Mayas.
Coll exhumed from

XLIII. Attitude of Respect
tuns at Ak6
XLIV. Fresco Painting
his
Statue of Prince
Mausoleum by the author

the Mayas. Columns
among
132
of Ka-
.133
iu Funeral
Chamber
in Prince
Coh's Me-
morial Hall. Queen Moo's Suitor consulting Fate

Fresco Painting in Funeral Chamber in Prince Coil's Memorial Hall. Citani, tlie Friend of Queen Moo, consulting an Aruspicc
XL VI. Fresco Painting in Funeral Chamber in Prince Cell's Memorial Hall. Prince Aac in Presence in the H-inen
XLVn. Fresco Painting iu Funeral Chamber iu Prince Coli's Memorial Hall. Highpriest Cay consulting Fate
.
133
XLV.
134
134
135
XLVIH. Fresco
Painting in Funeral Chamber in Prince Coil's Memorial Hall. Prince Coll in Battle
.
XLIX. Fresco Painting

morial Hall.
in
136
Funeral Chamber in Prince Coli's MeVillage, assaulted by Prince Coli's
Warriors, abandoned by
its
Inhabitants
137
Chamber in Prince Coli's MePrince Coil's Body prepared for Cremation
L. Fresco Painting in Funeral
morial Hall.
LI. Fresco painting in Prince Coli's
Memorial Hall.
138
Prince
Aac proffering his Love to Queen M6o

Queen M6o a Prisoner of War.
Plate xvii., part ii., of
Troano JIS
Lin. Account of the Destruction of the Land of Mu. Slab in
the building called Akab-Oib at Clliclieii. Cast from
mould made by the author
LIV. Account of the Destruction of the Land of Mu. Plate
v., part ii., of Troano MS
LV. Calendar and an Account of the Destruction of the Laud
of Mil.
From the Codex Cortesianus
LVI.
LVII. Mausoleum of Prince Coll. Restoration and drawing by
.
139
LII.
.....
143
146
147
the author
147
155
Dying Warrior. Bas-relief from Prince Coil's Mausoleum

LIX. Leopard eating a Human Heart: Totem of Prince Coll.
A bas-relief from his Mausoleum
LX. Macaw eating a Human Heart: Totem of Queen Mdo.
A bas-relief from Prince Coil's Mausoleum
LXI. Salutation and Token of Respect in Thibet. From the
book by Gabriel Bondalot, " Across Thibet "
LVIH.
...
155
157
157
158
PLATES
LXn.
FAOB
Dying Sphinx
(a
human head)
Coh's Mausoleum
leopard with a
that was
placed on the top of Prince

.
.
LXIII. Javelin Head and Arrow Points, found with the Charred
Remains of Prince Coh in his Mausoleum
LXIV. Egyptian Sphinx. Reproduced from a photograph by Mr.
.
Edward Wilson, by
LXV.
his permission
Moo. From
Queen
Portrait of
....
LXVI.
159
159
a demi-relief adorning
House
the entablature of the east fa9ade of the Governor's

at
158
Uxmal
166
Landa,
second Bishop of Yucatan.

From an oil painting in the Chapter Hall of the Cathedral at Merida reproduced by permission of the present
Portrait of Bishop
....
...
;
bishop
LXVn. Autograph
The
.169
Lopez de Cogoliudo.
in the possession of the present Bishop of
of the Historian, Father
original
is
Yucatan
173
....
LXVIII, Mezzo-relievo in Stucco on the Frieze of the Temple of
Kabul
at Izamal.
LXIX. Fresco Painting
A Human
in the Funeral
Sacrifice
Chamber
Memorial Hall. Adepts consulting a Seer

Fresco Painting in the Funeral Chamber of Prince
LXX.
Jlemorial Hall.
232
Coh's
Female Adept consulting a Magic
Mirror
LXXI. Part
197
of Prince Coil's
233
Fa9ade of the Sanctuary at Uxmal. Image of

the Winged Cosmic Circle
318
LXXII. The Lord of the Yucatan Forests. From life
.236
LXXIII. Part of Fa9ade of the Sanctuary at Uxmal. Cosmic
symbols carved on the trunk of the Mastodon
256
of
PREFACE,
" To accept any authority as final, and
to
dispense with the necessity of independent investigation, is destructive of all progress."
(Man hy two
Chelas.)
" What you have learned, verify hy experience, otherwise learning is vain."
{Indian Saying.)
In this work I offer no theory.
In questions of history
I
They are therefore out of place.
draw their own inferences from the facts
theories prove nothing.
leave
my
readers to
Whatever be
presented for their consideration.

sions
is
no concern
neither
One
of mine.
their opinion nor
mine
their conclu-
thing, however,
is
certain
will alter events that have
little is known to-day.

many of these events has reached our times written, by those who took part in them, in a language still spoken
by several thousands of human beings. There we may read
happened in the dim past of which so
A record
of
part of man's history and follow the progress of his civilization.
The study
in situ
of the
relics of
the ancient
Mayas
has
revealed such striking analogies between their language, their

religious conceptions, their
and customs,
cosmogonic notions, their manners
their traditions, their architecture,
and the
lan-
guage, the religious conceptions, the cosmogonic notions, the
manners and customs, the
traditions, the architecture of the
PREFACE.
yiii
ancient civilized nations of Asia, Africa, and Europe, of which
we have any knowledge,

mind
that
my
has become evident, to
it
at least, that such similarities are not
merely
eflfeots
of
must
hazard, but the result of intimate communications that
have existed between aU of them; and that distance was no

greater obstacle to their intercourse than
it is
to-day to that of
the inhabitants of the various countries.

It has been,
and
still is,
a favorite hypothesis, with certain
students of ethnology, that the "Western Continent,

as America, received its
zation,
from Asia.
human
True, there
are not quite certain
if
now known
population, therefore
is
its civili-
They
split in their ranks.
the immigration in America
came from
Tartary across the Strait of Behring, or from Hindostan over

This, however, is of little
the wastes of the Pacific Ocean.
consequence.
There are those

of
humanity
is
who
pretend, like Klaproth, that the cradle
to be found on the plateau of Pamir, between
the high peaks of the Himalayan ranges, or like Messrs.
and Barthelemy
Saint-Hilaire,
who
place
it
Eenan
in the region of
the Timasus, in the countries where the Bible says the
''
Gar-
den of Eden" was situated while others

man came from Lemuria, that submerged
are equally certain
by P.
was the birthplace
L. Sclater, Avhich
HaeckeP
of the primitive ape-man,
and which they say now
the waves of the Indian Ocean.

that these opinions are
and
their advocates
believes
continent invented
mere
The
lies
under
truth of the matter
is,
conjectures, simple hjrpotheses,
know no more
Avhen and where
man
first
appeared on earth than the new-born babe Icnows of his surroundings or how he came.
The learned wranglers on

'
this
shadowy and dun point
Haeckel, Ernst, Ukt. of Creation,
vol.
ii.,
p. 336.
PREFACE.
forget that
America
planet
all
leading geologists
the oldest
is
known
now
ous parts of
far distant
it,
agree in the opinion that
continent on the face of the
that the fossil remains of
IX
human
from each
lived there in times immemorial,
beings found in vari-
other, prove that
man
and that we have not the
slightest ray of light to illumine the darkness that surrounds
the origin of those primeval men.
admitted by the generality of
Furthermore,
scientists, that
it
is
now
man, far from
descending from a single pair, located in a particular portion

of the earth's surface, has appeared
on every part of
it
where
the biological conditions have been propitious to his develop-
ment and maintenance; and that the production of the various

species, with their distinct, weU-marked anatomical and intellectual characteristics,
logical conditions,
animal
difference of those bio-
prevalent in the places where each particular spe-
has appeared, and whose distinctive marks were adapted
cies
to
life
was due to the
and to the general forces calling forth
its
peculiar environments.
The
Maya
sages doubtless had reached similar conclusions,
since they called their country
Mayacli
that
is,
"the land
emerged from the bosom of the deep," "the country

the
shoot; " and the Egyptians, according to Herodotus,
of
first
boasted that "their ancestors, in the 'Lands of the West,'
were the oldest men on earth."

If the opinion of
LyeU, Humphry, and a host of modern
geologists, regarding the priority of America's antiquity, be

correct,
what right have we
to gainsay the assertion of the
Mayas
and of the Egyptians
in claiming likewise priority for
their people
It
is
and
their country ?
but natural to suppose that intelligence in
developed on the oldest continent,
among
its
man was
most ancient
PREFACE.
X
inhabitants; and that
with
its
development.
self-preservation,
nations,
men
its
concomitant, civilization,
When,
linked themselves into clans, tribes, and
history was born, and with
rate the events of
grew apace
at the impulse of the instinct of
which
a desire to
it
The
composed.
it is
or writing was then invented.
The
commemo-
art of
drawing
incidents regarded as
most worthy of being remembered and preserved for the

knowledge of coming generations were carved on the most
enduring material in their possession
we
stone.
And
it is
that
find to-day the cosmogonic and religious notions, the
rec-
so
ords of natural phenomena and predominant incidents in the

history of their nation and that of their rulers, sculptured on
the walls of the temples and palaces of the civilized
Mayas,
Chaldeans, and Egyptians, as on the sacred rocks and in the
hallowed caves of primitive uncivilized man.

It is to the
Mayas
that
monumental
we must
turn
inscriptions
we wish
if
and to the books
of the
to learn about the pri-
meval traditions of mankind, the development of civilization,

and the events that took place centuries before the dim myths
recorded as occurrences
the beginning of
at
our
written
history.
Historians
when writing on the
universal history of the
race have never
taken into consideration that of
America, and the
role that in
man
in
remote ages American nations
played on this world's stage, and the influence they exerted

over the populations of Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Still, as
far as
we can
Mayas
scan the long vista of the past centuries, the
seem to have had direct and intimate communications
with them.
This fact
is
versality of the
indeed no
new
revelation, as
name Blaya, which seems
proved by the uni-
to have been as well
PREFACE.
known by
all civilized nations,
xi
thousands of years ago, as
Thus we meet with
day that of the English.
it
is to-
in Japan, the
Islands of the Pacific, Hindostan, Asia Minor, Egypt, Greece,
Equatorial Africa, ITorth and South America, as well as in

the countries
known
times composed the
ment and
Maya Empire.
residence of the rulers
Wherever
wisdom, and
found, the
The
to us as Central America,
name
The
which in those
seat of the Govern-
was the peninsula
Maya
is
of Yucatan.
synonymous with power,
learning.
existence of
the "Western Continent was no
more a
mystery to the inhabitants of the countries bordering on the

Mediterranean than to those whose shores are bathed hj the
waves of the Indian Ocean.

Valmiki, in his beautiful epic the " Eamayana," says that,
in times so
remote that the " sun had not yet risen above the
Mayas,
horizon," the
great
navigators,
warriors,
terrible
learned architects, conquered the southern parts of the Indo-
Chinese peninsula and established themselves there.
In the
classic authors,
Greek and Latin, we find frequent
mention of the great Saturnian continent, distant many thousand stadia from the Pillars of Hercules toward the setting
sun.
Plutarch, in his "Life of Solon," says that
famed Greek
when
the
legislator visited Egjq^t (600 years before the
Christian era),
Sonchis, a priest of
priest of Heliopolis, told
him
Sais,
also Psenophis, a
that 9,000 years since, the rela-
tions of the Egyptians with the inhabitants of the "
Lands of
West " had been interrupted because of the mud that had
made the sea impassable after the destruction of Atlantis by
the
earthquakes.
The same author

Lunge,
'
'
again, in his work, "
De
Facie in Orbe
has Scylla recount to his brother Lampias
all
he had
PREFACE.
xii
learned concerning
them from a stranger he met
at
Carthage
returning from the transatlantic countries.
That the Western Continent was
visited
by Carthaginians a
few years before the inditing of Plato's "Atlantis," the portraits of men with long beards and Phoenician features, discovered by
me
castle at
in 1875, sculptured
Chichen, bear
on the columns and antae of the

Diodorus Siculus attributes
witness.
the discovery of the Western Continent to the Phoenicians, and

describes
"a
as
it
country where the landscape
equable."
Procopius, alluding to
it,
says
varied
by
always soft and
it is
several thousand
from Ogygia, and encloses the whole
stadia
is
is
very lofty mountains, and the temperature
sea, into
which a
multitude of rivers, descending from the highlands, discharge

their waters.
tude,
says:
Theopompus, of Quio, speaking of
"Compared with
it,
our world
is
magni-
its
but a small
" and Cicero, mentioning it, makes use of nearly the

same words: " Omnis enin terras quae colitur a vobis parva
Aristotle in his work, " De Mirabile
quaedam est insula."
island;
Auscultatio, " giving an account. of
and he
refers to a decree enacted
it "as a very
by abundant streams; "
represents
it,
large and fertile country, well watered
by the Senate
of Carthage
toward the year 509 b.c, intended to stem the current of emigration that had set toward the Western Lands, as they feared
it
might prove detrimental to the prosperity of their
belief in the
and their submergence
mic convulsions, existed among
greatest scholars of
at the head of
antiquity,
in
scientists
the fifth century of the Christian era.
was learned
The
former existence of extensive lands in the middle
of the Atlantic,
was
city.
consequence of
even as far
who during
known
down
as
Proclus, one of the

thirty -five j'ears
the Neo-Platonic school of
in all the sciences
seis-
Athens, and
in his days, in his
'
'
Com-
PREFACE.
xiii
"The famous
mentaries on Plato's Timseus," says:

exists
no longer, but we can hardly doubt that
MarceUus,
who wrote
a history of Ethiopian
it
did once, for

says that
affairs,
such and so great an island once existed, and that
denced by those
who composed
Atlantis
evi-
it is
histories relative to the external
they relate that in this time there were seven islands
sea, for
in the Atlantic sea sacred to Proserpine; and, besides these,
three of immense magnitude, sacred to Pluto, Jupiter, and

ISTeptune; and, besides this, the inhabitants of the last island
(Poseidonis) preserve the
memory
of the Atlantic island as related
governing for
From
many
this isle
one
of the prodigious
by
their ancestors,
magnitude
and of
its
periods all the islands in the Atlantic sea.
may
pass to other large islands beyond,
which are not far from the
firjn
land near which
is
the true
sea."
It is well to notice that, like all the
Maya authors who
have
described the awful cataclysms that caused the submergence of
the
^^
Land of Mu,"
Proclus mentions the existence of ten
countries or islands, as Plato did.
dence, or was
it
Can
this
be a mere coinci-
actual geographical knowledge on the part of
these writers ?
Inquiries are often
made
as to the causes that led to the
interruption of the communications between the inhabitants of
the Western Continent and the dwellers on the coasts of the
Mediterranean, after they had been renewed by the Carthaginians.

It
priests
is
evident that the
had
mud
spoken of by the Egj^ptian
settled in the course of centuries,
weeds mentioned by Hamilco had ceased
to
and that the

be a barrier
sea-
suffi-
cient to impede the passage, since Carthaginians reached the
shores of Yucatan at least five hundred vears before the Chris-
PREFACE.
xiv
These causes
tian era.*
Carthage, of
its
commerce and
Publius Scipio.
the
fall of
may
be found in the destruction of

its ships,
by the Eomans under
The Eomans never were
navigators.
After
Carthage, public attention being directed to their
conquests in JSTorthern Africa, in "Western Asia, and in Greece

to their wars with the Teutons and the Cimbri
civil dissensions and to the
many
to their
own
other political events that
preceded the decadence and disintegration of the
Roman Em-
pire; the maritime expeditions of the Phoenicians and of the
Carthaginians
countries
their
became
discoveries
of distant
weU-nigh forgotten.
those hardy navigators kept
On
and transatlantic
the other hand,
their discoveries as
secret as
possible.
With the advent and ascendency
of the Christian Church,
the remembrance of the existence of such lands that
gered
among
civilizations,
still lin-
students," as that of the Egyptian and Greek

was utterly obliterated from the mind of the
people.
If
we
are to believe TertuUian and other ecclesiastical
writers, the Christians, during the first centuries of the Chris-
tian era, held in abhorrence all arts

literature,
and
sciences, which, like
they attributed to the Muses, and therefore regarded
They consequently destroyed all vesmeans of culture. They closed the acade-
as artifices of the devil.

tiges as well as all
mies of Athens, the schools of Alexandria; burned the libraries
of
the Serapion and other temples of learning, which
contained the works of the philosophers and the records of

Juan de Torquemada, Monarquia Indiana, lib. iii., cap. 3. Lizana
(Bernardo), Dewcionario de nuestm Senora de Itzamal, etc., part 1, folio
5, published by Abb6 Brasseur, in Landa's Las Cosas de Tiiaitan,
pp. 349
et passim.
'
"
Clement of Rome, First Epistle
to tbe Corinthians, chapter viii., verselS.

;;
PREFACE.
their researches
XV
in all branches of
power of steam and
human knowledge
electricity not excepted).
by the waters
lated the. countries bathed
(the
They depopu-
of the Mediterranean
plunged the populations of "Western Europe into ignorance,

superstition, fanaticism;
threw over them, as an
intellectual
mortuary paU, the black wave of barbarism that during the

Middle Ages came nigh wiping out
all traces of civilization
by the
-which was salved from total wreck
homet, whose great mental and
scientific
followers of
Ma-
attainments illumined
that night of intellectual darkness as a brilliant meteor, too
soon extinguished by those minions of the Church, the members

of the
Holy
Inquisition established
inquisitors, imitating their
worthy
by Pope Lucius
The
III.
predecessors, the Metropoli-
tans of Constantinople and the bishops of Alexandria, closed
the academies and public schools of Cordoba, where Pope

Sylvester
II.
and several other high dignitaries
had been admitted
as pupils
of Moorish philosophers,
of the
Church
and acquired, under the
tuition
knowledge
of medicine, geographj'',
rhetoric, chemistry, physics, mathematics, astronomy,
and the
other sciences contained in the thousands of precious volumes

that formed the superb libraries which the inquisitors wantonly
destroyed, alleging St. Paul's example.^
Abundant proofs
ancient
Mayas
Europe are
cities.
of the intimate communications
with the
to be found
of the
civilized nations of Asia, Africa,
among
and
the remains of their ruined
Their peculiar architecture, embodying their cosmo-
gonio and religious notions,
is
easily recognized in the ancient
architectural monuments of India, Chaldea, Egypt, and Greece

in the great
Athens.
pyramid of Ghizeh,
Although architecture
'The Acts
is
in the
famed Parthenon
of
an unerring standard of the
of the Apostles, chapter xix.
verse 19.
PREFACE.
xvi
degree of civilization readied by a people, and constitutes,

therefore, an important factor in historical research; although
it is
as correct a test of race as
language, and more
is
easily-
applied and understood, not being subject to changes, I have

refrained from availing myself of
it,
in order not to increase
the limits of the present work.

I reserve the teachings that
study of
my
Maya
monuments
now
observations
may
be gathered from the
for a future occasion
principaUy to
the Memorial
Cliiclien, dedicated to the manes of Prince
wife Queen
Mdo
restricting
Coh hy
Hall at
his sister-
and to the mausoleum, erected by her order,
to contain his effigy and his cremated remains.
In the
first
she caused to be painted, on the walls of the funeral chamber,

the principal events of his and her
kings had the events of their
own
life,
lives
just as the
Egyptian
painted on the walls of
their tombs.
Language
is
admitted to be a most accurate guide in tracing
the family relation of various peoples, even

countries separated
present instance,
beings,
by
when
inhabiting
vast extents of land or water.
Maya,
still
In the
spoken by thousands of
human
and in which the inscriptions sculptured on the walls of
the temples and palaces in the ruined cities of Yucatan are
few books
written, as are also the
that have
come
to our hands,
of the ancient
Avill
Maya
sages
be the thread of Ariadne
that will guide us in foUoAving the tracks of the colonists
from
Mayaclv in their peregrinations. In every locality Avhere their

name is found, there also we meet with their language, their
religious
and cosmogonic
architecture,
and a host
and permanency, and
notions,
their traditions,
customs,
of other indications of their presence
of the influence they have exerted
the civilization 6f the aboriginal inhabitants.
on
PREFACE.
My readers
will
xvii
judge for themselves of the correctness of
this assertion.
The reading
Maya
of the
inscriptions
and books, among
other very interesting subjects, reveals the origin of
come
narratives that have
many
dovi^n to us, as traditions, in the
by
them
sacred books of various nations, and which are regarded
many
For
as inexplicable myths.
instance,
we
find in
the history of certain personages who, after their death, be-
came the gods most universally revered by the Egyptians,

Isis and Osiris, whose earthly history, related by Wilkinson
and other writers who regard
Moo
Queen
actly to that of
it
as a myth, corresponds ex-
and her brother-husband Prince
Coll, whose charred heart Avas found
by me, preserved
in a
stone urn, in his mausoleum at Cliiclien.

Osiris,
ousy,
we
are told,
and because
government.
whom
his
was
killed
by
He made war
through
his brother
murderer wished to
jeal-
seize the reins of the
against the widow, his
own
sister,
he came to hate bitterly, after having been madly in
love with her.
In these same books
we
learn the true
meaning
of the tree
of Jcnowledge in the middle of the garden; of the temptation

of the
woman by
ing of a
fruit, as
the serpent offering her a
occurrence in the every-day

Greeks, loses
all
This offer-
fruit.
common
a declaration of love, which was a

life
of the
Mayas,
the seeming incongruity
it
Egjj^ptians,
narrative of Genesis for lack of a Avord of explanation.

this shoAvs
how
and
presents in the
very simple facts have been, and
still
are,
But
made
use of by crafty men, such as the highpriest ITiUciah, to devise religious
speculations
and impose on the good
ignorant, credulous, and superstitious masses.

of the courting of
Queen
M6o
It
is
on
faith of
this story
by Prince Aac, the murderer
of
PREFACE.
xviii
purposely
disfigured
her husband
who made
priest Hilkiah,
the
woman
by the scheming Jewish

appear to have yielded to
her tempter, perhaps out of spite against the prophetess Hul-
and to
she having refused to countenance his fraud
dah,
become
his accomplice in it'
that
the Christian religion, which, since
rests the Avhole fabric of
advent in the world, has
its
been the cause of so much bloodshed and so
many
atrocious
crimes.
Maya
writings
we
much mooted
question
among modern
In these
that
also
meet with the solution of
the ex-
scientists
and submergence of a large island in the

by Plato in his " Timseus " and
istence, destruction,
Atlantic Ocean, as related
"Critias," in consequence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Of
this dreadful cataclysm, in
four millions of
human
descriptions in the
are illustrated
sixty-
beings, four different authors have left
Maya
language.
Two
of these narratives
that contained in the Troano MS.,^ the other in
the Codex Cortesianus.

in relief,
which perished
The
third has been engraved
and placed for safe-keeping
Cliictien, where
it
in
on stone
a room in a building
at
from the action
of
exists to-day, sheltered
the elements, and preserved for the knowledge of coming generations.
The fourth was written thousands
Mayach,
in Athens, the brilliant Grecian capital, in the
of
an
epic
poem, in the
Maya
language.
poem, formed by a composed word,

letters of the
is
the
of miles
Each
name
form
line of said
of one of the
Greek alphabet, rearranged, as we have
hundred and three years before the Christian
from
era,
it,
four
under the
archonship of Euclydes.
'
3 Kings,
chap, xxii., verse 14
xxxiv., verse 34.

'
See Appendix, note
iii.
et
passim; also 2 Chronicles, chap,
Plate I.
PREFACE.
xix
Fleeing from the -wrath of her brother
finding
Mu,
shelter
some
in
place of refuge as she
was
in the
hope of
Land of
the remnants of the
of
as the Azores, for instance.
Moo
Aac, Queen
directed her course toward the rising sun,
Failing to fall in with such
seeking, she continued her jour-
ney eastward, and at last reached the Maya colonies that

for many years had been established on the banks of the
The
Nile.
settlers
her the "little sister," iaiii
open arms,
her with
received
called
and proclaimed her
(/sis),
their
queen.
Before leaving her mother-country in the "West she had

caused to be erected, not only a memorial hall to the
of her brother-husband, but also a superb
were placed
his
the top of the
memory
in
which
remains and a statue representing him.
monmnent was
human head
mausoleum
Once
veritable sphinx.
On
dying leopard with
his totem, a
established in the
land of her adoption, did she order the erection of another of

his totems
again
a leopard with
memory among
his
human head
her followers?
to
The names
preserve
inscribed on
the base of the Egyptian sphinx seem to suggest this conjec-
Through the
ture.
enigma of
ancient
history.
Maya
ages, this
Has
archives
its
Egyptian sphinx has been the
solution at last been given
In the appendix are presented, for the
first
ages, the cosmogonic notions of the ancient
ered by me.
They
will be
the
tree
Mayas,
re-discov-
In them are embodied
of the secret doctrines communicated, in their initia-
tions, to the adepts in India, Chaldea,

cia,
time in modern
found identical with those of the
other civilized nations of antiquity.
many
by the
and
origin
of the worship
Egypt, and Samothra-
of the cross, of that
of the serpent, introduced in India
of the
by the Nagas, who
PREFACE.
XX
raised such a magnificent temple in
Angor-Thora,
ac-cliapat
to
Mayas, and afterward
of the
Akkad and
Cambodia,
in the city of
to their god, the seven-headed serpent, the
to Babylon.
carried
its
Ah-
worship
we
In these cosmogonic notions
why the number ten was held most sacred

nations of antiquity and why the Mayas, who
also find the reason
hy
all civilized
in their
scheme of numeration adopted the decimal system, did
not reckon by tens but by fives and twenties; and whj' they
used the twenty-milHonth part of half the meridian as stand-
ard of lineal measures.

In the following pages I simply offer to
lation of certain facts I have learned
monumental
inscriptions carved
Mayas
aces of the
is
in such of their books as have reached us.
explanations as wiU
tions,
on the same
make
my own
do not ask
men
pal-
likewise contained
I venture only such
clear their identity
subjects, of the wise
Egypt, and Greece.
readers the re-
on the walls of the ruined
the record of which
my
from the sculptures, the
with the concep-
of India, Chaldea,
my readers
to accept
d priori
conclusions, but to follow the sound advice contained
in the Indian sajdng quoted at the
beginning of this preface,
" Verify hy experience what you have learned ; " then, and only
then, tovm your own opinion.
When formed, hold fast to it,
although
it
may
be contrary to your preconceived ideas.
In
order to help in the verification of the facts herein presented, I
have
illustrated this
book
Avith
photographs taken in
situ,
drawings and plans according to actual, careful surveys, made

by me, of the monuments. The accuracy of said drawings and
plans can be easily proved on the photogra])hs themselves.
have besides given many references Avhose correctness
it is
not
diificult to ascertain.
This
is
not a book of romance or imagination; but a work
PREFACE.
xxi
one of a seriesintended to give ancient America
proper
its
place in the universal history of the world.
have been accused of promulgating notions on ancient
America contrary to the opinion of men regarded as authori-
And
on American archseology.
ties
not the fault, however, although

since
it
has surely entailed upon
so
it
me
it is,
may
be
Mine
indeed.
enmity and
their
conse-
its
'Qntyf^xo ascefhose pretended authorities?
quences.
is
misfortune,
mj'-
Certainly
not the doctors and professors at the head of the universities
and
colleges in the United States ; for not only
absolutely nothing of ancient
ing from letters in
my
may
be inquired.
judg-
civilization, but,
possession, the majority of
to learn anything concerning

It
American
do they know
them
refuse
it.
On what ground
can those
who have
published books on the subject, in Europe or in the United

States, establish
their claim to be regarded as authorities?
"What do they know of the ancient Mayas, of their customs
and manners,
Do
of their scientific or artistic attainments?
they understand the
Maya
Can they
language?
interpret
one single sentence of the books in Avhioh the learning of the

.
Maya
sages, their
cosmogonic, geographical, religious, and
scientific attainments, are
recorded ?
From what
they derived their pretended knowledge?

writings
of
the
Spanish
chroniclers,
source have
JSTot
surely.
from the
These
onljr
wrote of the natives as they found them at the time of and

long after, the conquest of America by their countiymen,
whose
fanatical priests destroyed
information
the
philosophers and historians.

his
by
fire
the only sources of
books and ancient records of
" Historia de Yucathan,"
the
Maya
Father Lopez de Cogolludo

'
in
frankly admits that in his time
Cogolludo, Hixtoria de Yucathan,
lib. iv.,
cap.
iii.,
p.
177.
'
PREFACE.
xxii
no information could be obtained concerning the ancient
He
Mayas.
tory of the
kingdom
settled in this
says:
"Of
who
the peoples
hisfirst
of Yucathan, or their ancient history,
have been unable to obtain any other data than those which
The Spanish chroniclers do not give one reliable
follow."
I
of the builders of the
word about the manners and customs
admiration to
grand antique edifices, that were objects of
them
as they are to
modern
The only answer
travellers.
the natives to the inquiries of the Spaniards as to

builders were, invariably was,
We do
who
of
the
not Tcnow.
wounding the pride of the pseudo-authorities,

For
shall the truth learned from the works of the Maya sages and
the inscriptions carved on the walls of their deserted temples
and palaces be withheld from the world? Must the errors
fear of
they propagate be allowed to stand, and the propagators not

be called upon to prove the truth of their statements ?
The
oppose
so-called
new
ideas
learned
men
of
our days are the
and the bearers of
these.
will continue to exist until the arrogance

superficial learning that still
and
universities
of intelligent
first to
This opposition
and
self-conceit of
hover within the walls of colleges
have completely vanished; until the
generalitj''
men, taking the trouble to think for themselves,
cease to accept as implicit truth the
who, pretending to know
all
nounces magisterially upon
it;
ijyse
dixit of
any quidam
about a certain subject, pro-
men no
until intelligent
longer
follow blindly such self-appointed teachers, always keeping in
mind that "
to accept
any authority
as
filial,
and to dispense
with the necessity of independent investigation,

of all progress."
ple
which cannot
this principle is
is
For, as Dr. Paley says: " There

fail to
keep a
man
destructive
is
a princi-
in everlasting ignorance;
contempt prior to examination.
'
PREFACE.
The
question
is
often asked, "
the knowledge that America

civilization
many
but
man's
of
was
be to mankind? "
there are
xxiii
Of what
To some,
who would
of but little use truly;
be glad to
know
the origin of
primitive traditions recorded in sacred books in the shape
myths or
and what were the incidents that served
legends,
on which has been raised the fabric of the various
as basis
gions that have existed and do exist
and
practical utility can
possibly the cradle of man's
stiU are the cause of so
many
wars, dissensions, and per-
This knowledge would also serve to disclose the
secutions.
source whence
emanated
been and are so
many
intellectual,
all
those
and moral progress; and
work
the most perfect
the fact that
of him,
way
man's physical,
of
to free his
mind from
what he claims
of creation on earth;
Mayachnot
that have
superstitions
obstacles in the
aU such trammels, and make
known
reli-
among men, have been
India
is
also
to
to be,
make
the true mother
of nations.
Then, perhaps, will be awakened, in the mind of those in
whose power
it is
to do
it,
a desire to save and preserve what
remains of the mural inscriptions carved on the

ruined palaces and temples of the
to pieces
Mayas,
by individuals commissioned by
Avails of
the
that are being torn
certain institutions in
the United States and other places to obtain curios to adorn

their
museums, regardless of the
fact that they are destroying
the remaining pages of ancient American history with the

recldess
hand
of ignorance, thus
making themselves
guiltj' of
the crime of leze-history as well as of iconoclasm.
Perhaps also
libraries
of the
Avill
be
Maya
felt
the necessity of recovering the
sages (hidden about the beginning of
the Christian era to save
them from destruction
at the
hands
of the devastating hordes that invaded their country in those
PREFACE.
xxiv
and to learn from their contents the wisdom of those

ancient philosophers, of which that preserved in the books
That wisdom was no
of the Brahmins is but the reflection.
times),
doubt brought to India, and from there carried to Babylon
and Egypt
in very
"the exalted
remote ages by those
"), who, starting
and
as missionaries of religion
Maya adepts (Naacal
from the land of their birth
civilization,
went
to
Burmah,
where they became known as Nagas, established themselves

in the Delckan,
whence they carried
work aR
their civilizing
over the earth.
At
the request of friends, and to
Maya
inscriptions
and books
is
show that the reading
of
no longer an unsolved enigma,
and that those who give themselves as authorities on ancient
Maya palaeography are no
longer justified in guessing
at,
Maya
forming theories as to the meaning of the
or in
sjnnbols
or the contents of said writings, I have translated verbatim
the legend accompanying the image, in stucco, of a

sacrifice that
Kabul
adorned the
frieze of the celebrated
human
temple of
Izamal.
at
This legend I have selected because
it is
written with hie-
ratic
Maya
who
can read hieratic Egyptian inscriptions will have no
characters, that are likewise Egyptian.^
culty in translating said legend

ary,
b)'^
the aid of a
and thus finding irrefutable evidence:
1.
Any
Maya
one
diffi-
diction-
That Mayas and
Egyptians must have learned the art of writing from the same
Who
masters.
uments
of
were these ?
2.
That some of the ruined mon-
Yucatan are very ancient, much anterior to the
Christian era, notwithstanding the opinion to the contrary of
the
self-styled
'
authorities
See Le Plongeon's ancient
Egyptian
on
Maya
Maya
civilization.
hienitic alphabet
liieratic alphabet, in S(U-ird Jfi/xlcrius,
3.
That
compared with the
Introduction, p.
xii.
PREFACE.
nothing
now
stands in the
way
xxy
of acquiring a perfect
knowledge
of the manners and customs, of the scientific attainments, reli-
gious and cosmogonic conceptions, of the history of the builders

of the ruined temples and palaces of the
May this work
receive the
Mayas.
same acceptance from students of
American archaeology and universal history as was vouchsafed

to " Sacred Mysteries among the Mayas and the Quiches." It
is
written for the same purpose and in the same
spirit.
Augustus Le Plongeon, M.D.
New
York, January,
1896.
INTRODUCTION.
OEIGIN OF THE NAME MAYACH.
The country known

of the
to-day as Yucatan, one of the states
Mexican confederacy, may indeed be
by the ethnologist, the
justly regai-ded
geologist, the naturalist, the philologist,
the archaeologist, and the historian as a most interesting field

of study.
Its area of seventy-three
covered with dense forests,
is liter allj'
numerous antique
majestic
cities,
the work of learned architects,
now
thousand square miles,

strewn with the ruins of
temples,
stately
palaces,
heaps of debris crumbling
under the inexorable tooth of time and the impious hand of

iconoclastic collectors of relics for
statues of priests
Among
museums.
these the
and kings, mutilated and defaced by the

hand of time and that of man, lie
action of the elements, the

prostrate in the dust.
tions
Walls covered with
bas-reliefs, inscrip-
and sculptures carved in marble, containing the pane-
gyrics of rulers, the history of the nation,

traditions,
its
cosmogonical
the ancient religious rites and observances of
its
INTRODUCTION.
xxviii
people,
inviting decipherment,
The
traveller.
the attention of the
attract
geological formation of
its
stony
soil,
so full of
curious deposits of fossil shells of the Jurassic period (Plate I.);
unexplored caves, supposed dwellings of sprites and elves,
its
creatures of the fanciful and superstitious imagination of the

natives;
modern
by bagres and other
geologists
diversified,
hand
subterraneous streams of cool and limpid water,
its
inhabited
whilst
fish
are
its flora
yet to be studied by
and fauna, so rich and so
but imperfectly known, await classification at the
of naturalists.
The
peculiar though melodious vernacular of the natives,
preserved through the lapse of ages, despite the invasions

of barbaric tribes, the persecutions
ignorant,
who
avaricious,
equal
if
for the philologist
and
and bloodthirsty, or fanatical
believed they pleased the
ilization
by Christian conquerors,
not superior to theirs,
and the
ethnologist.
21 35' of latitude north,
monks
Almighty by destroying a
and 86
50'
is
civ-
fuU of interest
Situated between 18
and 90
35' of longi-
tude west from the Greenwich meridian, Yucatan forms the

peninsula that divides the Mexican Gulf from the Caribbean
Sea.
Bishop Landa
informs us that when, at the beginning of
the year 1517, Francisco Hernandez de Cordova, the first of

the Spaniards who set foot in the country of the Mayas, landed
on a small island which he called Mugeres, the inhabitants, on

being asked the
name
of
the country, answered
cell (the land of the deer) and
the turkey).'
U-luumil cutz
U-luumil
(the land of
Until then the Europeans were ignorant of the
existence of such a place; for although
Juan Diaz
'
See Appendix, note
'
Diego de Liinda, Relacion delas Cosas de Tuctitan,
Solis
i.
chap,
ii.,
p. 6.
and
INTRODUCTION.
xxix
Vicente Yanes Piuzon came in sight of

1506, thejr did not land nor
make known
Herrera, in his Decadas,

his fourth
tells
its
eastern coasts in
their discovery.^
when Columbus,
us that
of Pinos, in the year 1502, his ships were boarded
Can
to its inhabitants under the general
(serpent)
and the Cat-ayo (cucumber
then divided into
sula,
many
One
own
name
of the Great
The
tree).^
penin-
who had
given a peculiar
title
dominions, seems to have had no general name.
district
was
called
Cliacan, another Cepecli, another
Clioaca, another Mayapaii, and so

ever,
Maya
districts or provinces, each gov-
erned by an independent ruler

to his
by
These came from the west; from the country
navigators.
known
in
voyage to America, was at anchor near the island
was a very large
district,
Mayapan, how-
on.^
whose king was regarded as
by the other chieftains, previous to the destruction of

his capital by the people, headed by the nobility, they having
become tired of his exactions and pride. This rebellion is said
suzerain
to have taken place seventy-one years before the advent of the
Spanish adventurers in the country.
The powerful dynasty
the Coconies, which had held tyrannical sway over the
of
land for more than two centuries, then came to an end.^
Among
the chroniclers and historians, several have ven-
tured to give an etjonology of the word

ever, seem
to
have known
its
Maya.
true origin.
None, how-
The reason
is
very
simple.
At
'
Antonio de Herrera, Hist, general de los heclios de los Castellanos en las

(JIadrid, 1601.) Decada 1, lib. 6, cap. 17.
la tierrafirme del Omano.
islas
Decada
Ibid.
Landa, Relacion,
di.Y,
the time of the invasion of the country by the turbu-
1, lib. 5,
cap. 13.
etc., cliap. v., p. 30.
Cogolludo, Historiade Yucathaii,

note
ii.
lib. iv.,
cap.
iii.,
p. 179.
See Appen-

'
INTRODUCTION.
XXX
and barbaric Wahuatls, the books containing the record of

the ancient traditions, of the history of past ages, from the
settlement of the peninsula by its primitive inhabitants, had
lent
been carefully hidden (and have so remained to this day) by

the learned philosophers, and the wise priests who had charge
of the libraries in the temples
and
colleges, in order to save the
precious volumes from the hands of the barbarous tribes from
the west.
These, entering the country from the south,
spreading ruin and desolation.

cities
came
They destroyed the principal
the images of the heroes, of the great men, of the cele-
brated women, that adorned the public squares and edifices.

This invasion took place in the year 522, or thereabout, of the
modern computers.
by the invad-
Christian era, according to the opinion of
As a natural consequence
ers, of Chichen-Itza, then
of the destruction,
the seat of learning, the Itzaes,
preferring ostracism to submitting to their vandal-like conquerors,
abandoned their homes and
colleges, and became wanThen the arts and sciences soon declined;
degeneracy came that of civilization. Civil war
derers in the desert.^
with their
that inevitable consequence of invasions
religious dissension broke out before long,
memberment
of the
seventy years after
and
and caused the
dis-
kingdom, that culminated in the sack and
burning of the city of

royal family of the
political strife,
Mayapan
Cocomesin
its
and the extinction of the
li20 a.d., two hundred and
foundation.^
In the midst of the social
cataclysms that gave the cou^) de grdce to the

1
Philip J. J. Valentiiii, Katunes of the
Maya History,
Maya
civiliza-
p. 54.
Tzolau Katunil tl Mayab (g 7):

"Laixtun u Katunil binciob AU-Ytzaob yalan che, yalan
abaii, yalan ak ti nuniyaob lac." ("Toward that time, tlien, the
Juan Pio Perez (Codex Maya), TJ
went in the forests, lived under the

under the vines, and were very miserable.")
Itzaes
"
Cogolludo, lUstoria de Yncatlmn,
lib. iv.
trees,
cap.
under the prune

3, p.
179.
trees,
INTRODUCTION.
tion, the old traditions
and
lore
Ingrafted with the
figured.
fables of the Nahuatls,
xxxi
were forgotten or became

traditions,
dis-
and
superstitions,
they assumed the shape of myths.
The great men and women
of the primitive ages
were trans-
formed into the gods of the elements and of the phenomena of

nature.
The ancient
libraries
having disappeared, new books had to
The Troano and

that epoch.*
They con-
They contained those myths.
be written.
the Dresden
MSS. seem
tain, besides
some
to belong to
of the old cosmogonical traditions, the tenets
and precepts of the new
religion that sprang
from the blend-
ing of the ceremonies of the antique form of worship of the
Mayas
with the superstitious notions, the sanguinary
and the obscene
rites,
practices of the phallic cult of the ISTahuatls
the laws of the land; and the vestiges of the science and knowl-
edge of the philosophers of past ages that
some
from father
to son.^
alphabetical letters and
These books were written
some
popular characters that, being
among
by word
lingered
of the noble families, transmitted as heirlooms,
of mouth,
new
still
in
of the ancient demotic or
known
to
many
of the nobil-
remained in usage.
ity,
With the
knowledge
disappeared.
ples
'
old orders of priesthood, and the students, the
of
the hieratic or sacred
mode
of writing
The legends graven on the facades
and palaces, being written

See Appendix, note
had
of the tem-
in those characters,
were no
iii.
Diego de Landa, Rdacion de las Cosas de Yucatan (chap, vii., p. 42):

"Que ensenavan los hijos de los otros sacerdotes, ya los hijos segundos
de los senores que los llevaban para esto desde ninos."
''
Lizana (chap.
autores que
8), Ilistoria
podemos
de Nuestra SeUora de Ytzamal
"
La
historia y
alegar son unos caracteres mal cutendldos do muclios
y glossados de unos indios autiguos que sou hijos de

dieses, que son los que solo sabian leer y adevinar."
los sacerdotes
de sus
'
INTRODUCTION.
xxxii
longer understood, except perhaps by a few archaeologists,
were sworn
the tenets of
we have
walls
The names of the builders, their histhe phenomena of nature they had witnessed,
the religion they had professed aU contained,
to secrecy.
tory, that of
as
said, in the inscriptions that
were as
titudes
who
much a mystery
which have
covered these antique
to the people, as to the mul-
since contemplated
them with amazement,
during centuries, to the present day.
Bishop Landa, speaking of the edifices at Izamal, asserts

that the ancient buildings of the
arrival
ruins
at the time of the
of the Spaniards in Yucatan, were already heaps of
objects
lived in
memory
awe and veneration to the aborigines who

They had lost, he sa3's, the
neighborhood.
of
their
of those
had been
thej'^
Mayas,
who
built them,
and of the object for which
Yet before
erected.
their eyes
were
fagades, covered with sculptures, inscriptions, figures of
their
human
beings and of animals, in the round and in bas-relief, in a

better state of preservation than they are now, not having
then suffered so
much
injury at the hand of man, for the
natives regarded them, as their descendants

erential fear.
do
There were recorded the legends of the
men of
of many
a dead letter for them as for the learned

There, also, on the interior walls
age.
with rev-
still,
]3ast
the present
apartments,
were painted in bright colors pictures that would grace the

parlors of our mansions, representing the events in the history
of certain personages Avho
life of their
had flourished at the dawn of the
nation; scenes that had been enacted in former
ages were portrayed in very beautiful bas-reliefs.
But these
speaking tableaux Avere, for the majority of the people, as
eran
Landa, Relacion dc his Cosas (p. 338): " Que cstos edificios
it xii por todos,
sin aver menioria de los fuudadores."
.\i
lU'
Izaiiud
INTRODUCTION.
much enigmas
entists are not
as they are
to-day.
Still
and
travellers
sci-
wanting who pretend that these strange build-
by the same
ings were constructed
peninsula or by their near ancestors

assertion^
xxxiii
"that
it is
not
'
race noAV inhabiting the
regardless of CogoUudo's
known who
their builders were,
and
that the Indians themselves preserved no traditions on the sub-
ject;" unmindful, likewise, of these words of Lizana:
when
"That
the Spaniards came to this country, notwithstanding
that some of the
monuments appeared new,
as
they had
if
been built only twenty years, the Indians did not
them,
live in
but used them as temples and sanctuaries, offering in them

sacrifices,
sometimes of men, women, and children; and that
their construction dated
back to a very high antiquity."
The historiographer âr

informs us that in his
century
scarcely a
the Conquest, the
day
little
excellence of
the
Yucatan, Cogolludo,
middle of the seventeenth
more than one hundred years
memory
after
of these adulterated traditions
was
" Of the
already fading from the mind of the aborigines.

people who
first settled in this kingdom of Yucathan," he says,

"nor of their ancient history, have I been able to find any
more data than those I mention here. " *
The books and other writings of the chroniclers and his-
torians,
from the Spanish conquest
to our times, should there-
fore be considered well-nigh valueless, so far as the history of
the primitive inhabitants of the country, the events that transpired in remote ages,
and ancient
traditions in general are
John L. Stephens, Incidents of Travels in Yucatan,

Charnay, North American Review, April, 1883.
'
sir6
'
Diego Lopez de Cogolludo,
vol.
Ilistoria de Yucathan,
ii.,
p. 458.
lib. iv.,
p. 177.
Lizana, Ilistoria de Ntiestra Seflora de Ytznmal, chap.
'
Cogolludo, Ilistoria de Yucathan,
lib. iv.,
chap,
iii.,
ii.
p. 177.
chap,
DSiii.,
INTRODUCTION.
xxxiv
concerned, seeing that CogoUudo says they were unable to pro" It seems to me that it
cure any information on the subject.
is
time," he says, "to speak of the various things pertaining
to this country, and of
some might
tension
its
natives; not, however, with the ex-
desire,
mentioning in detaU. their origin
and the countries whence they may have come, for it would be
difficult for me to ascertain now that which so many learned
men were
unable to find out at the beginning of the Conquest,
even inquiring with great diligence, as they affirm, particularly since there exist
no longer any papers or traditions among
the Indians concerning the
from
first settlers
descended; our evangelical ministers,
whom
who imported
in order to radically extirpate idolatry, ha^dng burned

acters
and
paintings they could get hold of
in
they are
the faith,
aU char-
which were
written their histories, and that in order to take from them

all
remembrances of their ancient
'
rites."
Those who undertook to write the narrative of the Conquest and the history of the country, in order to procure the
necessary data for

tives.
this,
had naturally
to interrogate the na-
These were either unable or unwilling to impart the
knowledge sought.
It
may
be that some of those from
whom
inquiries were made were descendants of the Kahuatls, ignorant of the ancient history of the Mayas. Others may have
been some of the Mexican mercenaries who dwelt on the coasts,
where they were barely tolerated by the other inhabitants,

because of their sanguinary practices.
They, from the
had welcomed the Spaniards as friends and

tained with
them intimate
allies
first,
had main-
relations during several years,'^ be-
CogoUudo, iristoria de Yticathan, lib. iv., chap, iii., p. 170.

Nakiik Pecli. Au ancient document concerning the Nakuk Pech
family, Lords of Cliicxulub, Yucatan.
This is an original document be'
'
longing to
Srs.
Rogil y Peon, of !Merida, Yucatan.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxv
fore the invaders ventured into the interior of the country.
Fearing that
if
they pleaded ignorance of the history
it
might
be ascribed to unwillingness on their part to answer the questions ; dreading also to alienate the goodwill of the
long gowns,
with
who defended them against the others that handled

those strangers covered with iron, now mascountry and of their persons, who on the slightest
the thunderbolts
ters of the
men
provocation subjected them to such terrible punishments and
they recited the nursery
atrocious torments
their
tales
with which
mothers had lulled them to sleep in the days of their

These
childhood.
stories
were
down
set
as
undoubted
tradi-
tions of olden times.
Later on,
natives
who
ditions,
and
when
the Conquest was achieved, some of the
really possessed a
knowledge
of the myths, tra-
facts of history contained in the books that those
same men with long gowns had wilfully destroyed by
feed-
ing the flames with them, notwithstanding the earnest protestations of the owners, invented plausible tales
tioned,
and narrated these as
the truth to foreigners
tell
invited,
facts, unwilling, as
who had come
when
ques-
they were, to
to their country un-
arms in hand, carrying war and desolation wherever
they went
the virgins
'
'
slaughtering the
men
outraging the wives and
destroying their homes, their farms, their cities
*
;
spreading ruin and devastation throughout the land;^ dese-
de
'
Cogolludo, Sistoria de Yucathan,
Landa, Las Corns de Tucata?i, chap. xv.
lib. ii.,
,
chap,
vi., p.
77.
p. 84, et passim.
Bernal Diez
Castillo, Historia de la Conquista de Mexico, chap. 83.

^
Landa, Las Cosas de Yuuitan, chap, xv.,

Tratado de la Destruccion de
sas,
Bartholome de laa CaMeyno de Yucathan, lib. viii.,
p. 84.
las Indias,
cap. 27, p. 4.
'
Cogolludo, Hist, de Yuaitlian,
Cosas, ch. iv.

'
Hid.
lib. iii.,
chap,
xi.,
p. 151.
Landa, Las
INTRODUCTION.
xxxvi
crating the temples of their gods;
trampling underfoot the
sacred images, the venerated symbols of the religion of their

forefathers; ^ imposing upon them strange idols, that they said
^
an
were likenesses of the only true God and of his mother
assertion that seemed most absurd to those worshippers of the
sun,
moon, and other
celestial bodies,
who
regarded
Ku,
the
Divine Essence, the uncreated Soul of the World, as the only

Supreme God, not to be represented under any shape. Yet,
by
lashes, torture,
death even, the victims were compelled to
pay homage to these images, with rites and ceremonies the

purport of which they were, as their descendants stiU are,
unable to understand, being at the same time forbidden to
observe the religious practices which they had been accustomed
to
from times immemorial.'
were destroyed, with
More, their temples of learning
their hbraries
and the precious volumes
that contained the history of their nation, that of their

trious
'
men and women whose memory they
Cogolludo, Hist, de Yucatlian,
lib.
hi., cliap. x., p.
illus-
venerated, the
147.
Landa, Las
Oosas, chap. iv.

^
Ibid., lib. iv., chap, xviii., p. 329.
Landa, Las
Cosas, chap. iv.
Landa, Las Oosas de Yucatan, cliap. xli., p. 316.

Cogolludo, Hist, de Yucathan, lib. iv., chap, vi., p. 189. "Los religiosos
de esta provincia, por cuya ateucion corrid la couversiou de estos iudios, a
nuestra santa f6 catolica, con el zelo que tieuen de que aprouechassen en
ella, no solo demolieron y quemaron todos los simulacros que adorabau,
pero aun todos los escritos (que a su modo tenian) cou que pudieran recordar sus meinorias y todo lo que presuniiero tendria motiuo de alguna
^
supersticion 6 ritos gentilicos."
Then when speaking

took place in
tlie
by Bishop Landa, which

Mani towards the end of 1561, he says " Con el
of the auto-de-fe ordered
city of
rezelo de esta idolatria, hizo juntar todos los libros y caracteres antiguos
que los indios tenian, y por quitarles toda ocasion y memoria de sus antiguos ritos, quautos se pudieron hallar, se quemaron publicamente el dia del
auto y a las bueltas con cllos sus historias de antiguedades " (lib. vi., chap,
i.,
p. 309).
INTRODUCTION.
sciences of their wise
it
men and philosophers.*
be expected that they should
tory
of
hated,
who
xxxvii
and
their people,
tell
treat as friends
and with reason, from
men who
autonomy
men whom
heart of hearts?
their
held their gods in contempt
ocation, destroyed the
How, then, could

what they knew of the his-
men
had, without prov-
of their nation, broken
their families, reduced their kin to slavery,
up
brought misery
upon them, gloom and mourning throughout the
Now that
they
land.^
three hundred and fifty -five years have elapsed
since their country
became part of the domain of the Spanish
Crown, one might think, and not a few do try
to persuade
themselves and others, that old feuds, rancor, and distrust
must be forgotten;
in fact,
must be replaced by friendship,
confidence, gratitude, even, for all the ilessin^s received at the
hands of the Spaniards
not
among
the least
these, the de-
struction of their idolatrous rites, the hnowledge of the true
God, and the mode of worshipping
He
likes best
notwith-
standing the unfair means used by their good friends, those of

the long gowns, to force such hlessings and knowledge upon
them, and cause them to forget and forego the customs and
manners
are said
of
their forefathers.^
to le
To-day,
when
the aborigines
free citizens of the Eepublic of Mexico, entitled
to all the rights
and
posed to confer on
privileges that the constitution
men born
all
country, they yet seek
is
sup-
within the boundaries of the
and with good cause the seclusion of
the recesses of the densest forests, far
away from
the haunts
of their white fellow-citizens, to perform, in secrecj', certain
ancient rites and religious

'
sim.
Cogolludo, Hist, de Yucathan,
practices
lib.
ii.,
'
Landa, Las Gosas de Yucatan, chap,
"
Las
leyes
mas en orden
that even
chap, xiv., p. 108,
now
et
linger
passim
xv., p. 84, et passim.
lib. v.,
cap. xvii., xviii., p. 296,
al Jiien espii'itual de los Iiidios.
et jias-
INTRODUCTION.
xxxviii
among them,
with great tenacity, and
to -which they adhere
that the persecution and ill-treatment they have endured have
Yes, indeed, up to the present
been powerless to extirpate.*
knowledge of their traditions they
time, they keep whatever
may
possess carefully concealed in their bosoms; their Ups
still
are hermetically sealed on that subject.
Their confidence
of their blood
him
in,
their respect
and friendship
for,
one not
and race must be very great, for them to aUow

become acquainted with
to witness their ceremonies, or
the import of certain practices, or be told the meaning of pecul-
and symbols, transmitted to them orally by their

This reserve may be the reason why some travellers,
iar signs
fathers.
unable to obtain any information from the aborigines, have

erroneously asserted that they have lost all traditionary lore;
that
all
tradition has entirely disappeared
Maya
was the name
from among them.'
of a powerful nation that in remote
ages dwelt in the peninsula of Yucatan and the countries,
to-day called Central America, comprised between the Isthmus

of Tehuantepec
on the north and that of Darien on the south.
That name was as well known among the ancient

nations the world over as at present are the
France, England,
As from
etc.
abandoning the land of their

forth in search of
ried
tion,
new homes
civilized
of Spain,
these countries colonists,
birth,
have gone and
in far distant regions
and do carry, with the customs, manners,
go
still
have car-
religion, civiliza-
and language of their forefathers, the name even of the
mother country to
happened with the
'
names
See
Appendix,
new abodes
their
Mayas
note
iv.
at
so
we may imagine
some remote period
it
in the past.
Cogolludo, Hist, de Tucathan,
lib. v.,
cap.
xvi., xvii., xviii.

*
John
L. Stephens, Incidents of Travels in Tvcatan, vol.
ii.,
pp. 446, 449.
INTRODUCTION.
xxxix
it is a fact that, wherever we find their name, there also

we meet with the vestiges of their language and customs, and
many of their traditions; but nowhere, except in Yucatan, is
the origin of their name to be found.
Among the various authors who have written on that coun-
For
try several have endeavored to give the etymology of the
Maya none has succeeded; for, instead of consulting

Maya books that escaped destruction at the hands of the
word
the
Zumarragas, Landas, and Torquemadas, they have appealed

to their imagination, as
in their fancy they could find the
if
motives that prompted the primitive inhabitant to apply such

or such
name
Kamon
was given
on
Maya
to the peninsula on account of the scarcity of water
its surface,
vocables
to this or that locality.
de Ordonez y Aguiar ' fancied that the name
and intimated that
was derived from the two
it
ma, "no," and ha, "water" "without
water."
own pet idea, combats such explanaand says: "The country is far from being
Brasseur," following his

tion as incorrect
devoid of water.
Its soil is
honeycombed, and innumerable
caves exist just under the surface.
In these caves are deposits
of cool, limpid water, extensive lakes fed
streams."
word
by subterranean
Hence he argues that the true etymology
Maya may possibly
the "teats of the waters

breasts, as they
of the
be the " mother of the waters " or
ma-y-a"
she
of the four hundred

were Avont to represent the Ephesian goddess.
Again, this explanation did not
suit Seiior Eligio
Ancona,^
Ramon de Ordonez y Aguiar, the author of Sistoria de la Oreacion del

y dela Tierra, was a native of the ciudad Real de Cliiapas. He died,
very much advanced in years, in 1840, being canon of the cathedral of that
'
cielo
city.
'
Brasseur (Charles Etienne),
'
Ancona
(Eligio), Hist.
Maya Vocabulary, vol.
deYucatan, vol.
i.,
chap.
i.
ii.,
p. 398,
Troano MS.
See Appendix, note
v.
INTRODUCTION.
xl
"
for he ridicules the etymologists.
"to thus rack
their brains
elucidations to explain the

is
nonsense," he says,
They must be out
work
to give themselves the
What
word Maya,
knows
name of
that everybody
Mayab,
a mere Spanish corruption of
the ancient
In asserting that the true name {nombre ver-
the country."
dadero) of the peninsula in ancient times
Ancona does not
sustain his assertion
document; he merely
was Mayab, Senor
by any known
Maya
refers to the
Perez, that he himself has published.
He
historical
dictionary of Pio
is
likewise silent as
from which Senor Pio Perez obtained
to the source
mind
of their
of bringing forth these erudite
his infor-
mation concerning the ancient name of the peninsula.

Landa, GogoUudo, Lizana,'
accord in stating that the
all
"the land of the deer."
land was called TJ-luumil ceh,
Herrera ^ says
it
was
"great serpent "
was the name
called
Can
of the
but
Beb
we
(a
very thorny
see in the
whole of the
tree),
and the
Troano MS. that
Maya
Senor Ancona, notwithstanding his sneers,
peninsula alone.
not quite sure of being right in his criticism, for he also

his
hand
ment
at etymologizing.
of Lizana
this
Empire, not the
is
Taking for granted that the
true, that at
some time or other two
is
tries
statediffer-
ent tribes had invaded the country and that one of these tribes
was more numerous than the
Mayab
as
he
was meant
says, of
I myself,
other, he pretends that the
word
to designate the weaker, being composed,
Ma, "not," and yab, "abundant."
on the strength
of their ancestors
by the
of the
name given
Egjrptians,
to the birthplace
and on that of the tradition
handed down among the aborigines of Yucatan, admitting

that one of the names given to the peninsula, Mayab, was cor'
'
See Appendix, note v.

Autonio de Herrera, Decada
1, lib. 7,
chap. 17.
INTRODUCTION.
xli
rect ; considering, moreover, the geological formation of its soil,

its
porousness
remembering, besides, that the meaning of the
wordMayab is
a "sieve," a " tammy," I wrote:
" It
is
very
difficult,
without the help of the books of the learned priests of
Mayab,
to
know
positively
why
they gave that name to their
I can only surmise that they called it so
country.
absorbent quality of
its
stony
soil,
which
time absorbs the water at the surface.
through the pores of the stone,
and cool,
is
in the senates asnA caves,
When
in
from the great
an incredibly short
This water, percolating
afterward found filtered, clear
where
it
forms vast deposits."
I published the foregoing Lines, in 1881, I had not
studied the contents of the Troano

entirely ignorant of
MS.
value.
its historical
I was therefore
The discovery of a
fragment of mural painting, in the month of February, 1882,^
on the walls of an apartment in one of the edifices at Kabah,

caused me to devote many months to the study of the Maya
text of that interesting old document.
was with consider-
It
able surprise that I then discovered that several pages at the
beginning of the second part are dedicated to the recital of the
awful phenomena that took place during the cataclysm that
among which the " Land

by
strangely crooked line /"
N^
caused the submersion of ten countries,

of
Mu,"
that large island probably called "Atlantis"
Plato and the formation of the

;
of islands
known
to us as " "West Indies," but as the "
the Scorpion " to the Mayas.'

gratified to find
was no
less
an account of the events in the
Land
of
astonished than
life
of the per-
sonages whose portraits, busts, and statues I had discovered
among
the ruins of the edifices raised by
them
at
Chichen
Aug. Le Plongeon, Vestiges of the Mayas, p. 36.

" Explorations of the Ancient
North American i?OTiw, April, 1882.
Cities of Central America, " D6sir6 Charnay.
'
'
Troano MS., part
ii.,
plates vi., vii.
INTRODUCTION.
xlii
and
is
Uxmal, whose
history, portrayed in the
and the sculptures
also recounted in the legends
and temples
ing the walls of their palaces
mural paintings,
still
adorn-
and to learn that
had already been converted, at the
these ancient personages
time the author of the Troano MS. wrote his book, into the
gods of the elements, and made the agents who produced
the terrible earthquakes that shook parts of the " Lands of the
West
'
'
to their very foundations, as told in the narrative of
the Akalb-oib, and finally caused
waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
them
to be engulfed
by the
Troano MS. gives in his work the adjoining map (Plate II.) of the " Land of the Beb " (mulberry tree),
the Maya Empire.^ In it he indicates the localities which
The author
of the
were submerged, and those that
still
remained above water, in
that part of the world, after the cataclysm.
In the legend explanatory of his object in drawing that

chart, as
n many other places
pent head RVP" '^ kan,

tinent.
He
'
south,
'
in his book,^
'
'
By this
ser-
symbol of the southern con-
as
by
represents the northern
that reads aac, " turtle. "
he gives the
this
mon ogram
sign s!20S^= placed between
the two others, he intends to convey to the
mind
of his readers
that the submerged places to which he refers are situated be-
tween the two western continents, are bathed by the waters

of the Mexican Gulf,
Caribbean Sea
and more particularly by those of the
figured
by the image
bling a deer, placed over the legend.

this
animal
will plainly
is
typical of the
of
an animal resem-
It is well to
submerged Antillean
appear further on.

'
Troano MS., part
'
Ibid., vol.
i.,
part
ii.,
ii.,
plates
ii.,
pi. x.
'Ibid., pi. xxiv., XXV., ft jKoisim.
iii.,
iv.
remark that
valleys, as
it
Page
xlii.
Plate II.
'
INTRODUCTION.
The
lines lightly etched here are painted blue in the origi-
As
nal.
xliii
maps the edges
in our topographical
and
courses, of the sea
of the water-
lakes, are painted blue, so the
hierogrammatist figured the shores of the Mexican
The
cated by the serpent head.
placed in the centre of said gulf,
known
guished volcano
three signs n of locality,
mark
the site of the extin-
Maya
writers, typical of the sea,
whose billows they compared to the undulations
They
whose
'
'
radical
mighty
The
is
The
to-day as the Alacrcmes reefs.
serpent head was, for the
in motion.
Maya
Gulf, indi-
of a serpent
therefore called the ocean canali, a Avord
can, " serpent," the meaning of which
is
the
'
serpent.
drawing
lines of the
which corresponds
m ore
stro ngly etched, the end of
to the sign g".'OC,=
are painted red, the
color of clay, kaiicab, and indicate the localities that were
submerged and turned into marshes.
This complex sign
is
emblem of countries near or in the

made of dotted lines, symbol of the
cracks and crevices made on the surface of the earth by the
escaping gases, represented by the dots
and of small
formed of the
=J
water, and of the cross,
circles,
is
images of volcanoes.
composed of two
and Greek
letter
letters
A.s to the character
/\,
A, so entwined
equivalent to
as to
R^^5)
Maya
form the character
it
equal to the Greek and Maya K, but forming a mon- -^^

ogram that reads aac, the Maya word for "turtle."
Before proceeding with the etymology of the
ach,
it
may
name May-
not be amiss to explain the legends and the other
drawings of the tableau.

ters over that part of the
It will
be noticed that the charac-
drawing which looks
like the hori-
zontal branch of a tree are identical with those placed vertically against the trunk, but in
an inverted
position.
It
is,
in
INTRODUCTION.
xliv
fact, the
same legend repeated, and
so written for the better
understanding of the map, and of the exact position of the

various localities; that of the Mexican Gulf figured on the
and of the ideographic or
left,
pictorial representation of the
Caribbean Sea to the right of
thoroughly comprehend the idea of the

is
indispensable to have a perfect
tours of the seas and lands mentioned
Of
even as they exist to-day.
epoch referred
since the
place,
and the
Maya
author, it
knowledge of the con-
by him in this instance,

some slight changes
course,
by him have naturally taken

somewhat altered,
of the shores are
outlines
Gulf of Mexico, as can be ascertained
particularly in the
by consulting
to'
In order to
the tableau.
maps made by
the Spaniards at the time of the
conquest.
The adjoining map
of Central America, the Antilles,
and
Gulf of Mexico, being copied from that published by the Bureau of Hydrography at "Washington,
rate (Plate III.).
On
it
may be regarded
have traced, in dotted
that will enable any one to easily understand
as accu-
lines, figures
why
the
Maya
author symbolized the Caribbean Sea as a deer, and the empire

of
Mayach
as a tree, rooted in the southern continent,
and
having a single branch, horizontal and pointing to the right,

that
is,
in
an easterly
glance at the
Lands"
Antillean
direction.
map
of the
"Drowned
(Plate IV.), published
Valleys of the
by Professor
J. "VV.
Spencer, of "Washington, in the "Bulletin of the Geological

Society of
America"
for January, 1895,
which
is
reproduced
must convince any one

geologists and geographers were
here with the author's pennission,

that
not
of
the
far
ancient
Maya
behind their brother professors, in these sciences,
modern
times,
in
their
knowledge,
at
least,
of
those
Page
xliv.
Plate III.
^^^
Page
xliv.
Plate IV.
INTRODUCTION.
xlv
parts of the earth they inhabited, and of the adjoining countries.'
The sign that most attracts the attention is >if^J | tli^t

Eishop Landa saji-s must be read Yax-kin, and
Literally
that of the seventh month of the Maya calendar.
,
these words
mean
the " vigorous sun. "
If,
however,
we
inter-
it gives us "the country of

water; " " the kingdom in the
is
surrounded
by
which
the king,
midst of water. " It will also be noticed that it is placed at the
pret the symbol phonetically,
top of the tree, to indicate that that "tree"
Next
to
it,
on the
that
it
is
the
left, is
"kingdom
the
of
is
the kingdom.
name Mayach, which
Mayach," which
indicates
will be-
come plain by the analysis of the symbols. To begin with,

is a wing or feather, insignia worn by kings and warriors.
Placed here
as
we
Avill
it
has a double meaning.
see later on,
and
also
^
/
|
<^~-^
It denotes the north,
shows that the land
is
The character
that of the king whose emblem it is.
stands for ahau, the word for Icing, and we have already
map (Plate IV.) was constructed by Professor J. W. Spenown original researches and geological studies in the
island of Cuba and in Central America, aided by the deep-sea soundings made
It
in 1878 by Commander Bartlett of the United States steamship Blake.
'
Tlie adjoining
cer according to his
can be therefore accepted as perfectly accurate. During a short stay in

Belize, British Honduras, Commander Bartlett honored me with a visit.
Speaking of his work of triangulation and deep-sea soundings in the Carib-
bean Sea, he mentioned tlie existence of very profound valleys covered by its
waters, revealed by the sound. I informed him tliat I had become cognizant
of tliat fact, having found it mentioned by the author of that ancient Maya
book known to-day as Troano MS. If my memory serves me right, I showed
him the maps drawn by the writer of that ancient book, and made on a map
in my copy of Bowditch's Navigation an approximate tracing of the submerged valleys in the Caribbean Sea, in explanation of the Maya maps,
showing why they symbolized said sea by the figure of an animal resembling a deer which may have been the reason why they called the country
U-Iuumil cell, the " land of the deer."
INTRODUCTION.
xlvi
seen that this

or
fcOa luumil, is the symbol for
surrounded ^^ by water,"
'
'
(the peninsula of
land near,
as the Empire of
in,
Mayach
Yucatan and Central America are certainly
surrounded by water), on the north by the Gulf of Mexico, on
by the Caribbean Sea, on the west and south by the

Pacific Ocean.
The symbol then reads Luumil ahau, the
"King's country," the "kingdom."
the east
But how do you make your rendering accord with the

meaning given to the character by Bishop Landa ? I fancy I
hear our learned Americanists asking
and
I answer.
simple manner, knowing as I do the genius of the
and
In a very
Maya people
their language.
The ancient armorial escutcheon
of the country still exists on

"
the western facade of the
sanctuary " at Uxnial, and in the
bas-reliefs carved
on the memorial monu-
ment of Prince Coli at
emblem represented on
Chichen.
scarcely needs explanation.
read
U-luumil kin,
The
said escutcheon
the
It is easily
'
'
Land
of the
Sun."
The kings
of
Mayach,
like
those
of Egypt, Chaldea, India, China, Peru,

etc.,
spirit,
" Children of the Sun,"

"
that of
the Strong, the Vigorous
Maya
word
took upon themselves the
and, in a boasting
title of
Sun."
Kin
title of
the highpriest of the sun.
is
the
for sun.
As
But kin
in
is
also the
Egypt and many
other civilize4 countries, so in Mayacli, the king was, at

the same time, chief of the state and of the
relifi-ion,
as in
our times the Queen in England, the Czar in Kussia, the Sultan
in Turkey, etc.
The title Yax-kiu may therefore have been
applied,
among
the
Mayas,
to the king
and to the kingdom;
INTRODUCTION.
and
my rendering
of the
xlvii
symbol >G^[^ does not
that of Landa.
with
conflict
fco
In the tableau the
a tree with the trunk
Maya Empire is portrayed

full of thorns.
The trunk
by the beb
the image of
is
the chain of mountains that traverses the whole country from
north to south.
They gave
Volcanoes.
chain
is,
There dwelt the masters of the earth, the
as
it
were,
of Darien, to the
in the character
its
it
power, and strength.
life,
It terminates at the
backbone.
nri
\_)
south.
This
is
why
extends eastward, that
is,
branch, the
of Yucatan,
legend,
peninsula
is
in
trunk of the
the same as that
an
tree,
planted
to the right of the trunk.
represented
is
symbol cX)^^, which, with but/^---y^ a

cal
is
kan, that Landa tells us was the name

At the north, the branch of the tree
for south anciently.*
the drawing,
the tree
This
Isthmus
by
whole country, calling
this
in the verti-
position, against the
Avhich the author has

it ii
by
slight difference in
K^^pj placed
invertedf^^Sa'
This
designated the
Ma yach, the " land of the shoot,"
the "land of the veretnim,^^ from the
name
of the peninsula
that seems to have been the seat of the government of the
Maya Empire.
The motive for the slight change in the drawing is easily
The peninsula jutting out into the sea from the
explained.
mainland, as a shoot, a branch from the trunk of the tree,

dicated
by the representation
of a
yach, a
vere-
the base of which rests on the sign of land
or also of a shoot, projecting beyond two

of
two basins
that
that
of water
and the Caribbean Sea
is,
'
(x^^Jr,
ma;
/^\iniix, symbols
of the ^^*J^
Mexican Gulf
are on each side of
whole hieroglyph, name of the
is in-
j<^=~^ tnim,
peninsula,
Landa, Las Corns de Yucatan, chap, xxxiv.,
reads
p. 206.
it.
The
therefore
INTRODUCTION.
xlviii
u-Mayacli, the
shoot of the
tree.
These two
h^>i(^/M
place of the ancestor's veretrum, or of the
imix
meant
is
differ
somewhat
The iniix
in shape.
to designate the Caribbean Sea, the eastern
^Ûili^ part of which being opened to the waves of the ocean

is
by the wavy
indicated
this instance it
that close
other
it,
may
,^^-.
a-s
imix L" '\j

*
line
AAAA/V\, emblem
also denote the

it
of water.
mountains in the
In
islands,
were, toward the rising sun.
The
stands for the Gulf of Mexico, a medi-
smaU entrance
terranean sea, completely land-locked, with a
formed by the peninsula of Florida and that of Yucatan,
and commanded by the island of Cuba.

that, as has
been already
zontal legend are the
said,
same
some
It is well to notice
of the signs in the hori-
as those in the vertical legend,
but placed in an inverse position with regard to one anThis
other.
particular
somewhat
is
it
different,
with reference
The
as
is
symbol
~^
localities in
and the signs indicating their position
\^ imix,
imix T
certainly be
^^
from the south,
course, the
the country are
to the cardinal points are not the same.

for instance, of the
placed in the vertical legend to the
of the
Of
should naturally be.
names of the various
left,
that
Mexican Gulf
is
to the west,
image of the Caribbean Sea, as
we look at the map

when it is apparent that
if
of Central
it
should
America
the Gulf of Mexico
the westward of the Caribbean Sea (mTiiI/. On the

other hand, if we enter the country from the north, the
lies to
Gulf of Mexico will be to the right, and the Caribbean Sea to

the
left,
of the traveller, just as the
Maya
hierogrammatist
placed them in the horizontal legend,

^J^mJC^mOTo return to the character
in which the foot of the tree
\^
is
planted.
Kan
not only means "south," as
we have
just
INTRODUCTION.
seen, but
has
it
many
other acceptations
idea of might and power. It
The
"serpent."
a symbol of the same.
Maya
and
rulers,
conveying the
all
^^
Maya
_^^?*^
breast,
Empire, was adopted as
name became
Its
a variation of can,
is
serpent, vrith inflated
suggested by the contour of the
of the
xlix'
that of the dynasty
"We see
their totem.
sculptured
it
on the walls of the temples and palaces raised by them.
Mayach,
in Egypt, in China, in India, in Peru,
In
and many
other places the image of the serpent was the badge of royalty.
It
formed part of the headdress of the kings;
ered on their royal garments.*

kings of Tartary, Burmah,
etc.
Kliam,
is
it
was embroid-
the
still
title of
the
that of the governors of prov-
and other countries in central
inces in Afghanistan, Persia,
Asia.
That the
tree ^v^^r"-^""^w
was
also
meant by the author
the Troano MS.
J I
as symbol of the
there can be
f 3
no doubt.
takes
Beb
pains
\D
(the beb
The
sign
is
used
of
^ ^ uuc
,
Can.
painted red in the original, to indicate the
kancab.
among the Mayas,
arable land,
try,
Empire,
fact,
has sprung up) between
luuniilob, the seven countries
was the symbol of land, coun-
as with the Egyptians; but the former
also as numerical for five, to which, in this case,
it
be added the two units
The four black
O O
dots
So we have seven
" serpent." This

/Sj^/^
tree, lilce
"
is
why
must
fertile lands.
are the numerical four, and
another ideographic sign for the name of the country
kingdom.
of
himself
inform us of the
to
ixaacal
He
Maya
it is
Can,
placed at the foot of the
the sign ^^s' 1 at the top to signify that it is the

1
They \jj,7^ are juxtaposed to the character ^fl
Wilkinson, Customs and Manners,
vol.
i.,
p.
163
(illust.).
INTRODUCTION.
kan,
also,
to denote its geographical position.
It will be
noticed that this sign was omitted in the horizontal legend, as

it
should be, since
kan
is
the
word
for
" south; " but
it
has
been replaced by ix /6S\ (" north,") which sign has been inthus ^\ to show
corporated with the ^Qy sign, toeb,
^q^
that this
that
is,
is
the northern part
>0^
of
the
ô'
tree
of the country.
There remains to be f^XXr^ explained what may be considered, in the present yîrC iiistance, the most important
character of the tableau,
^^^^
since
it
is
the original
to that part of the
given, in the most remote ages,
name
Maya
Empire known on our maps as the peninsula of Yucatan. It

reads, Mayacli, the "land just sprung," the "primitive
land," the "hard land." The symbol itself is an ideographic
representation of the peninsula and
its
surroundings, as will
be shown.
of
The reason that caused it to be adopted by the learned men

Mayacli as symbol for the name of their country is indeed
most
interesting.
It clearly explains its
etymology, and also
gives us a knowledge of the scope of their scientific attain-
ments
among
these their perfect understanding of the forces
that produced the submersion of

of the peninsula
many
lands,
and the upheaval
and other places; a thorough acquaintance
with the geography of the continent wherein they dwelt, and

of the lands adjacent in the ocean
island
mentioned by Plato,'
and the sad doom of

ical fact,
its
its
that even of the ill-fated
destruction
by earthquakes,
inhabitants that remained, an histor-
preserved in the annals treasured in the Egj^ptian
temples as well as in those of the
Mayas. May we not assume
that the identity of traditions indicates that at

'
Plato, Diahgiies, "Tima?us,''
ii.,
517.
some epoch,
INTRODUCTION.
more or
must
less
li
remote, intimate relations and communications
have existed between the inhabitants of the valley of
the Nile and the peoples dwelling in the " Lands of the West "
We shaU. begin the interpretation
j-l
of
the symbol
with the analysis of the character ^r^ Sf^ that Landa
tells
stood, among the Maya writers, either for ma,

Some would-be critics among the Americanists, our contempo-
us
me, or mo.
have accused the bishop of ignorance regarding the
raries,^
writing system of the
Mayas,
or of incompetency in transmit-
ting to us the true value of this character, simply because he
gave
it
a plurality, or what seems to be a plurality, of meanings.
What
asserted
right, it
be asked, have we to dispute the fact
by Bishop Landa,
Mayas,
the
may
and perhaps
that in his time,
j-^
the character g^ S?^ was

to
Had he
me and mo ?
than any of us for knowing it?
insti'ucted, in the
versed,
and have
it
all
a prime duty to
their missionaries
language of the natives to
whom
they had
them
tianity, to administer the sacraments of their
Church ?
Who
men
ma
chiefs of the
to preach the gospel, and, after converting
they not scholars,
among
to
not better opportunity
Did not the
Franciscan Order in Yucatan consider
become thoroughly
equivalent
to Chris-
Were
conversant with grammatical studies
but they have reduced to grammatical rules the
Maya
Landa, Eelacion de las Cosas de Yucatan, ch. xli., p. 323.

Heinrich Wvlttke, Bei enstehimg der Schrift, S. 205, quoted and whose
opinions are indorsed by Professor Cliarles Ran, cliief of tlie archfeological
division of the National Museum (Smithsonian Institution) at Washington.
'
"
Smithsonian Contributions
to
Knowledge, chap,
v.,
No. 331. "The Paleuque

Dr. Ed. Seler, Tiber die
Tablet in the United States National Museum."
Bedeutung des ZahlzeicJmns 20 in der Mayaschrift, in Verhandlungen der Berliner Oesellachaft fiXr Anthropohgie, etc., 1887, S. 237-241.
"
The Landa Alphabet
American Antiquarian
Spanish
Fabrication,"
Society, April, 1880.
in
J. J.
Vallentini,
Proceedings of the
'
INTRODUCTION.
lii
Are we not
language for the benefit of students?
told that
Was
Bishop Landa acquired a great proficiency in it?
he
many years a teacher of it ? Has he not composed a

grammar of that tongue for the use of his pupils? What
right, then, have men in our age, innocent of all knowledge of
Maya language, even as spoken to-day, however great may
not for
be their attainments in any other branch of learning, to pass
judgment on, worse
condemn, a learned teacher of
to
still,
that language, charging him with ignorance and incompetency,
simply because he assigns various meanings to a character ?
Perhaps Mr. Champollion

manner, because he
tells
indifferently the vowels
""We
see
Egyptian
le
A,
" the
by the character
the learned discoverer of
0,
I,
effectively," says
alphabet,
jewne will be branded in like
us that the Egyptians represented
leaf
6>,
as the
the
or feather as their homo-
phones, to mean, according to the occasion, an
and even an
(aleph) of the
A, an
Hebrews.
7",
an E,
So do we
find in the Egyptian tongue, written with Coptic letters, a

dialect that uses indifferently
write o only, and
same
in the
'
'
rush,
'
'
'
dialect
for
o,
where the other two
where the other two write

a/3e
and
o/Je-
Sitire
a.
We
have
axe "reed,"
Jwieus. ^
Champollion
tiena, p. Ill, Paris,
Ak6
le
jeune, Precis
du Systime
hieroglyphiqite des Anciens
Egyp-
1838.
likewise a word belonging to the Maya language.

As in
means a "reed," a "rush," a "-withe." It was the name of
an ancient city the ruins of which still exist near Tixkokob, in Yucatan,
on the property of Dn. Alvaro Peon. It was also a family name, as can
be seen (in Appendix, note ii.) from a baptismal certificate signed by
Father CogoUudo, taken from an old baptismal register found in the
'
Egyptian,
is
it
convent of Cacalchen. The original is now in possession of the Right Rev.

Dn. Crecencio Carillo y Ancona, present bishop of Yucatan, who has kindly
allowed me to make a photographic copy of Father Diego de CogoUudo's
autograph.
INTRODUCTION.
liii
We
Let US resume our explanation.

in re-
its
was the meaning of the char-
Let us try to analyze
Ss^.
relation to the
its
name Mayach, and its origin
geometrical figure |
in
as an alphabetic
composed of the /"^s

flanked on each side by the symbol VjllV/
"Who can
this figure bears a strik-
see that
fail to
ing resemblance to the Egyptian sign
and Mr. ChampoUion
translates m,'
letter
component parts
It is easy to see that it is
character.
imix.
ma
mote times
j--1
acter g!*-*
have found that
M?
By
'
a strange coincidence,
the meaning of the syllable

tian; that
is,
"The word
ma
in both languages
ronoi
"of the Greek
'place,'
is
be simply the
coincidence there be,
if
the same in
it signifies
Maya and Egyp-
"earth," "place."
ChampoUion,
'site,'" says Mr.
text of the Rosetta inscription
the hieroglyphic part of the tablet
Young
that Dr.
asserts to
by an owl
expressed in
is
for
M, and
the
extended arm for A, which gives the Coptic word /< {ma),
"^
'site,' 'place.'
"We see that
Troano MS. the author represented the

earth by the figure of an old man,* " the grandfather,"
;
in the
mam
hence,
by apocope, ma, "earth,"
Ma,
in the
Maya,
is
"site," "country," "place."
also a particle used, as in the
language, in affirmation or negation according to

before or after the verb.
of notice
is
Mayas
Greek
position
Another curious coincidence worthy
that the sign of negation
the same for the
its
is
abso-
as for the Egyptians,
sen = says that the latter called
it
n^n.
j-i
L,.
That word in
lutely
Bun-
'Maya
'Dr. Young, "Egypt," Encyclopedia Britanniea, Edinburgh edition,

vol. iv.
'
ChampoUion
lUd.,
'
'
lejeune, Precis
du Systeme
hieroglyphique. etc., p. 34.
p. 125.
Troano MS., vol. i., Maya text, part ii., plates xxv.-xxvii., etpaasim.
Bunsen, Egypt's Place in Universal History, Vocabulary word Nen.
INTRODUCTION.
liv
means " mirror; " and Nen-ha, " the mirror of water," was
anciently one of the names of the Mexican Gulf.
may
This also
be a coincidence.
No
one has ever told us
Egypt gave to the sign

because nobody knows the
why
of
civilization,
the learned hierogramanatists
the value of
ma. No
one can
origin of the Egyptians, of their
nor the country where
grew from
it
infancj'^ to
They themselves, although they invariably pointed
maturity.
toward the setting sun when questioned concerning the fatherland of their ancestors, were ignorant of Avho they were and
Nor
whence they came.
did they
know who was
the inventor
"The Egyptians, who, no doubt, had forknown the name of the inventor of their
of their alphabet.
gotten, or had never
phonetic signs, at the time of Plato honored with
gods of the second order,
tlieir
as the father of all sciences

It
is
evident that
of the motives that
we
who
TJioth,
and arts."
it
likewise
one of
was held
can learn nothing from the Eg}"])tians
prompted the inventor of
their alphabetical
to represent the
/
The Mayas, we are in-
characters to select that peculiar figure
M,
letter
formed,^
same
initial of their
made
word Ma.
use of the identical sign, and ascribed to
signification.
"We
may
it
the
perhaps find out from them the
reasons that induced their learned
men
to choose this strange
geometrical figure as part of their symbol for
Ma,
radical of
Mayacli, name of the peninsula of Yucatan. "Who knows

but that the same cause Avhich prompted them to adopt it suggested
Many
dence
it
also to the
will,
the
mind
of the Egyptian hierogrammatist ?
no doubt, object that
this
may
t\vo peoples lived so far apart.
'
ChampoUion, Precis du Systeme
"
Lauda, lielaciondc
las
all
be pure coinci-
Very
true.
Ilieroglypluque, p. 355.
Oosas de Yucatan, chap,
xli., p.
322.
do
INTRODUCTION.
not pretend
bility, that,
it
is
not accidental.
added to other facts,
merely suggest a possi-
may
become a probabil-
later
In the course of these pages we
not a certainty.
ity, if
Iv
meet with so many concurrent facts,

3Iayacli and Egypt, that
it
will
shall
as having existed both in
become
difficult to reconcile
the mind to the belief that they are, altogether, the identical
working of the hmnan intelligence groping

barism to
civilization, as
way out
of bar-
deny the striking concord-
as a last resort, in their inability to
ance of these
its
some have more than once hinted,
facts.
"We are told that in the origin of language names were

given to places, objects,
tribes, individuals, or animals, in ac-
cordance with some peculiar inherent properties possessed by
them, such as shape, voice, customs,
etc.
and to countries on
account of their climate, geological formation, geographical

configuration, or
any other
characteristic; that
is,
by onomato-
This assertion seems to find confirmation in the sym-
poeia.
Mayas
bol rj of the
Mayach
and the name
forms no
exception to the rule.
In
we draw round the Yucatan peninsula
fact, if
cal figure enclosing
it,
ing the direction of

coasts,
and composed
its
eastern, northern,
by follow-
and western
easy to see that the drawing so
it is
a geometri-
of straight lines,
made
will unavoidably be the s3nnbol [1.
That
fact alone
affirm that the
from
might not be deemed proof
Mayas,
this cause, since
in reality, did derive their sign for
/-^^
Landa, the character \jll\/

It
sufficient to
to complete
imix
'
is
it,
Ma
as transmitted
wanting on each
by
side.
does not require a very great effort of the imagina-
tion to understand
'
what
this sign
Landa, Relacion de
las Cosas
is
meant
for.
de Yucatan, p. 304.
single
INTRODUCTION.
lyi
glance will suffice to satisfy us that the drawing
woman's
represent a
breast, with its nipple
one inclined to doubt that such
by examining the female
vinced
is
intended to
is
and
Any
areola.
the case wiU. soon be con-
figures portrayed in the Tro-
ano MS.i
imix is the breast, the bosom,
Yes,
the
is
word having suffered the apocope
called to-day simply
of its desinence ix,
a copulative conjunction and the
im,
which
the feminine
sign of
gender.
But
iosoTn
the deep,"
also
is
an enclosed
place. ^
We say " the bosom of
sein de la terre, el seno de los ma/res.^
le
in that sense, indeed, that the
Maya sages, who
was
It
invented the
characters and symbols with which to give their thoughts a
material form,
'
made
Troano MS., part
use of
1,
it.
plate xxii.
This fact becomes apparent

See Appendix, note
if
iii.
know the meaning of this picture. Alas! it teaches us that the

powers that govern nature were as indifferent to the
The reader may perhaps
desire to
lot of man in remote ages as they are to-day

that
no creatures, whatever they be, have for them any
importance beyond their acting of the role which
they are called upon to play momentarily in the
;
^S"
^^^^^ ^ creation.
The figures are anthropomorphous representations
the kneeling, supplicating female, of the " Land of Mu " the male, of the
"Lord of the Seven Fires " (volcanoes), Men kak uuc. Mil, in an imploring posture, comes to inform him that one of his volcanoes lias caused
/'vVvVVW
S''^**
the basin at the edge of her domains to rise, and has converted the counShe speaks thus " Alt lia pe be be imik
try into marshy ground.
;
Kaan"
marshy
")
Mu ? "
Mu ? ")
(that
is,
"The
Men Kak
basin has risen rapidly, and the land has become
uuc,
for all consolation, replies
This
is
'
" Imix be Ak
become marshy,
the rising of
evidently the record of a geological event
the part of the bottom of the ocean near

'
(" So the basin in rising has caused the laud to
Webster, English Dictionary.

Diccionario Es2MUoI por una socU'dad
Mu.
litcraria.
INTRODVCTION.
the drawing
we examine
lines
drawn
more
still
in the lower part, as
Ivii
closely,
and notice the four
to shade
if
sider each line as equivalent to one unit, their
If
it.
sum
we
con-
represents
can in the Maya language. We have

already seen that can also means "serpent," /*''v one of
Then the two \^|y imix
the symbols for the sea, canah.
the numerical /owr
one on each side of the geometrical figure
are placed,
image
of the peninsula, to typify the
bathe
its
shores
on
symbol
ors of the
gulfs
this
was the idea
of the invent-
evident; for as the Gulf of Mexico
is
whose waters
the left that of Mexico, on the right
That
the Caribbean Sea.
two
is
smaller than the Caribbean Sea, and the Avestern coast line
of
Yucatan shorter than the
imix on
eastern, so in the drawiiig the
the left of the figure
is
smaller than the Iniix
on the right, and the line on the left shorter than that on the
right.
This explanation being correct,
a proposition
of
'
two
Avith their extent
Not a
fe^v,
gulfs,
much
as
q owes its origin, among the Mayas,
to the configuration of the

tion between
clearly proves, as
that nature can be demonstrated,
r^
that the character q-^
it
Yucatan peninsula, and
its posi-
and that the inventors were acquainted
and contour.
even among well-read people, often express a
doubt as to the ancient
Mayas
having possessed accurate
in-
formation respecting the existence of the various continents and

islands that
ing likewise
form the habitable portions

if
they were acquainted even with the geography
and configuration of the lands

entertain
the
of the earth ; question-
idea that the
in
which they
science of
lived
seeming to
general geography
belongs exclusively to modern times.
The name Maya, found among
all civilized
nations of
INTRODUCTION.
Iviii
antiquity, in Asia, Africa, Europe, as well as in America,
always with the same meaning, should be

that in very remote ages the
sufficient to
Mayas had
prove
intimate relations
with the inhabitants of the lands situated on those continents,
were therefore great
travellers,
and must, perforce, have been
acquainted with the general geography of the planet.
We must not
little
indeed of the ancient American
of the learned
or destroyed,
men
it is
of
monuments
built
bear ample testimony.
That they were expert
by
and that of vegetation,
The
analysis of the
gnomon
calculate the latitudes
and
They knew,
discovered
Mayapan,
writer in the ruins of the ancient city of
science of astronomy.
architects,
them, that have resisted for ages the
in 1880, proves conclusively that they
stices
either hidden
impossible for us to judge of the scope of
disintegrating action of the elements
by the
but very
The annals
civilizations.
Mayach. having been
their scientific attainments.
the
we know
lose sight of the fact that
had made advance

as well as
we
do,
in the
how
and longitudes; the epochs of the
of the equinoxes;
to
sol-
the division of time into solar
years of three hundred and sixtj^-five days and six hours
that
of the year into twelve months of thirty days, to which
thej'^
added
five
supplementary days that were
and regarded as inauspicious.
During
day of the Epact among the Egyptians,
left
without name
these, as
all
on the third
business
pended; they did not even go out of their houses,

misfortune should befall them.
of course, a thorough
was
lest
All those calculations required,
knowledge of algebra, geometry,
nometry, and the other branches of mathematics.
were no mean di-aughtsmen and
sus-
some
trigo-
That they
sculptors, the fi'esco paintings,
the inscriptions and bas-reliefs carved on marble, that are stiU

extant, bear unimpeachable testimony.
'
INTRODUCTION.
The study
lix
Troano MS. will convince any one that the
of the
learned author of that book, and no doubt
many
of his asso-
had not only a thorough knowledge of the geographical

configuration of the Western Continent and the adjacent islands,
ciates,
The "Lands
but also of their geological formation.
West "
of the
by these symbols, rsfyj^^/p^ ^^f^^JfSk

which some have translated Atlan. They JV^^T ^tjSgSumr
leave no room for doubting that the
^^1^^
are represented
'
Mayas
tinent,
were acquainted with the eastern coasts of said con-
from the bay
Cape St. Koque,

^^^\\ ^^
sent
*^^
the two
nent,
of Saint
Lawrence
in latitude north 48 to
The two signs
in Brazil, in latitude south 5 28'.
^^ locality 'placed under the symbols reprelarge regions of the Western Conti- y''~\
North and South America
whilst
the
\^y
signs
and h>Q^ seen Avithin the curve figuring the northern basin
Land of Mu, that extensive

under
the
waves of the ocean.
submerged
of the Atlantic, stand for the

island
now
The sign
l>Q/\
part of the symbol,
These will
tell
as well as this h'^'^ that forms the upper

is
familiar to all students of Egyptology.
you that the
first
meant, in the EgyiJtian
hieroglyphs, " the sun setting on the horizon," and the second,
'
'
the mountainous countries in the west.
As
'
to the conventional posture given to all the statues of
the rulers and other illustrious personages in
Mayach
it
con-
firms the fact of their geographical attainments.
If Ave
com-
pare, for instance, the outlines of the efiigy of
Prince
Coh
discovered
by the author
at
Cliichen-Itza
in
1875, Avith
Kingsborough, Mexican Antiquities, vol. i., and Comment, vol. v. Atlan

Maya but a Nahuatl word. It is composed of tlie two primitives
Atl, "water," and Tlan, "near," "between."
The Maya name for the
symbol is Alau.
'
is
not a
INTRODUCTION.
Ix
the contour of the eastern coasts of the American continent,

placing the head at
New-
foundland, the knees at
Cape
St.
feet at
^<&
Eoque, and the
Cape Horn,
it
is
easy to perceive that they

are identical.
The
shal-
low basin held on the

belly of the statue,
ical of
between the hands, would then be symbol-
the Gulf of Mexico and of the Caribbean Sea.^
Again, the outlines of the profile of the statue
may
represent Avith great accuracy the eastern shores of the
Empire
the head
being the peninsula of Yucatan, anciently
the seat of the government

to
also
Maya
Cape Gracias a Dios,
of Darien, the southern
in
the knees would then correspond
Nicaragua; the feet to the Isthmus
boundary of the empire
and the
shal-
low basin on the belly would in that case stand for the Bay of
The Antilles were

Honduras, part of the Caribbean Sea.
known to the Mayas as the " Land of the Scorpion," Ziiiaan,
and were represented by the
other
as
>^
we are with
'
Maya
of that arachnid, or in his
figure
hierogrammatist by the
cursive writing
by
this
proof evident that he was as well acquainted
the general outlines of the archipelago.
Various other statues discovered by the writer at Chicheii-Itza liave
the same position, and hold a basin on the belly, between their hands.
Others, again, are to be seen in the " National JIaseum " of Mexico, all
having the same conventional attitude, with the head turned to the right
shoulder.
"
Troano MS., part
11, plates vi., vii.
which forms the middle section of plate xiii.

Troano MS., the author describes the occurrence
of a certain phenomenon of volcanic origin, whose focus of action was located in the volcanoes of the island of Trinidad, figured by the image of a
In the tableau, plate
in the second i)art of the
v.,
Page
Ix.
Plate V.
INTRODUCTION.
Maya
The ancient
caldron,
cum,
on the surface
bosom.
its
sages sometimes likened the earth to a
because as nutriment
so also all that exists
orated in
is
cooked in such
of the earth
utensil,
elab-
is first
Sometimes, likewise, on account of
rotundity, and because
it
its
contains the germs of all things, they
compared the earth to a calabash,

similes
Ixi
kum,
These
full of seeds.
seem to have been favorite ones, since they made
fre-
quent use of them in illustrating their explanations of the
phenomena which have convulsed our
geological
Per-
planet.
haps also the second reason was what caused them to generally
adopt a circular shape for the characters they invented to give
material expression to the multitudinous conceptions of their
mind
ters
(unless
it
from that
The
thought).
be that they gave that form to these characof their skull, containing the brain,
fact
that their symbol for the
is
organ of
name May-
acli, of the peninsula of Yucatan, affects the shape of a cala-
bash, Avith
its
What
hand
at the
tendril just sprouted
young
natives call a
yacli or acli, as the
sprout.
can have induced the hierogrammatists to

end of the scorpion's
tail.
The rope that connects
select
said
hand
with the raised right forefoot of the deer indicates that not only the seismic action was felt throughout the length of the Caribbean Sea, from south
to north, but that it produced the upheaval of some locality in the northern
parts of said sea.
column on the
Beginning, naturally, the reading of the legend by the

we find that he describes the phenomenon in the fol-
right,
lowing words:
"Oc
ik ix canab ezali uab "
(that
(small quantity) of gases, escaped from the crater, caused
the palm of
liis
hand
").
According
is,
"A
canab
handful
to
show
to its location this raised forefoot
may
be the uplieaval of the large volcano that looms high in the air in the middle
of the island of Roatan, the largest of the group called Guanacas in the Bay
of Honduras, where the
Mayas
met
the Spaniards for the first time in 1503.
The second column reads " Cib caualcimte lam a ti ahau O-"
("The lava having filled (raised) the submerged places, the master of the
basin,'' etc.)
(The last sign being completely obliterated, we cannot know
what the author had said.)
:
INTRODUCTION.
Ixii
germinating calabash as part of the name of their country,

remains to be explained.
we examine
If
it
the
map
of the lands back of the peninsula,
uppermost
will not be difficult to discover the idea
mind
bol;
of the
and to
draughtsman
see that he
geography of the
composing the
at the time of
was
interior
as thoroughly acquainted with the
their geological formation
to him.
By
sj^m-
and the western shores of those
parts of the continent, as with the configuration of

coasts; also that
in the
its
eastern
was no mystery
cTL
comparing
this
symbol ^^jO* with the shape of the
countries immediately south of
vg^
the peninsula, notwith-
standing the changes that are continually taking place in the
contour of the coast
by
the
lines, particularly at
the action of currents, etc. ,
we cannot
mouth
fail to
the
of rivers,^
recognize that
hierogrammatist
assumed
it
to be the
sprout of a calabash,
the body of which was
represented
the
\>\
lands comprised within
the
segment
a circle having
of
for
radius the half of a line, parallel to the eastern and western
shores of the peninsula, starting from Point Lagartos, on the
northern coast of Yucatan, drawn across the countrj"^ to the shore

of the Pacific
Ocean on the
said line as centre,
we
south.
For
if,
from the middle of
describe a circumference, part of
it
will
follow exactly the bent of the coast line of said ocean, opposite
the northern shore of the peninsula; another part will cross the
'
Charles Lycll, Principles of Ocology, vol.
i.,
chap,
iii.,
p. 252.
INTRODUCTION.
Ixiii
Isthmus of Tehuantepeo, the northern frontier of the

Empu-e, and,
if
carried overland on the south until
the seaboard of the
Bay of Honduras,
it
Maya
intersect
the segment of the circle
and the
thus formed resembles the bottom of a calabash,

peninsula the sprout.
Analyzing the character yet more
closely, "we see
a line of
^^ root of
figure ^^ intended
dots on each side of the base of the sprout, the
which
is
made
to
repose on the curled
the smoke as
to represent the curling of
the air from the crater of the volcanoes

indicated, as
body
among
it
ascends into
the mountains,
on our maps, by the etchings on both
sides of the
These tokens prove that the designer
of the s3Tnbol.
knew
the geological formation of the country in which he
lived
and that the peninsula had been upheaved from the bot-
tom
of the sea
of activity
was
by the
action of volcanic forces,
whose centre
in the
mountains of
in his time, as
it still is,
Guatemala, far away in the interior of the continent.
By
placing the small end of the sprout deep into the figure on
the focus of the volcanic action, on the curling line of the
smoke, and by the dots, on both sides of the root of the sprout,
he shows that he knew that the upheaval of the peninsula was
by the expansive force of the gases, which produce

earthquakes by their pressure on the uneven under surface
effected
of the superficial strata,

escape.
Thus
Maya
too homogeneous to permit their
it is
that
we come
to learn
philosopher that the
name
from the pen
of
an ancient
of his people, once
upon a
time so broadly scattered over the face of the earth, had

'
Sir Charles Lyell, Principles of Geology, chap, xxxii., xxxiii.
Le Plongeon, "The Causes

Magazine, vol.
6,
Nos. 41, 43.
of Earthquakes,"
Van
Nostrand''s
its
Augustus
Engineenng
INTRODUCTION.
Ixiv
origin in that of the country they inhabited, a place situated

in the northern tropical
^^ parts of
the "Western Continent,
that mysterious home of their

in that " Land of Kui,"
ancestors, where the Egyptians thought the souls of their
'
departed friends went to dwell, which was
known
to its inhab-
Mayacli, a word that in their language meant

the "first land," the "land just sprouted," also the "hard
land," the "terra firma," as we learn from the sign \\ 'of
as
itants
tion of
its soil,
of
lations.
placed each
side
of
the
calabash, to indicate, perhaps, the rocky forma-
and that
it
had Avithstood the awful
cata-
<ff^-ri_r>
swept from the face of the earth the
Mu ^^^^
and many other places with their popu-
clysms which
Land
coagulation,
hardness,
aspiration,
body of the
The
Egypt, Chaldea, and India preserved
priests of
the remembrance of their destruction in the archives of their

temples, as did those of
Mayacli on
the other side of the
ocean.
The
latter did not content themselves
relation in their treatises
to preserve
its
memory
with recording the
on geology and history, but
in order
for future generations they caused
it
to
be carved on a stone tablet which they fastened to the wall in

one of the apartments of their college at Cliicllen, where
it is
yet seen.
The
natives have perpetuated,
tion to generation, for centuries, the
They
tion.
still
call it
name
Akab-aib, the
from genera-
of that inscrip-
awful, the tenebrous
writing.
Gardner WilUiuson, Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians, vol.
"Kui Land," according to tlie Maya language the "land of
the gods," the birthplace of the Goddess Maya, "the uiotlier of the gods "
and of men, the feminine energy of Brahma by 'whose union with Brahma
all things were produced.
^ Landa, Mchicion de las Cosas do Yucatan,
chap, xli., p. 323.
'
iii.,
Sir
p. 70.
INTRODUCTION.
The history
Ixv
of that terrible catastrophe, recounted in vari-
ous ways in the sacred books of the different nations
which
vestiges of the presence of the
Mayas
among
are to be found,
continues to be the appalling tradition of a great portion of
mankind.
QUEEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

We infer the spirit of the nation in great
measure from the language, which is a sort of
monument to which each forcible indimd/ual in
a course of many hundred, years has contributed a stone.
Essays,
In ages long
lost in the
had not yet established
(Bal^jh Waldo Emerson,

XX., " Nominalist and Realist.")
abyss of time,
when Aryan
their first settlements
of the river Saraswati in the Punjab,
colonists
on the banks
and the primitive Egyp-
tian settlers in the valley of the Nile did not fancy, even in
their
most hopeful day-dreams, that
become the great people whose
their descendants
civilization
was
would
to be the
cradle of that of Europe, there existed on the Western Conti-
the Mayathat
nent a nation
had attained
to a high degree
of culture in arts and sciences.
Valmiki, in his beautiful epic the
"Ramayana," which
is
model to Homer's " Iliad," teUs us that

were mighty navigators, whose ships travelled
said to have served as
the
Mayas
from the western
to the eastern ocean,
from the southern to
the northern seas, in ages so remote that "the sun had not
yet risen above the horizon; " ' that, being lUiewise great warrioi's,
'
they conquered the southern parts of the Hindostanee
Valmiki, Ramayana, Hippolyte Fauclig's trauslatiou, vol.
i.,
p. 353.
QUEEN m60 and TEE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
peninsula, and established themselves there; that, being also
learned architects, they built great cities and palaces.'
Mayas
navas,^
became known
and are regarded by modern historians as aborigines
of the country, or
J.
These
in after times under the names of Da-
Nagds
as
we
Of
shall see later on.
Talboys Wheeler in his "History of India" says:^
traditions of the
Nagds are obscure
in the
extreme
however, to the existence of an ancient
these
"The
they point,
Naga empire
in the
modern town of Nagpore,

Aryan invasion, the
Nagd rajas exercised an imperial power over the greatest part
The Nagds, or serpent
of the Punjab and Hindostan.
worshippers, who lived in crowded cities and were famous for
Dekkan, having
and
it
its
capital in the
may be conjectured that,
prior to the
their beautiful
'
women and
exhaustless treasures, were doubt-
Valmiki, Bamayana, vol. ii., p. 26. " In olden times there was a prince
a, learned magician endowed with
great power
his name
of the Danavas,
was Maya. It was he who, by magic art, constructed this golden grotto.
He was the viivakarma (" architect of the gods ") of the principal Danavas,
and this superb palace of solid gold is the work of his hands."
Maya is mentioned in the Mahahharata as one of the si.x individuals
who were allowed to escape with their life at the burning of the forest of
Khandava, whose inhabitants were all destroyed.
We read in John Campbell Oman's work, Tlte Great Indian Epics (p.
" Now, Maya was the chief arcliitect of the Danavas, and iu grati118)
:
tude for his preservation built a wonderful saWia, or hall, for the Pandavas,
the most beautiful structure of its kind in the whole world."
Danava = Tan-ha-ba : Tan, " midst; " lia, "water; " ba, a compositive particle used to form reflexive desinences; "tliey who live in the
''
midst of the water " navigators.

This Maya etymon accords perfectly with what Professor John Campbell Oman in his work The Great Indian Epics, " Mahabharata " (p. 133),
says with regard to the dwelling-place of the Danavas
" Arjuna carried war against a tribe of the Danavas, the Nivata-Kava-
who were very powerful, numbering thirty millions, whose principal

was Hiranyapura. They dwelt in the womb of the ocean." (The name
Hiranyapura means iu Maya "dragged in the middle of the water jar.'")
chas,
city
'
J.
Talboys Wlieeler, Iliatonj of India,
vol.
iii.,
pp. 5G-57.
Page
3.
Plate VI.
QUEEN M6o and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
a civilized people living under an organized government.
less
Indeed,
it
if
any inference can be drawn from the epic legends
would be
that, prior to the
were ruling powers, who
Aryan
conquest, the
Naga
rajas
had cultivated the arts of luxury to
an extraordinary degree, and yet succeeded in maintaining a

protracted struggle against the
Aryan
Like the Enghsh of to-day, the
invaders."
Mayas
over the earth.
traditions, the architecture, astronomy,^
sciences
It
is
in a word,
this civilization that furnishes us
We
cosmogony, and other
the civilization of their mother country.
taining the role played
world.
sent colonists all
These carried with them the language, the
by them
find vestiges of
it,
with the means of ascer-
in the universal history of the
and
of their language, in all
historical nations of antiquity in Asia, Africa,
They are
still
and Europe.
frequent in the countries where they flourished.
It is easy to follow their tracks across the Pacific to India,
by
the imprints of their hands dipped in a red liquid and
pressed against the walls of temples, caves, and other places
looked upon as sacred, to implore the benison of the gods
by
Maya,
their name,
their country,^
given to the banana
whose broad
tree,
also
symbol of
leaf is yet a token of hospitality
H. T. Colebrooke, "Memoirs on the Sacred Books of India," Asiatic

ii., pp. 369-476, says:
"Maya is considered as the author
of the SmryorSiddhanta, the most ancient treatise on astronomy in India.
He is represented as receiving his science from a partial incarnation of
the Sun." This work, on which all the Indian astronomy is founded, was
discovered at Benares by Sir Robert Chambers. Mr. Samuel Davis partly
'
PesearcJies, vol.
translated
Maya
it,
particularly those sections
which
relate
to
the calculation
work of very great antiquity, since it is attributed to a

author whose astronomical rules show that he was well acquainted
of eclipses.
It is
with trigonometry {Asiatic Researches, vol. ii., pp. 345-249), proving that
abstruse sciences were cultivated in those remote ages, before the invasion
(See Appendix, note vi.)
of India by the Aryans.
' Codex Cortesianiis, plates 7 and 8.
QUEEN m60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
among
the natives of the islands
'
then along the shores of
the Indian Ocean and those of the Persian Gulf to the

of the Euphrates;
up that
river to
mouth
Babylon, the renowned
City of the Sun; thence across the Syrian desert to the valley
where they
of the Nile,
their
finally settled,
mother country to a
district of
and gave the name
Nubia, calling
it
of
Maiu
After becoming firmly established in Egypt they
or Maioo.^
These reached as far north as Mount
sent colonists to Syria.
way
Taurus, founding on their
settlements along the coast of
the Mediterranean, in Sidon, Tyre, the valley of the Orontes,
and again on the banks
the Euphrates, to the north of
of
Babylon, in Mesopotamia.
Mayacli
(that
is,
" the land that
first
arose from the
bottom of the deep ") was the name of the empire whose sovereigns bore the title of
Asiatic countries.^
rulers,
This
Can
title,
(serpent), spelt to-day Jchan in
given
by the Mayas
to their
was derived from the contour of the empire, that
of
a serpent with inflated breast, which in their books and their

sculptures they represented sometimes with, sometimes without
wings, as the Egyptians did the urceus, symbol of their coun-
^lian
try,
to
says:
wear asps of
"It was the custom of the Egyptian kings
different colors in their crowns, this reptile
Captain J. Cook, Voyage among tlie Islands of the Pacific.

Henry Brugsch-Bey, History of Egypt tinder the Pharaohs, vol. i., p. 363;
vol. ii., p. 78 (note) and p. 174.
The name is comprised in the list of the
lauds conquered by Thotmes III., and in the list found in a sepulchral
'
chamber
"
in Nubia.
Klian
is
the
the kings of Tartary,
title of
other Asiatic countries.
The
flag of
China
is
Burmah, Afghanistan, and
yellow, with a green dragon
in the centre.
That of the Angles also bore as symbol a dragon or serpent;
that of the Saxons, according to Urtti-scind, a lion, a dragon, and over
them a flying eagle that of the Manchous, a golden dragon on a crimson
;
field; that of the
for
Khan-Khan.
Huns, a dragon.
Their chief was called
Kakhanshort
Page
Jf.
Plafe VII.
Page
5.
Plate VIII.
QUEEN MdO AND TEE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
being emblematic of the invincible power of royalty ;'" but
he does not inform us
why
was
it
selected as such
an emblem,
nor does Plutarch, although he also teUs us that
symbol of royalty.
held
greatest
was the
Pausanias^ affirms that the asp was
sacred throughout Egypt, and at
enjoyed the
it
Omphis
Phylarchus
honor.
particularly
the
states
same
thing.*
StiU.
the Egyptian sages must have had very strong motives
and causing
for thus honoring this serpent
it
to play so con-
spicuous a part in the mysteries of their religion.
Was
it
per-
chance in commemoration of the mother country of their

ancestors,
beyond the
sea,
toward the setting sun ?
There the
ancient rulers, after receiving the honors of apotheosis, were
always represented in the monuments as serpents covered with

feathers, the heads adorned with horns,
and a flame instead
of a crown; often, also, with simply a crown.
remember that
It is well to
in
Egypt the
cerastes, or
horned
snakes, were the only serpents, with the asp, that were held as
Herodotus^
sacred.
us that
tells
"when
they die they are
whom
they are reputed
buried in the temple of Jupiter, to

sacred."
The
Maya
Empire comprised aU the lands between the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec and that of Darien, known to-day

as Central America.
governed
in
the
it,
The history
of the sovereigns that
had
and of the principal events that had taken place
was written
nation,
in well-bound books
of papy-
rus or parchment, covered with highly ornamented

'
jElian, Nat. An., lib.
"
Plutarch,
'
Pausanias, BcBot.,
'
jElian, Nat. An., lib. xvii. 5.
'
Herodotus,
De
vi., 33.
Iside et Osiride, S. 74.
lib.
c. 21.
ii.,
Ixxiv.
wooden
were Likewise
boards,' while the most important occurrences
carved in stone on the walls of their public edifices, to preserve

their record in a lasting
of future generations.
memoirs graven on
and indeUble manner for the knowledge

It is from these sculptured and written
their palaces at
Uxmal
and Cliichen
in
the peninsula of Yucatan, the head of the imperial serpent
and the
seat of the
author has learned the history of
At
Maya Empire, that the

Queen Mdo and her family.
government of the
southern extremity and on the top of the east
its
of the tennis court at Chicllen, there
is
a building that
Avail
is
of
the greatest interest to the archfeologist, the historian, and the

ethnologist
it
may learn from it many useful

who visited it in 1842, speaks of
while the architect
John
lessons.
L. Stephens,
as a casket containing the
American
It
most precious jewels of ancient
art.^
was a memorial
hall erected
by order
of
Queen Mdo,
and dedicated to the memory of her brother-husband. Prince
Coh, an eminent warrior. Those paintings so much admired

by Stephens, rivalling the frescos in the tombs of Egypt and
Etruria, or the imagery on the walls of the palaces of Babylon
mentioned hy Ezekiel, were a pictorial record of the
life of
Prince Coli from the time of his youth to that of his death,
and
of the events that followed
'
Landa, Las Corns de Yucatan, pp.
cathan, etc.,
lib. iv.,
it.
44, 316.
They thus form a few

CogoUudo, Historia de Yu-
cap. v.
These books were exactly like the holy books now in use in Thibet.
These also are written on parchment strips about eighteen inches loug and
four broad, bound with wooden boards, and wrapped up in cvuiously embroidered
C. F.
silk.
Gordon Gumming, In
the
Himalayas and on
the
Indian Plains,
p. 438.
^
John
passim.
L. Stephens,
Incidents of Travels in Yucatan, vol.
ii.,
p. 310, et
Page
7.
Plate IX.

pages of the ancient history of the
last
days of the
Can
Maya
nation,
and of the
dynasty.
This interesting edifice
now
is
in ruins.
Enough, however,
remains to have enabled the writer to make not only an accurate plan of
it,
but a restoration perfect in
all its details.
After climbing to the top of the wall, that formed a
ter-
race six metres wide, levelled and paved with square marble
slabs carefully adjusted,
five steps.
Ascending
we
find a broad stairway composed of
these,
we
stand on a platform, and be-
tween two marble columns each one metre

base of
these columns
in diameter.
The
formed of a single monolith one
is
metre twenty centimetres high and two metres long, carved in
GROUND PLAN.
the shape of serpent heads with mouth open and tongue protruding.
The
of royalty in
in
shaft represents the
Mayach,
as
it
body
was
in
of the serpent,
Egypt and
as
emblem
it is
yet
many
countries of Asia.
It is covered with sculptured
image of the mantle of feathers worn in court ceremonials by the kings and the highpriests as insignia of their
feathers,
rank.
Between these columns there was a grand altar supported

by fifteen atlantes, three abreast and five deep, whose faces
were portraits of friends and
On
this altar, placed at the
relatives of the
were wont to make offerings to

tians
made
dead warrior.
door of the inner chamber, they
manes, just as the Egyp-
his
oblations of fruits and flowers to the dead on altars
erected at the entrance of the tombs. ^
From Papyrus
IV., at
VERTICAL SECTION.
Museum, we learn that the making of

" Bring
the dead was taught as a moral precept.
the Bulaq
thy father and thy mother

for he
as
if
"
gives these offerings
is
Sir
iii.,
what thou dost
offerings to
in the valley of the tombs;

as acceptable to the gods
they were brought to themselves.
so that
vol.
who
who rest
offerings to
Often
for them, thy son
visit
may do
the dead,
for thee."^
Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians,

cliap. xvi.
Papyrus IV., Bulaq Museum.

de Rougfi. Published by Mariette.
Translation
by Messrs. Brugsch and E.
Page
8.
Plate X.

If
we compare
this
with the precepts of the " Manava-Dharma-
Sastra " The ceremony in honor of
the manes
is
superior, for
the Brahmins, to the worship of the gods, and the offerings to

the gods that take place before the offerings to the manes have
been declared to increase their merits"*

see that these teachings
it
will be easy to
must have emanated from the same
school.
This most ancient custom
by
the Chinese, for
whom
likewise scrupulously followed
is
the worship of the ancestors
binding and sacred as that of
is
as
God himself, whose representatives
Confucius
they have been for their children while on earth.
"
"
Khoung-Tseu dedicates a whole chapter to the
in his book
ceremony in honor of ancestors as practised

twice a year, in spring and autumn,^ and in his book " Lun-yu "
description of the
he instructs his
the ancestors as
ancestors
is
"it
disciples that
if
they were present."
in honor of the ancestors,

is
The worship
paramount in the mind of the Japanese.
fifteenth day of the seventh Japanese
bles
necessary to sacrifice to
is
when a
month a
of the
On
the
festival is held
repast of fruit and vegeta-
placed before the Ifays, or wooden tablets of peculiar
shape, on which are written inscriptions
commemorative of the
dead.
Great
festivities
were held by the Peruvians in honor of the
dead in the month of Aya-marca, a word which means
" carrying the corpses

lished to
in arms."
These
commemorate deceased
friends
were celebrated with
and by
'
visiting the
tears,
and
literally
were estab-
relations.
They
mournful songs, plaintive music,
tombs of the dear departed, whose provi-
Manava-Dharma-Sastra,
etc., et
festivities
lib. iii.,
Sloka 203, also Slokas 137, 149,
passim.
'Confucius, Khoung-Tseu, TcJioung-Young, chap. xix.

^ Ibid., Lun-yu, cliap. iii., Sloka
12.
207,,
QUEEN MdO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
10
and
sion of corn
ehiclia
they renewed through openings arranged
on purpose from the exterior of the tomb to
vessels placed
near the body.'
Even to-day the aborigines

spoken, as
legislator
them
rally pure;
Maya
and other
language
in obedience to this affirmation of the
if
" The
offered to
of Yucatan, Peten,
where the
countries in Central America
manes accept with pleasure that
is
Hindoo
Avhich
is
in the clearings of the forests, localities natu-
on river banks and
at the beginning of
in secluded places
November,
"^
are wont,
hang from the branches
to
of
certain trees in the clearings of the forests, at cross-roads, in

isolated nooks, cakes
can procure.
take
made
of
the best corn and meat they
These are for the souls of the departed to par-
of, as their
name hanal pixaii
(" the food of the souls ")
clearly indicates.'
Does not
to-day?
this
The
custom of honoring the dead exist among us
feast of " All Souls "
Church on the second day
olic
feast of the Feralia, observed
the eleventh)
arjr
by Ovid,^ people
'
Cliristoval
of
celebrated
is
on the third of the
by the Romans, and

visit
de Molina,
by the Cath-
November, when,
as at the
ides (Febru-
so beautifuUj' described
the cemeteries, carry presents, adorn

7Yt Fables
and Rites of
ilie
Tncas.
Translation
by Clements R. Markham, pp. 36-50.

' Manaua-Dharma-Sastra, lib. iii., Sloka
203.
^ Cakes were likewise offered
to the dead in Egypt, India, Peru,
* Est lionor et tumulis
; animas placare paternas,
Parvaque in extructas munerafeiTe pyras :
Pariia petunt manes
pietas pro divite grata est
Munere ; non amdos Styx

Tegula porrectis
etc.
liahet
ima Deos
satis est velata coronis,
Et sparsw fruges, parvaque mica
sails.
Ovid, Fast
Tombs also have their lionor; our

Some small present to adorn their
1,
V. 533,
parents wish for

grave.
et
passim.
Page
11.
Plate
XL
with jlowers, wreaths, and garlands of evergreen the resting-
who have been
place of those
dear to them
very tender
and impressive usage, speaking eloquently of the most

tionate
human
Mr.
~R.
affec-
sentiments.
in a very learned
"
on the Festival of Ancestors,"
G. Haliburton, of Boston, Mass.
and most interesting paper
'
among
or the feast of the dead, so prevalent
all
nations of the
earth, speaking of the singularity of its being observed every-
where
at precisely the
now, as
it
same epoch
was formerly, observed
"It
of the year, says:
is
at or near the beginning of
November by the Peruvians, the Hindoos, the Pacific islanders,

the people of the Tonga Islands, the Australians, the ancient
Persians, the ancient Egyptians,
and the northern nations of
Europe, and continued for three days
among
the Japanese, the
Hindoos, the Australians, the ancient Eomans, and the ancient

Egyptians.
This startling fact at once drew
tion to the question,
How
was
my
this uniformitj'^ in the
atten-
time of
observance preserved, not only in far distant quarters of the

globe, but also through that vast lapse of time since the Peru-
vian and the Indo-European

val
from a common
first
source? "
"When contemplating the

Coil's funeral chamber,
we
inherited this primeval festi-
What was
that source?
altar at the entrance of Prince
asked ourselves. Are
we
still
in
That small present we owe to the ghosts

Those powers do not look at what we give them, but how;
No greedy desires prompt the Stygian shades.
Tliey only ask a tile crowned with garlands,
And fruit and salt to scatter on the ground.
;
The Romans
believed, as did the Hindoos and the
Mayas,
that salt
scattered on the ground was a strong safeguard against evil spirits.

'
R. G.
Bearing on
Haliburton, "Festival of Ancestors,"

the
Year of the Pleiades.
Ethnological Researches
13
America, or has some ancient wizard, by magic
art,
suddenly
transported us to the south of the Asiatic peninsula, in

bodia,
in the
old
city
Angor-Thom?
of
find similar altars, figures of serpents,
There
Camwe
also
and the bird-headed
god.
This bird, symbol of the principal female divinity,
with in every country where
in
Maya
civilization
is
met
can be traced
Polynesia,' Japan, India, Chaldea, Egypt, Greece, as in
Mayach
and the ancient city of Tiahuanuco on the high
plateaus of the Peruvian Andes.
SCULPTUKE
IN
In Egypt the vulture formed
ANCIENT CITY OF ANGOR-THO:\r, CAMBODIA.
the headdress of the Goddess
Isis,
or
Mau, whose vestments
were dyed with a variety
of colors imitating feather work.*
Everywhere
In
'
When
it is
Banks,
a myth.
Mayach
only
who accompanied Captain Cook
we may
iu his
first
perhaps
voyage, vis-
saw on the summit of the pyramid a

wood (tlie Creator). John Watson, The
ited the great Morai at 0-Taheite, he
representation of a bird, carved in

Lost Solar System, vol.
''
iii.,
Sir
p.
ii.,
p. 333.
Gardner WiUviuson, Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians,

375,
vol.
Plate XII.
Page
IS.
Plate XIII.
QUMEN m60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

find the origin of this myth, since
it
was the totem
M<So, whose name means macaw ; and she

ured,
in
the sculptures and inscriptions,
that beautiful bird, whose plumage
is
is
13
of
Queen
generally pict-
by the
composed of
figure
brilliant
feathers of various colors.
GODDESS
'
ISIS
AS A BIRD.'
Gardner AVilkinsou, Manners and Customs,
vol.
iii.,
chap,
of
xiii., p.
115.
II.
On examining the adornments

ported the altar, we could not help
Burmah
And so it is. But
!
'
'
of
the atlantes that sup-
Why,
this is
America.
Yes,
exclaiming,
it
is
also
'
'
ancient America, brought back to light after slumbering
ages in the lap of Time, to
show the people
many
of the nineteenth
century that, long, long ago, intimate communications existed
between the inhabitants
of the
Western Continent and those of
Asia, Africa, and Europe, just as they exist to-da}^; and that
ancient American civilization,

torical nations of antiquity,
in the framing of
their
if
was
not the mother of that of
his-
at least an important factor
cosmogonic notions and primitive
traditions.
Of
that fact no better proof can be obtained than
paring the symbols of the universe found
among
the
by com-
Mayas,
the Hindoos, the Chaldees, and the Egyptians.
The
as
simplest
is
model for the
We
find
it
many
that of the
Mayas.
It
seems to have served
others, that evidently are amplifications of
times repeated, adorning the central
fillet
it.
of
the upper cornice of the entablatures of the eastern and west-
Page H.
Plate
XIV.
Page
Plate
14.
'ii^
'Si
'6 /rf^
5S^
XV.
QUEEN MOO AND TEE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

ern faades of King Can's palace at
Uxmal.
15
This edifice was
also the residence of the pontiff.
knowledge
antique geometric symbology makes
of
easy to understand these cosmic diagrams.
we
the figure
it
In the centre of
see a circle inscribed within the
hexagon formed
by the
of
sides of two interlaced equilateral triangles.

The Egyptians held the equilateral triangle as the symbol
nature, beautiful and fruitful. In their hieroglyphs it meant
"worship."
For the Christians the
taining the open eye of Siva,
is
fire
It
is
it
as
emblem
of the spirit
Exoterically this central circle represents the
of the universe.
from
The
the symbol of Deity.
Hindoos and the Chaldees regarded

sun, the light
equilateral triangle, con-
and
life-giver of the physical world,
evolved
and water. ^
well
known
that
among
nations, the triangle Avith the apex
that with the apex
the ancient occultists, of all
upward symbolized "
downward, " water. "
circumscribes the triangles
is
"
fire;
The outer circle that
the horizon, that apparent boun-
dary of the material world, within which, in
his daily travels,
Hence the name Inti-huatana,
the sun seems to be tied up.
" sun's halter," given by the ancient Peruvians to the stone

circles so profusely
scattered over the high plateaus of the
Andes, along the shores of Lake Titicaca,^ in India, Arabia,

northern Africa, northern Europe, where they are
druidical circles.
European
Their use
is
They
antiquaries.
still
known
as
a matter of discussion for
disdain to seek in
America for
the explanation of the motives that prompted their erection
and that
of
many
other constructions, as well as the origin of
'
See Appendix, uotes
'
George E. Squier, Peni
Land
of the Incas, chap, xx.,
Augustus Le Plongeon,
and
vii.
^1
p.
xx.
Incidents of Travels
and Explorations
in the
384.
Sketch of the Ancient Inhabitants of Peru, chap.
i.
'
16
customs and traditions that continue to be among them the
themes for useless controversies.

The twelve scallops which surround the outer
twelve houses or resting-places of the sun
months
that
circle are the

is,
the twelve
As
of the solar year, or twelve signs of the zodiac.
to the four double rays, those nearest to the houses of the sun
typify the primordial Four, direct emanations from the central
the
sun
four Heavenly Giants
who
helped in fashioning the
The lower ones symbolize the four primordial substances known to modern scientists as nitrogen, oxygen,
hydrogen, and carbon, vs^hose various combinations form the
four primitive elements fire, water, air, and earth into
material universe.
which these can again be resolved.

In the Appendix the esoteric explanation of the diagram
presented as
it
Maya sages to
was given by the
is
their pupils in
the secrecy of the mysterious recesses of their temples.
It cor-
responds precisely to the doctrine of the cosmic evolution contained in that ancient Sanscrit book of " Dzyan," which forms
the groundwork of
Madame H.
P. Blavatsky's
"The
Secret
Doctrine."
The
Maya colonists who
carried their conceptions of cosmic
evolution to India, fearing lest the meaning of this diagram,
purposely
made
so simple
by the wise men
country, should not be suificiently intelligible to the

H. P. Blavatsky, The
'
coincidence that the

lation, %vith
name
commentaries,
mother
in their
new
ini-
i., pp. 27-35.

"Is it a mere
of the archaic Indian MS., whose trans-
Secret Doctrine, vol.
Dzyan
Madame
Blavatsky gave to the world,
is
a pure
Maya
word ? To write it according to the accepted manner of writing

3Iaya, we must replace the double consonant dz by its equivalent o. We
then have the word Qiau, which means "to be swollen by fire." In the
book Dzyan, stanza iii., 1, we read " The mother swells, artending from
;
within without,
flame,
of
life
lil-o
and flame
the
is fire,
hud of
the lotus ; "
and fire produces
in the great mother. ^^
heat,
and
0:
" Light
which yields water
is
cold
the water
Page
16.
Plate
XVI.
Page
17.
Plate
XVII.

tiates to
whom
they communicated
adoption, amplified
it,
it
17
in the land of
their
and composed the " Sri-San tara, " mak-
ing each part of easy comprehension.

This, at first sight,
opinion.
It
is
ical fact, that
may
appear like an assertion of private
not, however.
becomes evident when we
tara," and notice that the names of

Aditi, the "boundless," to
scrit,
but pure American
Now,
if
an histor"
study said
Sri-San-
It is the stating of
Maya,
its
different parts,
from
the "earth," are not San-
Maya words.
the Hindoo priests, the Brahmins, did not receive
cosmogony from the Mayas, together with the diagram

by which they symbolized it, how did it happen that they
adopted precisely the same geometrical figures as the Mayas
their
to typify their notions of the creation of the universe,
which
Ave are told they borrowed from " the materialistic religion of
the non-Vedic population; " ' and that, in giving names to the
various parts of said figures, they
belonging to their
b}'
own
made use
the inhabitants of a country distant
from
their
own, and separated from
ocean, the traversing of which was
must not
it
many
thousand miles
by the wastes
by them,
descendants, regarded as a defilement
We
of vocables not
vernacular, but to a language spoken
as
it is
of the
by
their
Danavas and
the Nagas were peoples who did not belong to the Aryan stock,
lose sight of the fact that the
and that they suffered a
fierce persecution at the
Brahmins when these acquired power.
As
to these, their origin
is
one of the most obscure points
in the annals of ancient India; they are barely
the Vedic hymns.
When,
in
J.
Ibid.
mentioned in
remote times, the Aryans invaded
Talboys Wheeler, History of India,
'
hands of the
vol.
iii.,
p. 56.
QUEEN M60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
18
the Punjab, the Brahmins had no power or authority.
were merely messengers and
by a Brahmin.'
that cooked
No
sacrificers.
They
food so pure as
among them, having
Others
devout turn of mind, were hermits doing penance, immersed
At the
many lived
in contemplation.
time of Alexander's conquest of
northern India,
in convents, practising occultism.
They were
called
gymnosophists by the Greeks, and were
garded as very wise men.'
But
re-
must be remembered that
it
the period between the establishment of the Vedic settlements
on the Saraswati and the conquest of Hindostan by the Aryans,
when they had become
the leading power, probably covers an
interval of thousands of years.'
" The Aryans appear to have had no
definite idea of a uni-
verse of being or of the creation of a universe."

therefore, the
From them,
Brahmins could not have borrowed
count of the creation, Avhich
from the Vedic hymns. ^
their ac-
from that we might infer

Manu borrowed some of the
differs
"
Still
ideas conveyed in his account of the creation of the universe
by Brahma."
From whom
did he borrow
them ?
" The Brahmins rarely attempted to ignore or denounce the
any new people with
traditions of
whom
they came in contact
but rather they converted such materials into vehicles for the
promulgation of their peculiar tenets."
The Nagds, we have
seen,
'
were a highljr
'J. Talboys Wheeler, History of India, vol.

"
lib.
iii.,
ii.,
Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana,
iii.,
chap.
'
.J.
Talboys Wheeler, History of India,
Ibid.,
p.
11, p. 8.
452.
civilized people,
p. 640.
lib.
ii.,
Adolphe
Pictet,
vol.
ii.,
Wheeler, History of India,
J. T.
Ihid., p. 449.
242;
p. 024.
Les Origines Indo-Europeennes,
p. 410.
cliap. 15, p.
Translation of Charles Blount, London, 1G80.
vol.
ii.,
'
p.
452.
Ibid., p. 450.
vol.

Tvhose rulers held
sway over the whole
Aryans established
ach
the
Later on
Maya
to
adepts,
the civilized nations of Asia and Africa.
How
else explain the
Maya
language by the Hindoos, calling
the material world?
(Ma, "country;" yacli, the
use of the American
Maya
when
on the banks of the
we shall see that these Ndgds were origwho in remote ages migrated from MayBurmah, whence they spread their doctrines among
Saraswati.
inally
of Hindostan
their first colonies
19
veretnim of the ancestor, through which
all living
earthly
things were produced.)
This query
find
may
Why
be answered by another.
do we
English customs, English traditions, English language,
in America, India, Australia, Africa,
and a thousand and one
other places very distant from each other,
among peoples that

Why, any one
do not even know of each other's existence ?

will say, because colonists
countries,
from England have
settled in those
and naturally carried there the customs,
traditions,
language, religion, sciences, and civilization of the mother

country.
Why,
then, not admit that that
day has taken place

times
weaker ?
civilized
Has not
in past ages
Is not
which occurs in our
man
the same in all
the stronger ahvays imposed his ideas on the
If in the struggle
toward eternal progress, the most
has not always been physically victorious, history
teaches that intellectually he has obtained the victory over his
conqueror in the long run; proving, what has so
been asserted, that mind

Civilization
is
follows another.
is
times
indeed like the waves of the sea; one wave
Their crests are not of equal height.
are higher; some are lower.
trough more or
many
mightier than matter.
less deep.
that immediately before
it,
Some
Between them there is always a

The Avave behind inevitably pushes
often overwhelms
it.
QUEEN m60 AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
20
we compare the " Sri-Santara " with the cosmogonic diagram of the Mayas, it does not require a great effort of
If
imagination to perceive that

This being
us see
so, let
the meaning
of the
it is
an amplification of the
what may
names of
b,e,
in the
latter.
Maya language,
its different parts.
The use of the Maya throughout these pages, to explain

the meaning of names of deities, nations, and localities whose
etymon is not only unknown but a mystery to philologists,
will show the necessity of acquiring this most ancient form of
speech.
It is not a
dead language, being the vernacular of well-
nigh two millions of our contemporaries.
Its
knowledge
will
help us to acquire a better understanding of the origin of the

early history of Egyptian civilization, of that of the Chaldeans,
and of the nations of Asia Minor.
It will also illumine the
darkness that surrounds the primitive traditions of mankind.
By means
of
it,
we
inscriptions, reclaim
will read the ancient
from oblivion
Maya
history of America, and thus be enabled to give
the universal history of the world.
We
comprehend the amount of knowledge,

possessed
by
the wise
ing events in the
mogonic conceptions.
still
among
extant,
and
place in
be able to
historical,
stone the most strik-
of their nation, their religious and cos-
Perhaps when the few books written
by them that have reached

tions
it its
shall also
scientific
men who wrote on
life
books and
part, at least, of the ancient
us,
and the monumental
inscrip-
have been thoroughly deciphered,
many
the learned will have to alter their pet opinions, and
confess that our civilization
reached by man.
We must
may
not be
.the
highest ever
keep in mind the fact that
we
are
only emerging from the deep and dark trough that had existed
between the Greek and
we
Roman
civilizations
and
ours,
and that
are as yet far from having arrived at the top of the wave.

Before proceeding, I
may remark
seem to have penetrated the
that although the
21
Mayas
interior of Asia as far as
Meso-
potamia, and to have dwelt a long time in that country as well

as in Asia
Minor; that although, from remote ages, they had
sojourned in the
Dekkan and
of India; that although the
great part of
Maya, and
the grammars of both these lan-
guages were well-nigh identical

as
shown by
other localities in the south
Greek language was composed in

'
they and the Aryans, so far
philology, never had intercourse with each other.
After a thorough study of Mr. Adolphe Pictet's learned work,
"Les Origines Indo-Europeennes ou
les
Aryas Primitifs," and
a careful examination of their language and the Greek words

derived from
either directly, or indirectly through Sanscrit,
it,
then comparing these with the
Maya,
am bound
to confess
that I have been unable to find the remotest analogy between
them.
name
ISTo
not one
word!
It
might be supposed that the
and necessary
of the most abundant
fluid
for living
beings would be somewhat similar in languages concurring to
form a third
is
one.
Not
so,
at a loss as to the origin of the
"
sea.
"
to agitate."
The
however.
erudite Mr. Pictet
Greek word,
thalassa, for
been acquainted with the Maya language, he

would easily have found it in the word tliallac, that means
a "thing unstable; " hence the Greek verb tarasso thrasso
"
Had he
tian
The name
and Chaldean
What
are
we
for water in
Maya is
ha,
in
Egyp-
a.
to argue
from
this utter
want
of relation be-
tween two peoples that have had such a stupendous influence

on the civilization of Asiatic, African, and European popula'
Brasseur, Troano MS., vol.
la langue
'
Maya,
Adolphe
from
ii.,
edit. 1870.
Introduction aux elements de
p. xxiv. to p. xl.
Pictet, Les Origines Indo-Europeennes, vol.
i.,
pp. 138-139.
23
tions?
Shall
we
when
say that
Mayas
the
colonized the
countries at the south of Asia, then the banks of the Euphrates, then the valley of the
was
dawn of
to make it
people living at the
numbers as
history,
Aryan
Asia Minor,
later
it
Maya colonies much

that,
tribes,
had not yet multiplied
imperative for them to abandon
their native country in search of
that the
and
remote that the Aryans, regarded as a primitive
in ages so
to such
]S"ile,
new homes ?
Shall
we
say
antedated the migrations of the
abandoning their bactrian homes only
about three thousand years before the Christian
went
era,'
south and invaded the north of India; whilst others, going

west, crossed over to Europe
and spread over that continent ?
This would explain the use of
Maya
words for the names of the various parts
Maya
show the
to be
instead of
more ancient than
account for the grammatical forms
ulterior admixture of
alter.
by
From remote
Maya
is
above
words
all
the names of the parts
D, F, G,
J, Q,
Maya language.^
This they called Aditi,
things."
titicli
It is precisely the
com])osed
of
Ah,
"that
meaning
masculine
of the
article,
the "strong," the "powerful; " and titicli, "that which
above
all
things."^
'
all
things," the " Infinite. "
A. Pictet, Zcs Origines Indo- Europeenitea, vol.
de Santa Rosa, Arte del Idioma

Buenaventura, Elemento.i de la Lingua Maya.
Beltran
Pio Perez,
is
A-titicli or A-diti would then be the
"powerful superior to
"
to
ages the Brahmins taught that in the begin-
ning existed the Infinite.
which
also
Maya
Aryan words
stating that the letters
and Fare not used in the
and
to both the
and the Greek, that the
We must premise the explanation of
Sanscrit
Sri-Santara; "
Sanscrit;
common
the latter was unable to

of the " Sri-Santara "
''
of the
Bfaya dictionary.
iii.,
Maya.
In this
pp. 508-515.
Gabriel de Sauta
Plate
AO\T/
^WORIP
XVIII.
'
Aum,
dwelt
infinite
'
'
sky,
J.
A,
U,
'
and
'
heaven.
'
prayers,
little
word
'
"As
Aum
they are said by
when brought
Manu
form a
to
Colebrooke
"According, however, to the Nirukta, which
ancient glossary of the Yedas., the syllable
The Brahmins may
deity.
Aum
A-U-M
Afor
is
an
refers to every
reserve for their initiates an esoteric
meaning more ample than that given by Manu."
means of the
'
regards the three letters
symbol of the Lord of created beings, Brahma."

says:
all
earth,
'
can be gathered excepting that,
together in the
'
'
Talboys Wheeler says:'
M,
all
Manu says that the monosyllable means
invocations. '
'
whose name must precede
23
Maya language we learn
its full
But by
significance.
Ah,
masculine article: the fecundating power;
the
father.
feminine
TJ
pronoun: the basin; the generative power; the
mother.
M Melieii: the engendered;
the son; or.
Ma,
yes and no;
the androgynus.
Any way we
syllable
combine the three
in the Maya
language
letters of the sacred
they give us the
mono-
names and
attributes of each person of the Trimourti.
For instance:
Au-Mthy maker.
A-U-M thy
mother's son.
U-A-M I am
the male creator.
M-U-Athe maker
We
read in the
first
of these waters.
chapter of the ordinances of Manu,*
that the Supreme Being produced

'
lUd., 76-77.
J.
first
Manava-Dliarma-Sastra, book
the waters, and in
ii.,
Sloka 74.
T. Wheeler, History of India, vol. ii., p. 481.

Manava-Bharma-Sastra, book i., Sloka 8.
them
24
He
deposited a germ, an egg, in which
himself was born again
under the shape of Brahma,
the great ancestor of all beings.
This egg, this golden uterus,
is
word
is
composed of
This
called Hiramyaga/rbha.^
the following
four
Maya
vocables,
hilaan, yam, kalba, ha, expressing the idea of something

floating in the water: hilaan, "to be dragged;" yam,
" midst; " kalba, " enclosed; " ha, " water."
In
it
was born Brahma, the Creator, the origin of
all
"he who was submerged in the waters." So reads

Be, " the
his name, according to the Maya Be-lam-ha
way;" lam, "submerged;" ha, "water."
beings,
The waters were
Nara, says Manu,^ because they
called
the mother
were the production of Nara the divine spirit,
"
"
"
La, eternal truth," that conof truth:
Naa, "mother;
'
'
tained the hidden voice of
Uach
the
(Maya),
first
"a
embodied
The verb Yach,
the mantras.
thing free from fetters," the divine male;

spirit Viradj,
Maya
necessary," whose union with
Again we may
Uilal (Maya), " that which

produced
ask, Is the use of
Maya
Does the
instance without significance?
ancient Indian architecture to that of the
is
all things.
words
in this
the
similaritj' of
Mayaswhich
so
puzzled the learned English architect, the late James Fergus-
son
or
the use of the
Maya
triangular arch, and no other,
prove nothing?
in all sacred buildings in India,
And
the
practice of stamping the hand, dipped in red pigment, on the
walls of temples and palaces, as a
way
of invoking the benison
of the gods, or of asserting OAvnership to the building, as with
seal,
tom
being
common both
in
Mayach
and India; or the
of carrying children astride on the hip,

'11. T.
"
Colebrooke, Notice on
Ma!iaea-D!iarm.a-Sastra,
tlie
book
Vedas,
i.,
Sloka
lib. ii., vi.
10.
cus-
which was never
QUEEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN

done by the
Mayas
ing ceremony called
without
Heomek
among
the
Mayas
as
among
25
performing a very interest-
first
and serpent worship, or that
SPHINX.
or the prevalence of the tree
and the elephant,
of the cross
the Hindoos
is all
this
without
meaning ?
how the worship of the tree

Mayach, and why it was always allied to that of
In another work'^ I have shown

originated in
But no antiquary has ever
the serpent and of the monarch.
been able to trace the origin of these

Chaldea, or India, although
it is
Egypt,
cults either to
weU known
they existed in
those countries from remote ages.
The
object of these pages
is
not to give here
that can be adduced of the presence of the

of the influence of their civilization on
all
the proofs
Mayas in India, and
its
inhabitants
but to
follow their traxjks along the shores of the Indian Ocean, into
the interior of Asia, across Asia Minor where they established

colonies,
on to Africa,
the Mle, and
kingdom, some
the
'
'
renowned Egyptian
six thousand years before the reign of
first terrestrial
"^
until finally they reached the valley of
laid the foundation of the
Egyptian king.'
Alice D. Le Plongeon, Harper's Magazine, vol. xx., p. 385.

Augustus Le Plongeon, Sacred Mysteries, p. 109, et passim.
Bunsen, Egypt's Place Ml Universal History,
vol.
iii.,
p. 15.
Menes,
III.
Continuing the examination of the cosmogonic diagrams of

ancient historic Asiatic nations,
the " Ensoph " of the Chaldees.
that this also
is
'
'
It
next in importance,
find,
can be seen at a glance
It
an amplification of the
universe, as yet existing
tara
we
Maya
atUxmal, as well
symbol of the
as of the " Sri-San-
of the Hindoos.
may
be asked,
How
came the Chaldees
same geometrical figures used by the
Mayas
to adopt the
to symbolize their
cosmogonic conceptions ?
Berosus, the Chaldean historian,
tells
us that civilization
was brought to Mesopotamia by Cannes and

half
fish, who came from the Persian Gulf; in other

men who dwelt in boats, which is precisely tlie
man, half
words, by
meaning of the vocable " Cannes," or

language (ha, "water;" a,
"he
who has his

Henry Eawlinson, speaking
dence"
deans in Mesopotamia, says

'
six other beings,
Sii'
Henry RiixvUdsou, note
inson's Ikraitoti/s, vol.
i.,
p. 319.
Hoa-ana
"thy;"
iia,
in tlie
Maya
"house," "resi-
residence on the water").

of the advent of the
:'
to
earlj'^
Sir
Chal-
" With this race originated the

Herodotus,
lib. i.,
181, in
George Rawl-
Plate
Tl KKU N
MaitL Tested [qooiJ
XIX.
27
art of writing, the building of cities, the institution of a reli-
gious system, the cultivation of
and
all sciences
astronomy
of
in particular."
If philology, like architecture,
may
lowing the footsteps of a people in

of the earth, then
some epoch or
we may
serve as guide in fol-
migrations on the face
its
safely affirm that the
Mayas,
at
other, travelling along the shores of the Indian
Ocean, reached the mouth of the Indus, and colonized Beloochistan and the countries west of that river to Afghanistan;
where, to this day,
Maya
on the north banks of the
tribes live
Kah%iZ River. ^
The names
of
the majority of the cities and localities in
that country are words having a natural meaning in
language; they are, in
fact, those of ancient cities
whose ruins cover the
soil
tlie
and
Maya
villages
and of several
of Yucatan,
still
inhabited.
I
have made a careful collation of the names of these
and places
In
this
in Asia, with their
my
work
cio Carillo
in the
obsolete
Maya
cities
language.
esteemed friend the Rt. Eev. Dr. Dn. Crecen-
y Ancona, the present bishop
helped me, as in
now
meaning
many
other studies of
of Yucatan, has kindly
Maya roots
and words
the objects to which they applied having ceased
to exist or having fallen into disuse. ^
ary gentleman of well-known
Bishop Carillo
ability, the
is
liter-
author of an ancient
history of Yucatan, a scholar well versed in the language of

his forefathers.
He is of Maya descent.
Mayas in their journeys
Following the
the seacoasts,
'
London
This
list
we next
find traces of
Times, weekly edition,

is
given in
Monuments of Mayach and
full in
March
my
4,
large
them
at the
1879, p.
work,
their Hixtoriad Teachings.
westward, along
head of the
G, col. 4.
yet unpublished, The
28
Persian Gulf, where they formed settlements in the marshy
known
to history
of that name, given to the plains
and marshy
country at the mouth of the Euphrates,
under the name of Aklcad.
The meaning
lands situated to the south of Babylonia, has been, until of

late,
a puzzle to students of Assyriology; and
it
still
is
an
them why a country utterly devoid of mountains

Have not the weU-known
should have been called Akkad.
scholars, the late George Smith of Chaldean Genesis fame,
Eev. Prof. A. H. Sayce of Oxford in England, and Mr.
Francois Lenormant in France, discovered, by translating one
enigma
to
of the bilingual lexicographical tablets found in the royal

library of the palace of
in
Akkadian language
whilst the
that,
word
by a
for "
it
King Asurbanipal in Mneveh, that

meant " mountain," "high country,"
low country," " plain," was Smner ; and
singular antithesis, the Sumerians inhabited the
mountains to the eastward of Babylonia, and the Akkadians

the plains watered by the Tigris and the Euphrates and the
marshes at the mouth of
The way they try
this river ?
to explain such strange
supposing that, in very remote times, the
anomaly
AMacU
is
by
dwelt in the
mountains, and the Sumeri in the plains; and that at some
unknown, unrecorded
period,
and for some unknown reason,
these nations must have migrated en masse, exchanging
abodes, but
still
known, regardless
of the fact that said
with the character of the

but they did
it
localities in
or
'
names were
at variance
which they now dwelt
both from custom and tradition.^
we say, " Si non e vero e

may not be the case, there
Shall
may
their
preserving the names by which they were
Pran(;ois
hen trovato,^^ although this
being no record that said
Lenormaut, Chaldean Magic and Sorcery,
p. 399.

and
ever took place,
permutation
cannot
therefore
it
29
be
authenticated.
The Maya,
which we find so many
of
Akkadian language,
afifords
yestiges in the
a most natural, thence rational,
etymology of the name Ahhad, and in perfect accordance with
Akal
the character of the country thus named.
word, the meaning of which
is
Maya
" marshy ground; "
a marshy ground fuU of reeds and rushes, such as
and akil
is
was and
still is
mouth
As
is
" pond,"
lower Mesopotamia and the
near the
localities
of the Euphrates.
to the
name -Sumer,
very clear according to the
its
etymology, although
Maya, seemed
also
it is
perplexing to the
learned Mr. Lenormant, who nevertheless has interpreted it

The Akkadian root sum evicorrectly, " the low country. "
dently corresponds to the Greek

sion," and to the
kvixISo';^
Maya, koin, a
" bottom," "depres-
The Sumeri would
valley.
then be the inhabitants of the valleys, while the Akkari would
be those of the marshes.
From
this
and from what win
directly appear let
supposed that the ancient Alckadian and ancient

cognate languages.
The great number
of
in the
Akkadian have been ingrafted on
nists,
who
it
it
Maya
are
Maya
words found
by the
Maya
in remote times established themselves in
and became prominent,
not be
colo-
Akkad,
after a long sojourn in the country,
under the name of Kaldi.
Through the
Sir
efforts of
such eminent scholars as Dr. Hincks,
Henry Eawlinson, Dr. Oppert, Monsieur
Grivel, Professor
Sayce, Mr. Frangois Lenormant, and others, the old Akkadian
tongue, or
'
name
Sir
much
of
it,
has been recovered, by translating the
Henry Layard {Mneneli and Babylon,

was Akkari.
of the Mediterranean
p. 356)
says that the ancient
30
tablets that
composed King Asurbanipal's
library.
Mr. Le-
normant has published an elementary grammar and vocabulary

of
it.
From
Maya, with
this I cull the
few following words that are pure
the same signification in both languages.
Having^
but a limited space to devote here to so interesting a subject,

in
my
selection I
have confined myself to words so unequivo-
cally similar that their identity cannot be questioned.
Akkadian.
QUEEN MOO AND TEE EGYPTIAN

Akkadian.
SPHINX.
31
32
Akkadian.
33
Those primitive Alckadians, those strangers in Mesopotamia,

the aborigines would naturally have regarded as guests in the
country.
Taking a hint from
settlement
ula or
they called their
first
word meaning " guests newly

settlement in the marshy ground, lest the
ul, a
In this
arrived."
this idea,
Maya
natives or the wild beasts that
swarmed
in the reeds should
attack them, the strangers surrounded their dwellings with
and designated the place as Kal-ti, whence Kaldi

by which their tribe continued to be known even when they
became influential. The word kalti is composed of two
palisades,
Maya
kal, "to be enclosed with posts," and
primitives
ti,
" place."
In
ical
my work " The Monuments of Mayach and
their Histor-
Teachings," I have traced step by step the journey of the
Maya
"City
along the course of the Euphrates, to the
colonists,
of the Sun," Babylon, called in Akkadian, according
to Mr. Lenormant,'
Kd-Dingira or
which appears to be unlcnown
by means
of the
Maya.
composed of four
particle
Tin-tir, the et3Tnology of
to him,
though very easily found
The name Kd-Dingira seems to be

primitives Cah, "city;" Tin, a
Maya
which in composition indicates the place where one is

Kin, "priest; " La, "eternal truth,"
or an action happens;
the god, the sun.
" the
city
where
Cah-Tin-kin-la, or be
it
Kd-Bingira,
is
reside the priests of the sun."
The name Thv-tir, Maya Tin-til, means Tin, "the place

where a thing actually exists; " Tiliz, by elision til, " sacred,"
'
'
mysterious, " " venerable.
holy, the mysterious place,
'
'
'
Tin-til would therefore be " the
a very appropriate
title for a sacred

Til may, again, be the radical of Tilil, which means
" property. " Tin-til would in this case signify " this
place is
'
city.
'
Lenormant, Chaldean Magic and Sorcery, pp. 193 353.
34
my property
belongs to me, the god, the sun,
it
name
perfect accordance with this other ethnic
Ka-Ea, or be
it
'
'
which
is
in
of Babylon,
Cali-La, " the city of eternal truth," of " the
sun."
The name given

heaven," as well as
to the temple
mode
its
builders were colonists
of the
"seven
lights of
of construction, shows that the
from a country where that kind of
edi-
the pyramid of stonewas not only common, but had so
fice
been from remote ages.
Babel
is
a word whose etymon has been a bone of conten-
and
tion for Orientalists

as to
They are not yet agreed

know to what
philologists.
meaning, simply because they do not
its
language
it
belongs nor whence came the people
We
monument.
Did they come
Shinar.
originally
toward the rising sun, and Genesis

journeyed from the
in
raised the
from Mayacli ?
spoke the vernacular of that country far
Ba,
who
are told they were strangers in the plains of
Maya,
off
asserts
They
beyond the
sea
that they had
east.'
has various meanings; the principal, how-
ever, is "father," "ancestor."
Bel has also several significations. Among these it stands

for "way," "custom."
Ba-bel would therefore indicate that the sacred edifice was
constructed according to the way, the custom, of the builders'
ancestors.
Landa, in his work "Las Cosas de Yucatan," informs us

that the
Mayas
were very fond of giving nicknames to
all
among them. The same fondness exists today among their descendants, who seldom speak of their supepersons prominent
riors
by
their
name, but a sobriquet descriptive of some marked

'
Genesis,
cliiiii.
xi.,
vcvsc
3.
'

by them and belonging
characteristic observed
35
to the individ-
For instance, should anybody inquire concerning me, by
ual.
my
proper name, of the
me
in
my
certainly
for
months accompanied
expeditions in the ruined cities of Yucatan, they
would shake
But
him."
men who
their heads
asked about the
if
and answer, "Don't know
Ahmeexnal, "he of the

who was
long beard," then they would at once understand
meant. 1
This same custom seems to have prevailed
itive
among
Akkadians, judging from the names of their
the prim-
first kings,
the builders of the cities along the banks of the Euphrates,
whose
seals are
stamped on the bricks used in the foundations
of the edifices erected
Urukh,
we
by them.
are told,
is
one of them
Likhdbi
another
is
frequently met with.

It
is
well
known
vial plains of
were
built of
that no stones are to be found on the allu-
Mesopotamia, that consequently the
mud;
that
is,
of sun-dried bricks
probably from that fact that they called the king
them to be built Unikh,
'
'
first cities
adobes.
who
It is
ordered
he who makes everything from mud.
'
It always was, and it is to-day, a characteristic of the Mayas to give

surnames to tliose whom they regard as tlieir superiors. Cogolludo speaks
of that peculiarity, and mentions their great witticism in tlius giving nicknames, so that those to whom they were given could not take offence, even
when they knew they were derided. An instance of this kind comes to niy
mind. Nalcuk-Pcch, a native nobleman who wrote a narrative of the
'
conquest of Yucatan by the Spaniards, in the Maya language, represents

them as addicted to drunkenness and to all sorts of debauchery yet calls
;
them Kul-uiiilcob, the holy men, who earae to preach a "holy religion."
But that nickname has asecoud meaning. Kul, it is true, means holy. Prounaccustomed to the Maya prosounds Clll, which means a " cup," n " goblet," a "chalice," just as the Greek uvXe. Therefore, cul-uiiiicob means
" men addicted to the cup" drunkards.
nouncing the
softly, wliich a foreigner
nunciation invariably does,
it
36
a word composed of two Maya

make
"to
everything," and luk, " mud."
TJruTch is
Huk-luk would become

Urukh.
This
is
contracted
primitives
huk,
In composition
into
Huluk,
hence
have been the name of the city of
also said to
Erech, the seat of a famous Akkadian ecclesiastical college.*
however, does not alter the meaning of the
This,
etymology of the word, nor make
town was
Maya
appropriate, since the
it less
sun
built of bricks dried in the
of mud,
conse-
quently.
As
Maya
It
in
is
name of King Likbahi ^
to the
primitives
"to
lik,
also
composed of two
transport," and
bab, "to row."
it is
extremely probable that when constructing the temples
whose foundations
his
no roads for transporting
name has been

easily
by land
found, as there were
his building materials,
he made use of the most convenient waterway offered by the

Euphrates.
aU things
Hence
his sobriquet, Zikhahi,
by water," that
is,
"he who
In the language of Akkad were preserved

tific treatises
transports
"bj^ rowing."
all
the scien-
But from the time when
of the Babylonians.
the Semitic tribes established themselves in Assyria, in or
about the thirteenth century b.c, the Akkadian language
began to
fall into disuse.
ality of the inhabitants.
privilege of the priests,

ing.
When
It
Its
was soon forgotten by the generknowledge became the exclusive
who were
the depositaries of aU learn-
on the vanquished, the ancient tongue

according to Sir
'
"
'
own dialect
Akkad remained,
the Semitic conquerors imposed their
Henry Eawlinson,'
of
the language of science in
F. Lcnormant, Chaldean Magic and Sorcery, pp. 13, 323.
lUd., pp. 318-331.

Apud George Rawlinson, Herodotus,
vol.
i.,
p. 319.
37
the East, as Latin was in the "West during the middle ages.
In
the seventh century b.c, Asurbanipal, king of Assyria, tried

to revive
He
it.
ordered copies of the old treatises in the
Akkadian language to be made, and also an Assyrian translation

to be placed beside the text.
It
is
those copies that have reached
our times, conveying to us the knowledge of this ancient form

of speech, that but
few among the learned men
preserved at the time of the
fall of
of
Babylon had
the Babylonian Empire,
when Darius took possession of the city of Belus.' We are

informed by the Book of Daniel that none of the king's wise
men could read the fatidical words, written by a spirit's hand
on the wall of the banquet hall of King Belshazzar.
who was
one, Daniel the prophet,
learned in
ancient Chaldeans, could interpret them.^
Only
the lore of
all
Dr. Isaac of
New
York, and other learned rabbins, assert that these words were
But they
Chaldaic.
the American
meaning
Maiiel,
as
Maya
given
mane,
and
vocables pertaining to
still are,
language, having precisely the same
them by
Daniel.^
Maya
The
words
tec, uppali, read in English:
Manel, " Thou
Mane,
Avere,
art past," in the sense of finished.
" Thou art bought," hence " weighed "
(all
things
being bought and sold by weight).
Tec, "light," "not ponderous."
The word
is
taken to-
day in the sense of " swift," " agile."
Uppah, "Thou
are allied jiaa and
wilt be broken in two."
paaxal, "to break
in
To
'
Herodotus,
Book
Ibid., chap, v., verses 35-28.
Pedro Beltrau, Arte
Gf. ooaioo,
lib.
iii.,
151, 158.
of Daniel, chap,
" to break."
word
two," "to break
asunder," " to scatter the inhabitants of a place."
that
i.,
del
verse 17.
Idioma Maya.
Pio Perez,
Maya
dictionary.
38
Is this a
By
mere coincidence ?
There can be
no means.
no doubt that the Akkadian or Chaldean tongue contained
many Maya
The
words.
work do not allow me
limits of this
to adduce all the proofs I could bring forward to fully establish

their intimate relationship.
few more must
suffice for the
present.
Let us take, for instance, the
last
words, according to
Matthew and Mark,' spoken by Jesus on the

sponge saturated with posca'^ was put to his
lamah
when a
"Eli, Eli,
sdbachthani.''^
No wonder
what he
those
To
said.
know
not
cross,
lips:
who
this
stood near
day the
him could not understand
they pretend
is
the
a sorry and pitiful
He
God
make him, who
of the universe, play before
role, I will
manldnd
not say for a god, but for a
He
man
even.
that
God had forsaken him when he
spoke pure
do
translators of the Gospels
the meaning of these words, and
Maya.
did not complain
said to the charitable
individual Avho tried to allay the pangs of the intolerable thirst
he suffered in consequence of the hardships he had endured,
and the torture of the chastisement inflicted on him: "Hele,

Hele, laiiiali zabac ta ni " that is, " Now, now, I am
;
fainting; darkness covers

is
finished."
my
face;
"
or, in
John's words, " It
Matthew, chap, xxvii., verse 46. Mark, ch.ap. xv., verse 34.
Posca was tlic ordinary beverage of Roman soldiers, which the}' were
obliged to carrj' with them in all their expeditious, among which were tlie
executions of criminals.
Our authorities on this matter are Spartianus
(Life of Iladrhm, 10) and Vulcatius Gallicanus (Lifeof Aridlus Cnssiui, 5).
This posca was a very cooling drink, very agreeable in hot climates, as the
writer can certifj', having frequently used it in his expeditions among the
ruined cities of tlie Mayas. It is made of vinegar and water, sweetened
with sugar or houey, n kind of oximel.
'John, chap, xix., verse 30.
'
'^
{,
Page
82.
Plate
XXVIII.
39
Again, in the legend of the creation, as reported by Beroaccording to Eusebius
sus,
woman
the Chaldeans believed that a
aU the monstrous
ruled over
beasts
which inhabited
all things.
Her name was
The Greeks translated it Tlialassa, and applied
Ask modern philologists what is the
it to the sea itself.
etymology of that word. They will answer, It is lost. I say,
Ask again any Maya scholar the meaning
]S"o
it is not lost
He wiU tell you it denotes " a thing
of the word tliallac.
the waters at the beginning of

Thalatth.
without steadiness," like the
sea.
Again, Avhen confidence in legal divination became shaken
by the progress
of philosophical incredulity,
tion of auguries
and the observa-
was well nigh reduced to a simple matter of
form,^ Chaldean magicians, whose
fame was universal and
dated from very remote antiquity, flocked to Eome, and were
welcomed by the Romans of

influence soon
became
all classes
and others high
Home,
under the triumvirate of
tered in the provinces

Messrs.
'
'
scat-
in their
etc.
" Ancient His-
inform us that when these conjurers exor-
Eusebius, ChronL, can.
''Cicero,
They then
in Gaul, Spain, Germany, Brittany,
Lenormant and Chevalier,
tory of the East,
In the year 721
Octavius, Antonius, and
Lepidus, they were expelled from the city.^
'
in authority.
consequence, they were forbidden under heavy penalties,
even that of death, to exercise their science.*

of
Their
sexes.'
so great as to excite the superstitious
fears of the emperors, praetors,
As a
and both
i.
2,
Be Natura Deorum^
Juvenal, Satires,
Heiueccius, Elements of
vi.
553.
pp. 11-13.
11, 3.
Chaldeis sed major erit fidncia.
Moman
Jurisprudence, vol.
i.,
Tabul
viii., art.
25, p. 496.
'
'
Dion Cassius, xlix., 43, p. 756, Tacitus, Annal, 11-83.

Lenormant et Chevalier, Ancient IlistorTj of the East, vol.
i.,
p.
448.
40
" Hilha, hilka! Besha,
cised evil spirits they cried,
which they render, " Go away, go away!

These authors
suspected,
little
ka xaxbe,
Maya voca-
by
forming part of a language
human
thousands of
"
when they wrote those words,
that they were giving a correct translation of the

bles ilil
hesha!''''
evil one, evil one!
still
spoken
beings.
In order to understand properly the meaning of the exorcism,
we must
read,
from right
Maya X is
Xabe
read
as all ancient
it,
Maya
writings should be
xabe, xabe kail kail
to left, thus:
The
the equivalent of the English
sh.
evidently a corruption of the
Maya verb xaxbe,
is
Kd,
"to be put aside," "to make room
Ka in
or kaii means " something bitter," " sediment."
"genius,"
equivalent
to
the
Maya
Egyptian was "spirit,"
for one to pass."
ku, "god."
II
a contraction of the
is
Maya
adjective ilil,
"vicious," a "forbidden thing," corresponding exactly to the
English "ill," and having the same meaning.^
The
literal
rendering of these words would therefore be, "Aside, aside!

evil spirit, evil spirit
" as given by Messrs. Lenormant and
Chevalier.
J. Collin
the
title
'
'
de Plancy, in his " Dictionnaire Infernal," under
Magic Words,
'
'
tells
us that magicians taught that the
fatal consequences of the bite of a
by repeating haxpax
nnax.
mad dog
could be averted
The learned author
of the diction-
ary deprecates the ignorant superstition of people

in such nonsense;
the American
scientific
and he himself, through
Maya
language,
fails to
who
believe
his ignorance of
comprehend the great
importance of those words that to him are meaning-
less.
Pio Perez,
in
Brown
Maya
dictionary,
Librury, Providence, R.
I.
aud
also ancient
Maya
dictionary SIS.

These words belong to the
Maya
told they are Chaldee and used
Hax,
that
is
in
Maya,
is
we
tongue, although
by Chaldean
are
magicians.
a small cord or twine twisted by hand;
on the spur of the moment,
to say,
41
Such
in a hurry.
cord would naturally be used to make a ligature to stop the
wounded
circulation of the blood in the
limb, to prevent the
it.
This ligature is still made
by the aborigines of Yucatan in case of any
one being bitten by a snake or other venomous animal.
Pax is a Maya verb of the third conjugation, the meaning
rabid virus from entering into

use of in our day
of which
The
man
is
to play on a musical instrument.
action of music on the nervous system of animals, of
particularly,
was well known
They had
of the ancients.
recourse to harmonious sounds to calm the fury of

afflicted
with insanity.
to pass,
when
We read
evil spirit
are aware that music can excite

aroused.
all
'
God was upon
the evil spirit from
David took a harp, and the
them when
in the Bible:
" And
it
man
came
Saul, that
departed from him.
passions in
those
'
'
"We
or appease
Martial sounds inflame in the breast of
warriors homicidal rage, and they rush blindly to combat and

slay one another without cause or provocation.
hymns
Patriotic
sustain the courage of the victims of political parties,
even in the face of death.
Soft and sweet melodies soothe the
mind
evil passions, predisposing the
meditation.
sees visions of
when
the
heavenly things, and the enthusiasts
convinced that they hold communion with
whoever or whatever these may
be,
and
mind
become
to peace, quietude,
Religious strains excite ecstasy,
celestial
beings,
and imagine they act under
divine impulse.
The thaiimaturgi
'
of old
were well acquainted with the
Samuel, chap,
xvi., verse 23.
in-
42
In the temples of Greece and Asia
fluence of music on men.
they used
cymbals, drums,
flutes,
etc.
among
other means, to
known
induce in certain individuals the abnormal condition
to-day as " clairvoyance," and to develop prophetic exaltation.
And
Elisha said:
to pass
when
'
" But now bring
me
a minstrel; and
it
came
the minstrel played that the hand of the Lord
came upon him."
Pax,
then, indicates that in cases of hydrophobia they
had
recourse to musical instruments to calm the patient and assuage

his sufferings.
Max is the Maya name for a certain species of wild pepper

Myrtus pimenta
(the
CandoUe).
the
West
It
of Linnaeus, the
Eugenia pimenta of De
grows spontaneously and
in great
America, in
Indies, Yucatan, Central
abundance in
fact,
out the tropical regions of the "Western Continent.

pepper, therefore, was considered
Mayas an
is
Cayenne
as
by the
antidote to the rabic virus, and applied to the
wounds, as garlic
It
by the Chaldeans
through-
is
in our
day and has been from remote
ages.
a very ancient custom among the aborigines of Yucatan,
when anybody
by a rabid dog, to cause the victim

swallow the juice, and apply the pulp to the
is
bitten
to chew garlic,
wounds made by the animal's
They firmly
teeth.
believe that
such application and internal use of the garlic surely cure
hydrophobia, or any other evil consequences of the venomous

virus introduced into the
Eesuming, liax, pax,

ture, soothe the patient
body by the
max,
bites of certain animals.
simply means,
by means
make
a liga-
of soft music, apply wild
pepper to cauterize the wounds and counteract the
effects of
the poison.
Let us mention another

'2 Kings, chap,
iii.,
name the etymon
verse 15.
Samuel,
of which, from
cliap. x., verse 5.

Maya,
the
is
tion to the
so evident that
coincidence.
43
cannot be regarded as a mere
it
hjrmn in the Akkadian language, an invoca-
god Asshur, the mighty god who dwells
in the
temple of Kharsah-lcurra, "the mountain of the world, dazzling with gold, silver,
and precious stones," has been trans-
by Professor Sayce
lated
of England.'
The name
was worshipped are bright
of the god and that of the temple in which he

flashes that illumine the darkness
surrounding the origin of these ancient nations and their
In
ization.
spelled
Maya
civil-
the words Kliarsak-hurra would have to be
Kal-zac-kul-la, the meaning
of
which
is,
literally,
kal, "enclosure;" zac, "white;" kul, "to adore;" la,
"God;"
"eternal truth,"
where the eternal truth

of the
god Asshur, or
that
"the white enclosure
is,
worshipped."
is
Axul
in
Maya,
it
As to the name
means, a, "thy; "
xul, "end."
In
all
nations that have admitted the existence of a Su-
preme Being,
and the end
He
has always been regarded as the beginning
of all things, to
which men have aspired, and do
aspire, to be united after the dissolution of the physical body.
This reunion with
God,
this
Nirvana, this End, has in
all
ages been esteemed the greatest felicity to which the spirit
can attain.
Hence the name Axiil,
or Asshur, given to the
Supreme Deity by the Assyrians and the Chaldeans.

'
Professor A. H. Sayce (translation), Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western
Asia,
London,
131-132.
vol. i., pp. 44-i5

also Records of the Past, vol. xi., pp.
Also Lenormant, Chaldean Magic, p. 168 last revised transla;
tion in Les Origines de VHistoire, vol.
ii.,
pp. 127-128.
IV.
Some
of these
Maya-speaking peoples, following the migra-
tory instincts inherited from their early ancestors, left the banks
of the Euphrates
and the
city of
Babylon, and went forth
across the Syrian desert, toward the setting sun, in search of
new
lands and
new homes.
They reached the Isthmus
Pushing their way through
NUe.
of the
it,
they entered the
Following the banks of the
river,
of Suez.
they selected
a district of Nubia, where they settled, and which they
Maiu,'
in
remembrance
vaUey
fertile
named
of the birthplace of their people in
the lands of the setting sun, whose worship they established

in their
newly adopted country.^
When
the
Maya
colonists reached the
the river was probably at
its full,
vaUey of the
having overflowed
its
Nile,
banks.
The communications between the native settlements being

then impossible except by means of boats, these must have
What more natural than to call it the
been very numerous.
'
vol.
Henry Brugscli-Bey, History of Egypt under
ii.,
tlie
Pharaohs, vol.
i.,
p.
3C3
pp. 78-174.
' Tliotli is said to

have been the
worship of the " Setting Sun."
first
wlio introduced into
Egypt the
'

*'
country of
boats "
"boat"?
Be it remembered
Chem,
being
this
45
Maya
the
for
that boats, not chariots, must have been
the main means of transportation
among
the early Egyptians.
Hence, unlike the Aryans, the Greeks, the Romans, and other
nations, they did not figure the sun travelling through the
heavens in a chariot drawn by fiery steeds, but sailing in the
sky in a boat
place in the
nor were their dead carried to their resting-
West
a chariot, but in a boat.
in
EGYPTIAN FUNERAL BOAT.
No
doubt at the time of their arrival the waters were
swarming with
crocodiles, so they also naturally called
country the "place of crocodiles," Ain, which word
name
Egypt on the monuments
of
^^H the
tail of
Maya
and
that animal stood for
for "crocodile."
the animal
^
;
The
so for the initiates
it
the
in the hieroglyphs
it.
tail
is
the
But Ain
is
the
serves as rudder to
symbolized, in this
instance, a boat as well as a crocodile.^
"
A real enigma,"
'
'
^
says Mr.
Henry Brugsch, "
Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and Customs,

Henry Brugsch-Bey, Hist, of Egypt, vol. i., p.
Sir Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and Customs,
Sir
vol.
is
iii.,
proposed
p. 178.
10.
vol.
iii.,
p. 200.
46
names by which
to US in the derivation of the curious proper
the foreign peoples of Asia, each in
own
its
were
dialect,
ac-
The Hebrews gave the land

the Assyrians, Muzur.
We may feel
customed to designate Egypt.

the
name
of
Misraim
assured that at the basis of

original
all these
form which consisted
designations there
of the three letters 31, z,
explanations of which have as yet been unsuccessful."

It
may
be asked, and with reason,
learned Egyptologists,
The answer is,

it
How
it
is
all
'
that so
many
studied the question, have
etymology of these words ?
failed to find the
not looked for
who have
an
lies
indeed, most simple.
in the only language
It is because
where
it is
they have
to be found
the Maya.
Egypt has always been a country mostly devoid
of trees,
which were uprooted by the inundation, whose waters carried

their debris
and deposited them
all
bandman, in order to plough the
over the land.

soil,
had
first
The
hus-
to clear
it
from the rubbish; hence no doubt the names Misur, or Muzur,
by the Assyrians. Well, then, miz, in the Maya

language, means " to clear away rubbish of trees," and inuuzul "to uproot trees."
Not satisfied with these ononiatopoetic names, they gave
the new place of their adoption others that would i-ecall to
their mind and to that of their descendants the mother country
given to
it
beyond the western
seas.
We
learn from the Troano MS.,
the Codex Cortesianus, and the inscriptions, that
from the remotest ages was symbolized either

berrj'^ tree)
or as a
haaz
(banana-tree);^
as a
also
Mayacli
beb
(mul-
by a serpent
with inflated breast, standing erect in the midst of the waters

'
'
Henry Brugscli-I3ey, Hist, of Ki/i/pt, vol. i., p. 13.

Aug. Lc Ploiigeoii, Sacrid Mi/ati'iiiS, p. 115, et 2iiissim.
Page
8.
Plate
XXIX.
47
between the two American. Mediterraneans, the Gulf of Mex-
and the Caribbean Sea, represented
ico
in the
Yucatan informs us that up
in his history of
when
the Spaniards for the
first
Mayas was
the land of the
serpent " and " the tree."
Maya
writings
Diego de Cogolludo
by a sign similar to our numerical 8.'
to a. d. 1517,
time invaded that country,
stUl designated as
"the great
The Maya colonists therefore called their new settlement

on the banks of the Nile the " land of the- serpent " and also
The Egyptian hierogramthe "land of the tree."
matists represented their country as a serpent with
on a figure 8, under which
inflated breast, standing
a sieve, called
times
as
also
ized
Egypt
sacred
some
Â\ of
^^
^1^ A
^B^
as a
to the
V^
dress
*
on
of the
Laurus persea
Can
then
tree
Maya
with
inflated
some-
identical
with that worn by
the magnates pictured in
They
likewise symbol-
believed to be the Persea,
goddess Athor, whose fruit in the
human
Mayas, that
heart,'
which
vividlj^
recalls
bears the alligator pear
the
of Linnaeus, so abundant in tropical America.
be that
all
let us present
The
as
it
serpent
Chichen.^
sculptures resembles a
the
in
i.
and wings, wearing a head-
breast \
the bas-reliefs at
Mayab
is
these are
more
river, spread as it
Hapimil, which
mere coincidences ?
If
they be,
of them.
was over the
in aftertimes
'
Aug. Le Plongeon, Sacred
Sir
Ihid., p. 200.
Ibid., p. 119.
land, they designated
was corrupted
into liapi-
Mysteries, p. 130, et jiassim.

lib. i.,
cap.
i.
vol.
iii.,
p. 199.
48
mau.
It
is
a word composed of two
Maya
"water," and pirn, "the thickness of
ha,
"
surfaces;
hence
flat
primitives
The desinence
the "thickness," the "depth of water."
il is
used as a suflix to nouns to denote usage, custom, or a thing
having existed previously.

signification given to the
Egyptian
scholars, the
This accords precisely with the
name Hapvmau
of
the Nile,
by
"abyss of water."
Herodotus teUs us' that "anciently the whole of Egypt,
with the exception of the nome of Thebes, was a marshy
swamp."
The name Thebes, of the capital of Upper Egypt, was
Taba among the natives. That word seems to be allied to the
Maya vocable tepal, "to govern," "to reign," which, as a
noun, is equivalent to "majesty," "king," the "head of the
nation."
As
to
Memphis, the
capital of
Lower
Egj'pt, its sacred
name, we are informed by M. Birch, was Ilahaptah, which
Maya vocables
a word composed of two
lia,
is
"water," and
kaptali, past participle of the verb kaapal, "to place in a

hole."
huilt in
we
The name of the city would then signify that it was

a hole made hy water ; very appropriate indeed, since
are told that
King Menes, the founder
of
Memphis, having
diverted the course of the Nile, built the city in the bed of the
ancient channel in which
it
flowed.
The very name of King Menes may be a mere surname

commemorative of his doings, since the Maya word men
means "wise man," "legislator," "builder," "architect,"
every one of these epithets being applicable to him.
Although the
limits of this
adduce more proofs of the

'
book allow but
Maya
Herodotus,
origin of the
lib. ii., iv.
little
space to
names of
places
'
which would be, after

the reader
Mayach
all,
but cumulative evidence, for which
my larger work,
referred to
is
" The Monuments of
and their Historical Teachings "
temptation to mention the
name of
universe, that of the Creator,
I cannot
and of the
mere
of creation as
Maya
ety-
cannot be argued
it
coincidences, I will next present the tableau

exists
it still
on the
Chichen, where we have soon

of the
the
deities that represented
In order that
of these names.
that they are
resist
the Governing Spirit of the
His attributes to Egyptian minds; also giving the
mology
49
east facade of the palace at
to return
and pursue our study
Memorial Hall dedicated to Prince
Coh by
his sister-
Moo.
wife Queen
Noum, was
Chnoumis, or
the "cause of
life in
said to be the " vivifying spirit,"
animals," the "father of
all
that has
life;"' therefore, the abundant source from which all things
emanate.
num
This
is
Maya particle
Amen-num, or
the exact meaning of the
in composition with another word.^
architect," the " builder of all things "
x-num, means the "
ah, "the; " men, "architect," "builder,"

" wise man," " legislator;" num, or x-num, " multiplicity,"
a, contraction of
'
'
abundance of things.
Kneph
called
of the spirit
learn
Kneph
for
HorapoUo
X-noum, who was
says:
"The
snake
which pervades the universe."
from Eusebius, who
tells
is
also
the
So also
us that the Egyptians called
the " good genius," and represented
shape of a
'
was another name
Amen-Kneph.
emblem
we
'
In the ancient
serpent.''
Eusebius, Prcep.
Siculus, Hist., lib.
i.
et
Demons. Evang.,
lib. iii.,
him under the

monuments the god
chap,
xi., p.
315.
Diodorus
13.
'
Pedro Beltran, Arte
Hoiapollo, Hieroglyphs,
Eusebius, Prmp., Evang.,
del
Idioma Maya,
lib.
ii.
lib. iii.,
chap.
xi.
Vigiers, Paris, 1638.
50
ATnen-Kneph
is
often depicted either preceded or followed
by an enormous serpent
This
folds.'
to
is
the reasons
emblem
that envelops
him within
its
huge
not the place to enter into speculations as
why
the Egyptians selected the serpent as
In another work I have explained the
of the deity.
among the Mayas.' The name

K-neph can be read Ka-nepli, that may be a dialectical pronunciation of the Maya word Canhel, which means a serpent,
origin of serpent worship
a dragon.
we
Later on
will see the serpent
accompanying the
statue of the Creator, in the tableau of creation at Chiclien.
Pthah was the name of another attribute of the Divine

Spirit, a different form of the creative power, said to be sprung
from an egg produced from the mouth of Kneph.' It there-
Brahma, the ancestor of all beings, in the

to Melien in that of the Mayas.
Hindoo
Pthah, says lamblicus, was the artisan; the " Lord of Truth,"
In the Maya language Thaali
according to Porphyry.
means the "worker," the " artisan. " In the Maya sculpfore corresponds to
cosmogony,''
tures,
particularly on
trunk
the
of
the
that adorn the most ancient buildings, the
mastodon heads
name
is
written
^S^ ^"Z^ Tza, " that which is necessary."^

^'^^ ><_>'
Khem was the generative principle of nature,
another attribute of the Creator.
eration, not only of
vegetable world
man and
also.
has been variously read

'
This god presided over gen-
all species of
animals, but of the
Mr. Samuel Birch affirms that
his
name
Xem or Miii.
Eusebius, Prmp., Evang.,
lib. iii.,
chap.
xi.
Vigiers, Paris, 1628.
Aug. Le Plongeon, Sacred Mysteries, p. 100, et passim, particularly in

MonuiTients of Mayach and their Historical Teachings, chap. iii.
' HorapoUo, Hierogl., lib. i. 12.
'
Manava-Dhitrnui-SdMra,
'
Pio Perez, ]>Iaya dictionary.
'
Ibid.
lib.
i.,
chap,
i.,
Sloka
9.
Pedro Beltian, Arte Jd Idioma Maya.
Maya language liem-ba
In the
in animals,
xex
is
is
Naturally this query wiU present
nists,
it
the organs of generation
the sperm of man, and iiain the "grand-
mother on the father's side."
reader as
51
itself to
the
coming from the
east,
mind
of the
Maya
colo-
reached the valley of the
JSTile,
has to that of the author: Supposing
and developed that stupendous
established themselves there,
which Kenan says:^ "For when one thinks of

thousand five hundred years old
civilization of
this civilization, at least six
from the present day

this art, of
that
it
has had no
archaic period
that the
Egypt
of Cheops
superior in a sense to all that followed

giddiness.
known
infancy
that
which there remain innumerable monuments, has no
'
On
estpris de
Although mistaken
archaic period, he
is
vertige.''
is
is
seized with
"
in asserting that
right,
and of Chephren
one
Egyptian art had no
however, in saying that
its birth-
place was a mystery for Egyptologists; for, to quote Rawlinson's
own
words, " In Egypt
it is
notorious that there
indication of an early period of savagery or barbarism.
All authorities agree that, however far back
Egypt no rude
developed."^
says Osburn "
we
go,
we
is
no
.
find in
or uncivilized time out of Avhich civilization is
"The
(to
reasonable inference from these facts,"
our apprehension,
we
are free to confess, the
only reasonable one), appears to be, that the
first settlers
in
Egypt were a company of persons in a high state of civilization, but that through some strange anomaly in the history of
man they had been deprived of a great part of the language
and the
''
entire written system
which had formerly been the
Pio Perez, Maya dictionary. Pedro Beltran, Art del Idiama Maya.
Ernest Renan, Revue des deux Mond.es, April, 1865.
Rawlinson, Origin of Nations,
p. 13.
QUEEN M60 AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
52
means and
of
vehicle
their
civilization.
Combin-
ing this inference with the clear, unanswerable indications
we
have already pointed out, that the fathers of ancient Egypt

first
journeyed thither across the Isthmus of Suez, and that
they brought with them the worship of the

is
it
'
setting sun, '
from the plains of Babel, and that the
was derived from the banks
thither
civilization of
Egypt
This so far
is,
of the Euphrates?
"
who were
or seems to be, perfectly true; but
the emigrants ?
Osburn does not
they come from
when they reached
and brought there
civilization?
unknown heavens," ^ as
Seiss
how
came
possible to resist the conclusion that they
tell us.
What
country did
the banks of the Euphrates
They did not " drop from the
would have
his readers to believe,
although they came from Kui-land, the country of the gods

in the west.'
The Egyptians themselves claimed
that their ancestors were
strangers who, in very remote ages, settled on the banks of
the Nile,^ bringing there, with the civilization of their mother
country, the art of writing and a polished language
had come from the direction of the setting

were the " most ancient of men."
regarded as mere boasting.
the Egyptians held
It
Mayach,
from the bosom of the deep,"
that they
and that they
This expression Herodotus
is,
sun,^
however, easily explained
"the land
first
if
emerged
as the cradle of their race.
This statement, that the Egyptians pointed to the west as

'
William Osburn, The Monumental History of Egypt,
vol.
i.,
chap,
iv.,
pp. 320-321.
i is
"
Seiss,
'
Ku
the
Miracle in Stone, p. 40.
Maya
is tlie
mark
and also the Egyptian for Divine Intelligence, God
of plural iu Egyptian and Quichfi.
Rawlinson, Origin of Nations,
Diodorus,
Herodotus,
Hist., vol.
Hist., lib.
p. 50.
i.,
ii.
11.
p. 13.
53
the point of the compass where the birthplace of their ancestors
was
the
situated,
first
may seem
a direct contradiction of the fact that
Maya settlers in the
vaUey of the Nile came from the
banks of the Euphrates; that

discrepancy
from the
is,
east.
This seeming
however, easily explained by the other fact, that
is,
two distinct Maya migrations to Egypt. The

more important, coming from the West, direct from
Mayacli, produced a more lasting impression on the memory
there were
second, the
of the people.
We have followed
by
step
step the
Mayas
neys from their homes in the "Lands of the
in their jour-
West"
across
the Pacific, along the shores of the Indian Ocean to the head
of the Persian Gulf, then
up the Euphrates
which they formed settlements that
to Babylon.
important
cities
on
the banks of
time became large and
in
The migration
of these
Maya-
speaking peoples from the eastern countries, across the Syrian

desert, to
Egypt took place
that country of Queen
Mayach,
centuries before the
Mdo
across the Atlantic.
coming
to
with her retinue, direct from
Her
followers, fresh
from the
" Lands of the West," naturally brought with them the manners and customs, traditions, religion, arts, and sciences of the
mother country they had

aped, and their
first
ways
so recently abandoned.
readily adopted,
Maya settlers, who had
They were
by the descendants
become more or
less
of the
contaminated
Avith the habits, superstitions, religious ideas, of the inhabitants
of the various places
with
whom
If,
zation,
they had been
therefore,
where
it
barbarism, and
the Nile,
where they had
we wish
had
why
we must
so long
sojourned, or
in contact.
to find the cradle of Egyptian civili-
its
infancy and developed from a state of
it
appeared
full
grown on the banks of

it was transplanted.
seek westward whence
QUEEN MdO AND TEE EGYPTIAN SPEINX.
54
It is
a well-known fact that history repeats
itself.
What
hap-
pened centuries ago in the valley of the Nile happens in our

day.
European
grown
to the United States
civilization
now
is
hence, scholars speaking of
the present Anaerican civilization
Egyptian:
regarding the
full
and other countries of the Western
Ten thousand years
Continent.
being transported
may
reecho Renan's words
"It had no known infancy
no
archaic period."
We
have seen that the Akkadians
Chaldeans,
who dwelt
marshy lands
civilization to
at the
that
by
in places enclosed
mouth
is,
the primitive
palisades in the
of the Euphrates
who
brought
Mesopotamia, possessed a perfect system of writ-
Maya;
ing; spoke a polished language akin to the
mogonic notions
identical
with those of
had
cos-
Mayas, and
the
expressed them by means of a diagram similar
to,
but more
complex than, that found in Uxnial, Yucatan.
We have also seen that the

we have
tracks
Maya-speaking
peoples,
whose
followed across the Syrian desert, and
settled in the valley of the Nile,
ing, a polished language,
who
brought there the art of writ-
and the same cosmogonic notions
by the Chaldees, the Hindoos, and the 3Iayas

that the names of the cities they founded, of the gods they
entertained
Maya language.
the Maya alphabet,
worshipped, were also words belonging to the
In another work
'
it
has been shown that
discovered by the author, and the Egyptian hieratic alphabet
were
identical.
Did the
limits of this
also be proved that the initial letter of the
objects
book allow,
Maya
it
could
names of the
representing the letters of the Egyptian alphabet
is
the very letter so represented in said alphabet, and that several

of these signs are contours of localities in the
'
Le Plongeon, Sacred
Maya Empire.
Mysteries, Introduction, p. xii.
Page
8S.
Plait
^--^^^î
XXX.

From
if
the
these premises
may
55
not be safely asserted, that,
it
Mayas
the arts
and the Egyptians did not teach one another

of civilization, they both learned them from the same
masters, at the same schools?
And
if
Professor
Max
Miiller's
assertion be true, that particularly in the early history of the
human
intellect there existed the
between language,
religion,
and
most intimate relationship
nationality,' then there can be
no doubt that the Egyptians and the
Mayas
were branches
mighty stem firmly
of one
rooted in the
"Land
KuV
of
the
soil of
the
in
"Western Continent.
Should
give
dates,
according to the author of
MS. and other
the Troano
Maya
historians,
would doubt
and reply
know
who
How
do we
that you have cor-
rectly
tives
many
their accuracy
interpreted
written
GODDESS UATI(?)
MATI.*
narra-
in characters that
none of the Americanists,
claim to be authorities on American palseography, can
decipher ?
It is well
known
certainty half a dozen of the
that they cannot interpret with
Maya
signs,
a whole sentence; and they assert that,
much
if
less translate
they,
who have
written whole volumes on the subject, do not understand these
Maya writings,
For
no one
else can.
this reason I leave to
Mr. Bunsen the care of determin-
ing the dates, particidarly as those calculated by him, strange

'
Max
Miiller, Science of Religion^ p. 53.
Wilkinson, Manners and, Customs,
vol.
ii,,
p. 198.
66
as
it
may
ancient
" The
life,
appear, correspond very nearly to those given
Maya
by the
writers.
latest date at
which the commencement of Egyptian
the immigration from the Euphrates district,' can have
taken place
is
9580 b.c, or about 6000 before Menes.
But the
empire which Menes founded, or the chronological period of
down
the Egyptians as a nation,
Nectanebo
tions,
II.,
to the
end of the reign of
comprised, according to our historical computa-
very nearly thirty-three centuries.
"In
reality, there
were disturbances, especially in those
early times, which must be taken into account.
We have cal-
culated the lowest possible date to be six thousand years, or one
hundred and eighty generations, before Menes.

be doubled,
it
would assuredly carry us too far.
"Were this to
A much higher
date, indeed twice that number of years, would certainly be

more conceivable than a lower one, considering the vast amount
and
of development
Menes.
It
historical deposit
which existed prior to
can be proved that but a few centuries after his
time everything had become rigid not only in language but

also in writing,
which had grown up entirely on Egyptian
and which must be
soil,
called the very latest link in that ancient
civilization.
"Now,
if
instead of six thousand years
we reckon
thousand more, or about ten thousand years from the

migration
down
to Menes, the date of the
would be about 14000 b.c."
four
first
im-
Egyptian origines
Philostratus, in his Life of Apollonius of Tyana, a book written at the

beginning of the Christian era, asserts (p. 146) that the first Egyptians were
a colony from India.
" Buuseu, EgypVs Place in Universal History, vol. iv.,
p. 58.
'
V.
"When, by their increasing numbers and their superior

ization, the descendants of the
civil-
emigrants that came from the
banks of the Euphrates had become the dominating power

in the valley of the Nile, they sent colonists to the land of
Kancrnn.
These, following the coast of the Mediterranean,
advanced as far north as Mount Taurus in Asia Minor
and
as
they progressed they founded settlements, that in time became

great and important
cities,
the sites of mighty nations whose
history forms for us, at present, the ancient history of the
world.
The names of
guide which wiU
these cities and nations will be the unerring
lead us on the road followed
by these
Maya-
speaking colonists, that, starting from Egypt, carried their

civilization
along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean,
northward; then, eastward, back again to the banks of the

Euphrates in Mesopotamia.
On
leaving Egypt they had to traverse the sandy desert
that forms the Isthmus of Suez, and
end, of the Sinai peninsula.
is
the northern limit, the
"We have already said that the
58
Mayas generally gave names

opoeia; that
is,
to objects and places
by onomat-
according to sounds produced by these objects,
by their most predominant characteristic.

What, then, more natural than to call this stretch of
desert Xul, " the end " ? a word that became afterward >S^r
in the mouth of people using the letter R in their alphabet.'
or the ideas suggested
Advancing northward, they no doubt were struck by the

fertility of the country, and therefore called it Kanaan. The
etjmiology of this
name
stm an unsolved
is
who do not agree as to

" lowlands; " others contend
gists,
again, affirm that the

nicians,
its
it
puzzle for philolo-
meaning. Some say it means

" merchants; " others,
signifies
name was given
to the land
by the Phoe-
on account of the surprising productiveness
According to
Kanaan
Maya the latter are right,
of its
soil.
since in that language
word for "abundance.""

In after years, when the Phoenicians became such a mighty
maritime power as to render them redoubtable to their neighbors, the Egyptians called Phoenicia Zahi,^ a Maya word
the meaning of which ("full of menace," "to be feared")
is
is
certainly
the
most expressive of
the Tyrian merchant princes.
their opinion of the
might of
Perhaps the treatment of the
Bephahn,^ the aboriginal inhabitants, by the Phoenicians, who

called
them the "manes
of the dead,"
and destroyed them
when they took possession of their country, suggested the

name. The Egyptians designated them as Sati ; * that is,
zati
'
"
still
(in
Maya), the " lost," the " ruined " ones.
Maya is equivalent to the Greek x or the English sh.

Anciently there was a town iu Yucatan called Zahi, the ruins of which
The
exist a
few miles
to the
southwest of those of the great city of Uxnial.
'
Genesis, chap, xiv., verse 5
Chablas's translation of Les Papyrus Hieratiques de Berlin.
1863.)
xv. 20.
(Chalons,
Page
58.
Plate
XX.
QUEEN MdO AND THE EOYPTIAN SPHINX.
59
The word Rephaim is another enigma for philologists.

They pretend, although they do not affirm it positively, that
it means "giants."^
The Maya, however, tells us it simply
signifies
of the
"inhabitants of the lowlands," which
name Ccmacm, according to some
seems to be composed of three
is
the purport
philologists.
Maya
primitives
Rephavm,
leb, ha,
im
leb, to "cover;" ha, "water;" im, contraction of

imix, "bosom," "basin;" therefore, literally, "the basin
covered by water," hence the " lowlands."
We read in the ethnic table of Genesis,' " Ccmacm begat
Tsidon his firstborn," which means that Tzidon was probably the earliest settlement founded by the Maya-speaking
colonists from Egypt; when, according to the book of Na-
bathoean agriculture, compiled in the early ages of the Christian era,
it
seems that the Phoenicians were expelled from
Babylon in consequence of a quarrel with the Cushite monarch

then reigning
an
event which probably occurred about the
time of Abram, when a migration
set in
motion from the banks
of the Euphrates to the shores of the Mediterranean.
had
They
therefore been in close relation with the Ethiopians of the
coast of the Erythraean Sea and the Chaldeans of Babjdonia.
Then, even
if
they used also
Maya
words in giving names to
the countries they conquered and the
cities
they founded,
it
could be easily accounted for; as also the similarity of their

alphabetical characters with those carved on the walls of the
temples and palaces of
bearded
men
Mayach, where we
see portraits of
of unmistakable Phoenician types, discovered
the author in 1875.
Tsidon^Rahhah
is
given in the Bible to the old capital of Phoenicia, and

'
'
Joshua, chap,
Genesis, chap,
xii.,
x.,
verse 4; chap,
verse 15.
by
one of the epithets
xiii.,
verse 13.
is
trans-
60
lated
The Maya, however, gives Tzidon
" Zidon the great."
the ancient.^
On
the northern coast of Yucatan there
a seaport called
is
to-day Zilan, near which are to be seen the extensive ruins of
Oilan
the ancient city of
{DzilmC).
not possible that
Is it
the founders of the seaport in Canaan gave
that Tzidon
tion of
The
is
the
it
Tzidon in remembrance of that of the seaport in
name
of
Mayach, and
either a dialectical pronunciation or a corrup-
Dzilan ?
city that vied in importance with Tzidon,
and at
last
obtained the supremacy, was Tzur, "the strong city,"^ the
Tyrus of the Greeks and of the

translate the
name "rock," and
founder gave
it
from the
for "promontory," and Tzucub
The
principal
was
it
on a rocky
built
Tzub
shore.
is
philologists
historians aflSrm that the
to the city because
island about half a mile
The
Latins.
is
the
Maya
a "province."
god worshipped by the Phoenicians was
the sun, under the name of Baal or Bel, which we are told
meant "lord," " chief." This is exactly one of the meanings
of the word Baal (in Maya).' As for Bel, it is in Maya the
"road," the "origin."

Astarte, or Ishtar,
nicians,
was the goddess
the Chaldeans, Assyrians,
Eomans, and Aphrodite

brated with great
etc., as
of the Greeks.
in
Babylon and
"Venus was of the
Her
cult
was
cele-
Her
in Nineveh.
Maya would be Ixtal or Ixtac, a word composed of

Maya primitives the feminine pronoun ix, " she," and
name
two
pomp
of love of the Phoe-
in
the verb tal or tac, " to feel the desire to do something corItabbah would read
become old," " to age."
'
"
in
Maya Labal, 'the meaning
of
which
Joshua, chap, xix., verse 29. Jeremiali, chap, xxv., verse 23.
Jos6 de Acosta, Ilistm-ia Natural y Moral de las Indicis, 1590.
is
"to

poreal; " as, for instance,
Ixtal or Ixtac, or
tac in uenel, "
Ishtar,
want
61
to sleep."
would therefore mean "she who
wishes to satisfy a corporeal desire, inclination, or want."
What name more
appropriate for the goddess of love and lust
whom
Moloch was another god of the Phoenicians, to
human
offerings of
made by
victims were
alive in a bronze statue representing him.
to red heat, the bodies
them
enclosing
This being heated
were consumed,^ and were
said,
by the
have served as food for the god who had devoured
priests, to
them.^
Moloeh
is
another descriptive
niol, to gather, and
primitives
Do
ions, provender.
name composed
och
of
two
Maya
or ooch, food, provis-
human
made by the Itzaes of
Avhich a human victim was
not these sacrifices to Moloch of
victims burned alive vividly recall those
Peten to
Hobo
the destroyer, in
burned alive amidst dances and songs ? ^

Neighbors to the Phoenicians, on the north, were the powerful Khati,
origin
is
is still
also their
who
dwelt in the valley of the Orontes.
Their
a matter of speculation for ethnologists, and so
name
for philologists.
famous on account of their
terrible
They made themselves

wars with the Assyrians
and the Egyptians.

opposed
either,
ries to both.
Placed between these two nations, they

and proved tenacious and redoubtable adversa-
All historians agree that the Khati, up to the
time when they were vanquished by Eameses the Great, always

placed
obstacles in the
way
of conquest
by
these nations, and
at all times sallied forth in battle array to
prevent their passage through their
xiii.
'
Leviticus, cliap. xviii., verse 21.
John
meet them and
territories.
Was
it
from
Kcnriclc, Phomicla, p. 317.

Gustave Flaubert, Salatnbo, chap,
Moloch the Devourer, Diodorus Siculus, lib. xx., cap. 14.
'CogoUudo,
Hist, de Yucathan, lib. ix., cap. 14.
62
Any Maya
that fact that they were called Khati ?
No
will answer,
doubt of
it
kat
since
is
scholar
Maya verb
mean-
ing " to place obstacles across a road " or " to sally forth to
impede the passage of a road "
>
name most
in accordance
with the customs of that warlike nation.
The Khati were not warriors only; they were likewise merwhose capital, Carchemish, situated at the confluence
chants,
of the river Chebar
and the Euphrates, vied
in commercial
There met traders from
importance with Tyre and Carthage.

India and other countries.
name
Ca/rchemish, the great emporium, was, as its

cates, the place
congregated.
indi-
where navigators and merchants from afar
This
name is composed
two
of
Maya
cah, "city," and cheiuul, "navigator."
vocables
Carchemish
may
be a dialectical pronunciation of Cahcheniul, the

" port," the " place of navigators," hence of merchants.
well
Katish was the sacred city of the Khati, where they
were wont to worship in a temple dedicated to

their principal god.
His name
murderer.
ill-treat
and
Set
is
was the brother of
sacrifices
Tich
is
offered,
name
a peculiar ceremony practised by the
Mayas from the remotest antiquity, and

descendants.
It consists in
col, "the crop
is
making
In another work^
all
stiU observed
offerings, called
ripe," to the Yviinil
the fields," of the primitice of

harvest.
his
We have just said that cah is the Maya for " city "
or "village."
'
were
religious ceremonies particularly performed, as its
indicates.
or Sut,
and
a cognate word of ze (Maya), "to
In that place
with blows."
Set,
Osiris,
Kaax,
by
their
u-kanil-
the "lord of
crops before beginning the
have described the ceremony.
Pedro Beltran, Arte del Idioma Maya. Pio Perez,

A. Le Plongeon, Monument) of Mayach, etc.
]>Iiiya dictionary.
Page
6S.
Plate
XXI.
63
Cahtich, or Katish, is therefore an appropriate name

sacred city where religious ceremonies are performed and
for a
offer-
made to the gods.

The whole coast of Asia Minor on the Mediterranean was
once inhabited by nations having their homonyms in the
Western Continent. Prominent among these were the Cariings
unknown
ans, of
but wide-spread fame.
origin,
Herodotus,^
himself a Carian, says that the ancient Carians called themselves
Leleth (Maya), "to dwell
ZeZês, a
name akin
places."
"Well, Strabo^ teUs us
of all Ionia
to
in rocky
they had been the occupants
and of the islands of the J]]gean Sea, until driven
from them by the lonians and the Dorians, when they

on the mainland.
lished themselves
and
pirates,
Cyclades.^
Thucydides
calls
estab-
them
King Minos expeUed them from the
asserts that
Herodotus, bound to defend his countrymen from
such an imputation, simply represents them as a warlike and
when
seafaring people that,
At
Minos.
of
aU nations
of the earth."
The
antiquity this tunic was used
still
by the aborigines
Central America.
It
The name Kar,
is
the northern parts of

Herodotus,
lib.
i.,
'
Thucydides, History of
Herodotus, lib. i., 171.
lib.
v.,
is
identical
is
in
whose name
many
is still
cities
with that
preserved
and places in
171.
Strabo,
'Ibid.,
women, and
and other places
the South American continent, the
'
lib. vii., p.
women
From
called uipil.
or Carian, certainly
Caribbean Sea, and of
in that of the
fastenings.^
Maya
by the
of Yucatan, Peten,
of the warlike nation the Caras,
the ships of
dress of the Carian
which required no
consisted of a linen tunic

all
manned
requested,
that time they styled themselves " the most famous
321
87-88.
lib. xiii., p.
tlie
611.
Peloponnesian War,
lib. i., 8.
64
Antilles,
and the coast of Honduras, where Carib
These
exist.
Ca/ras,
their conquests
once neighbors of the
from the
frontiers of
tribes
Mayas,
Mayach
still
extended
throughout the
southern continent; to the river Plata, east of the Andes;

to Chile, west of that chain of mountains.
be very
difficult to
It
would indeed
explain the striking similarity of abo-
riginal
names
known
to-day as Venezuela and Colombia, and those of
of pleices
and
tribes still used in the countries

locali-
on the shores of the Mediterranean, and of the people who
ties
dwelt in them, except through the intimate relationship of the

Carians of Asia Minor and the Caras of the " Lands of the
"West."
Their names are not only similar, but, on both sides
were synonymous of "man," par excellence,

"eminent warrior," endowed with great dexterity and
of the Atlantic,
of
When
extraordinary power.'
first
the Spaniards landed for the
time in America, the Caribs of the islands of
St.
Vin-
cent and Martinique were cannibals, and the terror of their

neighbors.
Lastly, according to
Max
Miiller,^ Philip of
Theangela, a
Carian historian, says that the idiom of the Carians was mixed
with a great number of Greek words.
them among the
But Homer represents
earliest inhabitants of
Asia Minor and of
the Grecian peninsula,^ anterior, consequently, to the Hellenes,
who
in their intercourse with
use of
many words
of their
them would naturally have made

language that afterward became
engrafted on that of the Greeks themselves.
For the present we

'
shall depart
Rochefort, Histoire Naturelle
Vllomme
Americatn, vol.
ii.,
et
p. 268.
from the eastern shores
Morale des Antilles,
p. 401.
Max
'
Homer,
Miillcr,
Fragments, Hist. Orac, vol.
Iliad, X., 428-429.
D'Orbigny,
Alcedo, Diccionario Oeografico e Histo-
rico de las Indias Occidentales.

'
of
iv., p.
475.
Page
64.
Plate
XXII.

the Mediterranean and from Egypt, which
on.
Before returning to
fect
identity of
Maya,
cosmogonic notions
of places, nations,
Maya
and gods,
they mere coincidences
let
we shall revisit
later
us again ask, This per-
Hindoo, Chaldean, and Egyptian
these
characteristics, in India,
Mayach
65
words that form the names
descriptive of their attributes or
Chaldea, Phoenicia, and Egypt
are
VI.
In our journey westward across the Atlantic we
shall pass
where once existed the pride and
in sight of that spot
the ocean, the Land of
Mu,
which, at the epoch that
life
of
we have
been considering, had not yet been visited by the wrath of
Homen,
fell
that lord of volcanic fires to whose fury
a victim.
The
it
afterward
description of that land given to Solon
Sonchis, priest at Sais
its
destruction
by earthquakes, and
by
sub-
mergence, recorded by Plato in his " Timseus," have been told
and
retold so
many
times that
pages with a repetition of
it is
useless to
encumber these
I shall therefore content myself
it.
with mentioning that the ten provinces which formed the

country,^ that Plato says Kronos divided
among
his ten sons,'
were thickly populated, and that the black race seems to have
predominated. We shall not tarry in Ziiiaau, " the scorpion," longer than to inquire
dess Selk,
the hooks,
whose
whose
title
office
if,
perchance, the Egyptian god-
was "the great
was
reptile," directress of
principally in the regions of the
'
Troano MS., part
'
Plato, Timcms.
ii.,
plate v.

Amenti
that
employed
is,
in the "
Lands of the "West "
67
where she was
on the palm, branch of Thoth the years
in noting
human -life, was not

West Indies of our day.
of
a deification of the jtio^
Selk was also called the lady of letters,

from which she appears to have been the goddess
of writing y ^ and her emblem was placed over

the doors of libraries, as the keeper of iooks.
"What connection could possibly have existed,

in the
mind
of Egyptian wise men, between a
scorpion, the letters of the alphabet,

art of writing, Egyptologists
and the
do not inform
us.
Still
they did nothing concerning their sym-
bols
and
In
their deities without a motive.
GODDESS SELK.
thus making Selk the goddess of writing, and
symbolizing her as a scorpion, did they intend to indicate that

the art of writing and knowledge of the books came
to
them from the " Lands of the "West," and take the shape of
West
the
Indies as
emblem
of said lands
This suggestion seems plausible
PseV
figured the land of
if
we
as a scorpion,
consider that they
and
that,
from the
known to us as the
West Indies, the Mayas called them Zinaan, the " scorpion."' But Zinaan means also an "accent," a "mark in
general contour of the group of islands
writing."
As
(See Plate V.)
to the
name
Selk, it
may have been
suggested by the
by the name
of the
large black scorpion quite abundant in Central America.
Eek
color of the black ink used in writing, or
'
Wilkinson, Manners aiid Customs, vol.
''Hid., p. 169 (note).

'
iii.,
chap.
xiii.
Cliiimpollion 2e jMn, Pantheon, plate xv.
Ubi supra. Introduction, pp.
xli-lx.
68
means " black"
in
Maya.
If to designate the
name
of a god-
we
X (English
we have X-Eek, that may easily become Sellc. Ekchucli
is the name of the black scorpion.
X-Ekchuch would be that
of the female black scorpion.
From it the name of the Egypprefix the
dess
word with the feminine
article
sh),
tian goddess of writing
and the connection of the scorpion with
may easily be derived.

From Zinaan we set sail for the nearest seaport in
Mayacli. It is Tulum, a fortified place, as the name indicates, situated in lat. N. 20 11' 60" and long. W. 87 26' 55"
letters
from Greenwich.
mark
Its ruins, seen
from
afar, serve yet as
a land-
to mariners navigating the waters of the eastern coast of
the peninsula of Yucatan.
Proceeding thence inland, in a direction west eight degrees north, one hundred and twenty miles as the crow
we
reach the city of Chicllen Avhence
voyage of circumnavigation.
we
started
flies,
on our
Page
69.
Plate
XXIII.
VII.
It
myths
is
well that
we now
and the Egyptians regarding
of the Hindoos
We shall need them to
return with a knowledge of the
over the doorway of the east facade of the palace.
have looked at
era, the
creation.
comprehend the meaning of the tableau
it since,
Many
toward the beginning of the Christian
wise Itzaes abandoned the city
when
it
was sacked and
devastated by barbaric N"ahuatl tribes coming from the south.
How many have

embodies?^
understood
its
respected instead of defacing
Among
the
who
things pertaining to the ancient
'
it
it.
modern Americanists and
can archseology, even those
how many
meaning, and the teaching
Very few, indeed; otherwise they would have
are there
who
professors of Ameri-
pretend to be authorities as to
Mayas
and their
civilization,
understand and can explain the
In order to thoroughly apprehend the full meaning of this most inter-
esting cosmic relation,
it is necessary to be versed in occultism, even as

taught by the Brahmins and other wise men of India. Occultists will not
fail to comprehend the teaching conveyed in this sculpture, which teaching
proves that, in very remote ages, the

cations with those of India
and other
Maya
sages had intimate couimuui-
civilized countries.
70
Maya
lessons that the
philosophers in remote ages have in-
and
them ?
trusted to stone in this tableau, for the benefit

of the generations that were to follow after
No
one has ever ventured an explanation of
contains no mystery.
it.
instruction
And
yet
it
Its teaching is easily read ; the explana-
tory legends being written in Egyptian characters, that, however, are likewise
we
If
At
Maya.
ask the Brahmins to explain
the beginning of the
Sastra "
first
they will
it,
tell us:
chapter of the " Manava-Dharma-
a book compiled, according to Mr. Chezy,^ from very
ancient works of the Brahmins, about thirteen hundred years
before the Christian era
we read:
" The Supreme Spirit fuming
resolved to cause to come forth from its
produced
the divers creatures, first
egg
was reproduced
Brahma,
the waters,
star with thousands
de-
egg, hriUiant as
of rays / and in
this
the
form of
this quotation
from the
'
the ancestor
'
Brahministic book to be an explanation of

quite complete.
and in them
Supreme Being, under
the
of all heings. ^
analysis of the tableau shows
An
corporeal substance
This germ hecame an
posited a productive seed.

gold, resplendent as
own
But we
it,
although not
find the balance of the description in
Eusebius's "Evangelical Preparations."
We
are told that the Supreme Intelligence
the waters.
wavy
The watery element
is
Mayacli, Egypt, Babylonia,
tures in
or broken lines î^^^^^^.
of water
is
It
is
produced
represented in the sculpIndia, etc.
These lines
or frame, of the tableau, surrounding

encircles the land:
first
it
by superposed
form the rim,
nearly, as the water
well to notice that the upper line
opened in the middle, and that each part
'
Chfizy, Journal des Savants, 1831
'
Manava-Dharma-Sastra,
lib.
i.,
also
H. T. Colebrooke.
Slokas 8-9.
ter-
QUEEN m60 and THE EGYPTIAN

minates in a serpent head;
said serpent heads
Maya
know
also,
sculptures.
whole hne.
Everything has
Did the learned men
And why
not ?
"Were not their people navigators?
What
the
Is this withits
meaning
Mayach
of
that the waters cover about three-fifths of the earth,
the land only two-fifths

it?
71
that the distance between
two-fifths of the
Certainly not.
out significance ?
in the
is
SPHINX.
not
know
be asked.
the meaning of the serpent heads at the extremity of
is
lines,
By no
Do we
may
It
symbol of water?
means.
They
Are they merely ornamental?
indicate that said lines represent the
kanali in Maya, the "great, the mighty serpent;"

image, among the Mayas, Quiches, and other tribes aUied to
them, as among the Egyptians, of the Creator, whose emblem
(says HorapoUo) was a serpent of a blue color with yellow
Can, we know, means "serpent," but kan is Maya
scales.
Kanali, the ocean, might therefore be interfor "yellow."
preted metaphorically "the powerful yellow serpent."' We
read in the Popol- Yuh, sacred book of the Quiches, regarding
ocean,
'
'
'
'
Gucicmatz, the principle of

of creation:
all things,
manifesting at the
dawn
" All was immobility and silence in the darkness,
in the night; only the Creator, the Maker, the Dominator,
the Serpent covered with feathers, they
who
create,
were on the waters
as
who
engender, they
an ever-increasing
light.
They are surrounded by green and azure; their name is GrucuCompare this conception of chaos and the dawn of
matz."
among
creation
read of
verse
'
it
in the
was only a
the Quiches, with that of the Hindoos as
" Aitareya-A'ran'ya: "

soul.
See Appendix, note

Popol-Vuh,
'
H. T. Colebrooke, Notice on
A'ran'ya,
lib. ii., g iv.
" Originally
Nothing active or inactive

vii,, p.
'
lib. i.,
chap.
we
this uni-
existed.
The
186.
i.
the Sacred Books of the Hindoos, Aitareya-
'
72
thought came to Him, I wish to create worlds.
And
so
He
created these worlds, the water, the light, the mortal beings,
and the waters.

supports
that
is
On
That water
is
the region above; the sky that
the atmosphere that contains the light; the earth
it;
perishable;
and the lower regions that of the waters."
the
the tablets inscribed with the cosmogony of
first of
the Chaldeans, found in the Library of the palace of
we
Assurbanipal, at Nineveh,
lated
by the
late
read the following
lines, trans-
Mr. George Smith: " At a time when neither
the heavens above nor the earth below existed, there
watery abyss; the
of seed, the mistress of
first
No
ered everything).
into being."
'
'
(cov-
product had ever been gathered, nor
Ay, the very gods had not yet come
seen.
.
was the
the depths,
The waters clung together
the mother of the universe.
was any sprout
King
On
the third tablet
it is
related
how
the gods are preparing for a grand contest against a monster
known as Tidmat, the depths,' and how the god BeJMarduk overthrows Tidmat.
My readers wiU forgive me for indulging here in a short
digression that may seem unnecessary, but it is well to add to
'
'
the proofs already adduced to
show
that, at
some remote epoch,
the primitive Chaldeans must have had intimate relations with
Maya
colonists;
and that these were a great factor in the
development of the
civilization of the Babylonians, to
whom
they seem to have imparted their religious and cosmogonic

notions.
The names Tidmat and JBel-Marduh add corrobora-
tive evidence to confirm this historical truth, since
except the
Maya
oflêrs
no language
such a natural etjnnon and simple
explanation of their meaning.

Tidinut,
"the depths,"
four primitives, ti, ha,
is
ma,
Maya
ti (that
word composed of the

is, ti, "there;" ha,
'

"water;" ma, "without;"
elision,
Tihamat, or be
"land"),
ti,
73
Tihamati
by
Tidmat, "everywhere water, no-
it
where land," the "deep."
As
to the
Maltuuc
name Bel-MarduTc
that
(in
Maya)
it
would read Bel-
Bel, "occupation," "business;"
is,
mal
is
a particle that, united to a noun, indicates " the act of multi-
many things;" tuucul
plying," of "doing
things placed
Bel-Maltuvic
in order."
would be a most appropriate name

seems to have been to put in order
a "mass of
or 'KfA.-Marduk
for one
all
is
whose business
the things that existed
confusedly in chaos.
Mr. Morris Jastrow,
Magazine for January,
an
in
Jr.,
article
1894,' says that the
in the
Century
word tehom occurs
both in the cuneiform tablets and in Genesis with the meaning of " the deep," which is precisely its import in the Maya
language
te or ti,
'
'
where
'
'
hoiii,
'
'
abyss without bottom.
'
E-eturning to the comparison of the cosmogonic notions of
the various civilized nations of antiquity, we find that Thales, like

all
the ancient philosophers, regarded water as the primordial
substance, in the midst of which the " Great Soul" deposited
a germ that became an egg, briUiant as gold and resplendent
we read in the first book

"
Manava-Dharma-Sastra, " and we see represented in
of the
as a star with a thousand rays, as
the tableau over the door of the east fa9ade of the palace at
Chicllen.
(Plate XXIII.)
In
this
Supreme Being under the form
egg was reproduced the
Brahma, through whose

union with the goddess Maya, the good mother of aU gods and
other beings, all things were created, says the " Eig-veda. " ^
of
' Morris
Jastrow, Jr., "The Bible and the Assyrian Monuments,"
York, Century Magazine., January, 1894.
'^
Eig-veda, Langlois' translation, sect,
pp. 316-317.
New
vili., lect. 3, h. ii., v. i., vol. iv.
74
The
inhabitants of the islands of the Pacific entertained
similar notions regarding creation.
Researches " says:
'
Ellis in his "Polynesian

" In the Sandwich Islands there is a tradi-
tion that in the beginning there was nothing but water,
when
a big bird descended from on high and laid an egg in the
That egg
the bird
and Hawaii came forth."
burst,
is
sea.
an emblem of deity
They believe that

medium through which the
gods often communicate with men.

It is well not to forget that the
Egyptians also caused Ptah,
mouth of
emblem was an
the Creator, to be born from an egg issued from the
Kneph, the ruling
spirit of
the universe, whose
enormous blue serpent with yellow
The learned men
of
Mayach
scales; that
is,
the ocean.
always described with ap-
propriate inscriptions the notions, cosmogonic or others, or
the religious conceptions that they portrayed in the sculptures
ornamenting with them the walls of their public
them among
only to generalize
edifices,
transmit them to future generations in a lasting manner.

did not
fail to
The legend
do
drawing,
They
in this instance.
on either
<.
the personage 1^3

characters
it
not
their contemporaries, but to
side of
seated therein.
the egg teUs
It
is
who
is
composed of the
four times repeated, for the symmetry of the
'^
and to emphasize the meaning of the word,
as well as to indicate the exalted quality of said personage.
ChampoUion
le
jeune
tells
us that in Egj^Dt this very combi-
nation of letters means " the engendered. "

phatically belong to the alphabet of the
/~~~
,
'
'
or be
Ellis,
it,
le
These
Mayas.
letters
The
emsign
that stands for our Latin 21, represented
Polynesian Researches, vol.
ChampoUion
Egyptiens.
jeune, Precis
i.,
chap, v., p. 100.
du Systeme Hieroglyphique
des Aiiciens
'
;

the contour of the peninsula of Yucatan.
in Egyptian as in
Why
"land."
Maya, and means,

sign,
this
the ancient edifices of the
H, with
we add
in both languages,
In Mayacli
it is
'
Mayas,
it is
is
ma
'
place,
'
Egypt?
the radical
mam,
a contraction of
The sign
the "ancestor," the "earth."
ing to our Latin
pronounced
is
with that meaning, in
Can learned Egyptologists tell ?

ma of the name of the country
all
It
75
so frequent in
the letter correspond-
these and the Egyptians.
If to these
/VVAAA/\ N, forming the border,

we have the word /
AAAA/v\ mehen, which in Maya
means, as in Egyptian, the " son," the " engendered."
But
characters
the letter
'
mehen was the
name of
the serpent represented over the head
of the god Kneph, the creator.

said serpent
what
is
was termed
in the abyss."
in
According to Mr. Samuel Birch,
Egyptian texts "proceeding from
In the egg, behind the engendered, the
scales of the serpent's belly
form a background to the
To complete the explanation

Eusebius's help.
In
of
the tableau
we must
" Evangelical Preparations "
his
figure.
he
ask
tells
us that the Egyptians " represented the Creator of the world,
whom
they called Knejph, under a
human
form, with the flesh
painted blue, a belt surrounding his waist, holding a sceptre in

his hand, his
head being adorned with a royal headdress orna-
Were I to describe minutel}^
mented with a plume. "
within the Qgg, I could not do

mutilated by iconoclasts,
was painted
it
is
it
better.
the figure
Although much
easy to perceive that once
blue, to indicate his exalted
around the waist he wears a puyvit, or
loin cloth,
and
adorned with a huge plume, worn among the

by personages of high rank.
is
stiU
'
Pedro Beltran, Arte
'^
Eusebius, Prmp. Evang.,
del
Idioma Maya.
lib. iii., p.
Pio Perez,
315.
it
and holy character
Maya
his
head
Mayas
dictionary.
76
Lastly,
it is
well to notice that there are forty-two rays
Those versed in the knowledge of the
around the cosmic egg.
Kabbalah wiU say that the number of the rays, twenty-one,

placed on each side of the egg, was not used arbitrarily, but
as
an emblem of the Creator, Jehovah
Hebrew
the numerical value of the
name
is,
in
numbers
10, 6, 5,' the
will read Jod, 10 ;
sum
which
of
is
21
that,
if
we
consider
letters
composing
it,
He,
and Vav,
3 x 7, the trinity
his
that
and the
septenary.
The
so
rabbis, says J. Ealston Skinner,' extol these
beyond
and permutations, under the

of permutation
numbers
that they pretend " that
all others,
law of
cabalistic
the knowledge of
by their uses
T^mura that is,
the entire universe
may
be
had."
The number
of the assessors
who, according to the Egyp-
when
judgment upon the
tians, assisted Osiris,
in Amenti, was,
it
will be
sitting in
remembered, 42 that is, 21 x

;
2.
souls
But
these twenty-one rays on each side of the cosmic egg also call
The reader's attention is liere called to the following interesting facts

which show the origin of the British foot-measure of diaiension. The half
This number multiplied by 10 gives 5280, the length in feet
of 1056 is 528.
By permutation 528 becomes 825. But 8.25 feet is the
of the British mile.
'
length of half a rod, whilst 5280 x 8.35 feet
is
the area in feet of one acre.
Egypt
and those of the pyramids of Mayacll made use of these numbers. AH
the most ancient pyramids in Yucatan are twenty-one metres high, the side
of the base being forty-two metres.
Tlieir vertical section was conseIn the drawing of their plans the builders of the great pyramid of
quently drawn so as to be inscribed within the circumference of a circle

having a radius of twenty-one metres, whose diameter formed the base line
of the monument.
Ralston Skinner, " Hebrew Metrology," p. 6, Masonic Review, July,

the ratio 113 to 355 multiplied by 3 equals 339 to 1065. The
entire circumference will be 1065 x 2 = 2130, of which 213 is factor with 10.
'
1885.
J.
"For
And 213
is
the
first
the entire book."
word
of Genesis; viz., Rash, or 'head,' from
whence
Page
77.
Plate
XXIV.
77
mind the twentj-oiLQ prajapati, or creators, mentioned in the

"Mahabharata; " and the twenty-one words constituting the
to
most sacred prayer of the followers of Zoroaster,
by the
On
still
in use
Parsis.
each side of the Creator, outside of the lower line of
the border of the tableau,
is
monkey
the figure of a
We
ting posture and in the act of adoration.
learn
in a
sit-
from the
" Popol-Vuh " that in his attempts to produce & perfect man, an
intellectual creature, the Creator failed repeatedly,
and each
time, disgusted with his work, he destroyed the results of his
early experiments;
that at last he succeeded in
human
being nearly perfect, but yet wanting.
race of
man having grown proud and
whom they ceased
making a
This primitive
wicked, forgetful of their
pay due homage, the majority

of them were destroyed by floods and earthquakes.
The few
Creator, to
that escaped
to
by taking refuge on the mountains were changed
into monkeys.^
This
is
perhaps the reason
held in great veneration by the

It is indeed
worthy
Mayas.
Maya
simians were
XXIY.)
may be a mere
(Plate
of notice, although
coincidence, that, wherever
why
it
civilization has penetrated,
there also ape worship has existed from the remotest antiquity,
and does
still
exist
where ancient
religious rites
and customs
are observed.
In Hindostan, some nations hold the same
we
belief
concerning
monkeys
that
to wit: "
That formerly men were changed into apes as a pun-
read of in the sacred book of the Quiches,
ishment for their iniquities."
The ape god Ilanuman, who
rendered such valuable assistance to

wife Sita
when
she was abducted
'
Popol-Vuh, Brasseur translation, part
'
Valmiki, Eamayana, part
Hippolyto Fauchfi.
i.,
p.
Rama in the recovery of
by Eavana^^
i.,
chap,
343, et passim.
iii.,
is
his
stiU held in
p. 31.
French translation by
78
great veneration in the Asiatic peninsula and the island of Ceylon.
Pompous homage
he
worshipped are adorned with the utmost magnificence.
is
When
is
The pagodas
paid to him.
in 1554 the Portuguese
made a descent upon
in
which
that island,
they plundered the temple of the ape god Thoth, and made
themselves masters of immense riches.
tion of the reader to the
som an Indian
name
It
was likemse that
and wisdom," represented
Thoth means
call
the atten-
whose ran-
prince offered the viceroy of G-oa seven hundred
thousand ducats.
the Egyptians.
beg to
of this ape god, for
"god
of the
monkey, among
as a cynocephalus
Is this also a coincidence ?
of letters
The
to "scatter" flowers or grain.
Maya
Might
word
it
not
mean, metaphorically, to scatter letters knowledge ? As symbol of the "god of letters " the cynocephalus ape was treated
with great respect in
it
was
many
Egypt; but at Hermopolis
cities of
particularly worshipped,^ whilst in the Necropolis of
Thebes a spot was reserved as cemetery for the sacred monkeys,
whose mummies were always placed
as the bodies of deceased persons in
in a sitting posture,
Mayach,
Peru, and manj"
other countries in the Western Continent.
In the ancient city of Gopan, in Guatemala, the cynocephalus

ples,
was frequently represented

in
an attitude of prayer.
monkeys were buried
in the sculptures of
the tem-
There, as at Thebes, those
in stone tombs, in
which
their skeletons
have been found in perfect preservation.
Fray Geronimo Poman, a
and other
Avi'iter
of the sixteenth century,-^
chroniclers, inform us that
monkeys received
divine
worship in Yucatan under the names of Baat) and Chueii,

'
Strabo, XVII., p. 559.
Fray Geronimo Roman, Uepuhlica de
cap. XV.
las
Indias
Occidentalea, lib.
ii.,
QUEEN m60 and TEE EQTPTIAN SPHINX.

Mayas,
Avhose images are often found in the temples of the
a kneeling posture
The ape was

is
(as in
Plate
79
in
XXIV.).
In Japan there
also held sacred in Babylonia.
monkey
a sumptuous temple dedicated to
worship.
It is
said that the Japanese believe that the bodies of apes are in-
habited
by
empire.
the souls of deceased grandees and princes of the
Is not this great veneration for
monkeys a form
of
The Darwinian theory of evolution does

all.
The study of the first
"
"
the
Popol-Yuh will convince any one that some
ancestor worship ?
not seem to be so very modern, after

chapters of
of the ancient
as
some
Maya scientists had reached the same conclusions

day regarding the
of the learned philosophers of our
unfolding of animated beings
of man, consequently.
It
would
seem that Solomon had some reason in saying, and that we
may
repeat after him,
"There
nothing
is
new under
the
sun."
There are many other interesting
facts to
be learned from
the study of the sculptures that embellish the eastern facade

of the palace at
Chichen.
But
as they have
ing on the object of our present investigation,
away from
no
direct bear-
we
shall turn
that edifice, and, taking a northern direction, in-
dulge in an agreeable walk of half a mile, under secular trees,
through the
whence we
from
its
forest, to return to Prince Coil's
started
for
we have
yet to glean
much
During our promenade, protected from the
information
fiery rays of the
by the thick foliage overhead, enjoying the delight-
ful coolness that perpetually prevails in the

let
hall,
contents.
tropical sun
we
memorial
our thoughts wander.
tableau of creation and the strange facts

'
Yucatan
forests,
But they naturally revert
Ecclesiastes, cliapter
i.,
it
verse
to the
has revealed to us,

9.
80
and we ask
ourselves:
Did the
Mayas
receive all these teach-
ings from the Egyptians, or the Chaldeans, or the Hindoos, as
some want us to believe?
Maya
If so,
when and how?
Or
did
missionaries, abandoning their country as apostles of
religion, civilization,
and
these various nations
and impart
science, carry their

it
to
them ?
knowledge among
Page
81.
Plate
XXV.
VIII.
The study
of the atlantes that supported the table of the
altar at the entrance of the funeral
chamber
is
most
interest-
In these, and in the portraits of personages carved on the
ing.
pillars
and
antse of the portico
and the jambs of the doorway,
the ethnologist can study the features of the ancient
Mayas,
and, perhaps, discover the race to which they belonged.
ever this
may
have been, one fact
not deform their skulls
is
evident
artificially, as
What-
the Mayas did
did the inhabitants of
Copan and Palenque. These, therefore, were not Mayas.

Their mode of writing was not Maya; their language was
most probably different from the Maya consequently it is
;
absurd to try to interpret the inscriptions
left
by them,
as the
late Professor Charles Eau,^ of the Smithsonian Institution,
Mess.
Hyacinthe de Charancey' and Leon de Eosny,
France,' and others, have done.
in
Being unable to read one
Charles Rau, Tablet of Palenque, chap. v. Aboriginal Writings of MexSmithsonian Institution's publications.
Yucatan, and Central America.
'
ico,
'
Hyacinthe de Charencey, Easai de Dechiffrement afun Vragment d' InscripNo. 3, Mars, 187G. Actes de la Societe Philologique,
tion Palenquenne, torn. 1,

p. 56.
^
L(3on de Rosny, Essai sur
VAmerique
6
Gentrale, p. 13.
le
Dechiffrement de VJ&criture Hieratique de
83
single sentence of those inscriptions,
how can
these gentlemen
Maya language ? Because

resemble the Maya ? What does that prove ?
assert that they are written in the
a few characters
English, French, Spanish, Italian, and other
are
all
written with Latin letters does that

:
modern languages
mean
that they are
one and the same ?

It
is
not easy to surmise what
common
relationship can
possibly be claimed to have existed between the squat-figured,

coarse-featured, large-nosed, thick-lipped, flat-headed people,
with bulging eyes, represented in the stucco
bas-reliefs
of
Palenque, whose "heads, so very unusual, not to say unnatural," have been compared with those of the Huns;^ or the
short-statured individuals Avith round heads, oval faces, high
cheek bones,
ej'es,
large gaping mouths, small oblique
flat noses,
portrayed on the obelisks of Copan and Quirigua, that
recall the Tartar or
Manchu type (Plate XXX. )
Mayas, whose
looking
regular features,
lithe
and the goodfigures with
well-proportioned limbs, finely formed heads, high foreheads,
shapely noses, small mouths with firm thin

straight,
and
intelligent, that
we
lips,
eyes open,
see pictured in fresco paint-
ings or sculptured in low and high reliefs and statues.
(Plates
XXY., XXVI., XXVII.)

JSTo
to the
one, surely, will pi'esume to maintain that they belong
same family or
appearance
is
race,
and that the difference in
markable changes at various periods of

'
tlieir
Plate
See Appendix, note
John Ranking,
p. 275.
Cilicia
and
its
Gov-
XXIX.
viii.
Historical Researches on the Conquest of Peru, Mexico, etc.,
According to
(A. L. P.)
re-
national existence.
William Burckhardt Barker, Lares and Penates, or
ernors, chap. iv.
their
due to unknown causes that have effected such
tiiis
author the builders of Palenque were Mongols.
Plate
Page
S2.
.1*
J'
-v^-y
"^y
f
pa!*;""
,. "î
'
/f
'
XXVI.
Page. 82.
Plate
XXVII.

To-day
all
83
the distinct peculiarities of these various peoples
are, to the eye of the careful observer, quite as noticeable,
among
their descendants, as of yore, notwithstanding the inter-
marriages that have inevitably occurred between the different

races, particularly since the Spanish conquest.
Again, the atlantes and the bas-reliefs on the
mode
the
of dress in
vogue among the higher
Mode of carrying
Standard-liearer.
shield
show
pillars
classes of the
among
the
Mayas.
FIGURES FROM FRESCOS IN PRINCE COH'S MEMORIAL HALL.l
Mayas
of
in remote ages, the
their customs,
ornaments they wore, and
whose identity with those
many
of far-distant
nations cannot be ascribed to mere coincidence.
These
may
also guide the ethnologist.
For the present purpose,
it
will suffice to mention various
practices observed at funerals both
Egyptians.
'
rial
Among
See the various
by the
Mayas
and the
the figures that supported the table of the
jilates
from the fresco paintings in Prince Coil's Memo-
Hall at Cliicheii (Plates
XXXIX. -LI.).
84
altar, there
these
we
were some intended to represent women.
learn that
Maya matrons,
From
to betoken grief, covered
the right side of their face with their hair.
Gardner
Sir
"Wilkinson,* speaking of the funeral customs of the Egyptians,
" Married
says:
women
alone were permitted to wear the ma-
gasies, or ringlets, at the side of the face.
end with a
at the
The
hair
string, like the plaits at the
was bound
back of the
head, so as to cover part of their ear-ring."
trying to explain this custom of Egyptian
Macrobius,'
matrons, says
it
was
in imitation of the images of the sun, in
which that luminary was represented
as a
human head having
a lock of hair on the right side of the face.

assumes, was emblematic of
from our sight
cealed
This lock, he
reappearance after being con-
its
at its setting, or of its return to the
solstice.
What
explanation would he have given of the same custom
among
being observed
it
the
Mayas, had he known
of
That
it ?
existed there can be no doubt; the portraits of the
Maya matrons found among

best proof of
it.
two
the atlantes of the altar are the
(See Plates
XXXI.-XXXII., which
are
photographs of them.)
The
practice of tying their dress round their waist
uncovering their breast

to the
Mayas
made
to carry
p.
when a
friend died ^
and the Egyptians.
round their neck the
and
of
was common both
The dead
vase, placed
'
Sir Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and Customs, etc.,
453 also vol. i., chap. xii.
' Macrobius, Saturnaliorum, etc., lib. i., 26.
' Sir Gardner
Wilkinson, Manners and Customs, vol.
in Egjqjt were
on the
vol.
iii.,
scale of
chap, xvi.,
iii.,
chap, xvi., p.
439.
'
See picture of Prince Coli being prepared for cremation; also in
Sacred Mysteries,
p. 80.
Page. 84.
Plate
XXXI.
Page
84-
Plate
XXXII.
Mayach.
This
we
from the various
learn
that
Prince
of
Coh
and
statues
Chicften by the
of personages of high rank discovered at

writer
85
The same custom
judgment, to indicate their good deeds.'

obtained in
SPHINX.
They invariably
others.
hold between their hands a vase placed on the abdomen.
Mayach
phyry
tells
distinction
vase was typical of the Gulf of Honduras.
this
Whence such
In
strange customs
us^ that in
among
the Egy3)tians?
Por-
Egypt, " "When the bodies of persons of
were embalmed, they took out the
intestines
and
put them into a vessel, over which (after some other rites had
been performed for the dead) one of the embalmers pronounced
an invocation to the sun

intestines,
with the other
in behalf of the deceased."

viscera,
were deposited
They were placed
each contained a separate portion.
tomb with the
coffin,
genii of Amenti,
and were supposed
asks,
"Why call
an etymon
Sir
in the Egyptian language
bore.^
These
Gardner Wilkinson
these funeral y&sqb ecmopi, a
"
in the
to belong to the four
whose heads and names they
funeral vases were called ccmopi.^
These
in four vases
word without
For the answer we must come to America.
In ancient
Peru the canopa were household gods; but the Quichua offers
no explanation of the name. If we want to know its mean-
we must
ing
inquire
will tell us that, in
from the learned men of Mayach.
They
remote ages, their ancestors imagined that
the vault of heaven was sustained on four pillars, placed one at
each of the cardinal points, whose names were

Ix, and
'
'
*
Cauac
Vyilkinson, Manners
and Customs,
Porphyry, Be Alstinencia, lib. iv.

Wilkinson, Manners and Oustoms,
Ibid., p. 482.
'
Ibid., p. 490.
Kan, Muliic,
that the Creator assigned the care of these

etc., vol. iii.,
chap, xvi., p. 470.
10.
vol.
iii.,
chap, xvi., p. 481.
86
pillars to four brothers,
who
yellow Bacab,
Bacab,
to
who
whose names were Kan-Bacab, the
Chac-Bacab, the red

Zac-Bacab, the white Bacab,
north and Ek-Bacab, the black
stood at the south
occupied the east;
whom was
intrusted the
Bacab, whose place was the west. They were held in great
veneration, and regarded as the genii of the wind.' These
learned men will also inform us that those powerful genii were
by four jars with narrow necks, surmounted by

which jars, during certain religious ceremonies,
with water, and caUed Canob, that is, the " Four,"
represented
human
were
heads,^
filled
the "strong," the "mighty."^
From
the
Maya Canob
the
Egyptians no doubt called canopi the four vases in which were
Do
deposited the entrails of the dead.

recall the four
gods of the Hindoo mythology
the four cardinal points

east;
not these four
who
Bacabs
preside at
Indra, the king of heaven, to the
Kouvera, the god of wealth, to the north; Varouna,
the god of the waters, to the west; and
Yama,
the judge of the
Or the Four Mountains, Sse-yo, of the

? *
"
quarters
four
of the globe," as they are wont
the
dead, to the south
Chinese
to
designate their country
Tal- Tseng being the yo of the
Hou-Kowang, that
East; Sigcm-fou, that of the west;
south; and Clien-si, that of the north?'
of the
Or, again, the four
Landa, Las Gosas de Yucatan, p. 206, et passim.

Bac means, in the Maya language, "to pour water from a narrowmouthed vase." Pio Perez, Maya dictionary. Plate xxxiii.
'
'
CogoUudo, Historiade
Manava-Bharma-Sastra,
Cliou-King, chap.
i.
Yucathaii, lib. iv., cap.

lib. 1,
Mayas,
that
is,
Amon, have spread
Thotmes
III.,
Edit., 1688.
recall the
the four cardinal points of the
of the Hindoos, of the Chaldeans,
Stela of Victory of
197.
These four mountains
Yoa-tien,âxt\.
four pillars that support heaven
viii., p.
Sloka 87.
On
and of the Egyptians.
in the Bulaq
Museum,
it is
written
the fear of thee to the four pillars of Heaven."
Do
"I,
not
the bags of ôlus, that contain the winds in Grecian mythology, recall the
four bottles, or jars, of the
Bacabs?
Page
86.
Plale
XXXIII.
SPHINX.
87
among the
Chaldeans,^ whose names were Sed-Alap or Kiruh, who was
represented as a bull with a human face; Lamas or Nirgal,
as a lion with a man's head; Ustur, after the human likeness;
protecting
principal
human
the
genii of
race
and
JSfattig,
These
creatures
by the
with the head of an eagle ?
were
last
said
by
Ezekiel to be the four symbolical
which supported the throne of Jehovah
in his visions
river Chebar.'
In this connection also

of Amenti, Amset, Hapi,
by the Egyptians
may
be mentioned the four genii
Tesautmutf, and Qdbhsenvf, said
to be present before Osiris while presiding
in judgment; protecting,
by
their influence, every soul that
entered the realms of the West.
It
was
to these genii that a
portion of the intestines, taken from the body of the deceased,
was dedicated, and placed in the vase, or canoj), which bore

respective heads, as
we have already
by the Egyptians
to these vases
must be admitted that

In
Mayach,
it
is
If the
seen.
not of
their
name given
Maya
origin, it
a most remarkable coincidence.
is
the brains, the charred viscera, and other
noble parts, preserved in red oxide of mercury,^ were deposited

in stone urns,
which were placed with the statues of the
deceased, in superb mausolei, where they are found in our

day.*
Landa' and
Mayas made
several other chroniclers tell us that the
statues of stone, Avood, or clay, according to the
wealth of the individual, in the likeness of the deceased, and,

after cremating the remains, put the ashes in the head of said
statues, which, for the purpose,
"
"
had been made hollow.
F. Lenormant, Chaldean Magic and Sorcery, p. 121.

Ezekiel, chap, i., verse 10; chap, x., verse 14.
See Appendix, note
'
See farther on Prince
''
Landa, Las Cosaa de Yucatan,
ix.
Coh's Mausoleum
xxxiii.,
(Plate Ivii.)
p. 193.
88
In Egypt, likewise, they sculptured on the

or fastened on
remains
it
lid of
the
coffin,
a cast of the features of the person whose
it,
contained.
After clearing from the altar the debris of the roof of the
portico, that in falling
buried
it
that
it
had not only
injured, but so completely
had escaped the notice of John
and others who had
visited the spot before us,
L. Stephens
we
found that
the atlantes and the bas-reliefs that adorned the upper side and
The
the edges of the table had been brilliantly colored.
Maya
ments used by the
artists
when they were
laid
which they were
dis-
that the colors were actually as bright as
on; and the vehicle

solved
or menstruum
in
had deeply penetrated the stone without injuring the
surface.
that
pig-
were of such lasting nature
Here was the confirmation
we had
of a very interesting fact
that
already discovered
the
Mayas,
Mice the
Hindoos,' the Chaldees,^ the Egyptians,^ and the Greeks,
col-
ored their sculptures and statues, and provided them Avith eyes
and
nails
made
of shell.
coincidence, or shall
we
one nation to another;

people
who
introduced
Shall
regard
or,
it
it
be said that this
is
a mere
as a custom transmitted
again, taught to the rest
among them
tlie
from
by the
sculptor's art?
Bishop Heber in his Narrative of a Journey throti^h the Upper Provinces

vol. ii., pp. 430, 525, 530
vol. iii., pp. 48-49.
of India, vol. i., p. 386
' Henry Layard, Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii., part
ii., chap. iii.
;
'
Eusebius, Prmp.
note X.
et
Demons. Evang.,
lib. iii.,
chap.
xi.
See Appendix,
IX.
The
state of perfect preservation of the colors again reveals
to us several most interesting facts, that
many
of their evidence to the
come to add the weight
we have
other proofs
adduced, to show that, in remote ages, the
Mayas
already
entertained
intimate relations with the other civilized nations of

Africa, and Europe.
From
we
these
Asia,
learn that, for instance,
yellow was the distinctive color of the royal family, as red was
that of nobility; and that blue was used in
Mayach,
Egypt and Chaldea,^ at funerals, in token of mourning,

stiU is in Bokhara and other Asiatic countries.
^
" But
in that
as in
as
it
deep blue, melancholy dress
Bokhara's maidens wear in mindfulness
Of friends and kindred, dead or
Had
the
Maya sages,
'
Sir
et
''
'
away."
is
well
known
vol.
passim.
Henry Layard, Nineveh and Babylon,
Thomas Moore,
and the ancient philosophers in Chal-
dea and Egypt, found out what
443,
far
Lalla Rookh, p. 74.
pp. 375-557.
to those Avho,
iii.,
chap,
xvi., p.
QUEEN m60 AND TEE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
90
have made a study of the
in our day,
produced by colors
effect
on the nervous system of man and animals

sadness and melancholy?
of heaven,
was typical of
happiness
it
Blue,
that
blue induces
from the color of the vault
holiness, sanctity, chastity,
was then worn
in
Mayach,
Egjrpt,
during the period of mourning, in token of the

soul, free
earthly
from the trammels
life,
was enjoying
believed that
aR things
of matter
in realms
hence of
and Chaldea
felicity the
and the probations
of
They
beyond the grave.
existed forever; that to cease to be
on
the earth was only to assume another form somewhere else in
the
the universe, where dwelt the spirits of the justified
rna-
xeru of the Egyptians, that, translated in Maya, xma-xelel,
means " without tears," " whole."
Landa
tells
us that, to the
time of the Spanish conquest, the bodies of the individuals Avho

offered themselves, or were offered, as propitiatory victims to
Divinity, as well as the altars on which they were

lated,
were painted
blue,
and held holy.^
immo-
"We have seen these
victims, painted blue, represented in the ancient fresco paint-
The image
ings.
all
Mehen,
of
the engendered, that ancestor of
beings, seated in the cosmic egg, Avas painted blue; so
was
the effigy of the god Kiieph,^ the Creator, in Egypt; and the
gods, the boats, the shrines, carried in the funeral processions,
were likewise painted
blue.'
In Hindostan, the god Vishnu,
seated on the mighty seven-headed serpent Oaisha, the
cliapat of the Mayas,

and heavenly nature.
is
Ah-ac-
painted blue, to signify his exalted
The plumes worn on the heads
of the
Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan, chap, xxviii., p. 166.

Y llegado el dia, juntavaiise en el patio del templo, y si avia de ser
sacrifioado ii saetadas, desnudavanle en cueros y untavan el cuerpo de
'
"
azul," etc.
^
Eusebius, Prmp.
Sir
et
Demons. Mvang.,
lib. iii.,
chap,
vol.
xi., p.
315.
ii., c. xiii.,
p. 400.
QVSEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

kings and queens of the
Mayas,
for the
blue, the king being the vicegerent

earth.'
The ceremonial mantle
91
same reason, were
and vicar
of
of the highpriest
Deity on
was made
of blue and yellow feathers, to indicate that in his office he
partook both of the divine and the kingly.
In another work I have treated at length of the meaning
which the
Mayas
The
attached to colors.
limits of this
book
do not alloAv for lengthy explanations on this subject; but a
few words must be

have been held by
tive of royalty
said about yellow
all civilized
and nobility of
and
red, colors
which
nations of antiquity as distincrace.
The unearthing of the altar at the entrance of Prince Coil's

funeral chamber has revealed the fact that among the Mayas
yellow was the distinctive color of the royal family.
It is well known that throughout China the emperor and
his family are the only persons allowed to
ments.
Red
is
wear yellow gar-
the other color set apart for the particular use
of the imperial familj^^
Sandwich Islands
especially,
yellow was likewise the distinctive color of royalty.
The king
In the islands of the
Pacific, the
alone had the right to wear a cloak
made
of yellow feathers.'
" The cloaks of the other chiefs were adorned with red and
3'ellow
nate
rhomboidal
lines,
figures, intermingled or disposed in alter-
with sometimes a section of dark purple or glossy
black."
In Thibet, the dress of the lamas consists of a long yellow

robe, fastened
by a red
girdle,
and a yellow cap surmounted by
Is this the reason why the Egyptians also placed feathers alike on the
heads of their gods and their kings ?
''Memoir of Father Ripa, p. 71.
"Thirteen Years' Residence at the
Court of Pekin." Marco Polo Travels, by flugh Murray, in 1250, p. 74.
'
'
AVilliam Ellis, Polynesian Researches, vol.
iv.,
chap,
vi., p.
119.
92
The king
a red rosette.'
when he
of the lamas, the Guison-Tamha,
travels, is carried in
a yellow palanquin.^
In India, yellow and red are colors used in the worship of
Yellow is
the gods.
"Widows
wives.
set apart for
who immolate
Vishnu and Krishna and their
themselves on the funeral pyre
of their husbands, in the Suttee ceremony, have their bodies
painted yellow with an infusion of sandalwood and saffron.'
Yellow
is
likewise the color of the dress of the bonzes in Laos,
Indo-China; and the priests officiating at the funerals of
Siamese kings wear yellow robes.
Among
Christians, even, yellow
the Pontiff, whose seat

is
white and yellow.^
is
authority on
all
is
the distinctive color of
in the Solar City.
is
The papal banner
Several learned writers, whose opinion
matters pertaining to customs and manners
of the ancient civilized inhabitants of Asia
and Africa,
in try-
ing to account for the selection of yellow as distinctive color

for the kings, pontiffs,
and
priests officiating at funerals
of
kings, have suggested that, as the emperors of China, like the
kings in India, Chaldea, Egypt, and other countries, styled

themselves "Children of the Sun,"
it
they should select for color of their

their father the Sun,
and to make
it
was but natural that
own garments
the
mark
that of
of their exalted
rank, and the privilege of their family.

'
vol.
M. Hue,
i.,
chap,
Recollections of
p. 33.
a Journey through Tartary,
Thibet,
and China,
i.,
Ibid., chap, iv., p. 89.
Abb6 Dubois,
Description of the Manners of the People of India, pp.
340-243.
*
Cartaud de
Paris, 1753), says
la Villate,
:
"The
Critical
Thoughts
on
Matliematics
(vol.
i.,
Cardinal Dailly and Albert the Great, Bishop of
Ratisbonne, distribute the planets
among
the religions.
To the
Christians
the reason wliy they hold the Sun in great

veneration, and wliy the city of Rome is styled the Solar City, and the car-
they assign the Sun.
This
is
dinals wear dress of a red color, this bein" that of the Sun."
QUEEN
3100
AND THE EGYPTIAN
SPHINX.
93
The selection of that color may, however, have an esoteric

and more scientific origin; one pertaining to the ancient sacred
mysteries, known only to the initiates who had been admitted
to the higher degrees.
remember that the kings
It is well to
of
Mayach,
also,
styled themselves " Children of the Sun," as did the emperors

of
Mexico and the Yncas of Peru.
We have seen that Kan

the powerful genius to
was the name
whom
of the first Bacab,'
the Creator had entrusted, from
the beginning, the keeping of the pillar that supported the sky
on the south, the

hence
tion
Kan,
fiery region
whence comes the greatest heat
for yellow, the color of
from the sun. Kin,
God, without
whom
fire,
that direct emana-
the vivifying, the
nothing
could
that God who
would perish on earth
life sustainer,
exist,
is,
the
and everything
therefore, the visible
image of the Creator.
Kan
is
but a variation of caan, "heaven," "that which
is
above," caanal, and also of can, "serpent," which was
the emblem of the
But
Can
is
Maya
Empire.
also the numerical
"Four," the
most solemn and binding oath of the
tetraktis,
initiates into
that
the mys-
The number four, according to Pythagoras, who had

learned from the Egyptians the meaning of numbers, represents the mystic name of the creative power.
Can, again, is
teries.
a copulative particle that, united to verbs, indicates that the

action
is
verified frequently
name Kancab
from the bottom

phized in
and with
violence.^
of the deep
by
volcanic
fires,
'
Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan. Uhi supra,

Pedro Beltrau, Arte del IdUma Maya.
upheaved
anthropomor-
Honien.
''
Hence the
for yellow or red clay, the dry land,
p. 86.
94
SPHINX.
According to Nahuatl cosmogony, " when Omeyocax, the
who dwelt in himself, thought that the time had

come when aU things should be created, he arose, and from
Creator,
one of his hands, resplendent with
he darted four
light,
arrows, which struck and put in motioa. four molecules, origin
four elements that floated in space. These molecules,

on being hit by the divine arrows, became animated. Heat,
which determined movement in matter, was developed in
of the
Then appeared the
them.
brought
life
What
first
rays of the rising sun, which
and joy throughout nature."
conclusions are
we
to derive
from the
Egyptians, the Greeks, the Nahuatls,^ and the
fact that the
Mayas
assigned
the number Four to the creative power ? That the Chinese, other
Asiatic,
and Polynesian nations adopted,
like the
Mayas,
a distinctive badge for their kings and their religious

vicars of the Deity on earth, the yellow color,
Maya
the
Kan,
language,
is
as
chiefs,
whose name
in
but a variant of that of the
numerical Four, or that of heaven, or that of the serpent,
emblem
of the Creator in Egypt, Chaldea, China, as in
May-
acli ? In China, Long or Tl-IIoang, the Tse-yuen, the " engen-
dered,"
who had
arranger of
Chaldees,^
all
the body of a serpent,
and
things;
was represented
connection the following
" There are no means of
Iloa,
the
as a serpent.
is
"god of life,"
I may quote
Lord Kingsborough,
determining the precise mean-
nava-Dluirma-Sastra,
'
The
among
'
lib.
Were
Bcrosus, Fragments,
pei'haps allow-
1.
iu the
in
Ma-
Slokas 5-7.
i.,
origin of the Naliuatls
Americanists.
it is
ii., copy of a
Mexicau luaimscript
Compare with the recital of Creation
vol.
Vatican library, No. 3738.
of the
in this
remarks from Canon Eawlinson:
strictly
ing of the word (Hoa) in Bab^'^lonian, but

'
the protector and
tliey
^ 3.
is
unknown, and a matter of discussion
Ilnns
Ilelludius,
1.
s.
c.
QUEEN MOO and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

able to connect
is
at once
'
it
life
'
95
provisionally with the Arabic Hiya,
and
'
serpent,
'
which
according to the best
since,
authority, there are strong grounds for connecting
Hea or Hoa
with the serpent of the Scripture, and the paradisiacal traditions of the tree of
Will
ator
is
it
knowledge and the
tree of life."
'
be argued that this widespread symbol of the Cre-
but a natural consequence of the working of various
same subject and reach-
cultivated minds, pondering over this
ing identical conclusions
We must not lose
before answering this question
Mayach alone
the
name
sight of the fact,
of the serpent
can, and the numer-
ous meanings of the word, form a pandect.
Mayas, having
probable, that the
that in
in the. affirmative,
Is it not, then,
conceived the idea from the
geographical outlines of their country, which figures a serpent
with inflated breast, spread the notion among the other nations
with which they had intimate relation, in whose territories
they established colonies ?
There
is
much
color as symbol,
all civilized
to be said, that
and
its
use as
mark
is
interesting,
among
nations of antiquity, in Asia, Polynesia, Africa,
and America.
The
subject seems directly connected
object of our present investigations, since

Piazzi
on the red
of nobility of race
we
mth
are told
the
by Mr.
Smyth, the well-known Egyptologist, that the great
Egjrptian Sphinx
was
originally painted red.
Judging from
the royal standards represented in fresco paintings in Prince
Coil's Memorial Hall; from the tint prevalent on the facades

of the palaces of the
Mayas, and
that of the floors in castles
Such is the knowledge of the majority of the great scholars whose

works are accepted as authority on liistorical questions. In this case Canon
'
Rawlinson, in his biased ignorance, has been teaching a greater truth than
But let it be said to his credit he has not done it on purhe imagined.
pose, for he did not dream of it.
QUEEN m60 AND TEE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
96
and temples, red was the

It
riors.
was
who
Egyptians,
distinctive color of nobles
in early times the
and war-
symbol of nobility among the

a name
styled themselves Eot-en-ne-Rome,
having the same meaning as
Tear
or oara in the language of the
Caras of the West Indies and northern coast of South Amer-
and that of those Carians, once the terror of the inhabit-
ica,
and who
ants of the littoral of the Mediterranean,

established themselves
that
is,
of
Ya.e\i
par
on the western coast
Was it
men
"brave men."
of
excellence,
finally
of Asia Minor;
because their ancestors came from the country of the red

in the
West, that in their paintings they invariably painted
their skin a reddish brown, as did the
among
antiquity to our day,
red has been and
by
is
all
Mayas ? From
remote
nations civilized or savage,
typical of courage, war, contention ; and,
contrast, of prayer
and supplication.
That the red color in the "Lands of the West" was the
distinctive
doubt.
quest
mark
AU
tell
warriors and of power, there can be no
of
the chroniclers of the time of the Spanish con-
us that where the hosts of natives opposed the
invaders and confronted them in battle array, their faces and
To
when on
day the North American
bodies were painted red.^
this
Indians, particularly
the warpath, daub their faces
and bodies with red
paint.
Plinius ^ speaks of Camillus painting his face
before entering
Rome, on returning
sion of the Gauls
mand.
It
was customary
for
Cogolludo, Hist, de Tucathan,
Roman
lib.
p. 77, et passim.
'
Pliuius, llistoria Nat., .xxxiii. 7.
i.,
red,
victorious after the expul-
from Italy by the troops under
bodies red in token of their bravery.

'
and bodj'
chap,
his
com-
soldiers to paint their
The same author

ii.,
p. 6
lib. ii.,
also
chap. vL,

says that one of the
their duties
was
SPHINX.
97
the censors on entering upon
first acts of
minium, such
to paint the face of Jupiter Avith
being the practice on every high festival day.
In Egypt, the god Set, the enemy of Horus, Avas styled " the
He was
very valiant."
shipped as the evil principle of
Nvhti, a word for which the
Maya
etymon: nup, "adversary;"
god
At Ombos he was wornature, under the name of
painted red.
ti,
affords this very natural
"for."
He
Avas the chief
of the Avarlike Khati.
The
possession of land and wealth has always been the
privilege of the strongest
and the most daring
of the Avarriors,
who, Avrongly or rightly, possessed themselves of the property

of the conquered,
and appropriated
it
to their
own
use.
In
the distribution of spoils, the chiefs never failed to set apart

for themselves the largest share.
elective.
ical
They
Avere chosen
At
first,
strength and their proAvess in battle.
Avealth,
they paid
men
these chiefs were
on account of their superior phys-
Having acquired
to fight under their leadership.
insure their poAver and authority, even over their

ers,
own
To
folloAv-
they contracted alliances with other leaders, so that they
might help each other

a privileged
class,
in case of necessity.
Thus they formed
the Nobility, that by and by claimed to be
They
justified that
claim by close obedience to the laAv of selection.
Eed, color
of the blood shed on the battle-field,
distinctive
of a nature superior to that of other men.
color of "nobility of race," of
"man par
became the
"brave and valiant man," of
excellence
''^
therefore,
emblematic
of
poAver,
strength, dominion.
All historians say that red in Egypt Avas the SATubol of nobility of race.
Landa says
>
'
it
was customary
Avith the aborigines
Landa, Las Gosas de Yucatan, pp. 117-185.
98
and female, to adorn themselves with
of Yucatan, both male
According to
red paint.
Africa,
who have
so
those of the ancient

teeth like a
saw
Du
many
ChaiUu,' the Fans of equatorial
customs strangely identical with
Mayas even
paint themselves
that of filing their front
red,
men and women.
Herodotus ^ asserts that the Maxyes (Mayas

dwelling to the westward of
Lake Triton,
?),
a people
in Libya,
daubed
themselves with vermilion.

Molina, in his vocabulary of the Mexican tongue, at the
word TlapilU,
explains that whilst
paint in red color,"
that Tlapilli
eztli
it
its
also signifies
primary meaning
is
"to
"noble," "ancient," and
implies, metaphorically, nobility of blood
and family.
Garcilasso de la Yega,^ Cieza de Leon,^ Acosta,^ and other
writers on Peruvian customs and manners, inform us that the
fringe and tassel of the Llantu, royal headdress of the Yncas,
were made of
fine
Mr. William
crimson wool.
Ellis asserts
that the Areois of Tahiti, in certhat "the
tain religious ceremonies, painted their faces red;
ceremony of inauguration, answering to coronation among

other nations, consisted in girding the king with the
or sacred girdle of red feathers, which identified
Maro Uru,
him with the
gods.'
The prophet Ezekiel mentions the figures

'
Du
104-107,
Chaillu, Explorations
et
of red
and Adventures in Equatorial Afriai, pp.
Herodotus,
'
Garcilasso de la Vega, Gomnuntarios Reales, part
Hist., lib. iv. 19.
Cieza de Leon, Cronica, cap. 114.
'
Acosta, Ilistoria de
i.,
lib.
cap. 28.
'
''
94,
jiasdm.
'
lib. vi.,
men pictured
William
Ellis,
Ibid., vol.
iii.,
las
Indias OcciJentales,
Polynesian Researches, vol.

chap,
iv., p. 85.
lib. iv.,
i..
cap. 12.
p. ISO.
i.,
cap. 22

on the walls of the
figures
99
human
Babylon, similar to the
edifices at
found on those of the tombs in Hindostan and Etruria.
In Egypt, the god Atum, emblem of the setting sun, was
The Egyptians regarded him
painted red.
all
Were we
things visible and invisible.
as the creator of
not told of
it
by
the writers on Egyptian manners and customs, we would learn

it
from the meaning of the name
Tum
literally,
"he
symbolical of power
of the
in the
new
Maya
things."
language
Ah-
Here again red
is
might.
According to Sir Gardner "Wilkinson,* Egyptologists are

not positive as to the manner in which the
the initial letters
interpreted
A and T should
name written with
be read.
It is
sometimes
The paintings in the tombs where he is

company with Athor, Thoth, and Ma,
truth,' show that he filled an important office in
T-Mu.
represented in a boat in
the goddess of
the regions of Amenti.

If -we accept
T-Mu
as the correct reading of the hiero-
glyphs that form his name, then that god must have been the
personification of that continent
which disappeared under the
waves of the ocean, mentioned by Plato and other Greek
The Mayas also called it Ti-Mu, the

Mu, a name that the Greeks knew equally well, as
writers as Atlantis.
country of
we
Do we find here the explanation of why

figured Atum in a boat, holding an office in the
will see later on.
the Egyptians
West, and painted him red, the color of the inhabitants of the
countries with which they were most familiar,
they kept the most perfect remembrance
The same motive may have

'
Sir
influenced the
Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and
and of which
Hindoo
Customs, vol.
iii.,
philoso-
chap,
xiii.,
p. 178.
'^
These names are
Maya words
these gods by the Egyptians.
expressive of the attributes imputed to
100
when they
phers
of letters
and
cate that
men
odes,^
painted with red Ocmesha, god of prudence,
By
science.
this
coming from Pdtala, the
of that color,
imported to India, with
letters, arts,
and
they perhaps wished to indiantip-
the knowledge of
civilization,
sciences.
In Polynesia, red
is
still
regarded by the natives of the
islands as a favorite color with the gods.
"WiUiam EUis says
"that the ordinary means of communicating or extending

supernatural powers was, and stiU
small bird found in
many of
is,
the red feather of a
the islands, and the beautiful long
feathers of the Tropic or man-of-war bird."
We are told
were
deified,
nies
of
when
kings, chiefs, and nobles died they
became the minor gods, watching over the
mankind, and the mediators between
Godhead.
The red
bolical of their
on earth.
in
that
This
color seems to have continued to be
new powers,
as
it
had been of
may possibly account
Mayacli, Polynesia, and
desti-
man and
the
sjva.-
their authority
for the custom, prevalent
India, of devotees stamping the
impression of their hands, dipped in red liquid, on the walls of

the temples, of the sacred caves, and other hallowed places,
when imploring some
benefaction from the Deity.
MahaVharata-Adipana, Slokas 7788, 7789 also Bliagwvata-Purana, ix.,

See Appendix, note xi.
' William Ellis, Polynesian Researches, vol. ii., chap, ix.,
p. 260.
Although there is much to be said in connection with this interesting
fact, wliich is one of the many vestiges of the 3Iayas' presence among the
Polynesians, I will simply remark, at present, that in Egypt the feather was
the distinctive adornment of the gods and kings, as in Mnyacli it was of
the kings, pontiffs, nobles, and warriors, differing in color according to
their rank and their more or less exalted position
as is yet in Cliina the
button and the peacock feather that the Maya name for feather is
Kukuin, the radical of which, Ku, is the word for the Supreme Intelligence; and that /i7m in Egyptian means "Intelligence," " Spirit," "Light,"
'
XX. 33.
" Manes."

This most ancient and universal
101
that the inferior
belief,
of eminent men and

that to say, the glorified
womenare mediators between the Divinity and earth's inhab-
gods
spirits
is
has survived to our day, and
itants,
human
lions of
is still
The Church
beings.
from the Greek philosophers, several

is
Rome
teaches this
Her Fathers and Doctors received
doctrine to her followers.
demon
of
prevalent with mil-
a mediator between
of
whom held
God and man. "
Many
it
that " each

festivals
have therefore been instituted by the Church in honor of the
who, the
saints,
faithful are taught to believe,
convey their
prayer to the Almighty.

True, these do not, as the devotees in some temples in India
still
stamp the red imprint of their hands on the
do,
walls,^ to
remind the god of their vow and prayer; but they fasten
votive offerings
made
of gold, silver, copper, or wax, accord-
ing to the worshipper's means, to the image and to the altar

of the saint invoked.
Such votive
made
offerings,
most abundantly round the
Mayas,
men.
well
is
known
that no two individuals have hands of
exactly the same size or shape

in
every person.
'
found scattered
or buried in the ground at the foot of the statues of
their great
It
of clay, are
altars in the temples of the ancient
that the lines in the palms differ
The red impress
Plato, Simpos, vol.
Alexandria, Stromata,
iii.,
of the hand, on that accoimt,
pp. 302-303 (edit. Serrain).
v., lib.
c,
p.
260
(edit. Potter), in
St.
Clement of
admitting that
demons were the angels, stated the opinion of many Christians of

and Dionysius Areopagite, in his Celestial Hierarchy, chap, x.,
"All the angels are interpreters and messengers of their supe 11, says
riors
the most advanced, of God who moves them, and the others as they
are moved by God."
' Account of General Grant's visit to the Maharajah
of Jeypoor, New
York Herald, edition of April 12, 1879.
the good
his time
QUMEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
102
came
As
mark of ownership.*
was used from time immemorial by the Mayas, in
to be regarded as a private seal, a
such
it
whose temples and palaces can yet be seen numerous red imSuch impressions
prints of hands of various shapes and sizes.
being met with in
aU.
places in Polynesia
Mayas
other vestiges of the
are found,
and
may
where
in India
serve as compass
to guide us in following their migrations over the vast expanse
and
of land
and to indicate the ancient roads of
sea,
In time the red
travel.
color, used in thus recording invocations to
the gods and registering the rights of ownership,
came
to be
accepted as legal color for seals in public and private docu-
The Egyptians made use
ments.
of a red mixture to
stamp
the imprint of their personal seals on the doors of tombs, of
and of granaries, to secure them.^
houses,
Eed
seals are
used by the Mongol kings on aU
docu-
important and legal documents has reached our times;
all
obtains
still
among
The foregoing
red color,
their
vow
facts tell us, it
among aU
or prayer
is
whom
'
nowhere
is
of
in recording
the benison of the gods on
its
being employed in seals
any mention made of the people am.ong
Henry R. Schoolcraft,
Sir
it
symbol
dominion over the objects thus
the custom originated, nor
"Ou
the
Incidents of JVavels in Yucatan, vol.

'
adoption of the
devotees using
when imploring
of ownership, hence of
sealed; but
true, of the
civilized nations of antiquity, as
themselves or their homes; also of
mark
it
all civilized nations.
nobility of race and of invocation
as
official
This custom of using materials of a red color to seal
ments.^
ii.,
why it came
Red Hand,"
p. 476,
to be the
apiid
3.
L.
symbol
Stephens,
Appendix.
vol.
iii.,
chap,
xvi.,
p. 437.
'
vol.
j\I.
i.,
Hue,
chap,
Recollections of
viii., p.
183.
a Journey through Tartary, Thibet, and China,
103
of acts so dissimilar as the assertion of power, might,
dominion, and the recording of a prayer and a supplication.

is
again from the
Mayas
that
we may
Chac
It
learn the cause of this
seeming antithesis; the various meanings of the single
word cliac
and
Maya
afford a complete explanation.
the
is
Maya
word
"red."
for
Cliaac
is
the
rain-storm, and the thunder, that powerful and terrible genius
that produces the rain which brings fertility to the earth.
This giant,
"the god
this
of plenty,"
honor the great
ment
Chac, was held
as the
"the keeper
festival, called
"god
of rain,"
of the fields," in
Tupp-Kak, "the
of fire," Avas celebrated in the
month
of
whose
extinguish-
Mac,^ when
the priests, assisted by the Cliacs, their aids, implored his

blessing in the shape of abundant rains,
to bring forth the
crops and produce plenteous harvests, hence joy and happiness

to the people.
Here, then,
we
find the reason
why
the color red was at
the same time the symbol for violence and for supplication
or prayer.
of rain,
It typified the violence of the thunder, the
and the supplications of
his priests
god
that he should
grant a bountiful harvest that would insure happiness to his

worshippers.
The
'
cross
was
his
emblem.^
Landa, Las Oosas de Yucatan,
xl., p. 252.
This mouth of Mac began on the 13th of our month of March, and
ended on the 2d of April.
'
Mysteries, etc., p. 128, et passim.
X.
The following invocation to the god of rain was made

known for the first time to students of American antiquities
by the learned Abbe Brasseur in his Chrestomathy.' He tells
us he had it from a native, while at the hacienda of X-Canchakaii. It is one of the many ancient prayers yet extant
among the natives, who still repeat them when, in the obscure
recesses of the forests, or in the depths of the dark, mj^ste-
rious subterranean caves with Avhich the country
combed, they perform some of the antique
rites of
honey-
is
the rehgioa
of their forefathers.^
As
published, the invocation, adultei-ated
tion of Christian
The individual who
form, loses
translated
it
for the
much
AbbO
illiterate.
it
is
all
it
the words, or
stripped of
its
most
Brasseur, " Chrestomatbie," iu his Elements dc la Langue itaya,
Troano MS.,
'
As presented
of its interest.
Abbe, either did
very carelessly, or purposely did not interpret
'
interpola-
words taught the natives by the Catholic
priests, despoiled of its archaic
was very
by the
vol.
ii.,
p. 101.
Alice D. Le Plougeou, Here and There in Yucatan, pp. SS-S9.
QUEEN m60 and TEE EGYPTIAN

which
instructive features,
among
in use
SPHINX.
relate to certain religious practices
Although the learned
devotees in olden times.
says he has tried to improve the translation,
Abbe
that he himself
ing of the
is
far
Maya
Mayas and
^
certain
it is
from having apprehended the true mean-
words.
As
books poses as authority on
others
105
their language,
for Dr. Brinton
who
in his
matters pertaining to the
all
and
is
very prone to
criticise
by rendering verbatim, in English, the French
version,^
abbe's
he has conclusively demonstrated that he does not
understand the context of the prayer better than Brasseur,

who, he affirms, " knew next to nothing about Maya." ^
On
Soils
of
our return to Yucatan in June, 1880, Sefior Dn. Vicente
de Leon, one of the present owners of the hacienda
X-Canchakan,
within the boundaries of which are
ated the ruins of the ancient
Le Plongeon and myself
citj''
of
Mayapan,
situ-
invited Mrs.
to visit the remains of the
famous
abodes of the powerful king Coconi, and of his descendants

until the year 1446 of the Christian era, Avhen, according to
Landa, the lords and nobles of the country, with the chief of
Tutuxius
the
Cocom
his city
and
at their head, put to death the then reigning
his sons, sacked his palace,
and stronghold,
after
and destroyed by
removing the
libraries
fire
and other
precious things from the temples and private dwellings.*
Being at X-Cancliakau,
an old Mayoral who had
met a
lived for
native,
Marcelo Canicli,
more than forty years on the
Dr. Brinton presumes to criticise, witliout adducing his reasons for so

doing, tlie assertion made by the author that the ancient
architects
'
Maya
made
use, in the construction of tlieir edifices, of a lineal
measure identical
unfounded criticism, see Appendix,
with the metre. For an answer to this

notes xii. and xiv.
'
D. G. Brinton, Essays of an Americanist, p. 167.
' Ibid.,
For a reply to this assertion, see Appendix, note xv.
p. 361.
*
Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan, chap, viii., p. 50.
106
He had
hacienda.
and
his
SPHINX.,
a clear remembrance of John L. Stephens
He
companions Messrs. Catherwood and Cabot.
remembered well Abbe Brasseur,

invocation to the god of rain.
to whom
When he
also
he had recited the

repeated
it
to nie,
notwithstanding the admixture of Christian ideas, I saw in

not only one of those archaic prayers that continue to
the
memory
of the natives, but that
it
it
live in
contained most interest-
ing information, and the explanation of certain ceremonies

that the ancient sculptors have so graphically portrayed in
their bas-reliefs.
Some months
Uxmal,
later
we
again established our residence in
that ancient metropolis of the
there, the
head
man
Pacab.
who accompanied me was

He was a lineal descendant of
Muna.
His commands, given in a
were instantly obeyed by the men.
voice,
was fond
Spanish,
He
He
cruelly suffered at the hands of the white man.

died, so highly respected
for
low
was he by
his
himself had
StUl,
when he
townfolk, that they
remains with as grand a funeral as had taken place
his
many
soft
understood
of reading, but hated to speali the tongue of
the destroyers and persecutors of his race.
honored
"While
of the laborers
the late Dn. Lorenzo
the kings of
Tutul-Xius.
years in
Mima
the principal inhabitants, white as
well as native, accompanying his body, reverentially, to
its last
abode.
I
do not remember having ever seen him laugh.
Some-
when
allusion
times a sad, bitter smile Avould
was made
color of
pla}'
upon
to the history of his people.
my
skin, a great friendshij)
true, sincere attachment.
He was
his lips,
Notwithstanding the
sprang up between us
well informed concerning
the traditions, antique lore, customs, and religious rites of his

ancestors.
I could
seldom induce him to speak on that subject,

to
him
SPHINX.
so replete with painful, cruel memories.
I pointed out to
manners
him the strange
of ancient
Mayas
107
Only when
similarity of the customs
and
and those of ancient Egyptians,
Chaldees, and other historical nations of antiquity, would he
me
relax from his habitual secrecy, and ask
my
mind, were like the
lifting of
questions that, to
a veil hung over a bright
panorama.
When
showed him the invocation
as given to
me by
Canicli, he smiled, and passed his pencil, without speaking,

over the words referring to Christian ideas. ^
Invocation to the God of Rain.
Tippen lakin yum6 ti A

cant6
tzil
caan,
ti ti
tzil Ilium, cti lublil

ti
cancan
cante
in than
xotllol, ti
u Icab
yumbil.
When
the
the master rises in
the
East,
four parts of
heaven, the four corners of the

earth,
are shattered, and
broken accents
fall in
my
the hands
of the Lord.
likil
muyal
lakin, ti
nacahbal cliumuc
When
the cloud rises in the
cdnil East, and ascends to the centre

Alitepal, ti oxlaliun taz where sits the Orderer of the
niuyal,
chac
ti
Alitzolan,
paatalibal
Kan
yum
thirteen banks of clouds,
King
Alitzolan, the "tearer," the

tzibol ul-Iaahbalob Alitzo- "yellow thunder," Avhere the
;
ii
Kancheob ti cilicli
oami balche, yetel u cilich
lan,
lords
who
tear await the
ing of Alitzolan,
com-
then the
yacunali ti yumtzilob, Ah- keeper of the troughs wherein

canan colob ntial ii cllaob is fermenting the precious
'
tlie Maya text

Maya students
present here, side by side,
lation.
accuracy.
Dictionary in hand,
and my own Englisli

will
trans-
be able to verify
its
108
ti
cilich oabilah, tu cilich balche,
noh yumbil.
lord's
of
full
love
the
for
"guardians of
tearers,
the crops," presents the holy
may
offerings that they
them
place
in the presence of the
whom
Most High,
they rever-
ence as a father.
Cin kubic li zuhuy chiiI also offer the virgin bird

cliil yetel in cilich yacu- with my holy love.
Thou
nahil; tech bin yanac a wilt look at me when I cut my
pactic, en ti u xothol ma- privities, I who beg thy blesscin katoltic ings with
ali kintzil;
si
putic ^ cicithan tu uolol
for thee,
my
heart full of love
and ask thee to accept
cil- my precious offerings and place

Zuhuy them in the hands of the Most
bay-tumen pay- High.
a puczikal ca kubic a
ich yacunah a chic
oabilah
ben utial kubic

Yumbil.
The mutilation
ti ti
Kab
by
of the devotee
his
own
hand, and his
prayer that the gods should look upon him whilst he performs
the operation, recall vividly the practices in use
among
Phoenicians and the Phrygians during the orgiastic

their
the
and
worship of the goddess Amraa (Agdistis), the "great
mother of the gods," Maia, when
J'ôung
make themselves eunuchs with a sharp

same time, " Take
this, Agdistis.''''
'
shell,
men were wont
women,
tells
us that
men and
number of several myriads, beat themselves

The
what god, it would be impiety to say.
to the
honor of
to
crying out at the
Herodotus^
at the feast of Isis, at Busiris, "after the sacrifices,
in
rites,
' Max Duncker,

History of Antiquity,
'Herodotus, History, lib. ii,, l.\i.
vol.
i.,
p. 531.
'
Page
Plate
109.
?i3
IS'
msz
-'î
;'^]^'^:^'"\r:ig
XXXIV.
:-iiii)lgii

Carians established in Egypt do
still
more.
They
109
stab them-
selves on the forehead with knives."
Landa^ informs us that "the men

ings of their
on
their
own
own
in
Yucatan made
offer-
blood, and inflicted the most cruel treatment
persons, to propitiate the gods and beseech their
These sanguinary a^ts of piety that formed part of the
favor.
the Nahuatls, when introduced by

them among the Mayas, were looked upon by the latter with
great abhorrence, as acts unworthy of intelligent beings, for-
religious observances of
eign to the religion of their fathers, and distasteful to the
"We
gods.
may here
record another singular coincidence.
The
worshippers of Siva, the Hindoo god of destruction, and those

of his wife, the cruel goddess Kali, are
selves to
do homage to these
wont
divinities
to torture
them-
by drawing a rope
through their pierced tongue,^ as we see in the sculpture from
Manche, now
in the British
The invocation
to the
Museum.
god
(Plate
XXIX.)
of rain affords, also,
an expla-
nation of the subjects represented on the tablets of the altars

in the temples of
Naclian
(Palenque), a city which seems to
have been sacred to the god of

the Southern Cross.
rain,
symbolized by an image of
This special worship would seem to indi-
cate that the inhabitants of that country were agriculturists.
The
analysis
of
the tablet
strengthens this presumption.
represented in the
(Plate
knowledge of the symbolism
Maya
illustration
XXXIV.)
in vogue
among
ancient
adepts, together with the text of the invocation, gives
us a clear understanding of the meaning of the sculptures on
the said tablet.

'
'
Landa, Las Cosas ie Yucatan, pp. 160-163.

William Ward, A View of the History, Literature, and Religion of
Hindoos, pp. 282-384.
the
110
There can be no question as to the central figure represent-
known as
the month
ing a cross, image of the constellation
When
Cross.
at the beginning of
the Southern
May
of
this
appears perpendicular over the horizon, the husbandman knows

that the rainy season
sow the seed
is
He
near at hand.
for the next crop.
in all countries, the cross has
This
is
then prepares to
why,
the
Tj
chest of all
^'^'^j
in
aU times and
been regarded as harbinger of
the regeneration of nature, and the sign of the
why
in
come; and
life to
Egypt, was placed in the hands or on the
mummies.
This symbol, so
common
in the sculptures
Palenque, sacred to the gods of rain,
and temples of
of very rare occur-
is
rence in those of Yucatan, whose inhabitants were navigators,
hence worshippers of the mastodon, god of the
image adorns
The
" This
their palaces, sacred
Maya
is
meaning
for Avater; "
and public
name
of Ti-lia-u,
sea,
whose
buildings.
of the sign
and the main ornament,
T,
^^^^^)
is,
on
the headdress of the priest standing on the right, or east, side

of the cross,
divinity to
the well-known symbol of water,
is
whom
emblem
of the
he ministers.
On each side of
man on the right,
the cross stands a

that of a
human
woman on
figure
the
left.
that of a
They are
emblematic of the dual forces of nature.
As
in the tableau represented in plates vii.
Codex Cortesianus, herein reproduced
and
viii.
of the
(Plates LV.-LVI.), the
Cab, the " world," the "ancestor," is pictured

facing the east, holding in his hand the sign of life, Ik three
male
principle.
times repeated, so in the Palenque tablet the male, he

fecundates,
is
placed to the right (that
is,
the east), whence the
" Lord," life-giver and sustainer, the Sun,

to animate
and give strength
who
rises
to all nature.
every morning
QUHEN m60 and tee EGYPTIAN SPHINX.
Ill
As again in the tableau of the Cortesianus, the female principle, Ik mamacali, the " life nuUifier," " she who causes life
to disappear,"
is
placed to the
the female, the generator,
is
left,
so in the Palenque tablet
likewise placed to the left (that
is,
the west), where every evening the sun disappears, leaving
behind him darkness, in which generation takes place.
The
badge on her arm, a circle with its perpendicular and horizontal

diameters intersecting each other, image of the mundane cross,
is
the symbol of the impregnated virgin
hence of the
life to
womb
come; while her headdress
is
of
nature,'
adorned with
emblem of the life that has come.

Both are making offerings to their god: the priest presents
a young bird; the priestess, a full-grown plant with its roots,
leaves,
We
trunk, leaves, flowers, and fruit.
are told that they are
the cliacs, keepers of the troughs in which the sacred

is
balch6
fermenting.'
It is well to recall here
various authors
who wrote
what Father CogoUudo,^ quoting

regarding the Conquest and the
customs and religion of the natives, says respecting the cross
god of rain:
" Gomara, speaking of the religion of the people of the
as symbol of the
island of Cozumel, says
'
Near by there was a tem-
ple that looked like a square tower, in which they kept a very
'
See Appendix, note
xiii.
was a fermented liquor made of honey and the bark of

the balchg tree steeped in water. It was used to make libations in the
sacrifices to tlie gods, and in all religious rites
as the wine is used at the
mass in Catholic churches. Does not this sacred balchfi of the Mayas
bring to mind the soma of the Hindoos, made from the Asdepias acida and
from the Sarcostemma acidum; or the amrta, tlie divine beverage of the
Indian gods or the nectar that Homer tells us the beautiful HGb6 dispensed
to the gods of Olympus ?
^ CogoUudo, Hist, de Yucathan, lib. iv., cap. ix.,
pp. 200-202.
'
Tlie balcli<5
113
famous
At
idol.
the foot was an enclosure
made
a stone cross ten palms high, which they regarded
this existed
and worshipped
as the
god of rain ; because when
and the water was
they went to
scarce,
They made
and with great devotion.
had been
certain that rain
fall.
"
'
of the cross, they regarded this as the
certain that they
would never be
devoutly asked
it
of the cross."
Pontifical
6,
chap. 23,
(lib.
8),
in
god of rain, and
felt
want
of rain whilst they

" Dr. Yllescas, in his
...
they had a god,
also says that
which they regarded as the god of
Without a knowledge of the

symbolism of the
Maya
impossible to understand
is
which they held it

" Torquemada says,
Balam showed them the symbol
that after the Indian Chilam
in the shape of a cross,
did not
wrath against them
this small bird; after
would soon
it
in procession
it
offerings of quails that
sacrificed, in order to allay its
with the blood of
rain.''"'
and
In the middle of
mortar, highly finished with battlements.
rain,
of stone
Maya
occultists,
why
language and of the
it
would be well-nigh
a quail, a bird, in
figured perched on the top of the cross;
full
why
plumage,
the cross
is
planted on a skull;
why
devotees offered sacrifices of birds to
the god of rain.
The
explanation, however,
The
is
most
simple.
bird on the top of the cross typifies the seed deposited in
the ground at the beginning of the rainy season, and placed in

the keeping of the god of rain, invoked as protector of the
fields.
also
Chiicli
is
the
Maya generic name for
" bird; " but
it
means "seed," and "to gather one by one grains that
have been
scattered"," as birds
do
in the fields,
owners of both the seed and the crops.
robbing the
What,
then,
more
natural than to offer their enemies in sacrifice to the god, to
the Yiiniil col, the lord of the crops?
This
is
why
they

made
113
offerings of birds, those destroyers of the crops, those
robbers of the seed, to the protector of the
fields.
The cross being planted on a skull simply indicates that

from death springs life; that the seed symbolized by the bird
on the top of the cross must
ground before coming again
first
to life in the shape of a plant.
It is well to notice that all the

text,
adorn the
become decomposed in the

ornaments
that, besides the
tablet, are either leaves, flowers, or
some other
parts of the living plant, showing that the temple,
was
placed,
was dedicated
where
it
to the god, protector of agriculture.
XI.
Let us revert
at funerals
to our inquiry concerning the customs observed
by both
Mayas
We will
and Egyptians.
examine
one or two so remarkable that they cannot be honestly
attrib-
uted to mere coincidence.
"We have seen that in Mayacli, as in India, Chaldea,

Egjrpt,
and many other
held sacred;
its
countries, a certain kind of ape
worship being, no doubt, closely related to
But how came the cynocephalus
that of ancestors.
nected in Egypt with the rites of the dead
monkey
where
not a native of Egypt, but
is
it is
was
is
to be con-
This species of
of Central America,
very abundant.
Thoth, the god of wisdom and

preceptor of
Isis
and
Osiris.
letters,
He was
Amenti, where
was the reputed
supposed to hold the
his business
was
to note
office
of
down
the actions of the dead, and present or read the record of
them
to Osiris while sitting as judge of
scribe in
Thoth, in that
ca]3acity, is represented as
key, in a sitting posture.
He
is
the lower regions.
a cjaiocephalus mon-
thus frequently' portrayed
seated on the top of the balance in the judgment scenes, and

regarded as the second of the gods of the dead.
ach,
also,
Baao,
US
May-
In
the cynocephalus, was the attendant of the
" god of death," and always represented in a kneeling posture.
During our sojourn at

little
known
Uxmal we
surveyed a ruined edifice
On
to visitors, although quite extensive.
mit of the pyramid, forming the north
the sum-
a shrine com-
side, is
The
posed of two apartments, one smaller than the other.
smaller, the sanctum sanctorum, can only be reached by pass-
Opposite the doorway of the front
ing through the larger.
chamber, and at the head of the steep stairway leading to the

yard,
is
a round stone altar where, Landa
those stairs
The
sides
is
At
a large rectangular platform, one metre high.
Having been submitted
characters have
become well nigh
the slabs that had happened to

is
vic-
the foot of
were once composed of slabs covered with
tions beautifully sculptured in intaglio to

lasting.
human
tells us,
tims were immolated, as offerings to the deity.
make them more
to the action
of
On
obliterated.
fall face
inscrip-
fire,
the
several of
downward, the writing
well preserved.
The
of the
centre of the platform was occupied
Yum cimil,
"god of death,"
His attendants were
in a squatting posture.
kneeling as
if
by a huge
in prayer (Plate
statue
represented by a skeleton
six cynocephali,
XXIV.), placed on each
side of
him, one at each corner of the platform, one between these in

the middle of the east and west sides.
The god
of death faced
where
his kingdom was supposed to be situated.

In the present state of our knowledge it is difficult to
south,
why that species of ape came to be connected, in

Mayach, with the rites of the dead. We might, perhaps,
surmise
find
the
explanation
by
adorned the platform, at
translating
least
the inscriptions that
what remains
of them.
Is it a
'
116
Mayach,
cynocephali
were thus associated with the king of the dead ?
That such
mere coincidence that

was the
fact there
in Egypt, as in
But who can to-day
no doubt.
is
tell what
The cynocephalus is
circumstances concurred to originate it ?
a native of Ethiopia, not of Egypt.'
It
is
also indigenous of
Yucatan and other parts of Central America.

Images of cynocephali, always in the attitude of prayer,
are found in
many
Baao and Chuen,
(Honduras) and Guatemala.^
metamorphosis into
and which
is
regions, the
monkeys we read
kingdom
in
book
Mayach.
when King Caiichi and
word
is
for
now
We
form of a myth.
Deified
aU rulers were, the generations that

divine homage.
The meaning
" cynocephalus."
lost.
lived
his family
Their history has come to us, in the
them paid them
loAved
who
are the names of personages
of the Quiches, in the
after their death, as
May-
Yucatan and Oaxaca.^
Baao and Chuen
sacred
in
of darkness, were worshipped in
in times anterior to those
reigned over
whose
"
the
Popol-vuh, "
of
have taken place in Xibalba, the lower
said to
ach, particularly
Copan
places in Yucatan, as well as in
only find
it
Baao
of the
fol-
Maya
name Chuen
is
as that of the eighth
the
day of the
month.
Like the
Mayas/
the Egyptians regarded the
West
as the
region of darkness, the place where the souls of the dead
'
Plinius, Hist. Nat., viii. 54
'
Horapollo, Ilierogly.,
lib.
i.,
vii. 3.
14, 15.
In astronomical subjects two
cynocepliali are frequently represented standing in a boat in attitude of
prayer before the sun.

chap,
Popol-Vuh, part
Fray Qeronimo Roman,
ii.,
vii., et
cap. XV.
Codcv Cortcaianus; plate
passim.
liepublica de las Indias
viii.
Ocddentales,
lib.
ii.,
117
returned to the bosom of their ancestors in the realms of
There King Osiris
Amenti.
the waters
there, also, it
sat
on a throne in the midst of
was that Thoth performed
his office
"Was, then, the worship of the cynocephalus, his
of scribe.
totem, brought to Egypt from the Lands of the
West ?
Another funeral custom among the Egyptians, mentioned
by ChampoUion Figeac ^ and

of placing the right
arm
Sir
of the
Gardner Wilkinson,^ was that
mummies
of distinguished per-
sons across the chest, so that the right hand rested on the
We
shoulder.
We
acli.
explaining
May-
find that this same custom obtained in
shall refer to
the
it
sculptures
more
that
left
when
ornamented Prince Coh's
at length, later on,
mausoleum.
If
we examine
resented
by the
the ornaments
worn by the personages
rep-
atlantes, those portrayed in the bas-reliefs
on
the jambs of the doorway and on the antse that supported the
Coh's Memorial
entablature of the portico of Prince

likenesses, probably, of individuals
ture Avas erected,
who
Hall,
lived Avhen the struc-
who Avere, no doubt, friends and relatives

we find that said ornaments consisted
the deceased prince,
ear-rings, nose-rings, nose-studs, armlets,
garters, necklaces, breastplates,
immemorial
to our day, the
and
bracelets,
same kind
rings and
belonging to the Western Continent.
much
the prcAâlent
adornment among the
banks of the upper Amazon Eiver and

'
ChampoUion Figeac,
Sir
p. 486.
Nose
seem to have been ornaments essen-
tially
'
times
of jeAvelry has been
used in India, Chaldea, Asia Minor, Egypt, and Greece.

studs, however,
of
anklets,
From
finger-rings.
of
They
are
tribes living
its affluents,
still
as
on the
in the very
L^Vhivers, Egypte, p. 261.
Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and
Customs, vol.
ill.,
chap, xvi.,
118
heart of
the
southern American continent,' and with the
majority of the Mexican
Mayas
tribes,^
they were among the
as
even at the time of the Spanish Conquest.^
habitually
women of
worn by women
of all classes in India;
Mesopotamia,^ as they were by Jewish
He
time of Isaiah.
They are
by Arab
women
in the
threatened the daughters of Zion, on
account of their haughtiness, with the loss of their ornaments,
among which were their rings and other nose jewels.* So

far as we know, nose-rings and nose-studs were not in vogue
among the ancient Aryans. They, therefore, did not introduce the custom of wearing such ornaments in the countries
they invaded.
Said custom must have been brought to Asia,
in very remote ages,
by immigrants from America.
noticeable fact that
only obtained in countries where vestiges
of the
Mayas
and
it
It
is
their civilization are found.
Must we regard as a mere coincidence the use of these nose

and lip ornaments that, to us, seem not only extremely inconvenient, but rather disfiguring than beautifying the face of the
wearer, yet so prevalent

of miles apart,
among many
knowing nothing
peoples living thousands
of each other's existence?
Perhaps those knowing professors who pretend to

all
these identical customs existing in so
by the tendency
'
vol.
of the
human mind,
Paul Marcoy (Lorenzo de Saint-Bricq),
many
in
its
ex^Dlain
diverse nations,
struggles to free
Travels in
South Atneriea,
ii.
"
Bancroft, Native Races of America, vol.
i.
Diego de Cogolludo, Hist, de YucatTian, lib. xii., cliap. vii., p. 699.

Diego de Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan, p. 183.
*
C. F. Gordon Gumming, In the Himalayas and on the Indian Plains,
chap, iv., p. 90.
Bishop Heber, Narratives of a Journey through the Upper
=
Provinces of India, vol.
ii.,
pp. 179, 188.
Henry Layard, Ninepeh and Babylon, pp. 153-262.
Isaiah, chap,
iii.,
verse 21.

from the darkness of barbarism, when placed
itself
an incontrovertible proof of the accu-
actions, will find here
But we who want more than theo-
racy of their pet theory.
who
in similar
same manner and repeat the same
conditions, to act in the
ries,
ng
require proofs for every scientific or historical fact
How
asserted, will ask them,
is
that the strange custom
it
from the nose or
of wearing rings hanging
or studs fast-
lips,
ened on either or both sides of the nose, has obtained and does
still
obtain with peoples
the ancient
intimate relations with
Mayas, and with these only ?
"Who can assign

of fashion, that
countries,
who have had
it
limits to the extravagance of the votaries
most merciless of tyrants
has held, and
civilized or savage.
still
It incites
In
all
times, in all
holds,
sway over them, be they
them
to deck their bodies with
the most ridiculous and unbecoming appendages under pretext

of adorning them;
Next
and they,
to these nose
and
its slaves,
lip jewels,
humbly obey.
the ornament that most
attracts attention in the portraits represented in the sculptures
and paintings
there
is
of the
Maya
artists is the necklace, of
a great variety, worn by persons of rank.
seem that
it
was used
It
as a badge of authority, as
which
would
was the
some neoldaces bear a notable resemblance

those seen round the necks of the images of the gods and
breastplate, since
to
goddesses in Egypt.
many
as a
"We know that there, as
in
Chaldea and
other countries, they were bestowed on the wearers
mark
of royal favor;* whilst armlets
and bracelets were
tokens of rank, seldom worn except by officers of the court or

persons of distinction.^
'
Genesis, chap,
toms, vol.
'
iii.,
xli.,
verse 43.
Gardner Wilkinson, Manners and Cus-
p. 370.
Rawlinson,
2'Ae
Five Monarchies, vol.
i.,
p.
568
vol.
iii.,
p. 370.
XII.
Before entering the funeral chamber,
let
us examine the
graceful decorations that embellished the entablature of the
Memorial Hall.
From them we shall
and for what purpose

is
it
was
learn
by whom,
to
whom,
Properly speaking, there
erected.
not a single inscription, not a single letter or character, on
any part of the building

the plan, and had
it
and yet the architect who conceived
executed, so cleverly arranged the orna-
We
ments that they form the dedication.

read
it
in the
Maya
language.
(Plate
must, of course,
XXXV.)
Beginning at the top of the entablature, we notice that the

ornaments represents a rope loosely twisted, and
first line of
that within the open strands there are circles.

is
This ornament
three times repeated.
One
of the
two words
names for
for circle,
rope, in
hoi and
Maya,
iiol.
syllable of a dissyllable suggested
that compose the ornament, and
have,
by changing
means a "warrior."
'
is
kaan.
There are
Taking hoi to be the
by the two
kaan
first
distinct objects
to be the second,
we
word holcan, which

Holcan,' moreover, was a title corre-
the k into
c,
the
Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan,
xxix., p.
17-1.
Plate
XXXV.
Page
121.
Plate
XXXVI.

The
spending to our modern captain-general.
131
repetition of a
Hence the word holcan

"
three times repeated would read the very valiant," the " warrior of warriors," the " w&vv\oy par excellence.''''
word
one form of superlative.
is
The most prominent ornament

a
series of
for " knot. "
other words the meaning of which
"to join," " to
is
many
tie," etc.
the same line there are also four circles, and a fish on
Cay
each side of the series of knots.

It
the
This
the verb luoocol, " to knot," and of
first syllable of
On
is
bamboo joint or knot is

Queen Moo, whose name is the radical
often used as totem of
or
Moc
knots or joints of the bamboo cane.
Maya word
generic
in the second line represents
was the name
the
is
Maya for
" fish."
of the highpriest, elder brother of
Queen
M6o. His totem on the monuments is always a fish. (Plate

XXXVI.) Taking each of the circles that accompany the fish
as a unit, we have the numerical "four," can, a word that,
as Ave have already seen,' has many meanings in the Maya
language.
It
as the English
is,
with power and might.
In
word
cmi, always connected
instance
this
it
speak," and, by extension, "to testify," particularly

consider that the word uol, besides circle,
desire,"
and a
"to wish."
fish,
if
we
also means " to
The ornament composed
then, signifies that
" to
signifies
of four circles
Cay, the pontiff,
wishes to
speak, to testify.
On
the third line
repeated,
which
nestly desire,"
we
again find the circles uol
many
in this case should be translated
"to crave."
reedings, that form, as
it
These
by
this
'
"to
ear-
separated
by
were, a kind of frame around the
knots in the centre of the second

action represented
circles are
times
ornament
TTbi
line,
is
supra, p. 93.
to indicate that the
directly connected
with
122
These reedings are
the person whose totem said knots are.
composed of straight
lines
carved in the stone, and are sur-
rounded by a border.
To
cut or carve straight lines in a hard substance with a
by the simple word ppaay, in

Maya. Chi is the word for border. The whole ornament, then,
gives the word ppaay chi. But payalchi is a "praj'êr,"
sharp-pointed tool
is
expressed
an "invocation;" and ppaachi is "to make an offering,"

" to make a vow. " The duplication of the ornament indicates
the earnestness of the vow, or the fervor with which the
offering
made.
is
The leopards are the totem, hence the name of the hero to
whose memory the hall was erected. By these we learn that
he was called Coh. As to the shields covered with leopard
skin, they are the badges of his profession, which, from the
ropes with circles within their open strands,
we have
already
learned was that of a Mârrior.
Translating this dedication into English,

the highpriest, desires to hear witness that
it
Moo
"Cay,
made this
reads:
luis
Coh, the warrior of warriors."

to mind the invocations of the two
offering, earnestly invoking
Does not
this recall
ISTike, in the book of Lamentations;' and in

"
Glorifying Osiris in Aquerti " ?^
that of
sisters, Isis
As we
and
are about to enter the funeral chamber, hallowed
the love of the sister-wife. Queen
carvings on the zapote
doorway
calls
Here
represented the
is
beam
our attention.
and Coh, that led
to tlie
Moo,
that forms
(Plates
by
the beauty of the

the lintel of the
XXXVII. -XXXYIII.)
Aac
antagonism of the brothers
murder
of the latter
'
Translation of Mr. Horrack.
Translation of Mr. Picrret.
by the former.
Page
122.
Plate
XXXriI.
Page
122.
Plata
XXXVIII.

Carved
in the lintel are the
by
resented
their totems
names
123
of these personages, rep-
leopard-head for
Coh
and a
boar-head as well as a turtle for Aac, this word meaning
both boar and turtle in
Maya.
Aac
is
pictured within the
disk of the sun, his protective deity, which he worshipped,
according to mural inscriptions at
he faces
mented with
in
which
Uxmal.
In his right hand there
his brother.
feathers
and
Full of anger
is
a badge orna-
The threatening way
flowers.
this is held suggests a concealed
the people of Tahiti, eloquent bards went to battle

warriors, inciting
ried a
bunch of green leaves which served
disguised beneath blossoms
Coh was
among
them with glowing words those orators
weapon made from the bone

which
Among
weapon.
the
car-
to hide a dangerous
of the sting-ray.^
fell
suggests the treacherous
intent
way
in
slain.
Coh, also, expresses anger. With him is the

feathered serpent, emblem of royalty, thence of the country,
more often represented as a winged serpent protecting Coh.
In his left hand he holds his weapons, down; while his
right hand clasps his badge of authority, with which he
covers his breast as if for protection, and demanding the
The
face of
respect due to his rank.
So in
Maya
Mayach
as in
Egypt, ^ and in every place Avhere
civilization has penetrated, Ave find the
pent inimical to each other.

niA^th
Are we
sun and the
to see in the
ser-
Egyptian
of Plorus (the sun) killing the serpent Aphophis,
by
piercing his head with a lance, a tradition of the hostility of the
brothers
Aac
and
Coh
in
Mayach ?
'
Ellis (W.), Polynesian Eeseardies, vol.
Sir
i.,
Both belonged
cliap. xi., p. 387.
pp. 59, 144, 154.
to the
vol.
iii.,
chap,
xiii.,
124
Can
(serpent) dynasty.
Egyptian myth
In Greece
we
find a reflection of the
in the fable of Apollo (the sun) killing the
that
In the " Mahabharata " Krishna
serpent Python.
is,
HOBUS KILLIHG THE SERPENT APHOPHTS.
the god Vishnu in his eighth avatar

the seven-headed,
enemy
kills
of the gods,
the serpent Anantha,
when he was wresthng
with the goddess Parvati.^
During
their captivity in Babylon, the Jews,
among
other
legends of the Chaldees, learned the tradition of the enmitj'-
between the
priest,^
woman and
tians received it
'
J. T.
from the Jews; and to
Wheeler, MahablMrata,
'
vol.
2 Kings, chiip. xxii., verses 8-10
See Appendix, note
15.
the serpent, that Hilkiah, the high-
introduced at the beginning of Genesis.^
Genesis, chap,
ii.,
xvii.
verse 15.
i.,
;
"
this
The
Chris-
day the Church
Legends of Krishna."
also 2 Chron., chap, xxxiv., verse

of
Eome
always pictures the Virgin Mary with a serpent
coiled at her feet.
She
Japan.
which
its
is
is
we
So, also,
Goddess
see the
represented standing on a rock, the
symbolized by a dragon encircling
head resting at her
branch of the mangrove
are called
bearing
Canche
snakes.
It
with
in
name
of
body,
its
is
the totem,
The mangrove
in the
Maya
well,
is
This
fruit.
"serpent wood," from the appearance of

that resemble
it
Maya
In her hand she holds aloft a
feet.
tree,
or name, of her family, Canchi.

its fruit
125
tree
and
language; that
its
is,
contorted roots,
in this
connection,
to
remember that even
at the time of the Spanish Conquest the
Maya
called Nolicaii, the great serpent,
also
Empire was
beb, the mulberry
MS. and
Empire
tree,^
and the authors of the Troano
of the Cortesianus always
represented the
Maya
American continent,
either as a tree rooted in the South
or as a serpent
and
sometimes with, sometimes without, wings.
In
another work I have shown, when speaking of the relation of

the tree and the serpent with the country in the middle of the
land,' that Yuen-leao-fan, a very ancient
"Chou-King," says
tclii
that han
commentator on the
means the trunk
of a tree,
and
are the branches.
Passing between the figures of armed chieftains sculptured
on the jambs
of the doorway,
and seeming
ing the entrance of the funeral K
wearing a headdress similar to the
which formed part

archs.
We
ence as
if
its
of the Pshent
like sentinels
chamber,
crown of Lower Egypt,
Â\ of
the Egyptian
step into the hallowed place with as
the body of the dead hero
still
de Tucathan,
'
Cogolludo,
A. Le Plongeon, Sacred Mysteries,
lib.
i,,
much
monrever-
lay in state within
walls after being prepared for cremation.

Iliit.
guard-
we notice one
chap.
i.
etc., p. 127.
QUEEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX,
126
Does not the memory
of his
life,
the bitter hatred of his brother
hand of the friend
of his exploits in war, of
Aac,
of his childhood,
friends,
who
monument
hover there?
still
also, that of the love of his sister-wife,
ordered the erection of this
of his death at the
So,
M6o, who, we know,
to perpetuate
it;
of his
shed tears * for their companion ia pleasure, their
brave leader in battle, and whose
on which ofPerings were made
effigies
to his
manes
supported the altar

;
of a
whole nation
that
mourned the untimely end
of their beloved ruler
he
who
brought glory, power, and happiness to the people ?
In
so saying,
celebrated
'
am
but the mouthpiece of the author of that
Maya book,
the Troano.
Troauo MS., part
ii.,
plate xvi., lower compartment.
XIII.
It w-as with conflicting sentiments of
awe and
disgust that
we contemplated the walls bj'' which we were surrounded.

Many before us had visited this apartment, and, by inscribing
their names, disfigured
what remained
of the fresco paintings
that once covered those waUs from the plinth to the apex of
Of these we
the triangular arch forming the ceiling.
by making accurate
tracings, all that
various colors in each
part.
The
was
saved,
possible, noting the
tints
were
stiU
bright,
some even brilliant. It seemed as if we had been transported

one of the royal tombs at Thebes, or to the cave temples
to
in
the island of Elephanta,^ only here the artists Avere less tram-
melled by conventionalities in
to nature,
more
Their designs, freer, truer
correct in their delineations, particularly of
human body, show
the
art.
that the artists
were masters in the art of drawing.^
and the Hindoo
Chaldee,
"
Henry Grose, Voyage in
pendix, note
'
John
artists,
who
executed them
Like the Egyptian, the

the
Mayas
Avere
the Bast Indies, cliap. vii., p.
95.
little
See Ap-
xviii.
L. Stephens, Incidents of Travels in Yucatan, vol.
Appendix, note
xi.
ii.,
p. 311.
See
138
acquainted with the rules of perspective.
Their landscapes
were, therefore, defective.'
The
chamber of Prince Coh's Me-
frescos in the funeral
morial HaU, painted in water colors taken from the vegetable
kingdom, are divided into a

blue
The
lines.
series of
tableaux separated by
room, and the edges
plinths, the angles of the
of the ceiling, being likewise painted blue, indicate that this
was intended for a funeral chamber. We have already said that

blue was the mourning color in Egypt, Chaldea, and many
other places.
The study of the tableaux proves that the history they are meant to record must be read from right to left;
and, in this instance, from below upward.
The
She
is
first
scene represents Queen
Moo
when
yet a child.
seated on the back of a peccary, or American wild boar,
under the royal umbrella of feathers, emblem of royalty in
Mayach
She
is
as
it
was
in India, Chaldea, Egypt,
consulting a H-nieii, or wise
man
and other
places.
listening with pro-
found attention to the decrees of fate as revealed by the cracking of the shell of an armadillo exposed to a slow
brazier, the
condensing on
(Plate
tints it assumes.
This
Mayas
mode
fire
on a
and the various
XXXIX.)
is
one of the customs of the
show the
influence of their civilization
of divination
that tends to
of the vapor,
it
on Asiatic populations, even on that of the Chinese who seem

to have adopted
many Maya
customs
argued that they are mere coincidences
unless
:
it
be again
for instance, their
mythical traditions of the Tchi, those children of Tien-Hoang,
who had
the hody of a
serjjent,
and
lived in times anterior to
Ti-Hoang, sovereign of the "country in the middle

'
note
William Osburn, Monumental History of Egypt,

xi.
p. 360.
of the
See Appendix,
Plate
XXXIX.
'

land," mentioned in the " Chou-King," that
Mayas
empire of the
calls to
129
mind the
situated in the middle of the "Western
Continent, whose contour was that of a serpent, whose sovereigns were the
Cans, or
serpents; also the yellow color, prerog-
ative of the royal family in
China as in
winged dragon," s&j the Chinese,

understanding.
god of
It is therefore
intelligence,
Does not
this
Long, "the
the being that excels in
among them
the
emblem
of the
keeping watch over the tree of knowledge.
"winged dragon"
pent," emblem of the
and was not that
is
Why have
Mayach.
the Chinese a dragon on their imperial banner?
Maya
recall the
"winged
ser-
Empire, also figured as a tree;
tree the site of ancient culture, civilization,
and knowledge ?
Again, on great and solemn state occasions,
a precisely similar
mode
that pictured in the

It
is
called the
dillo,
of consulting fate,
first
tableau
is still
by the emperor, to
performed in China.
ceremony of Pou, in which, instead of an arma-
a turtle called Kuri
is
the victim.
Returning to the description of the tableau: in front of

the young queen Moo, and facing her, is seated the soothsayer, evidently a priest of high rank, judging
from the
col-
blue and j'ellow, of the feathers of his ceremonial mantle,
ors,
In the fourth chapter, entitled "Hong-Pan," of the fourth part of the

Chou-King, at the seventh paragraph, Sloka 20, we read
"In all dubious
cases the king selects an officer wliose duty it is to consult fate.
When installed in office he examines Pou."
'
Sloka 31
dew
"This examination comprehends

when it vanislies in the air
2d, the vapor
of the shell
4th, the isolated cracks on the shell
1st,
the vapor in form of
3d, the color,

;
dark or
dull,
5th, the cracks that cross
each other, and those that are joined together."
They believed
by these means they consulted the spirits Kuei, and

when the knowledge sought could not
be otherwise obtained, and was of great moment.
It is well to notice that
the name Ku-ei, given to the spirits by the Chinese, is identical with
" the Supreme Intelligence," among the Mayas and Egyptians.
only used this
tliat
mode
of divination
Ku
QUEEN M6o AND THE EGYPTIAN
130
SPHINX.
and as behooves the dignity of the consulter; he reads the

decrees of fate on the shell of the armadillo, and the scroll
issuing
from
Maya
what they are. By him stands

emblem and protective genius of the
his throat says
the winged serpent,
His head
Empire.
which he seems
is
turned toward the royal banner,
to caress; his satisfaction
mild and pleased expression of his

the position of whose hand
is
of the
well
is
known
priest,
and the
significance of
to occultists, are the ladies-in-waiting
young queen.
I forbear
now
to read the
meaning of the
colors are here wanting; otherwise
knowing as I do the history
among
Behind the
face.
the same as that of Catholic
priests in blessing their congregation,
which
reflected in the
is
the
the scrolls
Mayas, and
image of
it
scroll,
because
its
would be an easy matter,
of the lady, the import of the colors
that of the shape of the lines forming
speech in their paintings and sculpture.
In another tableau (Plate XL.) we again see Queen

longer a child, but a comely young woman.
She
under the royal umbrella or banner, but she

the presence of the H-nieii, whose face
is
is
is
Moo, no
not seated
once more in
concealed
b}^
mask
representing an oavI's head.

She, pretty and coquettish, has
many admirers who
each other for the honor of her hand.
vie with
In company with one
of her wooers she comes to consult the jiriest, accompanied by

an old lady, her grandmother probably, and her female attendants.
According to custom the old
She
states to the priest that the
low
stool
all,
spokeswoman.
sits
on a
between the two female attendants, desires to marry
the queen.
of
lad}' is the
young man, he who
The
priest's attendant, seated also
acts as crier,
the old lady.
and repeats
on a
stool,
back
in a loud voice the speech of
Page, ISO.
Plats
XL.
PagR
131.
Plain
XLI.

The young queen
by the
The
refuses the offer.
direction of the scroll issuing
131
refusal is indicated
from her mouth.
It
is
turned backward, instead of forward toward the priest as
would be the case
The
H-men
if
she assented to the marriage.
Moo,
explains that
being a daughter of the
royal family, by law and custom must marry one of her
The youth listens to the decision with due respect

shown by his arm being placed across his
breast, the left hand resting on the right shoulder.
He does
not accept the refusal in a meek spirit, however. His clinched
brothers.'
for the priest, as
fist,
his foot raised, as
if
in the act of stamping, betoken anger
and disappointment, while the attendant behind him expostulates, counselling patience and resignation, judging by the position
and expression
Herodotus
tells
of her extended left hand,
palm upward.
us' "that the Egyptians observed the cus-
toms of their ancestors and did not adopt new ones."
them there were two tokens
of respect used
the presence of their superiors.

to arrest the attention of
They
by
Among
inferiors in
are remarkable enough
any one inquiring
into their
manners
and customs.
One
consisted in placing an
arm
across the chest, the
hand
resting on the opposite shoulder;
the other, in putting the
forearm, the right
the chest
generallj'', across
closed fingers, being over the heart.'
the hand, with
(Plate XLI.)
was the law among the Mayas, that, in order to preserve the royal
blood from admixture and contamination, the girls should marry their
brothers.
Tlie same custom obtained in Egypt, Chaldea, Greece, and
many other places from the remotest antiquity. The gods even observed
'
It
AVe are told that Jupiter married his sister Juno. In Peru
and other countries of the Western Continent, royal brothers wedded their
the practice.
royal sisters.
Herodotus, Hist.,
'
Sir
lib. ii.,
Ixxix.
illust.
QUEEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPBINX.
132
From
the remotest antiquity,
fresco paintings in the funeral
if
we
by
are to judge
chamber and the
the Troano MS., the same marks of respect obtained
Mayas, and were
the
of
in
vogue
still
the
illustrations in
among
at the time of the conquest
Yucatan by the Spaniards, according
to Father CogoUudo.'
The Mayas usually placed the left arm across the chest, letting
the left hand rest on the right shoulder.
The natives of Yucatan, British Honduras, Peten, and the
countries bordering on Guatemala
themselves,
customary with
arms hanging by
what
their sides, as
chest.
similarity of signs of respect,
common
and Egyptians, be a simple coincidence?
of the identity of the dress of the Egyptian
laborers
games
in
for their
of the gifts of
^
;
to both
If so, then
and the Maya
cloaks to the victors in athletic
Egypt ' and Mayach * of the great respect

elders by the Egyptians ' and the Mayas
;
professed
of their
; '
carrying children astride the hip

eigners
is
soldiers in presence of their officers; or with
both arms crossed over their

this
among
(Plates
Before their white superiors they either stand
erect, hat in hand, their
Can
use these signs,
when their white neighbors are not present.
XLII.-XLIII.)
Mayas
still
'
of
their hatred of for-
of the year beginning on about the
same
daj^ (cor-
responding to the middle of our month of July) in Egypt as

'
'
Diego de CogoUudo, Hist, de Yucathan, lib. ix., cap. viii., p. 489.

Wilkinson, Manners and Ciistoms, etc., vol. ii., chap, x., p. 323. Hero-
dotus, Hist.,
^
lib.
ii.,
Ixxxi.
Ibid., xci.
Herrera.
Herodotus, Hist, lib. ii., Ixxx.

Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan, J xxx., p. 178.
' Ibid.,
Wilkinson, Manners and Customs,
I XX., p. 112.
Appendix, note xvi.
" Herodotus, lib.
ii., xli., xci.
"
vol.
ii.,
p. 334.
Plate.
Page. 132.
XLII.
Page 132
Plate.
XLIII.
Page
Plate
133.
XLIV.

in
Mayacli
and of many other customs, the
; '
too long to be enumerated in these pages
cidences?
But
they are not, what then?
if
list
of
are these
133
which
The Egyptians
invariably following the habits of their ancestors, must
and the
infer that they
Mayas
is
also coin-
we
had a common ancestry ?
In another tableau (Plate XLIV.) we see the same individual
whose
marriage was rejected by the young queen, in
offer of
Nubchi, or prophet, a priest whose exalted

by his headdress, and the triple breastplate he
wears over his mantle of feathers. The consulter, evidently a
personage of importance, has come attended by his haclietail,
consultation with a
rank
is
indicated
or confidential friend,
who
sits
behind him on a cushion.
The
expression on the face of said consulter shows that he does
not accept patiently the decrees of fate, although conveyed by
The
the interpreter in as conciliatory manner as possible.
adverse decision of the gods
is
manifested by the sharp pro-
jecting centre part of the scroll, but
persuasive and consoling, preceded
the rich and beautiful
His friend
is
Maya
it
by
is
as
wrapped
in
words as
smooth a preamble
as
language permits and makes easy.
addressing the prophet's assistant.
the thoughts of his lord, he declares that the
Reflecting
NubcM's
fine
discourse and his pretended reading of the will of the gods
are all nonsense, and exclaims " Pshaw! " which contemptuous
exclamation
is
ends, escaping
pictured
from
by the yellow
scroll,
pointed at both
The answer
his nose like a sneeze.
of the
by the gra^-ity of his features, the

hand, and the bluntness of his speech,
priest's assistant, evidenced
assertive position of his

is
evidently, " It
is
Should you ask

'
so!
"
occultists
why
Landa, Las Cosas de Yucatan,
and Customs,
Egypte,
vol.
p. 236.
iil.,
chap, xiii
the feet of the consulter and

Wilkinson, Manners
Champollion Pigeac,
Univers.
xxxix., p. 236.
p. 107.
See Appendix, note xvi.
134
of the prophet are in such close contax3t, they
that
it
would tell you

and maintain the magnetic rapport
to establish
is
between them.
we
In another tableau (Plate XLV.)
His name
admirer of Queen M<io.
In
see a third, a youthful,
Citam
of infancy, and accompanied her when she went to the
He
to consult the Pou.
He
Moo's companion
he has been
fact,
(peccary).
His headdress shows him to
also desires to peer into futurity.
belong to the nobility.
is
H-men
comes naked, in humility, to ask the
aruspice to consult Fate on the motion of the entrails of a
The
peccary.
interpreter of the decrees of destiny points out
to him the working of the
has cut open with his
intestines of the animal,
which he
adze.
Judging from the
expression on his face, the future shows
itself full of tribula-
The young man
tions.
sacrificial
listens
to the words of the aruspice.

ble.
He
with sad and respectful attention
He
Moo's
always be Queen
will
will submit to the inevita-
stanch friend in her
days of happiness, never forsaking her in those of adversity.
Not
however, her brother Aac, Avho
so,
with her.
In Plate
is
madly
in love
XLYI. he is not portrayed approaching
the
interpreter of the will of the gods divested of his garments, in
token of humility in presence of their majesty and of submission

to their decrees.
geous
dictate.
to his
comes
fuU. of
arrogance, arrayed in gor-
He
and with regal pomp.
attire,
cant, to ask
He
comes not as a suppli-
and accept counsel; but, haughty, he makes bold to
He
is
demand
angered at the refusal of the priest to accede

for his sister
Moo's
hand, to whose totem, an
armadillo on this occasion, he points iraperioush'.
an armadillo's
sulted
by
shell that the Fates
the performance of the
flames of wrath darting from
all
wrote her
It
destinj"-
Pou ceremony.
was on
when con-
The yellow
over his person, the sharp yel-
Page
134.
Plate
XLV.
Page
134.
Plate
XL VI.
Page
135.
Plate
XLVII.
QVEEN M60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

low
scroll issuing
The
pontiff,
from
however,
his
is
mouth, symbolize Aac's
unmoved by them.
135
feelings.
In the
name
of
the gods, with serene mien, he denies the request of the proud
The winged serpent, genius

and ireful by Aac, is also
wroth at his pretensions, and shows in its features and by
sending its dart through Aac's royal banner, a decided opposition to them, expressed by the ends of his speech being
turned backward, some of them terminating abruptly, others in
nobleman, as his speech indicates.
of the country, that stands erect
sharp points.
Prince Coli
He
sits
behind the
priest, as
one of his attendants.
witnesses the scene, hears the calm negative answer, sees
the anger of his brother and rival, smiles at his impotence,
happy
He
The
He
is
Cay,
their elder brother, sees the
brewing behind the dissensions of

dynasty of the
Cans
of the ruin
misery of the country that wiU certainly foUow.

priestly raiment,
proper for
is
and
men
and
Divested of
he comes nude and humble, as
it
is
in presence of the gods, to ask their advice
best to avoid the impending calamities.
aruspices
Coh
trembles at the thought of the misfortunes that
will surely befall the
how
a spy,
he watches.
highpriest himself.
storm that
his
sits
repeat his words, report his actions to his enemy.
listens,
Aac.
Behind him, however,
at his discomfiture.
who wiR
is
The
in the act of reading their decrees
ing entrails of a fish (Cay).
chief of the
on the palpitat-
The sad expression on
his face,
that of humble resignation on that of the pontiff, of deferential
astonishment on that of the assistant, speak of the inevita-
ble misfortunes that are to
come
in the near future.
(Plate
XLVII.)
Could the history portrayed by these fresco paintings be
"
136
given here in
all its details, it
would prove most interesting; but
the limits assigned to this vsôrk do not allow

therefore, over several very curious tableaux,
the one in which Prince Coli
Skipping,
it.
we
shall consider
pictured at the head of his
is
warriors (Plate XLYIII.) in the heat of battle, accompanied
and overshadowed by the winged serpent as by an

genius of
Mayach
guards him, fights at his
The
aegis.
leads his
side,
followers to victory.
This serpent
is
not the rattlesnake, covered with feathers
(Kukvilcan), image of the
rulers
the winged serpent, whose dart

nent.
It is the
Nohocli Can,
the country.
of
It is
the South American conti-
is
the great serpent, protective
genius of Mayacli, as the urus, that " winged serpent
with inflated breast, represented standing erect on a

of
Lower Egypt.*
The sieve was in Egypt emblematic
of
sieve,
power and dominion
singular antithesis, indeed, which none of the learned
have explained.
tologists
selected
sons.
Still
These were made known to
What
Egyp-
the Egyptian priests never
an object as symbol without good and
sion of the temples.^
was
sufficient rea-
initiates only, in the seclu-
could have induced them to choose,
as emblem of domination and authority, an utensil used solely

by slaves and menials, and place, standing erect upon it, the
emblem of the genius of Lower Egypt, has never been accounted
for in
modern
In the
times.
Maya
language
such seeming mystery.
In
we
it
again find the explanation of

the
word
for sieve
is
3Iayab.
Those who considev themselves authorities on Maya antiquities always

confound these two serpents, and call them Kukulcau, although they are
"
very distinct symbols.
Clement of Alexandria, in Stromata 12, says " It is requisite to hide

mystery the wisdom spoken." He had been initiated in the mysteries.
in a
Fage
136.
Plate
XL VIII.
Page
137.
Plate
XLIX.

But Mayab, we are
names
was
remote times one of the
in
Yucatan peninsula, given
of the
porosity of
told,
as through a sieve,
to
on account of the
it
which ahows the water
to filter
and gather, cool and pure,
in pools
its soil,
137
through
it
and lakes,
in the inmiense subterranean caves with which the country
is
honeycombed.
Did, then, the wise
men
Egypt
of
select as
symbol of
their
country the serpent with wings and an inflated breast, in
remembrance
of the birthplace of their ancestors; did they
on a
place
it
from
Mayab
erect
sieve to signify that the first settlers
(the sieve) conquered
dwellers in the valley of the Nile
and dominated the former
Pursuing our study of the fresco paintings,
we
pass over
XLIX.)
Prince Coh.
interesting battle scenes, including one (Plate
senting a village
'
invaded by the hosts of
women and children flee for safety,
repre-
The
carrying their most precious
Their defenders have been defeated by the
belongings.
coming
Coll will return to his queen loaded with

lay at her feet with his glory, which
Avhich she claims in return for hers.
The people
is
Mayas.
spoils that
also hers,
and
he will
his love,
She loves him because he

idolize
him because he gives
fame, riches, and happiness to the nation.
His warriors cher-
is
brave and generous.
him
ish
because, always foremost in battle, he leads
them
to
triumph and conquest.
We next
Aac.
much
'
The
The
him
see
disfigured
This
is
traveller
in a terrible altercation
and broken
as to
make
it
impossible to obtain
now state of Vera Cruz.

from the port of Vera Cruz to the City
the women of which come to offer for
evidently a Mexican village in the
who
to-day goes by
rail
of Mexico sees, on his way, villages,

sale
with his brother
figures in that scene are nearly life size, but so
chirimoyas and other tropical
fruits.
resemble those pictured here by the
In their features and dress they
Maya artist.
138
good
Coh
tracings.
portrayed without weapons, his
is
clinched, looking menacingly at his foe,
typical of the three
when he
Coll
killed
is
now
him
wounds he
who holds three
inflicted in his brother's
viscera
back
treacherously.
being prepared for cremation.
laid out,
His body has been opened under the
L.)
fists
spears,
(Plate
ribs to extract the
and the heart, which, after being charred, are to be pre-
served in a stone urn with cinnabar, where the writer found them
in 1875.
His
sister-wife.
Queen Moo,
the remains of her beloved, ozil in
Nik6
in sad contemplation of
Maya, and his second sister,
(the flower), kneeling at his feet, recall vividly the pic-
ture of Isis (Mail)
and her
sister
Nik6
lamenting over the
body of their much loved brother Ozir-is. Coh's children and

One of the children, probmother stand by him in affliction.
ably the eldest, carries the band which is to be wrapped round
the chest and waist to hide the gash
made
for the extraction of
those parts regarded as vital organs, and which are to be pre-
served and placed in the
Another,
who seems
tomb with the
statue of the deceased.
to be a girl, holds in her
hands and con-
templates with sadness the brains of the dead hero.

are to be kept in a separate urn.
The youngest
child
tured with the heart of his father in his right hand.

crying.
The grandmother
conies last.
present,
pic-
He
is
Mayacli, as
and Egypt, the presence of a dead body polluted those
who had
ceremonies.'
to
submit to purification
The winged
" The presence of a corpse

DliwrmorSastra, lib. v., Sloka 62.
'
"He who
?.,
is
All the figures in this
tableau are represented naked or nearly so; for in

in India
These
b)^
appropriate
serpent, protective genius of the

defiles those
who come
near
it."
has touched a corpse purifies himself by bathiug."
Manai-a-
Ihid., lib.
Sloka 85.
"The death of a parent or relative causes one to become defiled."
Page
ISS.
Plate L.
Page
1S9.
Plate LI.

deceased,
is
pictured without a head.
The
139
ruler of the country
slain.
He is dead. The people are without a chief.
With the customary rites Prince Coil's remains have been
made to return to their primitive elements by means of the
has been
aH-purifying flame; the vital parts, in which intelligence and

sensation were believed to have their seat, have been preserved
incorruptible in separate urns, so that
when
the spirit of the
departed warrior returns to earth to reanimate the stone image
made
his
them ready, placed by
in his likeness he will find>
With due
mausoleum.
it
in
respect they have been entrusted to
the care of mother earth.
Queen M<So
marrying
is
now
my master,
the messenger
"What is to prevent her

Prince Aac ? " So speaks
a widow.
the powerful
who has brought to her house a basket of oranges
golden apples whose acceptance would mean that of Prince

also,
and constitute betrothal
the natives of Yucatan.'

dismissed this
first
messenger,
on the ground outside

it
than
custom
still
No
(Plate LI.)
who
of the house
has
left
existing
Aac
among
sooner has
she
the basket of fruit
a sign that she has refused
a second presents himself, and,
with supplicating
gestures, entreats the lady to accept the proffered love of his
master,
who
residence.
family
is
at the foot of the elevation
Aac
yellow.
is
on which stands her
dressed in the color peculiar to the royal
He bows
and lowers
his submission, and that he places
weapons, in token of
his
them
at her
command.
The
deformed figure of the messenger indicates the abjectness of

his entreaties.
had studied the
It also
shows that the wise men of Mayacli
science of physiognomy,
and had reached the
conclusion that the moral qualities leave their imprint on the

physical body.
'
See Appendix, note xix.
140
Queen M6o, with outstretched hand, seems to protect the

brazier and armadillo on whose shell the Fates wrote her destiny
when
by the
consulted
She refuses to
H-men
ceremony of Pou.
in the
listen to the proposal of Prince
name
totem, a serpent,
of his dynasty,
Aac, whose
pictured at the top
is
charm a macaw, her own totem, perched

higher up on another tree, symbol of her more exalted political position.
Here, then, we Tiame looman, garden, fruit, mid a
of a tree, trying to
tempter wJiose
American
title
Com,
is
^^serjpent,''''
an episode in ancient
history.
not the acceptance of
It is this refusal to accept the fruit,

it
by the highpriest Hilkiah
as asserted
book Genesis,
in his
that eventually brought dire calamities upon Queen Moo, caused
the misfortunes of her people and the decline of the

ization, occasioned
by the dismemberment
consequence of intestine feuds and

the
Can
dynasty, as
we
civil
Maya civil-
the empire in
of
war that put an end to
learn from the author of the Troano
MS.' and the much distorted tradition that has reached

Clinging to the tree on the top of which the
perched,
we
see a
His right arm
monkey.
is
us.^
macaw
raised as
if
to strike, or at least menacing, the second messenger,
addresses the queen.
introducing this
gestures?
Queen
Man
Osiris in
monkey
artist
in this scene,
who
wished to indicate by
by
in consequence of events,
If,
the riddle
"What has the
is
about
its
attitude
Queen
Moo
and
its
became
in Egypt, or the goddess Isis, then the solution of

is
easy.
Tliotli,
the god of letters, the scribe of
Amenti, represented as a cynocephalus ape, was said
to have been the preceptor of Isis
and
The presence here
protector of their youth.

'
Troano
'
Landa, Las Corns dc Yucatan.
j\IS.
Osiris, therefore the
part
ii.,
of this
plate xvii.
J v., p.
34.
monkey,
QUEEN m60 and TEE EGYPTIAN

as protector of the
SPEINX.
141
widowed Queen Moo, would be naturally
explained.
It is impossible to
even conjecture the meaning of the group
formed by a rattlesnake entwined to a
tree, angrily facing
unknown animal resembling a kangaroo.

no longer
Yucatan.
in
what or whom
it is
It
meant
is,
for,
therefore,
difficult to
him a
Avere inimical is
he seems to have been bitten by the
certain, since
surmise
consequently to assign to
That he and the serpent
role in this history.
an
This animal exists
latter,
judg-
ing from the drops of blood which cover his visage.

If the events that followed the rejection of
Prince Aac's
love were also portrayed on the walls of the funeral chamber,

as they probably were,
For the knowledge

tioned
Maya
iconoclastic
that pictorial record
of these
author,
we
destroyed.
is
are indebted to the above-men-
whose book, having happily escaped the
hands of the fanatical
friars that
came to
Mayach
at the beginning of the Spanish Conquest, illumines the dark-
ness which until
now has hung
America and that
of the builders of
Aac's
over the ancient history of
Chichen and
Uxiiial.
pride being humiliated, his love turned to hatred.
His only wish henceforth was to usurp the supreme power, to
wage war
against the friend of his childhood.
gious disagreement the pretext.

ship of the sun
was
He
He made
reli-
proclaimed that the wor-
to be superior to that of the
"winged
serpent," genius of the country; also to that of the worship of
by the feathered serpent, with horns and a

To avenge himself on the woman
much loved became the sole aim of his life. To
ancestors, typified
flame or halo on the head.*
he had so
gratify his desire for vengeance he resolved to plunge the
country into
ciâl
war
to sacrifice his friends, his

Ubi iupra, plate
vii.
own
wel-
143
Prompted by such
fare, that of the people, if necessary.
passions,
he put himself at the head of
who had remained
attacked those
own
his
faithful to
vassals
evil
and
Queen M<io and
to Prince Coh's memory.
Here, then,
woman
we have
the origin of the enmity between the
and the serpent, to which
we
find allusion in Genesis
and of that of the sun and the serpent, prevalent in
where
tries
At
first,
vestiges of
Maya
Queen Moo'^ adherents
they were children of the same

dices, let
favored
soil,
strife that
blinded by their preju-
Fortune
their passions have the best of their reason.
now one
side,
now
the other.
At
a prisoner in the hands of her enemy.
last
Queen
Moo
Mayach,
fell
(Plate LII.)
Let us hear what the author of the Troano says:

people of
coun-
successfully opposed her
The contending parties, forgetting in the
foes.
all
civilization are found.
having been whipped
"The
into submission
and
cowed, no longing opposing much resistance, the lord seized

her by the hair and, in
from blows.
suffer
common with
month of the year Kan ; " that

the month Yax, of the year Kan.
tenth
of
others, caused her to
This happened on the ninth day of the

is,
on the seventh El>,
" Being completely routed, she passed to the opposite seacoast,
toward the
east.
Seeking refuge, the queen went to the
seacoast in the southern parts of the country,
already suffered
first
much
day of the sixth month
to say,
which had
This event took place on the
injury.
of the year
Mulnc
""
;
that
is
on the tenth of the month Xul, in the year Mulnc,
or eight
months and twelve days
after she
had been made a
prisoner.
" The northern part of the countxy being subjected, he con'
Troauo MS., part
ii.,
jjlates xvi.
aud
xvii.
Plate LII.
Page US.
143
quered the others one by one, and also those which had aided
made
the queen, reunited the severed parts, and again
the
This happened on the eighth
country whole under his sway.
month of the year Ix;" that is, on the

third Iiuix, of the month Zoo, of the year Ix, or ten months
and eight days after Queen Moo's departure for Ziuaan.
day
of the fourth
An
of the
explanation of the illustrations accompanying the text
Maya
author
may
serve to
show that we have
correctly
apprehended his narrative.
Beginning with the picture on the right of the chapter,

see the
Her
foe holds her
by the
sufficiently the text
Next she
is
"he
hair
and kicks
portrayed as a bird, a macaw.
plumage, typical of her misfortunes.
the deer
Her
The deer
is
last
severed in two, to
toward Zinaan, a figure

The line joining it to the
were a dependency of the
his
is
Aac
now
carrying
show the
We
is
hanging
This
is
the
emblematic of
political condition of
She
is
in full flight
of Avhich the bird holds in
its
beak.
deer indicates that the "West Indies
Maya Empire.
away triumphantly
sole master,
sway.
leg
with black
grasp on that part (the south) of the empire.
the country divided into two factions.
he
Moo,
just lost hold of the hindquarter of
another symbol of the country.
her losing the
This explains
her.
caused her to suffer from blows."
claw half open, as having
resents
we
queen on her knees, her hands joined as in supplication.
whose
The
last picture rep-
the country of which
several parts, reunited, are under
shall leave for another occasion the recital of
the events that took place in
Mayacli
after
Moo's
depart-
ure from the country, and follow her in her journey east-
ward.
became
Enough
so
to say that
tyrannical
Aac,
left
alone in the government,
that the people uprose
and expelled him from the country.
against
him
That event ended the
144
Can
dynasty, and brought about the dismemberment of the
empire.
As
far as our present
M6o
cerning Queen
her flight to
knowledge of American records con-
goes, her history
Zinaan.
Not
comes to an end with
feeling safe in that country, she
continued to travel toward the rising sun, in the hope of reaching some of the
known
isles,
remnants of the
Land of Mu.
It
was
that that country, once the "pride of the sea," had
greatly suffered in consequence of an awful cataclysm caused
by earthquakes.
She was weU aware that a few islands had
escaped the general destruction, and remained above the waters

the only vestiges of that place, once so populous and so rich
that in their writings the
Maya
authors styled
it
"the Life,"
" the Glory of the Ocean," and of which, in his " Timaeus,"
Plato has given so glowing a description.
In one night
it
'
had
suddenly disappeared, engulfed by the waves, with the majority of its inhabitants,
some time previous to the happening
To one
of those
shelter.
'
of
Maya history which we have just related.

islands Queen Moo resolved to go to seek
the political events in
Plato, Dialogues, "Timseus,"
ii.
30.
XIV.
The
that dreadful cataclysm caused great
occurrence of
commotion among the inhabitants

sides of the Atlantic.
the archives of their
remembrance was most
likely to
coming generations;
edge of
of the countries on both
They recorded it in the annals kept in

temples, and in other places Avhere its
be preserved for the knowl-
and so
it
has lasted to our
day.
The
existence of this land, and
quakes and
then by submergence,
fire,
among modern
its
scientists.
to investigate the ancient
destruction
is
by earth-
a mooted question
There are many who, disdaining
American
records,
and affecting to
regard as fabulous Plato's narrative and that of the Egyptian

priests Psenophis
that
'
'
all that,
and Sonchis
to Solon, although these asserted
has been Avritten
down
of old,
and
in our temples," prefer to invent hollow theories
opinions having no firmer foundations than their
is
preserved
and to advance
own
i2}se dixit,
and thus dispose of the question by a
dreaming
that, besides Plato's
magistral
denial, little
narrative, the records of the
catastrophe are to be found, full of details, in the writings of

10
146
four different
Maya
authors, in the
Maya
of these has written the relation in his
but
in
It
all
Each
language.
own
particular style,
agree as to the date of the occurrence and the manner
which the destruction of the Atlantean land was
may be
that three of
on that subject but

;
as to the fourth,
knew nothing
that he
them had read each
of the
it
effected.
other's writings
can be safely presumed
works of those
com-
writers, all
munications between his country and theirs having ceased to

exist long before his time.
One
of these narratives, carved
on stone
preserved in the city of Chlctien.
The
in bas-relief,
slab
on Avhich
is
it is
written forms the lintel of the door of the inner chamber at
Akab-oib, " the a\vful,

the tenebrous record." It is as intact to-day as when it came
from the hand of the sculptor. (Plate LIII.) Not only did the
the southern end of the building called
Maya
historians record the submergence of
lasting manner, but the date of its occurrence
Mu
in such a
became a new
starting point for their chronological computations.
they began a
new
From
it
era and reckoned the epochs of their his-
tory, as the Christians
Mohammedans from
do from the birth of Christ, and the
the Hegira or flight of
Mohammed from
Mecca.
They
also
of 13, in
month
in
arranged
memory
all their
other computations on the base
of the thirteenth Chiieii, the
which the cataclysm occurred.
of thirteen days
day of the
So they made weeks
weeks of years of four tunes thirteen, or
fifty-
two JQ&YB and their great cycle of thirteen times twenty, or

two hundred and sixty years, as we are informed by Father
Pedro Beltran.i
;
The second narrative

'
Pedro Beltran,
of the catacl3'sm
xirte del
is
to be
Idioma Maya, uumeraciou
found in the
p. 304.
Page
146.
Plate
MIL
Plate
Page
W-
LIV.
147
Troano MS., whose author has devoted several pages' of his

interesting
work
to a minute description of the various phe-
nomena attending the
(Plate LI V.)
disaster.
the closing scenes of the tragedy:^
"The
Thus he recounts
year six
Kan,
on the eleventh Muliic, in the month Zac, there occurred

terrible
which continued without intermission
earthquakes,
Chuen. The country of the hills of mud,

'Land of Mu,' was sacrificed. Being twice upheaved,
until the thirteenth
the
it
suddenly disappeared during the night, the basin being
by
continually shaken
volcanic forces.
Being confined, these
caused the land to sink and rise several times and in various
At
places.
last the surface
gave way, and the ten countries
were torn asunder and scattered in fragments; unable to

withstand the force of the seismic convulsions, they sank with
and
their sixty-four millions of inhabitants, eight thousand
sixty years before the writing of this book."
Does not
this recital recall the story of the destruction of
Atlantis told by Plato, and the division of the country
by
Poseidon into ten portions, assigning one to each of his ten

sons?
Let us hope that no one will be so bold as to accuse Plato

of having been in collusion with the author of the Troano
The
third narrative of the destruction of the
Mu "is
by the author
Codex Cortesianus.
of that
His style
Maya
is
more
'
Troano MS., part
'
Ibid.
ii.,
plates
prolix, less terse,
more
His relation
LV.-LYL):
to v.
plate v.
Have we not here
the origin of that singular superstition that attributes
luck to the number thirteen ?

of the cataclysm, that has come
ill
ii.
of
book known to us as
symbolical than that of the writer of the Troano.

of the event reads as follows (Plates
MS.
"Land
And is not this superstition a reminiscence

down to us through the lapse of centuries ?
148
"
By
his strong will,
after sunset;
Homen*
caused the earth to tremble
and during the night,
Mu,
the country of the
hiUs of mud, was submerged.
" Mu, the
life
of the basin,
was submerged by
during the night.

" The place of the dead ruler
is
now
lifeless; it
Homen
moves no
more, after having twice jumped from its foundations.

king of the deep, while forcing his way out, has shaken
and down, has

'
'
Twice
killed
Mu
it,
has submerged
jumped from
it.
foundations.
its
It burst while
The
it up
It
was then
being shaken up and
down
sacrificed
with
violently
by the earthquake. By kicking it, the wizard that

things move like a mass of worms sacrificed it that
makes
all
fire.
very night."
From
the fact that the
putation,^
and began, as
the submergence of the
Mayas
it
changed their mode of com-
were, a
Land
of
new
Mu,
era from the time of

it
is
evident that in
reading their ancient history, in order to establish correct dates,

it
becomes necessary to know
if
the events related took place
before or after the cataclysm.
The commotion produced by that disaster seems to have

been no less great among the populations bordering on the
Mediterranean than among those inhabiting the Western Continent.
of
Plato teUs us that the Egyptians preserved a relation
in the archives of their temples,
it
asserting
it
was the
Homen
was the overturner of mountains, the god of earthquakes,

all things move like n mass of worms, the volcanic
forces antliropomorphized and then deified.
The Mayas deified all phenomena of nature and their causes, then represented them in the shape of
'
the wizard
human
who made
beings or animals.
Their object was to keep for the initiates the
secrets of their science.

^
Landa, Las Cosasde Yucatan, chap, xxxix.,
p. 234.
Page
IJfl.
^,^J|Ûf*W*#-'^-'.^
Plate,
LV.
Page U7.
Plate
LVI.
which had occurred -withm the memory of
greatest deluge
man.
Their narrative
From
authors.
with
149
tallies
exactly with that of the
that time, they said,
all their
the Lands of the
the inhabitants of
interrupted, the sea having
Maya
communications
West had been
become an impassable barrier
of
had good reasons for grieving
at
mud.
As
for the Greeks, they
the loss of
Mu,
since,
according to Egyptian records, thou-
sands of their best warriors lost their lives by
They
it.
cele-
brated the festival of the Small Panatheneas, in commemoration of the victory gained
by
with the aid of
their ancestors,
Minerva, over the Atlanteans, when the latter tried to invade
Greece
nations
having
after
conquered
the
Mediterranean
other
those Uving on the coast of Libya as far as Egypt, and
those dwelling on the European shores as far as Tyrrhania.
After repelling the invaders the Greek warriors pursued them

to their
own homes;
Homen.
so they also fell victims to the
In order to preserve the
phe for the knowledge

epic in the
time
still
Maya
memory
of future generations, they
wrote an
language, which seems to have been at that
prevalent
among them.
geological and meteorological
In
"When
it
were described the
phenomena that took place and
caused the wholesale destruction of the

inhabitants.
wrath of
of the catastro-
Land of
Mu
and
its
in the year 403 b.c, during the archonship
of Euclid, the grammarians rearranged the Athenian alphabet

in its present form, they adopted for the
words formed by the agglutination

composing each
line of said
Maya
of
epic.
names
of their letters
the various vocables
In this most interest-
ing philological and historical fact will be found the reason
why
certain letters having the
same value were placed apart,
instead of juxtaposed as they naturally should be.
What
else
150
could have induced Euclid and his collaborators,

ligence and learning, to separate the Epsilon
the Theta from the
and the Omega
Tau ?
at the
to place the
of intel-
from the Eta,
Omikron
end of the alphabet
men
in the middle
In August, 1882, the writer published in the "Kevista de
Merida," a daily paper of Merida, the capital of Yucatan, a

Spanish translation of the
Maya
He
the letters of the Greek alphabet.

ars to review
and correct
it,
formed by the names of
epic
in case
invited
Maya
schol-
any word had been mis-
apprehended, as he was desirous to present his discovery to the

scientific
time
world.
No
was
correction
offered,
attracted the attention of students in a country
it
Spanish and
who
are the vernacular of the people
it
however, speaking more or
Maya
less
that of the
Maya,
a knowl-
being necessary to hold intercourse with the
latter,
absolutely refuse to even learn the Spanish, which they
hate.
lost
all,
where
the
Maya
Spanish that of the white inhabitants, the

natives;
edge of
although at the
That language perpetually revives the memory of the
autonomy
cutions
of their people
their race has
of
suffered
the long and cruel perse-
since 1540
at the
hands of
the Spanish invaders, the destroyers of their civilization, and

at those of their descendants
and remain, although
called
whose
serfs
they have become
free in accordance
with the
law.^
The following
translation may' be regarded as absolutely
correct, being an English rendering of that published in Span-
ish in Merida.
'
See Appendix, note
iv.

Greek
Alphabet.
151
:;
152
Greek
Maya Vocables with
Alphabet.
Sigma.
Tad.
Upsilon.
Zi
ik
Cold;
wind;
u.
Ta
Where
basin valley.
pa
Abyss
tank;
Phi.
Pe
hi.
clay.
Chi.
Come; form;
Chi.
Mouth; aperture.
Pbi.
Pe
Come
Omega.
theib Eholish J/tetsisa.
out;
zi.
vapor.
niec
There;
whirl
ma.

Sigma.
cold
Tatj.
where
air.
Before
eaistoi valleys,
Upsilon.
Tuno, abysses,
Phi.
clay
Chi.
a mouth
frozen tanks.
In circular places
formed.
Psi.
opens; vapors
Omega.
come
forth
and
volcanic sediments.
153
XV.
Moo
"When Queen
reached the place where she hoped
to find a refuge, she discovered that the
vanished.
Not a
vestige of
Land of
was to be
it
Mu
had
except the
seen,
and muddy waters mentioned by Herodotus, Plato,

Scylax, Aristotle, and other ancient writers, who tell us that
shoals
made
this
tion for
It
the ocean impassable to ships and prevented naviga-
many
centuries after the cataclysm.
seems that Queen
Moo,
notwithstanding these obsta-
was able to continue her voyage eastward,
cles,
ceeded in reaching Egypt.
We
on the monuments and
in the papyri, always as
She
Imown
(Mo6).
is,
however, better
Queen
as the goddess
wearing vestments dyed with a variety of

feather work,' like the plumage of the
and
suc-
mention made of her
find
Mau
Ids
colors, imitating
macaw,
after
which she
was named in Mayach. Isis was, no doubt, a term of endearment applied to their beloved queen hj her followers and her
new
ical
subjects.
It
seems to be a corruption or
pronunciation of the
Maya
may
be a dialect-
word ioin (pronounced
iclsin),
the "little sister."

'
Sir
Gardner "Wilkinson, Manners and Customs,
vol.
iii.,
p. 395.
Page
155.
Plate
LYII.
Page
155.
Plate
LVIII.
QUEEN MOO AND THE EGTPTJAN SPHINX.

"We have seen how, before leaving
155
Mayach, Queen
Mdo
caused the erection of a memorial hall that she dedicated to
memory of
the
in
it
Prince Coh, her brother and husband; and that
she had the principal events of his and her
bright colors on the walls of the funeral chamber.
with
this
mark
of her love, she
had
Avere
That on the
LVIII.)
his back, his knees
is
drawn
life
His head, covered with a helmet,

his parted
the same as that given
remote ages, to
all
the breath of
lijss
His posture
by the Mayas,
The upper part
is,
in those
the statues of their great personages; a
position that represented the contour of the
human body
as nearly as the
(Plate
a dying warrior on
escapes in the shape of a slender flame.'
in fact,
modern
up, the soles of his feet firmly
Prom
thrown backward.
of our
sculptures in mezzo-relievo.
frieze represents
planted on the ground.
any
monument were ornamented with
sides of the
on Avhich
to
(Plate LVII.)
cemeteries or public squares.
panels,
painted in
Not satisfied
raised over his remains a
mausoleum that would be an ornament
The four
life
of the
erect, is pictured lying
body
could be
made
Maya
Empire
to assume
it.
in this case, instead of being
down, the head thrown back, emblem-
atic of the chief of the nation being dead.
In his right hand,
placed upon his breast, he holds a broken sceptre, composed of

three javelins, typical of the three wounds that caused his
death, and of the weapons with which they were inflicted.
One
of the
wounds was under the left shoulder-blade. The

at the heart from behind, proving that the
blow was aimed
victim was treacherously murdered.

the lumbar region.
two small
The two others were
in
These are indicated in the sculptures hj
holes just above the waist-band of the kilt

'
See Appendix, note xs.
worn by
156
the warrior, and the image of a small arrowhead >,

directed toward the left shoulder.
his breast, the left
hand
a token of respect
among
but what can be
dead ?
Does
which the
ment
resting
His
left
on the right shoulder.
the living, as
we have
meaning when made
its
its
arm is placed
to be
point
across
This
is
already seen;
assumed by the
it signify that this is the attitude of humility in
must appear before the judg"

the
god of death; " just as we see,
souls of the departed
seat of
Yum-cimil,
in the Egyptian inscriptions and papyri, the souls
when
stand-
ing before the throne of Osiris in Amenti, waiting to receive

their sentence
from
his
same custom existed

Gardner
mouth ?
in Egypt.
WiUdnson,'
extended along the
This
" placed
is
very probable, for the
"The Egyptians," says Sir

the mummies
the arms of
the palms inward and resting on the
side,
thighs, or brought forward over the groin,

across the hreast;
and occasionally one arm

'
other in the latter position.
on the same
subject, says:
sur leur ventre; les

cotes
les
d/roite;
'
hommes
main
is
restaient pendants sur
gauclie etait xylacee sur
faisait ainsi echarpe
upper end of the sceptre
in the former, the
Mr. Champollion Figeac, speaking

" On croisait les mains des femmes
bras des
quelquef ois la
ce hras
sometimes even
VejMide
sur la pdtrine."
The
ornamented with an open dipetal-
ous flower, with a half-opened bud in the centre of the corol.

This
is
significant of the fact that the
in the flower of
life,
The lower extremity

'
Sir
dead warrior was killed
before he had had tiine to reach maturity.

of said sceptre
is
carved so as to represent
vol.
iii.,
chap, xvi.,
p. 486.
Champollion Figeac, L'univers, Egypte, p. 361.

crossed on the belly
the men's arms remained hanging at the sides but sometimes the left hand was placed on
'
"The women's hands were

;
the right shoulder, the arm across the chest.
Page
157.
Plate
LIX.
Page
157.
Plate
LX.
'
QUMEN MOO AND THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX.

a leopard's paw.
This
is
name of the dead

The etymon of the
intended for the
Chaacmol,
hero, Coll, or
"leopard."
is: Chaac, "thunder," " tempest, " hence, "irrepower; " and mol, "the paw of any carnivorous ani-
word
last
sistible
The leopard being the
mal."
largest
Mayas, who,
the
we have
as
and
fiercest of the beasts
Yucatan and Central America,
of prey inhabiting the forests of
said,
named
all
"the paw
power
swift like thunder,"
like the tempest
"
general on the battle-field
by ono-
things
Chaacmol
matopceia, called their most famous warrior

is,
157
" the paw
that
Avith irresistible
French designate a noted

"
un aigle dans le combat," " un
as
just as the
foudre de guerre."
On
the panels that adorned the architrave were carved two
figures (Plate LIX.), the one a leopard, the other a
is
the totem of the warrior to whose
was
erected
order
it
memory
was constructed, and who dedicated
of her beloved brother and husband.

act of licking the hearts of
vanquished on the
it
would
inherit their valor.
among
The corona
skulls.
tom
they had
that the
that
cannibalism, like
ate the hearts of
by
This same custom prevails even in
of the cornice
Not one
as
is
is
artificially
adorned with a row of

deformed.
was by the inhabitants
it
'
so doing they
various peoples.
"An
human
Evidently the cus-
of deforming the head was not practised
Mayas
memory
whom
Mayas, although ordinarily not addicted to

many other nations of antiquity sometimes
our day
to the
indicates
their enemies,
in the belief
by whose
Being portrayed in the
battle-field, certainly
their conquered foes,
first
the mausoleum
the other that of his wife, Queen M<5o,
macaw
The
(Plate LX.), in the acting of licking or eating hearts.
by the ancient
of the cities of
eagle in the battle," " a thunder in war."
Copan and
158
These, therefore, could not have been
Palenque.
Mayas
as
the majority of Americanists assert without adequate proofs.
In
fact,
the sculptures at Chiclien
show that the Mayas and
the peoples that so deformed their heads, whoever they were,
were inimical to each
At
other.
the foot of the balustrades, on each side of the stairs
leading to the top of the mausoleum, there were large serpent

heads, with open
mouth and protruding tongue.
These serpent heads, we know, were totems of the Cans,

used in aU edifices erected by them, to show that they were
by
built
their order.
The tongue protruding from the mouth
was the symbol of wisdom among the Mayas.

found thus in the portraits of
priests, kings,
It
often
is
and other exalted
personages supposed to be endowed with great wisdom.'
may, perhaps, have been

to-day in Thibet.^
also a token of respect, as it
is
It
even
(Plate LXI.)
The mausoleum was crowned by a most interesting statue.

It was that of a dying leopard with a human head (Plate LXII.),
a veritable sphinx ; the prototype,
may
be, of the mysterious
Egyptian Sphinx, the most ancient monument in the vaUe}^ of

the Nile.
tures,
This
Maya
sphinx, like the leopard in the sculp-
had three deep holes
in its
back
symbols
spear thrusts that caused Prince Coil's death.
come
to the
knowledge
brave
Maya
Avarrior,
fight,
was treacherously
assassin his
own
to have been
Thus
of succeeding generations
whom
brother
of the three
that the
foes could not vanquish in fair
slain
Aac
murdered by
has
it
\>y
;
a cowardly assassin
just as Osiris in
his brother Set,
Egypt
this
is
said
and for the same
motive, jealous^^
'
"
cbap.
See Appendix, note xxi.

M. Hue, Recollections of a Journey through Thibet and Tartary,
vi., p. 158.
vol.
ii.,
Page
158.
Plate
LXI.
Page
158.
Plata
LXII.
159
Egyptian history, comes to us as a myth.
Prince
Osiris, in
Coh, the well-beloved Ozil,
a tangible reality; the author
is
having in his possession his charred heart, part of which was

analyzed, on September 25, 1880,
by the
late Professor Charles
now
O. Thompson, at the request of Mr. Stephen Salisbury,

president' of the
"American Antiquarian Society,"
of "Worces-
Besides, the author has also in his possession the
Mass.
ter,
very weapon with which the murder was committed.
(Plate
LXIII.)
From aU
antiquity the Egyptian Sphinx has been a riddle,
that has remained unsolved to our day.

still,
Bunsen
as
says,
the enigma of
(Plate
history.^
LXIV.)
It
is
" The name most
conspicuous on the tablet in the temple between the paws of this
wonderful statue
Avas the
it,
work
of
is
that of Armais."
King Khafra;' but he
for he adds: "
On
cation ?
Egypt
is
stUl in
doubt about
still
remains unsolved.
When and by
the colossal statue erected, and what was
it
the other hand, the great enigma of the
bearded giant Sphinx
whom was
According to Osburn,
its signifi-
"We are accustomed to regard the Sphinx in
as a portrait of the king,
of a particular king
and generally, indeed,
whose features
it is
as that
said to represent."
hieroglyphic written character, the sphinx
is
called Heh,
In
"the
lord."*
But Kichard Lepsius^ remarks: "King Khafra was named

in
the inscription, but
conclude that Khafra
it
first
does not seem reasonable thence to
caused the lion to be executed, as
Aug. Le Ploageon, Sacred Mysteries, certificate of analysis by Prof.

Charles O. Thompson, pp. 84-85.
' Bnnsen, EgypVs Place in VJiiversal History, vol. ii.,
p. 388.
^ Osburn, Monumental History
of Egypt, vol. ii., p. 319.
'
p. 311.
Ibid., vol.
'
R. Lepsius, Letters
i.,
from Egypt,
Horner's translation, p. 66.
Ethiopia,
and
the
Peninsula of Sinai,
"
160
another inscription teaches us King Khaf ra had already seen
him the
The
the monster, or, in other words, says that before
work
statue already existed, the
of another Pharaoh.
names of Thotmes IV., of Kameses

Khafra, are inscribed on the base."
who
Plinius, the first author

refers to
Its
it
as
age
is
it is
it
to its
in his " Six
Premieres
to be as old as the fourth dynasty; but
probably coetaneous with,
As
ever mentioned the Sphinx,
the tomb of Amasis.'

De Kouge,
unknown.
Dynasties," supposes
as well as that of
II.,
not anterior
if
the pyramids.
to,
significance, Clement of Alexandria ^ simply teUs
was the emblem of the "union of force with prudence or wisdom; " that is, of physical and intellectual power,
us that
it
supposed attributes of Egyptian kings.
Without pretending to emulate (Edipus, we

mitted to
may
be per-
call attention to certain striking analogies existing
between the Egyptian Sphinx and the leopard with hmnan head
that crowned Prince Coil's mausoleum.
understand these analogies,
it
will
In order to better
be necessary to consider not
only the meaning of the names of the Sphinx, but also

tion relative to the horizon
and to the
edifices
its posi-
by which
it is
surrounded.
It is placed exactly in front,
and to the
east, of the
pyramid, overlooking the Nile toward the rising sun.

resents a crouching lion, or
head,
'
'
hewn
may
out of the solid rock.
about the head and face, though nowhere
the original statuary surface

'
"
'
still,
It rep-
be a leopard, with a
Piazzi
Smyth ^
else,
second
human
teUs us that
there
occasionally, painted
is
much of
duU red.
Plinius, Hist. Nat., xxxvi. 17.
Clement of Alexandria, Strom, v,

Piazzi Smyth, Life and Work at the Great Pyramid,
p. 323.
vol.
i.,
chap,
xii.,
Page
159.
Plate LXIII.
Page
169.
Plate
i-fr^ j.-3*-"=
LXir.
'

The mausoleum
161
Prince Coh, in Cliicllen, stands in
of
front and to the east of the Memorial Hall.
top was that of a leopard with
human
The
head.
statue
on the
(Plate LXII.)
The color of the Mayas was red brown, judging from the fresco
paintings in the funeral chamber, and Landa teUs us that even
^
to the time of the Spanish Conquest they
.covering their face
and body with red pigment.
According to Henry Brugsch:
ple
was dedicated
its
To
the north of this huge
Isis;
another, dedicated to
''
form lay the temple of the goddess

the god Osiris, had
were in the habit of
place on the southern side; a third tem-
to the Sphinx.
The
inscription
on the stone
speaks as follows of these temples: He, the living Hor, king

of the upper
life,
and lower country, Khufu,
founded a temple to the goddess
Isis,
he, the dispenser of
the queen of the pyr-
amid; beside the god's house of the Sphinx, northwest from

the god's house and the
of the dead.
town
of Osiris, the lord of the place
'
The Sphinx being thus placed between temples dedicated to

and to Osiris, by their son Hor, would seem to indicate that
the personage represented by it was closely allied to both these
Isis
deities.
Another inscription shows that it was especially consecrated

thus conto the god Ea-Atum, or the " Sun in the West;
"
with
the
lands
toward
personage
the
necting said
setting
sun," with " the place of the dead," with the country whence
''
came the ancestors
of the Egyptians,
where they believed they
returned after the death of the physical body, to appear in the

presence of Osiris seated on his throne in the midst of the
waters, to be judged
by him
for their actions while
on earth.
'Landa, Las Gosas de Yucatan, ? xx., p. 114, and xxxi., p. 184.

' Henry
Brugsch, History of Egypt under the Pharaohs, vol. i.,
Seymour and Smith's translation.
11
p. 80,
162
Mr. Samuel Birch, in a note in the work of Sir Gardner

Wilkinson,
"Manners and Customs
tians,'" says "that
of the Ancient
the Sphinx was
we
Ha or Akar.''''
Maya language,
called
words mean
"wafer," and "pond" or "swamp."
These
respectively, in
Egyp-
the
In these names
may
not see a hint that the king represented by the huge statue
dwelt in countries surrounded by water ?
with the head turned toward the
may
who
people
sculptured
it
travelled
back to the west,
east, its
Might
not be without significance.
Its position, again,
it
mean that the

West toward the
not
from the
East? from the Western Continent where
when
Isis
was queen,
she abandoned the land of her birth and saUied forth,
with her followers, in search of a new home ?
May
not that lion or leopard with
a human head be the totem of some

famous personage in the mother coun-
Queen Moo,
highly venerated by her and her people, whose memory she wished to pertry,
closely
related
to
petuate in the land of her adoption and
among coming
Was
We
it
generations ?
the totem of Prince Coli ?
have seen in Mayacli, on the
entablature of the Memorial Hall, and in
the sculptures that adorned his mausopriest of osiris, covered witu

leopard's skin.
Osiris, as
leum at Cliichen, that he was represented as a leopard.
'
Samuel Birch,
iii.,
in Egj'pt,
king of the Amenti, king of the West, was lUcewise
portrayed as a leopard,
vol.
But
chap. xiv.
Sir
><S2:i
His priests always wore
Gardner Williiuson, JIanners and Customs, note,
163
a leopard skin over their ceremonial dress, and a leopard

skin
hung always near
his
images or statues.
In seeking to
explain the meaning of the names inscribed at the base of the
Sphinx,
we
will again
make
use of the
maj^ be for us, in this instance
Maya
language, which
the thread of Ariadne that
also,
more than d^dalian labyrinth.

Henry Brugsch again tells us: " The Sphinx is called in the
text Hu, a word which designates the man-headed lion, while
the real name of the god represented by the Sphinx was Sormakhu, that is to say, Horus on the horizon. It was also called
Khepra, Horus in his resting place on the horizon where the
will guide us out of this
'
'
'
"
Herodotus says
sun goes to
rest.
'
that
Horus was the
gods
last of the
governed the Egyptians before the reign of Menes, the

their terrestrial kings.
He came
into the world soon after the
death of his father, being the youngest son of
and he
who
first of
stood forth as his avenger,
and
Isis
Osiris;
combating Set and defend-
ing his mother against him.
According to the
composed of three
is,
Maya language Hormakhu is a

Maya primitives Hool-ma-kvi
hool, "head," "leader;"
ical of
Mayach,
ma,
ma,
"country," or
that becomes sjoicopated
by
word
:
that
rad-
losing the desi-
yachin forming the compound name; and ku, "god."

Hormakhu would then mean " the God chief in Mayach."
nence
It is well to
remember that the
Maya
and other
inscriptions
as generally were the Egyptian

and many other ancient languages, from right to left.
writings were read,
That
Ma
stands for
Mayach
in this instance,
seems to be no doubt, since the sign

'
Henry Brugsch, History of Egypt,
'
Herodotus, History,
lib.
ii.,
144.
vol.
which
ii.,
there
is
p. 464.
the shape
164
of the peninsula of Yucatan, forms part of the hieroglyph representing the
name
of the Sphinx.
Had
not this been the
intended meaning, the hierogrammatists would no doubt have
made
use of some other of the various signs with which they
represented the Latin letter

fact that hiero-
Besides, the sign
^^^^>
zon," makes
M.
"We must not
lose sight of the
graphic writings were mostly pictorial.

tJie
" sun resting on the western hori-
evident that the hieroglyph
it
was
intended to represent a country, having similar geographical

contour, situated in the regions where the sun sets
Mayas made
The
West.
that
is,
the
use of the same sign to designate
regions situated toward the setting sun.'
KJiepra would read in

incline;
"
La
is
Ketola or Khejpra
As
the
to
Sphinx,
Keb
means "to
is
therefore the sun inclined on the horizon.
name
IIu, used in the texts to designate the
may
it
Maya Keb-la.
the eternal "truth," the god, hence the sun.
be a contraction
of
the
Maya
liiil,
an
"arrow," a "spear."
The Greeks placed
weapons in the hands of some
offensive
of their gods, as symbols of
their attributes.
So also the
They represented Neith, Sati, or Khem holding

arrows.
bow
and
To Horus they gave a spear, hul, with
a
which he was said to have slain Set, his father's murderer.
They represented him sometimes standing in a boat, piercing
the head of Set swimming in the water.' Did they mean
Egyptians.
by
this to indicate that the
tragedy took place in a countrv
surrounded by water, reached only by means of boats ?

'
This sign forms part of the word
plates
ii.
and
See Introduction, ubi supra, p.

=
Alau
iii.
Plutarch,
Be
Yside
et
Osiride,
lix.
25, 36.
in the
They
Troano MS., in part
ii.,

Horus on the
also figured
head of a serpent
land, transfixing with a spear the
(illustration, p. 124).
Was, then, the serpent

Set, Osiris's
murderer, as
Coil's slayer
ISTo
doubt
165
it
in
was
Egypt one
in
of the totems of
Mayacli
of
Aac, Prince
?
it
was, since Osiris's worshippers were wont, at
the celebration of his feast, to throw a rope into their assembly, to simulate a serpent,
emblem
of his murderer,
to pieces, as if avenging the death of their god.
and hack
Was
it
this a
reminiscence of the tragedy that occurred in the mother coimtry,
where one member of the Can (serpent) family slew his brother ?
From
the portraits of his children, carved on the jambs of
the door of Prince
Coh's
funeral chamber at Chiclien,
learn that his youngest son, a comely lad of about sixteen,
was
named Hul his totem, a spear-head, is sculptured above

head.
Are not Hul, liu, Hor, Hoi, cognate words ?
;
we
his
Elsewhere ^ I have endeavored to show, from the identity

of their history,
totems,
from that of
their names,
and from
that Seb and Nut, and their children
Osiris,
their
Set,
by the Egyptians,
were the same personages known as King Canchi, his wife
Zo3, and their five children Cay, Aac, Coh, M6o and Nik6,
who lived and reigned in Mayacli, where, having received the
honor of apotheosis, after their death, they had temples erected
to their memory and divine homage paid them.
Aroens,
Isis,
and Nihe, worshipped
as gods
Queen Moo, not finding vestiges of the land of Mu, went

to Egypt, where we meet with traditions of her family troubles.
There she became the goddess Isis, was worshipped throughout
the land, her cult being superior even to that of Osiris.^
'
Aug. Le Plongeon, Sacred Mysteries,
'
Herodotus, Hist.,
lib. ii.,
43, 59, 61.
p. 87, et passim.
She
166
knew
that,
centuries before,
India and from the banks
Maya
They
among them.
had established
She naturally sought
themselves in the vaUey of the Nile.

refuge
coming from
colonists,
of the Euphrates,
received her vnth open arms,
accepted her as their queen, and called her loin, "the
little
sister," an endearing vrord that in time became changed into

Isis.
makes her say: " But

the sun-illumined Ethiopians and the Egyptians, renowned for
ancient lore, worshipping me with due ceremonies, caU. me by
Apuleius, in his " Metamorphosis,"
'
my
real
Isis,
queen of the country, educated by Thoth, Mercury.
name
Diodorus causes her to say:^ "'I
Isis."
have decreed, no one can annul.
am
corn.
am
am
the
of
Was
among
it
am
taught
the sister and
men
the use of
'
wheat and
of the dog."
who
the mother of Horus. "
In the Book of the Dead

these regions
first
What
the eldest daughter of
Saturn (Seb), the youngest of the gods.

wife of King Osiris.
am
was the
corn.
Isis says:
first to
am
she
"I am
the queen of
reveal to mortals the mj^steries
who
is
risen in the constellation
she who, to perpetuate the
memory
of her
husband
the coming generations in the land of her adoption, as
she had done in the country of her birth, caused the Sphinx to
be
made
which she had embellished
in the likeness of that with
the mausoleum of her beloved Coli in Chicllen ?
had represented him

his
as a djang leopard with a
back pierced with three spear wounds.
ured him also as a leopard with a
hmnan
lib. ii.,
341.
Diodorus, Bihl. Hist.,
"
BooTc of the Dead, chap, ex., verses 4-5.
lib.
i.,
head,
In Egypt she
human head but
'Apuleius, Metamorplwsis,
There she
37.
erect
fig-
and
Page
1G6.
Plate
LXV.
SPHINX.
167
proud, a glorified soul watching over the country that had

insured her safety, giving her a
she loved, and
date,
and
who obeyed with
new home; over
the people
reverence her smallest man-
after her death deified
and worshipped
her, calling
"good mother of the gods and of men," as Maia

by the Greeks, as Maya was by the Hindoos, and
Mayaoel by the Mexicans. Did she entrust to her son Hul
her the
was
called
the supervision of the execution of the huge statue, that for

this reason
Shall
was named
Hu in
we answer with
ries that force
influence of
the texts
when we
themselves on the mind,
Maya
ulations of Asia
customs and
and Africa
Maya
and those of Queen
reflect
civilization
on the
on the pop-
on the similarity of the names,
and the striking analogy of the events

Osiris,
certainty in the negative these que-
Moo
in the lives of Isis
and Prince
Coh
and
particularly
when, among other things, we consider the identity of the

ancient hieratic
Maya
rites of initiation into
of
and Egyptian alphabets; that
Mayacli and Egypt,' and many
tions that
it is
other customs and tradi-
impossible to regard as mere coincidences, these
being too numerous to be the
Furthermore,
we may
made by
discovery
of the
the mysteries celebrated in the temples
Col.
effect of
hazard ?
take into consideration the latest
G. E. Kaum, of San Francisco, in
excavating the temple between the fore paws of the Sphinx, of

the cap that once covered the head of the statue.
This cap
is
painted red and adorned with three lotus stems and a serpent.
Might not these indicate that the personage represented by

the Sphinx came from a country situated in the midst of the
waters, and belonged to the family of the
'
"
Aug. Le Plongeon, Sacred Mysteries,

Herald, March 30, 1896.
New Torh
Cans, serpents ? ^
p. 15, et passim.
Page
1G9.
Plate
LXVI.
APPENDIX.
Note
(1)
I.
(Page
xxviii.)
Diego de Landa, the second bishop of Yucatan, was a
native of Cifuentes de Alcarria, in Spain.
(Plate
LXVI.) Born
in 1524:, in the noble family of the Calderones, he at the age

of seventeen, that
St. Francis, in the
is,
in 1541,
became a monk
Convent of San Juan de
los
the aborigines
He
Mayaunder
Order of
Reyes, at Toledo.
In August, 1549, being then twenty-five years
Yucatan as a missionary.
of the
old,
he went to
soon learned the language of

the tuition of Father Luis de
ViUalpando, whose grammar of that tongue he revised and

corrected.
It
was afterward published
in the City of
Mexico
by Father Juan Coronel.
From
Maya
the time
when Landa was
language he dedicated his whole
able to understand the

life
to evangelical work,
teaching Christianity to the natives, converting them to his

faith.
During thirty
years, to the hour of his death,
which
occurred on the 29th of April, 1579, with the exception of the
APPMNDIX.
170
among
in Spain, he lived
two years he passed
Mayas.
the
Whilst preaching the gospel he took care to study the customs,

manners, mode of life, laws, institutions, religion, and traditions of the people
among whom he
tenets,
with the
rites
He
labored.
his book, that their sciences, their history,
and
tells us,
in
their religious
and observances which they practised,
were contained in volumes written in alphabetical and ideographic characters on prepared deer-skin (parchment), or on
paper
made from
At
the roots of certain trees.
the impulse of
no doubt, to the ideas
a misguided religious zeal, attributable,
and prejudices prevalent in Spain in the sixteenth century, and

to his eaiiy education, assuming the rights and prerogatives of
an inquisitor, he ordered an auto-de-fe, which took place in
the city of Mani, in the year 1561, in presence of the majority
of the Spanish nobility resident in the country.
regretted that, together
It is to be
with the bones of a number of
beings that he had disinterred for the occasion,
many
volumes, containing the history and traditions of the

written in the characters in use
among them
human
precious
Mayas
and
Landa
at that time,
other valuable objects, were consigned to the flames.
himself, in his work, complacently gives a detailed account of

all
the documents and various other things he thus caused to
be destroyed; stating emphatically, as
pang
of his conscience, that
if
to
aUay some
no human being was burned
although several individuals, fearing
lest
secret
alive,
such horrid chastise-
ment should be inflicted on them, hanged themselves, and their

carcasses
were scattered through the
forests to
become the prey
of wild beasts and vultures.
However, the historian owes Landa a debt of gratitude,

since, in spite of his blind fanaticism,
as
if
to atone for the
by a strange
wanton destruction
freak,
and
of the precious histor-
APPENDIX.
ical data,
171
he has preserved, with the manners and customs of
the aborigines, some of the alphabetical and ideographic char-
by the Maya hierogrammatists, together with their

symbols for the names of days and months. These have served
as a key to decipher some pages of the Troano MS., as well
acters used
as
some
ments
of the inscriptions painted
in the palaces at
certain Americanists
Kabah
may
on the walls of the apart-
and other
say, there can be
places.
Whatever
no doubt as to the
genuineness of said characters and symbols, nor as to the good

faith of Landa,
deplore.
whose mental blindness we can only pity and
APPENDIX.
173
Note
(4)
II.
(Page xxix.)
Fray Diego Lopez de Cogolludo was a native
Henares, Spain;
of Alcala
de
have been unable to obtain data concerning
The date of his birth and that of his death are

unknown. Though always ready to bestow praise on each and
every member of his Order, he is most reticent when speaking
his family.
He
of himself.
ligence,
his
seems to have been a
man
of superior intel-
remarkably free-minded for his age and
calling.
" Historia de Yucathan," a great part of which
to the doings
and sayings
of his friends
and
is
From
dedicated
associates in the
evangelical labor of preaching the gospel and catechising the

aborigines,
Convent of
we
learn that he received the sacred orders in the
St. Francis, in his native city,
whence he came as
missionary to Yucatan in 1634, being one of twenty -five
monks
brought to the country by Eev. Francisco Ximenes de Santa

Maria.
Maya
the Maya
Father Juan Coronel, author of a
published in Mexico, was his teacher of
grammar
language.
During the twenty -two years that elapsed from the time of
his arrival until 1656, the last year
occupied
many
mentioned in his work, he
posts of importance in his Order.
He
the cities of Guatemala and Mexico, travelling on foot.
visited
"While
he was Superior or Guardian of the Convent of Motiil, a great

famine occurred in the country.
The
He
sufferings of the people
many dying
of inanition.
also tells of a terrible epidemic, that, judging
by the symp-
are said to have been very severe,
toms, minutely described, was yellow fever of the most virulent
Page
Plate
17-3.
5>
Ni
:i-.s-fi
-5-Nti^
'**%a
^ 5M
LXVII.
APPENDIX.
form.
It
173
began in 1648, and lasted two years, reducing the
population of the country by one-half.
work
CogoUudo wrote
the Convent of
Cacalchen.
published in Madrid in 1688
The MS. was sent to Spain, and

by Father Francisco de Ayeta,
procurator-general of the Order of St. Francis for

inces of
king
his
at intervals as his duties allowed him, while Superior of
New
the printer
first edition
aU.
the prov-
Spain, having been granted a copyright
are
was Juan Garcia Infanzon.
now
extremely rare.
(Plate
by the
Copies of this
LXVII.)
APPENDIX.
174
Note
(1)
the
(Page xxxi.)
III.
The Troano MS. is one of the books written for the use of
It is one of the few analpriests and noblemen.
Maya
tes that escaped destruction at the hands of the over-zealous

missionaries
who came
that country
to
Yucatan even before the conquest of
How
by the Spaniards.
iconoclastic fury,
it is difficult
it
was saved from
to surmise; nor is
it
their
known who
brought it to Spain. CogoUudo, describing these Maya books/

says: " They were composed of a scroll of paper ten or twelve
varas (thirty to thirty-six feet) long, doubled up so as to form
folds about eight inches (una pahna) wide, placed
between two
boards, beautifully ornamented, that served as cover."

tells
Landa
us that^ " the paper was manufactured from the roots of
certain trees,
and that when spread
in sheets, these
were coated
with a white and unalterable varnish on which one could easily

write."
measures
The written space on each

by nine inches.
leaf of the
Troano MS.
five
The learned Abbe
Brasseur, returning
from his expedition to
Yucatan, passing through Madrid, made the acquaintance of

Seiior
Dn. Juan Tro y Ortelano, professor of paleography at the

That gentleman showed to Brasseur
University of that city.
an old manuscript which he said was Mexican.

once recognized in
it
some
of
alphabet preserved by Landa.

'
He
Cogolludo, Hist, de Yvcathan,
'Landa,
The abbe
the characters of the

asked,
lib. iv.,
at
Maya
and was graciously
chap, v., p. 185.
L<xs Uosas dc Yiiaitnn, chap, vii., p.
14.
APPENDIX.
make a copy
permitted, to
to Yucatan,
name
of the
This
owner
Maya
ment, for
it
inscriptions,
is
artist
who had accompanied
and the task occupied two years and
a half of the artist's time.
Government under the
The work was
of the document.
done by Mr. Henry Bourgeois, the
Abbe Brasseur
175
title
was published by the French
It
of
"Manuscrit Troano," from the
of the original.
manuscript
is,
indeed, a most precious docu-
a brilliant light that, besides the monumental
now
illuminates the darkness which surrounds the
history of the ancient inhabitants of the peninsula of Yucatan.
The second
part, after describing the events that took
place during the awful cataclysms that caused the destruction

of ten different countries, one of which, called Mu, Avas proba-
bly Plato's Atlantis,

orological
is
mostly dedicated to the
recital of
and geological phenomena that occurred
"Land
of
Mayab
formed a
the
Serpent," also called

part.
Beb
(tree),
of
mete-
in the
which
APPENDIX.
176
(Pages xxxviii. and 150.)
Note IV.
(1)
"What bitter irony
workingmen
Every day,
all
over the land, some
in the haciendas (plantations), sirvientes as they
are called, are pitilessly and arbitrarily flogged

seers ;
may
by
their over-
put in stocks during the night, so that their day's work
not be left undone, and otherwise cruelly punished for the

True,
smallest offence or oversight.
we
are told that there are
laws printed in the codes that forbid such iniquitous treatment,
and that those subjected to

to
whom ?
it
can complain.
Complain
If they lay their grievances before the
the hacienda, their only redress
is
And
owner
of
to receive a double ration of
lashes for {su atrevimiento de quejarse) daring to complain.
If
they lodge a complaint before a Judge, as by law they have a

right, he, of course, is the friend or relative of the planter.
He
himself
may
be a planter.
On
servants Avho are treated in like
own plantation he
manner.
What remains
his
the poor devil to do but to endure and be resigned ?

all.
His fathers have suffered as he
has
for
That
suffers, as his children
is
^^'ill
suffer.
These facts
do not report from hearsay, but fi'om actual
personal observation.
How many
times have I ^vitnessed the
whipping of some poor creature, for the most

without being able to interfere
such interference would be resented,

victim a
more severe punishment
very stanch Catholic,
who
trifling cause,
knowing weU that

and would entail on the
in his behalf,
later
considered
on
it
To a gentleman,
a sin to
fail to
attend
APPENDIX.
177
mass every morning, who had been educated
Europe and of the United
States,
in the colleges of
was once making some
observations on the bad treatment inflicted on the Indians in
most Christianlike, was not-
the plantations, which, though
withstanding extremely barbarous,
when he
saying, "Well, they are accustomed to
palo
'
('
For the Indian, bread and
stick
me by
pan y
common
interrupted
'
it.
')
Al
is
indio
the
saying throughout the country."

Alas! for the poor Indian this saying
is
true only in part,
for very little bread falls to his share, but abundance of lashes.
Of
course, those ill-treated people at times
who
then
They
would not ?
for they are soon
and surely made
are criminal laws, enacted
by congress
During twelve years that

cities of
Mayas,
the ancient
Yucatan peninsula,
become exasperated
kill their overseers.
to
Woe
to
them
remember that there
to punish such as they.
have dwelt amid the ruined
in the depth of the forests of the
have had occasion to study the character
of the Indians as weU. as the remains of the palaces
and temples
where, not so very long ago, their ancestors burned copal and
incense in honor of their gods.
I have found that the Indians,
treated kindly, as every intelligent being,
should be, were generally as good
white or inestizo countrymen.

these,
however, are
rare,
Of
and are
as, if
human
or not
human,
not better than, their
course, there are exceptions;
to be found
among those who
have been brought up by some white or mestizo master.
With Madame Le Plongeon,

power for months at a time, in
from any
city or village, far
invariably found
patient,
them
and brave.
general; though
13
have been altogether in their
the midst of deep forests, far
from any inhabited
place; I
have
respectful, honest, polite, unobtrusive,
cannot say as much for the mestizos in
among them,
also, there are
honorable excep-
APPENDIX.
178
unhappily not as numerous as might be desired. During

expeditions I have always preferred to be accompanied by
tions,
my
them even
Indians; I could trust
Chan
hostile Indians of
full confidence in
course, they
Of
on them.
relied
Scmta Cruz.
I never
them.
alarm from the
in case of
They knew that
had
had occasion to regret having
Who
have defects; but,
has
not?
With Hon. Henry Fowler, who, when
colonial secretary of
the colony of British Honduras, in 1878, made an exploration

in the uninhabited parts of the country, accompanied by half
a dozen Indians and two American guides, I will say, "

^
the Indian is sober, he is always a gentleman."
my
During
last sojourn at
When
Cliichen, in December, 1884,
by fifteen atlantes of fine

had unearthed an
workmanship, and painted with bright colors. One of these
particularly attracted the attention of some Indians who lived
altar sustained
few miles from the ancient
in the forest a
cause the ornaments that adorned
worn by Catholic
to look at
it
it
perhaps be-
city,
appeared like the chasubles
when celebrating mass. They came

times.
At last they begged me to give it
priests
several
to them, to carry to their village, notwithstanding
"
What do you want
"we
they answered,
wax
it
will build a house for it;
candles and incense in
it is
its
for? " I inquired of them.
its
honor, and
we
we
shall
weight.
" Oh,"
will
burn
worship
it
so pretty! " they added.
I then learned that in a cavern, in the
depth of the
forest,
they venerated another ancient statue, which they called Zactalali, that
is,
the
would not show

'
it
'
'
blow or
to
Hon. Henry Fowler,
British Honduras.
me
man.
'
'
But they
unless I subscribed to certain condi-
Official
(Belize.)
slap of a white
Report of an Excursion in the Interior of
APPENDIX.
tions,
among
179
make known
others not to
the place where
it
Avas
concealed.
The hnage
represents a
man
with a long beard, kneeling,
the hands raised to a level with the head, the palms upturned.
On
his
Indians,
beans.
back he carries a bag containing, according to the
Bui y uah, a paste made of a mixture

now black with the smoke of wax
It is
incense burnt before
it
by the worshippers.
of corn
and
candles and
Before applying
the lighted torch to the felled trees that are cut
down to prepare
the ground for sowing corn and beans, the devotees repair to
Zactalali's sanctuary, and place before him calabashes
filled
with the refreshing beverage called Zacha, made from corn.
They burn copal and wax
wood
to burn weU.;
on the more or
him
candles, imploring
which
is
for
thorough burning of the
less
to cause the
them most important,
greater or lesser abundance of the crops.
trees
At
since
depends the
the beginning of
showers of the rainy season, and before the
June, after the
first
sowing of the
seeds,
they again
visit
the cavern to implore
the god to grant them a plentiful harvest and to prevent the
animals of the forest from eating and destroying the crops.
Having obtained
these favors, at the time of the harvest the
come to pay their homage to their

They come with their wives iand children,
grateful worshippers again
beneficent deity.
bringing the finest ears of corn, the ripest squashes, the primitias
of the fields, besides roasted corn
They then kneel
and various other
in the presence of the image,
offerings.
having previously
presented their oblations and lighted a large number of

candles.
Soon the smoke of a mixture
of incense
wax
and copal
gathered from the trees in the forest, with ground roasted corn,
fills
the cavern
violin,
and the devotees,
to the
accompaniment
of a
a tiiiikul, a zacatan, and other musical instruments
APPENDIX.
180
used by their forefathers in their ancient religious
rites,
chant
some prayers of the Catholic Church. These they repeat over

and over again, counting the beads of their rosaries. It is a
strange medley of ancient and modern idolatry.
matters
it,
few joys
since it
in their
makes them happy?
life.
And
But what
they have so
APPENDIX.
Note Y.
181
(Pages xxxix.,
xl.)
Eligio Ancona, " Historia de Yucatan," vol.

(3)
of
i.,
p. 37.
Senor Dn. Eligio Ancona, who, in 1875, was governor
Yucatan when Madame Le Plongeon and
unearthed the statue of Prince

tan writer well
known
no great value, he
a Yuca-
and a history of Yucatan of
own
edited, at his
is
Besides several his-
in his country.
torical novels of doubtful merit,
and
I discovered
Coh (Chaacmol),
expense, after the death
Maya dictionary compiled in great part by

Dn. Juan Pio Perez, a gentleman who applied himself to the
of the author, the
study of things relating to the ancient history of the aborig-
Whatever may be
ines of his fatherland.
said of the history of
Yucatan, in four volumes, written by Seiior Ancona, and
worth respecting the events that have taken place
But when he
Spanish conquest, I leave to others to decide.

attempts to write on the ancient history of the
be confidently said that
ciful imagination,
it is
(1)
Abbe
it
may
a fictitious production of his fan-
others,
with some extracts from the
Brasseur.
Bernardo de Lizana was born
province of Toledo.
in the convent of
Mayas
founded on the narratives of Bishop Landa,
CogoUudo, Lizana, and

writings of
Ms
He
in 1581, at Ocafia, in the
entered the Order of St. Francis
native city.
He came
as a missionary to
Yucatan in 1606, with eleven other monks, under the care

Father Diego de Castro.
the
Maya
its
since the
He
of
learned with great perfection
language, and was teacher of
it
for
many
years.
APPENDIX.
183
He
said
is
to
of his time.
have been one of the most clever preachers
In his disposition he was very
body loved him.
Every-
affable.
During the twenty-five years
of his resi-
dence in Yucatan, he fiUed the highest posts of his Order,

It is reported that after predicting
except that of Provincial.
the hour of his death, he passed from this
life
in 1631.
Father Lizana wrote several works, aU valuable.

to-day,
from
if
his
not
all lost,
very
difficult to find.
They
are
Cogolludo quotes
" Devocionario de N* Senora de Itzamal, Historia
de Tucathan y Su Conquista Espiritual. "
Brasseur has pre-
" Del principio y fundacion de

estos Cuyos 6 Mules deste sitio y pueblo de Itzamal " in his
translation of Landa's " Eelacion de las Cosas de Yucatan."
served a fragment entitled
APPENDIX.
Note VI.
(1)
work,
(Page
183
3.)
William Robertson, in the second edition (1794) of
"An
his
Historical Disquisition concerning Ancient India"
(page 292), says: "It
may
be considered as the general result
of all the inquiries, reasonings,
and calculations with respect to
Indian astronomy, which have hitherto been made public, that

the motion of the heavenly bodies, and more particularly their
situation at the
commencement
of the different epochs to
which
the four sets of tables refer, are ascertained with great accuracy; and that
many
of the elements of
their
calculations,
by an astonishing
the modern astronomy of
especially for ver}' remote ages, are verified
coincidence
with the tables of
Europe, when improved by the latest and most nice deductions
from the theory of
gravitation.
These conclu-
by the evidence
science unexampled
sions are rendered particularly interesting
which they afford of an advancement
in
in the history of rude nations."
One
of the astronomical tables referred to
by Mr. Robert-
son goes back to the year 3102 before the Christian era; that
is,
a century previous to the time
their first settlements
when
the Arj^âns established
on the banks of the river
Saras'wati,
according to Mr. Adolphe Pictet (" Les Origines Indo-Europiennes

caste
became
stan.
").
At
that time the Brahmins were not the powerful
and corporation of learned philosophers which they

after the
Aryans made themselves masters
That country was then under the sway
of
Hindo-
of the highly
APPENDIX.
184
colonists
very remote ages in the Dekkan, by
settled in
had extended
mogony and
aU other
dominion over the
their
The Brahmins,
as
Maya
These were
civilized ISTdg^s.
it is
that,
little
having
and
little
less cultured aborigines.
well known, borrowed their system of cos-
acquired their knowledge of astronomy, as well
and the
sciences
arts of
civilization,
from the
Nagds, whom, afterward, they relentlessly persecuted.

Again, Mr. Eobertson says (page 296): " It
is
accordingly
for those very remote ages (about five thousand years distant
from the present) that their astronomy

the nearer
we come down
formity of
its results
to our
own
the time
when
The
more the con-
times, the
its
It seems reason-
rules are
the observations were
are founded.
rules
most accurate, and
with ours diminishes.
able to suppose that the time Avhen

is
is
most accurate
made on which
these
superior perfection of the
Indian tables becomes always more conspicuous as

ther back into antiquity.
it
with the state

time
when
years.
such as
tables
the tables are constructed as four or five thousand
It is
it
This shows, likewise,
any astronomical
which wiU agree

of the heavens for a period so remote from the
to construct
is
we go farhow difiicult
only from astronomy in
its
most advanced
state,
has attained in modern Europe, that such accurac}-
to be expected."
Again (page
297):
""When an
endeavored to be made of the geometrical
skill
the construction of the Indian tables and rules,
estimate
is
is
necessary for
it is
found to
be very considerable; and, besides the knowledge of elementary geometry,
it
must have required plane and spherical
trig-
onometry, or something equivalent to them, together with

certain
methods of approximating to the values of geometrical
magnitudes, which seem to

of
any
of those sciences.
rise
Some
very far above the elements

of these last
mark
also very
APPENDIX.
clearly that the places to
be situated between the
which these
185
tables are adapted
tropics, because
they are altogether
inapplicable at a greater distance from the equator."
(page 298):
"From
this
must
And
long induction, the conclusion which
seems obviously to result
is
that the Indian astronomy
is
founded upon observations which were made at a very early

period;
places
and when we consider the exact agreement of the
which they assign to the sun and moon and other heav-
enly bodies, at that epoch, with those deduced from the tables
of
De
la Caille
and Mayer,
it
strongly confirms the truth of
the position which I have been endeavoring to establish con-
cerning the early and high state of civihzation in India."
APPENDIX.
186
Note VII.
(1)
In
(Page
15.)
Maya there are several words for
" ocean," " sea "
aU conveying the idea of fiery or yellow liquid. To comprehend

the motives that prompted those who applied these names to the
element by which the planet
is
mostly covered would require
a thorough acquaintance with the geological notions of the

ancient
were
scientists.
But when we
generally given to objects
may
sea
Maya
reflect that
by onomatopoeia, those
perhaps shadow such notions.
A long
the subject would here be certainly out of place.

fore content myself with giving the
leaving
it
consulting
Maya
The first
monumental
of the
dissertation
I
wiU
on
there-
of the words,
his own conclusions.

By
we find the various words for
to be kanali, kaanab, kaknab, kankab.
to each reader to
"sea," " ocean,"
etymon
names
draw
dictionaries
have explained in the
inscriptions
text,
and the characters
according to the
in ancient
Maya
books, in which a serpent head invariably stands as symbol of
the Mighty Serpent.

The second, kaanab, is a word composed of two primitives
kaa, "bitter;" and nab, which has various meanings
"gold," "unction," "palm of the hand." In the countries
of the Western Continent it was customary to anoint the kings
by pouring over their heads and bodies gold-dust held in the
palm of the hand.^ Is it a coincidence that the god, among
the sea
'
en
el
Pr. Pedro Simon, Koticias IlisiorUilcs de las Conquistas de Tierra Firme

Nuevo lieino de Grenada. Apvd Kingsborough, vol. iii.
APPENDIX.
the Assyrians,
called
god
who
187
presided over the unction of the kings, was
Naho ; and that Nub, in Egypt, was the surname of the

and Web meant lord? In our day Nabob is still the
Set,'^
title for
a viceroy in India.
It also
means a man
of great
wealth.'
In aftertimes gold was replaced by
and by
tion,
in the
lustral water,
ceremony of
The
purification.
kakiiab,
is composed of two primitives

"
and nab, the pahn of the hand." Like the
third word,
kak, "
fire,"
Egyptians, the
Mayas
his face turned
toward
of
life,^
the royal unc-
oil in
poured from the pahn of the hand,
figured the earth as an old
the east, holding in his
man with
hand the
spirit
Fire, the " soul of the universe," the primordial cause
of all things, according to the Yajur-veda,^
maxim was Corpus
philosophers whose
and
to all ancient
est terra,
aniraa
est
ignis.
The Aryans, and
all
peoples allied to them, represented the
" Mother Earth," even as we do

Would
not
this
show
that the Egyptians were not
to-day.
of Aryan stock as some Egyptologists pretend; but, on the
earth as a
woman and
called it
other hand, that they were closely related to the

fact
which becomes more and more evident
their traditions, their manners,
as
we
Mayas
study deeper
and their customs, and com-
pare more carefully their cosmogonic conceptions and astro-
nomical notions.
As
two
'
236
'
^
to the fourth word,
kankab,
primitives, kaii, "yellow,"
it is
also
composed of the
andkab, "hand."
Henry Brugsch, History of Egypt under
the Pliaraohs, vol.
It
i.,
seems
pp. 312-
pp. 120-246.
Webster's Dictionary.
vol.
ii.,
Codex Cortesianus, plates

Asiatic Mesearches, vol.
vii.-viii.
viii.,
See illustrations, plates Iv.-lvi.
pp. 431-433.
APPENDIX.
188
to
have originated in the same personification of the earth as
an old man, with a golden or fiery hand, a yellow hand.
It is
the same conception of the fire and the water allied to produce
all things,
of the
that
Mayas,
we
see portrayed in the cosmogonic diagrams
the Hindoos, and the Chaldees.
APPENDIX.
Note VIII.
189
(Page
82.)
In his work " Lares and Penates," Mr. William Burckhardt Barker, in Chapter IV., " On Certain Portraits of Huns
(1)
and
their Identity with the Extinct Paces in America," says:,

" Mr. Abington's observations on this piece (55), a head of most
monstrous form, in a conical cap, are of so remarkable a nature

that I must be permitted to publish
Abington says: 'This

whole
here.
the
first
view I was struck with the
identity of its strange profile Avith the figures sculptured
monuments and
the
America.
Many
faces exactly.'
trait of
Hun ?
edifices of
Is
.
it
upon
an extinct people in Central
of Stephens's engravings represent the
Mr.
the most extraordinary thing in the
is
On
collection.
them
same
not a faithful and correct por-
Hitherto the sculptures of Central
America have only been wondered at, but not explained.

Does not this head identify them with the Huns, and thereby
upon a dark mystery?
The following
from
Stephens's plates^ and the Quarterly Journal, will show that
my notion of the matter is not a mere fancy.
let light
in
sketches of the sculptures in Central America, taken
Heads
so very unusual, not to say unnatural, though
in such distant places,

stock.
found
must surely have come from the same
We have written descriptions
appearance of the Huns
who
of the
inhuman
devastated the nation; but I
John L. Stephens, Incidents of Travels in Central America and Yucatan.

(The author.)
'
APPENDIX.
190
never met with any representation of them either pictorial or

sculptured.
Perhaps you have the gratification of
bring-
first
ing before the world a true and exact representation of that once
terrible but
now forgotten race, and
probably unique
by an
that, too,
removing the
also of
veil that
illustration
has hitherto
men who have
concealed the mysterious origin of the
the
left
memorial of their peculiar conformation upon the sculptured

stones of America, but
Up
who have been
to here Mr. Barker.
It
is
long extinct."
certain that the peoples
who
images of their strange and hideous visages sculptured on
left
the temples and palaces of Copan, Palenque, Manche, and other

places in the countries watered
by the
confluents, did not belong to the
its
equally certain that

sible,
it
would be most
to prove that they did to
Uzumacinta and
river
Maya
But
race.
it is
not to say impos-
difficult,
that of the
Huns notwith;
standing the fact that there exist abundant proofs of the

presence in America, before and after the beginning of the
Christian era, of
Mongol or Tartar
their traces in
left
many
tribes,
and that these have
places of the "Western Continent.-
These portraits sculptured on the temples of Palenque, Manche,

etc.,
may
very well be those of people from Tahiti and other
islands of the Pacific, visited
their voyages to India.
It
by the
Mayas
in the course of
was customary with the
ants of certain of these islands to flatten
inhabit-
the skulls of the
infants of the warrior caste, in the shape of a wedge, to
make
them appear hideous when grown up, so tliat by their looks

they might inspire terror in the hearts of their foes.
'
etc.,
See, ubi supra, Plate
XXIX.
Joliu Ranking, Historical Researches on the Conquest of Peru, Mexico,

hy the Mongols.
"
'
APPENDIX.
Note IX.
(Page
191
87.)
This same custom of making use of mercury for the
(3)
preservation of corpses exists
Gumming
in Thibet.
still
C. F.
Himalayas and on the Indian Plains " (page
442), says:
tried to exercise strong faith while recalling
dies, several of
made
to
the finest young
swallow mercury
tion being that those
who
We
Hue's curious
when a
great chief
of the tribe
till
they suffocate, the supposi-
thus die continue to look fresh after
In a note she adds:
death."
"
men and women
account of Tartar funerals, telling how,
are
Gordon
(Mrs. Helen Hunt), in her interesting book " In the
"Quicksilver
believed to
is
endow the body with power to resist death and avoid further
So Hindoo wizards prepare elixirs of mertransmigration.
cury and powdered mica, Avhich are supposed to contain the
very essence of the god Siva and one of his wives.
We
'
read in the "Travels of Marco Polo," published in
Edinburgh by Hugh Murray

found
traveller
this
(1844), that this ancient Italian
same custom,
of
using mercury for the
preservation of corpses, existing in India and China when, in

1250, he visited those countries.
tion of
it
in his
Father
work, " KeooUections
Hue
of a
also
makes men-
Journey through
Tartary, Thibet, and China," and so does Bayard Taylor,
Bishop Heber, and other modern
travellers.
APPENDIX.
192
Note X.
(1)
(Page
88.)
Bishop Heber, in his "Narrative of a Journey through
the Upper Provinces of India"

430, 525, 530
vol.
iii.,
386
(vol. i., p.
pp. 48, 49),
vol.
ii.,
pp.
says "that at the city of
Cairah in Guzerat, as in Greece, the statues have the white of

the eyes
made
are
painted with colors emblematic of their attributes.
still
of ivory
and
silver.
The
statues of the gods
The gods Vishnu and Krishna are painted blue; Thoth, the
god of wisdom and letters, red, etc."
(2) Henry Layard, "Nineveh and its Remains" (vol. ii.,
part
ii.,
by him
chap,
iii.),
speaks of the painted sculptures discovered
work, " Nineveh and Babylon "

ing of statues with eyes
Siculus
and other places; and in
in Nineveh, Khorsabad,
(lib. ii., c.
made
(p. 276),
of ivory
and
glass.
mals painted on the walls of the palace of

Babylon, and so also does Ezeldel (chap,
(3)
xi.),
Eusebius, " Prcep. et
(vol.
Diodorus
men and
xx.) speaks of the figures of
and Smith, "Five Monarchies"
his
he mentions the find-
ani-
Semiramis in
xxii., verses 14, 15)
pp. 450, 451).
i.,
Demons. Evang."
(lib. iii.,
chap.
says that the Egyptians painted the statues of their gods.
Kneph, Amen, Ha, Nilus, were painted

were painted
red.
Set and Atuin

"
Sir Gardner Wilkinson, in
Manners and
Customs of Ancient Egyptians"

207), also says that the
(vol.
blue.
iii.,
chap,
xiii.,
pp. 10,
Egyptians painted the statues of their
gods and of their kings, and provided them with eyes made of
ivory or glass.
(4)
eyes.
The Greeks colored
their statues
and provided thena with
APPENDIX.
Note XI.
(1) J.
(Pages 100, 127, 128.)
Talboys Wheeler informs us that the JVdgds were a
famous in the Kshatriya
tribe
193
whose history
traditions,
is
deeply interwoven with that of the Hindoos; that they wor-
shipped the serpent as a national diânity, and that they had
adopted
as a national emblem.'
it
From
they derived their
it
name.
The
origin of the JVdgds
is
unknown to Indianists and other

They agree, however, that
writers on the history of India.
they were strangers in the country, having established them-
Hindostan in times anterior to
selves in the southern parts of
the war of the Pandavas and the Kauvaras; nay, anterior even
to the epoch
when
Aryan
the
colonists
grated to the Punjab and founded their
banks of the Saraswati when
from Bactria emi-
first
this river still
settlements on the
emptied
itself
They do not know whence they came, nor in
the Indus.
into
Avhat
part of the earth their mother country was situated.
Conjectures are not wanting on that point.
Because these
JVdgds worshipped the serpent, some have presumed that they
were a tribe of Scythians,^ whose
race, Herodotus tells us, was

from a mythical being, half-woman,
said to have descended
half -serpent,
now
who
bore three sons to Heracles.*
inquire into the origin of that myth.

J.
'
Ibid., p. 141.
-'
13
Talboys Wheeler,
'
Herodotus, Hist.,
Hist, of India, vol.
lib. iv.
9-10.
"We will not
Looking into the

i.,
p. 146.
APPENDIX.
194
we might
land of fabulous speculations,

to have been the descendants
of that
as well imagine
Emperor
them
of Heaven,
Tien-IIoang of Chinese mythology, who, the Chinese assert,
had the head of a man and the body of a

they were regarded by the masses of Hindoos
serpent, since
as semi-divine
beings.
"We have seen in the early part of this book that the JVdgcis,
having obtained a foothold in the Dekkan, founded a colony
that in time became
rulers
and powerful empire whose
a large
governed the whole of Hindostan.
They did not
confine
themselves to India; but pushed their conquests toward the

Avest
and northwest, extending their sway
all
over western
Asia to the shores of the Mediterranean, introducing their

ilization in
civ-
every ancient country, leaving traces of their wor-
ship in almost every system of religion.
Pundit Dayanand Saraswati, said to be the greatest Sanscritist of
modern
legends of
India,
Hindostan,' affirms that he has
mother country of the

odes; that
and the most versed in the lore and
is,
JVdffcis
to
Central America.^
were cdlonists from Mayacli

'
''
H. P. Blavatsky,
From
the Caves
Swami
If
it
and
and
be
discovered the
J*dtclla,
so,
the antip-
then the Kdgds
their civilization,
their
the Jungles of Hindostan, p. 63.
pp. 27-35.
Vive Kananda, a learned Hindoo
Hid., Secret Doctrine, vol.
Tlie
have been
i.,
monk, when lecturing
New York
on Yogi, the Vedanta, and the religious doctrines of India, in

speaking with the author on the origin of the Nagds, assured him that it
was the received opinion of the learned pundits of that country that they
came originally from Pdt&la, the antipodes; that is, Central America. Patala was tlie name given by the inhabitants of India to America in those
remote times. It was also that of a seaport and great commercial emporium frequently visited by ancient Egyptians in their commercial intercourse
with India. In his Perij^his maris Eri/thra'C, Arrian informs us that it was
in
situated at the lower delta of the river Indus.

of the place.
Tatta
is
the
modern name
APPENDIX.
195
scientific attainments, their traditions, their religious concep-
must, of necessity, have been those of the
tions,
"Will
any one object to the
Mayas.
fact of a small colony of civilized
immigrants establishing themselves in the midst of barbarous

peoples,
and growing,
few
in the course of a
centuries, so as to
form a vast and powerful empire, exercising great influence on

the populations within its limits and even beyond ? To such
objection
may
it
be answered, History repeats
Without
itself.
speaking of the origin of the great kingdoms whose history
forms our ancient history,
round
let us cast
a glance at what happens
See what has occurred in the same countries within
us.
the last two hundred and fifty years.
From Fort
and
on the narrow
strip six
by the English
in 1639,
the small settlement called Madras,
miles long and one mile deep, bought
on the coast of Coromandel,
which they had
for
in the peninsula of
George
St.
Dekkan, and
to pay, as tribute, every year, the
sum
of
twelve hundred pagodas, or about two thousand five hundred
Company by
and
dollars, has
not the East India
extended
domains, until in our day, after a lapse of only
two
its
little
become the rich and
centuries and a half, they have
mighty British Indian Empire, whose viceroys now

of the
same
territories
and governed by
Are
their
Cans, or kings
of cities
villages
name
not the English to-day endeavoring to obtain a foot-
and
we have
already seen,' the
localities are identical
with the names of
and places
in Yucatan,
inhabited, others being in ruins
which
rule part
conquered in olden times by the Nagds
hold in Afghanistan, Avhere, as
names
little,
of the
it
Afghan
stands.
It
capital,
is
and
some
For
of
which are actually
instance,
Kabul
See
the
of the river on the banks of
likewise that of a celebrated

'
is
p. 27.
mound
in
APPENDIX.
196
Izamal
the city of
On
in Yucatan.
its
summit once stood a
temple dedicated to the "miraculous hand."
was famous
It
throughout the land, even to the time of the Spanish Conquest.

Father CogoRudo, in his "Historia de Yucathan,"
that temple they brought
called
it
ings.
dead and the
their
says:
'
"To
They
sick.
kabul, 'the working hand,' and made great oflferThe dead were recalled to life, and the sick
.
were healed."
The Nahuatls, who
settled in the northwestern parts of the
peninsula of Yucatan about the sixth century of the Christian

era, used to offer at that
temple
human sacrifices to obtain from

This fact we learn from a
the god the benisons they sought.
mezzo-relievo, in stucco, that adorned the frieze that ran round
the temple.
(Plate
Nahuatl features.
have caused great
his
LXVIII.)
His body
suffering.
is
It
man
represents a
vrith
held in a posture that must
His hands are secured in stocks
elbows rest on the edge of a hollow support; his emptied
abdomen
propped by a small
is
his knees touch the
stool;
ground, but his feet are raised and wedged by an implement;

his intestines
hang from
his
neck and shoulders; his heart
is
strapped to his thigh.

It is
much
to be regretted that since the author took the
photograph here reproduced,
with
this figure,
its
ing inscription, has been purposely destroyed

of the premises,
because he considered
have interested parties coming to see
it
it.
an annoyance to
This
instance of that lack of appreciation manifested

of
accompany-
by the owner
is
but one
by the people
Yucatan regarding the interesting and historically important
remains that
make
the Peninsula famous and attractive.
It
is
lamentable that the Mexican Government authorities take no

'
lib. iv.,
chap.
viii.
Page
197.
Plate
LXVIII.
'
APPENDIX.
steps
197
toward compelling the preservation of ancient works of art,
even in their deteriorated condition.
The legend on the
right,
in front of the figure, translated verbatim, reads as follows:

the.
altar.
accepts; welcomes,
crushed.
noocol,
lying face downward.
oxnial,
Uxmal.
That on the back, over the

ta,
I
figure:
this.
three.
UUD,
That
is:
Ta ox uuo, u
Freely translated:
doubled.
tern
kam uucb noocol oxnial.
''The thrice hent Trum," "the altar wel-
comes the cnished hody, lying face downward, of the

TJxmal.
It
is
man from
'
well to notice that
all
the signs forming this legend are
APPENDIX.
198
Egyptian as well as
read Egyptian
of a
Maya
Maya
that, therefore,
dictionary, translate
that the ancient
Maya
published, in 1886, side
Mayas and
any one able
by
the Quiches,"
at least, of
as well as
it
side
This proves
I.
by me and
is
with the Egjrptian, on page xii

" Sacred Mysteries among the
a true key to the deciphering of
Maya mural
the
to
with the aid
hieratic alphabet discovered
my book,
of the introduction of
some,
inscriptions can, without difficulty,
inscriptions, notwithstand-
ing the slanderous aspersions of Dr. Brinton, and his assertion
on page 15 of his " Primer of Mayan Hieroglyphs " "that
have added nothing to corroborate the correctness of the inter-
But may
pretations."
I ask
why
he has not verified them?
Has he no Maya dictionaries ? The trouble with him is, judging

from his own books, that he knows jpersonally nothing on the
subject.
Is he not utterly ignorant of the true meaning of a
single Maya character, when in composition with other signs
to form Avords and sentences ? Can he decipher one single sen-
Maya
tence of the
spoken to-day ?
books
How,
Does he even know
Maya
as
then, does he dare to attack the knowl-
edge of those who, by hard study during several years passed
among
people
who
speak nothing but
selves familiar with the subject,
what he does not know ?
authority on
of the fact that

ple, as
Maya, have made them-
and
we
set himself
are no longer in those times
Bishop Synesius says
(in
up as an
Let him not lose sight
" Calvit.,"
when
p. 515),
the peo-
wish abso-
lutely to be deceived.
To-day honest inquirers after knowledge
object to being gulled
by mere pretenders, even
of the titles of doctor
and professor
We know
pers.'
that the ancient
They worshipped the

'
in
Mayas
if
these boast
universitj^.
were serpent worship-
serpent, not that they believed
Mysteries, p. 109.
it
;;
APPENDIX.
199
any other
to be wiser than, or intellectually superior to,
they had
mal
too
was the emblem
but
much good
sense for that
of their country, the contour of
ani-
because
it
which figures
a serpent with an inflated breast, like the Egyptian ureus, for
nohocli can, "the great serThe serpent was the emblem of Mayach,^ as the
which reason they

pent."*
eagle
called
it
that of the United States, the lion that of England,
is
the bear that of Russia, the cock that of France,
Judging from their descendants
Mayas must
etc.
in our day, the ancient
The
have been fanatical lovers of their country.
title of their rulers
was can
of the kings of Tartary,
(serpent), as Tchan
is
to this
day that
Burmah, and other Asiatic countries
it was that of the Emperor of China even in the days of

Marco Polo, and its emblem is yet a dragon. Like the Egyp-
as
tian kings the

teries
Maya cans were
initiates to the sacred
mys-
performed in the secrecy of their temples.
No
one has ever explained
upon themselves the

an emblem
title
as did the
why
the Asiatic rulers took
of khan, or adopted the serpent for
Maya
The
Egyptian kings.
language
offers a simple explanation.
Can, "serpent," "king," by permutation becomes nac,

the meaning of which is "crown," and also "throne," insigBut the verb Naacal means "to be elevated," "to be raised." It was the title adopted by the
nias of
royalty.
initiates
among
the
'
Cogolludo,
Troano MS., part
another
emblem
Iliat.
of
Mayas,
de Yucathan,
ii.,
corresponding to our modern
lib.
i.,
chap.
i.
1.
The
tree
plates
viii.
to
plate xvii., | 3; plate xxvii.,
Mayacli (Troano
MS., part
ii.,
was
xiii.
Codex Gortesianus, plates vii. and viii.). It is well to recall here that Egypt
was likewise called the Land of ike Tree, although the valley of the Nile was
well-nigh devoid of trees. (Samuel Birch in Gardner Wilkinson, Customs,
and Manners of Ancient Egyptians, vol. ill., chap, xiii., p. 300.)
APPENDIX.
200
"His Highness," they being

by
elevated above their fellow-men
Transported to
knowledge and superior wisdom.
their
word became corrupted, in the course of time, into

The title was kept by the initiates who were
among the Maya colonists thalt settled in Dekkan and Burmah. They also preserved as emblem of their new nationality
that of their mother country in the antipodes, and worshipped
India the
JVaaca or Ndgd.
home
the serpent in remembrance of the
Elsewhere I have shown that the
of their ancestors.
title of
the highpriest,
naacals in Mayach, was Hach-mac,

The title of the pontiff or chief
very man."
chief of the adepts or
" the
true, the
'
was Bdb-mag, or, according to the

Maya, Liab-mac, the "old man; "' another of his titles was
Nargal, Maya Naacal, Hindoo Nagd, "initiate," "adept."
of the Magi, in Chaldea,
(2)
(vol.
John
ii.,
L. Stephens, "Incidents of Travels in
Yucatan"
speaking of these remarkable pictures, says:
p. 311),
" The colors are green, yellow, red, blue, and a reddish brown,
the last being invariably the color given to the
human
Wanting the various
course, gives
the engraving, of
tints,
flesh.
only an imperfect idea of them, though even in outline they
which could only be the
exhibit a freedom of touch

discipline
(1)
Osburn,
"William
Egypt"
(p. 260), says:
of different epochs,
it
in
"By
'
his
'
Monumental
History
of
comparing together the remains
clearly appears that
Egyptian art has
periods of perfection, of decline, and of renaissance, just
had
its
the
same
as art in Greece
and
Italy.
whatever of such beginnings in these

Egypt.
result of
and training under masters."
It burst
'
upon us
p. 45.
productions of art in
at once in the flower of its highest
Le Plongeon, Sacred
lUd.,
But we have no trace
first
Mysteries, p. 30.
APPENDIX.
perfection.
301
Where, then, are the imperfect attempts which
issued in this perfection to be found ?
N"o such have been dis-
covered, either at Ghizeh or in any other locality in Egypt,
notwithstanding that no work of
man
perishes there.
circumstance compels us to assume that the
in the
these primi-
was a portion of that civilization which its

brought with them when they located themselves
tive artists of Egjrpt

first settlers
skill of
This
vaUey of the Nile."
APPENDIX.
202
Note XII.
(1)
(Page 105.)
Dr. Daniel G. Brinton, " Essays of an Americanist "
(p.
439), says: " I do not know of any measurements undertaken

in Yucatan to ascertain the metrical standard employed by the
ancient architects.
It is true that Dr.
asserts positively that they
and that the metre and
its
knew and
Augustus Le Plongeon
used the metric system,
divisions are the only dimensions
But apart
that can be applied to the remains of the edifices.
from the eccentricity of this statement, I do not see from Dr.
Le Plongeon' s own measurements that the metre

a common divisor for them."
Abbe Brasseur
is
now dead
he
Brinton's imputations; but I
Dr.
the living,
and
will
is
in
any sense
cannot, therefore, refute
am
in the land of
still
speak for the learned
Abbe and
for
myself.
The measurements that Dr. Brinton ignores to have been

undertaken in Yucatan, I have made most carefully, as proved
by my plans of the buildings and my restorations of the same.
The exactness of these surveys can be vouched for by the officers of ray escorts in the ruined cities, they
having helped
me
in that work.
Unlike some genuinely good things, the would-be
memory
pity.
does not seem to improve with age.
AVhen he Avrote the
lines just
It
is,
critic's
indeed, a
quoted he surely had for-
gotten that, once upon a time, after the one visit with Avhich
he has ever honored me, he
statetl in
the
November
(1SS."S)
APPENDIX.
203
of the American Antiquarian (page 378), under the

heading " The Art of Ancient Yucatan: "
number
and Mrs. Le Plongeon, who,

and
studying the ancient and modern Maya language and character, are passing a few months in this country. The evening was passed in looking at
photographs of the remains of architectural and plastic art, in examining
tracings and squeezes from the walls of the buildings, in studying the accurate plans and measurements made by the doctor and his wife of those structures, in reviewing a small but exceedingly choice collection of relics, and
"I
recently passed an evening with Dr.
after twelve years spent in exploring the ruined cities of Yucatan,
in listening to the doctor's explanation of the
Whatever opinion one

discovered hetween
no one who,
as I
may
Maya culture
had the
Maya
hieroglyphic system.
entertain of the analogies the doctor thinks he has
and language and
those
of Asia and Africa,
product
privilege of doing, goes over the actual
doubt the magnitude

of his discoveries and the new and valuable liglit they tlirow upon ancient
Maya civilization. They correct, in various instances, the hasty deductions of Charnay, and they prove that buried under the tropical growth of
tlie Yucatan forests still remain monuments of art that would surprise the
world were they exhumed and rendered accessible to students."
of his labors
and those of
his accomplished wife, can
Compare
this
with his other statement.
be most interesting to
know
caused him to alter his mind.

cities of
Yucatan, unless
it
if it
It
was envy or
He
would indeed
charity that thus
has never visited the ruined
He
be in imagination.
has, there-
made measurements of the buildings erected by

the Mayas. How, then, can he know, of his own knowledge,
which of our modern standards of lineal measures applies to
them exactly ? This, however, I do know, not from hearsay,
fore, never
but from actual experience, that the metre

which,
How,
when
is
the only measure
applied to said buildings, leaves no fraction.
then, does he, a mere closet archceologist, dare impute to
eccentricity
my
statement to the
Society of "Worcester,"
in 1881,
made
first in
'
'
American
Antiquarian
June, 1878, and reiterated
which reads: "I have adopted the metric standard
of lineal measure, not from choice, but
from
necessity,
and
APPENDIX.
2^)4
the strange discovery that the metre
made
ancient artists
and
architects;
another very striking point of
contact with the Chaldean priests, the

1893, in the 'New
York
choice, to
show what he
really
my
my
my
the
Mayas,
He prudently
history.
But, being as desirous to
challenge.
reputation in
In August,
scientific society of his
knew about
and
their language, manners, customs,
took no notice of
Magi"?
Advertiser, I publicly challenged Dr.
Brinton to a conference before any
defend
the only measure
which agrees with that adopted by these most
of dimension
own
is
chosen
field of
study as he
to shield his, I seized the opportunity offered
is
by the mem-
American Association for the Advancement of
bers of the
Science holding their annual meetings, under his presidency, a
few
steps
from
him this second

hand on August
my
residence in the city of Brooklyn, to send
challenge, a copy of
20th, while he
which was placed in
his
was standing with other mem-
bers of the association in the reception
room
of the Polytech-
nic Institute:
DR. LE
PLONGEON TO
DR. BRESTTON.
AN OPBN LETTER WHICH CONTAINS AN INVITATION TO A SCIENTIFIC DDEL.

The BagU has received the following
Di: Daniel G. Brinton, President of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Sir
for the
Do you remember that in

Advancement of Science met
:
1887,
in
when the American Association
New York
at
Columbia College, by
direction of Professor Putnam, I wrote to you from this city, inq\iiriug
if I
might be permitted to read a paper on "Ancient American Civilization "

before the archieological department of said association, you being then the
President of said section ? Do you remember also that I did not receive
until tliree weeks after the closing of the sessions of said association the
answer to my letter, it having somehoio been sent to San Francisco, Cat.,
instead of Brooklyn, L.
that
now
take this
I. ?
mode
It is to
avoid another such clerical mistake
of reaching the association and yourself.
APPENDIX.
205
are well aware that during the last quarter of a century, particliumau knowledge has made great progress in all branches of science
except that of American archaeology, which is not now mucli more advanced
You also feel, if you do not admit it, that all
than it was a century ago.
You
ularly,
that has been written on that subject in Europe and America does not pass
from mere speculation on the part of the writers, and is therefore, scientifically
and
historically speaking, scarcely
worth the paper on which said
speculations and theories are printed that none of the pretended authoribooks and mural
ties on the subject can read a single sentence of the
;
Maya
know nothing about
inscriptions; that they therefore
the ancient
Mayas,
and scientific attainments, although some of said writers presume to pronounce magisterially on these subjects. You pose as, and are
therefore considered, the authority in the United States on all questions
their culture
pertaining to the ancient
Mayas
for this reason I address myself to you,
you are now the president of the American Association

for the Advancement of Science, whose members should be proud to help
in shedding light on the ancient civilization of the continent on which
and
also because
they
live.
In your book, "Essays of an Americanist" (p. 439), you aver that my

asserting that the ancient Maya standard of lineal measures was the metre,
or be it the ten millionth part of the quarter of the meridian, is one of my
eccentricities,
but give no reasons for so attacking
New York
my
statement.
year
copy of which I
mailed to your address, I sent you an invitation to prove your averment
before any scientific society of your own choosing, provided the meeting
ago, through the columns of the
Advertiser, n
were public.
Thei'e can be no better opportunity than the present, no better qualified
audience than the scientists now assembled under your presidency, for passing judgment on all such questions.
Will you, then, appoint a day, at your own convenience, to meet me
before the members of the association and discuss all points treated by ytm
1. Maj'a phonetics.
2. What were the
in your book above mentioned ?
true signs used by ancient Mayas for the cardinal points ? 3. Landa alphabet and Maya prophecies. 4. Maya standard of measures. And, besides,
the following
(1) Maya science of numbers
(2) Maya cosmogony
(3)
Maya knowledge of geography, geology; and, if you please (4), Maya
language and its universal spread among all ancient civilized nations of
anj;iquity in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
All said discussion to rest altogether on hard facts, scientific or historical, not on mere conjectures or suppositions, so as to be of real value to
the scientific world, and thus give ancient America its proper place in the
:
universal history of the world.
Of
course, the four
hundred photographic
APPENDIX.
206
slides
made by me from photos
also taken
by me in
situ I
most willingly
place at your disposal to sustain your part of the discussion, which I doubt
not you will readily accept to redeem your written promise, made to me as
back as 1885, as I intend using them to demonstrate my side of the

Hoping, sir, that you will gladly improve the opportunity to show
that you are really an authority, with right therefore to criticise others on
such an important subject, to all American scientists, and aflEord me one for
far
case.
displaying
my
extravagancies or eccentricities before the membei-s of the
American Association
for the
Advancement
of Science, I
beg
to subscribe
myself,
Yours most respectfully,
Augustus Le Plongeon.
Sidney Place, August
18
18, 1894.'
Dr. Brinton took no more notice of this challenge than he
had taken of the former one, published in August, 1893,
in the
New York Advertiser.

Why?
he regards me, claiming no
Is it that
any
university, nor even that of
ety, as
member
of professor in
any
scientific soci-
an adversary unworthy of him, whose defeat would
bring him neither fame nor honor?
grounds?
Does he fear
which he claims
fest,
title
of
and
forever?
his
to be
Or
is it
on prudential
lest his ignorance of a subject on

an authority should be made mani-
reputation as a learned archaeologist be lost
me
Since he has refused to give
the opportunity
unwarranted aspersion,
to defend myself against his
I will
say here what I would have said to him personally before

the
members
of the
A. A. A.
S.
had he accepted
my
chal-
lenge.
The learned Professor
of
guistics of tlie University of
of
tiie
American Archteology and Lin-
Pennsylvania seems to be ignorant
fact that the Chaldeans,

'
Brooklyn
who,
Eagle, edition of
Mê
have shown, were in
August
19, 1894.
'
APPENDIX.
origin a
their
Maya
207
colony, also used the metre as their
standard of lineal measures.
Will he likewise accuse Ernest
Renan, the late famous French
scientist
and professor
in the
College de France, of eccentricity, because on pages 60 and 61

of his " Histoire Generale des langues Semitiques," he says:
" Le caractere grandiose des constructions Bahyloniennes
et
JVinivites, le developpement scientifique de la Ghaldee, les rap-
ports incontestdbles de la civilisation Assyrienne amec
VEgypte, auraient leur cause dans
cette
meteique
les plus
le
monde
entier
anciennes connaissances
qui tiennent d V astronomie, aux mathematiques

trie.
de
premiere assise de
peuples materialistes, constructeurs, auxquels

doit avec le systeme
celle
et
d Vindus-
'
ISTo
doubt the Professor of Archeology of the Pennsylvania
University will also accuse the learned English astronomer
John "Wilson
of downright lunacy for stating in his work,

" The Lost Solar System of the Ancients Discovered " ^
:
"The adaptation of the Babylonian standard, based on a

knowledge of the earth's circumference, to the monumental
records of science prove that the Druids of Britain, the Persian
Magi, the Brahmins of India, the Chaldees of Babylonia, the
Egyptian hierarchy, the
priests of
Mexico and Peru, were
all
acquainted, as Caesar says of the Druids, with the form and
magnitude of the earth;
or, as
Pomponius Mela
states,
with
the form and magnitude of the earth and motion of the

stars.
" Hence
it is
evident that the world had been circumnavi-
gated at an unknoAvn epoch, and colonies formed in the old and
new
'
world, aU making use of the same standard in the conJolm Wilson, The
p. 336.
Lost Solar System of the Ancients Discovered, vol.
ii.,
APPENDIX.
208
struction of their religious

Sabffian standard
may
monuments.
So the Babylonian or
be said to have been universal.
" The measurement of the earth's circumference made at
unknown
a very remote period by an
race,
who
constructed
the great teocalli of Xochicalco, accords with the measurement

lately
made by the French,
if
equals four thousand metres."
the circumference of the fort
'
The wandering Masons, who have left traces of their

monuments in the four quarters of the world, wiU be found to
have traversed the great Pacific Ocean, made the circuit of the
'
'
globe,
and measured
"The Burmese
its
circumference."^
hyperbolic temples, like the Egyptian and
Mexican pyramidal temples, were most probably originally

dedicated to the worship of the heavenly bodies.
The Sabseans regarded the pyramidal and hyperbolic temples

and the obelisks as the symbols of divinity." '
" Religious zeal, so strongly characteristic of the doctrines
promulgated
in the systems of India
and Egypt, was the means
of furthering in those regions the extension of geographical
knowledge at an epoch long anterior to the date of ChristianThis
ity.
is
evident from the
still
by these early missionaries
left
of
monumental records
religion and civilization, the
existing
founders of settlements in both hemispheres."''
" The ancient missionaries
of
religion
and
civilization
planted the Babylonian standard with their pyramids and temples in all parts of the globe.
It is only
by
these silent
mon-
uments that the ancient missions have been traced, after the
'
Johu Wilson, The Lost Solar System of
p. 381.
''Ibid., vol.
ii.,
'Had.,
i.,
'
vol.
Ibid., vol.
ii.,
p.
233.
p. 247.
p.
339.
the Ancients Discovei'ed, vol.
i.,
APPENDIX.
lapse of ages,
when
tory had perished."
209
other records of their science and his-
all
^
"The Babylonian
standard of these missions has been
traced through Asia, Egypt, Phoenicia, and along the Mediter-
ranean
coasts.
'
'
Will the learned Piazzi Smyth be also accused of oddity by

the hypercritical Dr. Brinton because he asserts that the buildof the great Egj^ptian
ers
pyramid used
measures, at least in the king's chamber
as a standard of
the most recondite,
mysterious, and, no doubt, sacred spot of the stupendous edifice
the one ten-millionth part of the earth's axis of rotation,
instead of
the one ten-millionth part of the quadrant of a
great circle passing through the poles, as did the Chaldeans
and the
Mayas ?
This selection of the one ten-millionth part
of,
the diameter
on the one hand, and the one ten-millionth part of the arc
comprised between the pole and the equator on the other,
as standard of lineal measures, proves not only an identity
of canons in the astronomical computations of the Egyptians
and the Chaldees, but that they had ascertained the

the earth; and that,
if
one from the other, they had learned

masters, as Mr.
Mayas
John Wilson
that
'
it
from the same
"Were those masters the
asserts.
Let us hear what Piazzi

all
size of
they did not borrow this knowledge
we can
Smyth
says on the subject: "
declare as to the fact
is
John Wilson, The Lost Solar System of
Hence
that near the interior of
the Ancients Discovered, vol.
ii.,
p. 313.
Their language has also remained.

(The author.)
It
has been our guide through the
present volume.
^
John Wilson, The Lost Solar System of
p. 239.
14
the Ancients Discovered, vol
ii.,
'
APPENDIX.
210
a building whose ancient name,
said,
it is
was a
'
one typifying, or rather positively
ten,' there is
division into
illustrating,
division into five.
"The
coffer,
metrological
the
according to
theory,
is
founded in part on the one ten-millionth of the earth's axis

of rotation.
" This
is
something suspicious of a connection, especially
if
divided by the pyramidal ten, but not enough; and on looking
round the room, an attentive observer
more
may
soon perceive a
striking illustration of the division into five, in that the
four walls of the
room have each four
horizontal joint lines,
actually dividing the wall's whole surface into five horizontal

stripes or courses."
"Hence
the chamber
coramensurably to
constructed
is
the coffer, and the coffer to the chamber, with fifty and five as
the ruling numbers.
But there
exists
even more testimony of
this sort, identifying the whole pyramid also with the coffer
and
its
chamber, in a quarter, too, where I had certainly never
expected to find anything of the kind
viz.,
the component
course of masonry of the entire building."^
From
is
the foregoing observations
evident that the Egyptians
made
by Mr.
Piazzi
Smyth,
it
use of a decimal system
derived from their knowledge of the length of the earth's

diameter, just as the
Landa
tells
Mayas
did.
us that, in archaic ages, before the occurrence
of the event ^ which induced
them
to alter the basis of their
chronological computations and adopt as such

'
C. Piazzi
Smyth, Life and Work
at the Great
the
Pyramid,
number
vol.
iii.,
pp.
1G2-163.
p. 199.
Ibid., vol.
'
Pio Perez, Cronologia Antigua de Yucatan.
Yucatan,
p. 404.
iii.,
Brasseur's publicatiou.
Apud Landa,
L<ts Cosas de
APPENDIX.
thirteen, they also
made
211
"
XX en XX hasia
V en Y hasta XX,
cuenta es de
y de
CogoUudo, Lizana, Torquemada, in
chroniclers
"They
use of the decimal system.
counted in fives and twenties up to one hundred."
fact,
Qxoe su
(7.
'
"
the majority of the
who have written on the manners and customs of

Mayas, mention this mode of computation by
the ancient
them
that by thirteenths was adopted.

Of all these
Landa alone hints at the cause of this change.
Many a long and senseless discussion, fuU of profound
until
writers
learning, has been indulged in;

dissertation, replete
why
the wise
men
many an
with more or
of
eloquently written
less specious
Mayacli adopted
the
show
reasons to
number
thirteen as
a basis for their computations, has been published by erudite

professors, each advocating his private opinion with as
ardor as uselessness.
And
course, as that reached by that "

islaus,"
whose debate on a
much
The same,
the conclusion?
scientific society
of
on the Stan-
certain jaAV-bone, whether
it
was
that of a mule or that of an ass, Bret Harte has recounted.
All because they never read the book of Landa, or they dis-
dain to believe the relation of a

position to learn
We
man who was
much concerning
abundant proofs
Mayas.
in the ruins of their temples
and
We
find
palaces.
the learned Professor of American Archaeology of the
Pennsylvania University been

relating to the
Mayas,
less grossly
their religious
their scientific attainments, the
and
an exceptional
need not rely altogether on Landa's testimony regard-
ing the use of a decimal system by the
Had
in
the native traditions.
'
"Maya
all
things
and cosmogonic notions,
meaning
their language, he certainly
a paper as his
ignorant of
of their architecture,
would not have indited such
Measures," nor attributed to eccentri-
Landa, Las Oosas de Yucatan, chap, xxxiv.,
p. 206.
APPENDIX.
212
city
my
made
statement that they
use of the metre as a
standard of lineal measures.
As to his emphatic assertion that he "does not see from

my own measurements that the metre is in any sense a common divisor for them," this is not in the least surprising. He
has never personally measured the
Maya constructions;
he has
GNOMON at MA YAP AN
Dlltonep bctwaeii C?nt*>-| CC of Columiu
Dumeler
TM'
of CoUimnsor
Uim.hrFC
Column.
.iS flroiTiWnrt
1W (."ntliiW|3t.&nInlCf
b. Al .fD..lti".
'
Sin>AKofj1iil<A0I>.^ diitanco
tHwcm
IKrougl.
of l....of
"
of the buildings
my
field notes,
made by me from
loolced superficially at the
me
with
Column*,
|.ie
C*nUrs CC
CeI."CC
P,,-.!d N<O...J. 11-50-
E.jt.iJ--
few plans
said notes
me
in
of the use of the
and from the
He
has only
possession
when he
in situ.
my
his visit ; these did not
The only example
of
or any of the restorations
photographs of said edifices made by
honored
MAyApan 20*56'.
DUmoter
ft^f CiTcunfo, dul
Lfnolh
never had access to
Latiludv of
V.n>d-&~JCoIULIodr.t Diimto F6 of tolmnn.
Sine BJ of Untitle. lkotCircwilfmi(FtK*XpMJ*itln^(inlmC

of
45^
Vrd'Snt< CI ofDeelifiJion.
Ar< AC oFSacli nation, i di*1iiiMiMn> <#nt#na)nluinn*
seem to interest him.
metre by
Maya astron-
APPENDIX.
213
omers, architects, and mathematicians, ever published from
manuscripts written by me,
which
the protraction of a
is
Mayapan, situated
X-Canchakan, distant thirty
I discovered in the ruined city of
on the lands
of the hacienda
miles from Merida, the capital of Yucatan.
my
forms part of one of
reports to the "
rian Society," of "Worcester, Mass.

It
may
gnomon
is
This protraction
American Antiqua-
(See illustration, p. 212.)
not the result of intricate calculations wherein errors

It
creep.
a simple drawing constructed from measure-
is
ments made by
me
in
situ.
These must, by force, have been
very accurate, or the various parts of the drawing would not

fit
Such protraction should
exactly in their proper places.
therefore settle all doubts
lineal
measures used by the
regarding
Mayas,
the true standard of
in very
remote times, and
even after the destruction of the Land of Mî by earthquakes
and submergence.
This report was published in the proceedings of said society
under the
title of
"Mayapan
Maya
and
The
contains various typographical errors.
not submitted to
me
on
is,
Therefore I could not correct them.
however, one mistake which
my part.
How
did
it
occur ?
is
It
due to a lapsus calami
was one of those inex-
plicable oversights that frequently take place in
putations;
It
proof-sheets were
before being sent to press (I was then in
the forests of Yucatan).
There
Inscriptions."
making com-
perhaps a temporary systematic anaesthesia pro-
duced by the concentration of the mind on a single point when

passing over a number of figures in calculation.
there
is
no mistake
in the drawing,
which
is
accordance with the measurements made of the
The diameter
of the
between their centres
columns
is
is
0.45 metre.
1.90 metres.
In
At any
perfect,
rate,
and
gnomon
in
itself.
The distance
my manuscript,
it
APPENDIX.
214
seems, I wrote 1.70 metres, or I
made the
and 7 so as to mis-
lead the printer; and therein consists the grave error that has
given ground for Dr. Brinton's criticism of

ments.
Had he
conscientious
own
all
my
measure-
not been looking for an excuse to impugn the
work
of
an original explorer, thereby seeking
his
aggrandizement, he could have seen that the error was
and that
my
merely
typographical;
statement
"that the
Mayas,
like the Chaldees, did certainly use the
metre as a
standard of lineal measures," was not eccentricity, iut positive

hnowledge.
APPENDIX.
Note XIII.
(1) It
may
be asked,
How
215
(Page 111.)
is it
that the
Mayas came
to
adopt the one ten-m.illionth part of the quadrant of the great
through the poles of the earth, as standard of
circle that passes
measures ?
lineal
To him who
the ancient
is
acquainted with the " Sacred Mysteries " of
Maya
adepts, the motive
Like the ancient Egyptians, the
is
indeed very evident.
Mayas
of old were, as their
descendants are to-day, an eminently religious people.
them,
as, in fact,
with every
notions formed the base of
civilized nation, their
Will,
edifices,
particularly in
symbols of God in the universe.
They conceived
darkness,
and
their religious conceptions,
both were embodied in their sacred

their pyramids,
With
cosmogonic
this
universe to be an infinite boundless
which dwelt the unknowable, the inscrutable
in
Having come
TJol.
to
the knowledge that, by
first
concentrating their thoughts, and then sending them forth in
every direction to the utmost limits of space, these formed, as

it
were, radii of equal length,
of a sphere
whose limitation was a great
sides, discovered that
centre
circle
having, be-
in nature, the
is,
ultimatum
circle,
Qj
which they
also
called
this
Will
as being both
two in one and one in two.
male and female

In
it life
One
Uol, whose
was everywhere and circumference nowhere.
imagined
gynus
the circle
they figured that Will, that Eternal
in extension,
Being, as a
that terminated at the vault
They
Andro-
pulsated uncon-
APPENDIX.
216
At
scious.
when
the awakening of consciousness,

sexless, the
Sexless ceased to be
distinct, fructified the
cosmic egg that
we
male
the Infinite
principle,
remaining stiU
womb
of nature, that
immaculate virgin
see pictured in the tableau of creation at
Chicfien.^
new
This
manifestation of the Boundless
figured as a circle with
its vertical
diameter,
/T~s. One they

j and called
VXx
L,ali, "he
Liahun, the " aU-pervading one," from
It became the Decade,
who is everywhere, and hun, one.
image of the universe evolving from the boundless darkness,
it
'
lO,
the number
'
'
'
'
'
the most mystic
among
the initiates of aU
formed of the triad and the septenary; the most bind-
nations,
ing oath of the Pythagoreans.
From
this vertical diameter,
womb
sjonbol of the male principle impregnating the virgin
emblem
of nature, originated the idea of the Phallus as
the Creator, whose Avorship under this image

all civilized
The
we
find
of
among
nations of antiquity from the remotest ages.
circle divided into four parts,
by
its
vertical
and
hori-
zontal diameters crossing each other, formed the tetraktis,^
"the sacred four," the "builders," that
Mayas,
the
or the
Tian-chihans
is,
of the
the
Canob
initiates
of
among
them, the "heavenly giants," the same called by the Hindoo

occultists
Dhyan-Chohans.
The
universe,
now under
the
regency of these Four powerful intelligences, they figured as a

circle
with y'T"^
each other, h
them
j,
its vertical
and horizontal diameters crossing
thus forming the
and the guardianship of the cardinal

'
"
mundane
was ^"^-^ intrusted the building
cross,
and
of the physical
points.
To
to
world
distinguish
Ubi supra, Plate XXIII.

This sacred square, that Pythagoras taught his followers was Four and
their oath,
was a sacred number with the
initiates in India,
Greece, and other countries, as well as with the
Naacals
Egypt, Chaldea,
of
Mayach.
APPENDIX.
217
them, the genii of the north and of the south
that
is,
the
keepers of the male principle of nature, of the active and
fecundating forces
were
figured
by the same
crossed diameters, to which wings were added.
from the
circle
This
with
we
its
learn
inscriptions that adorn the facade of the sanctuary
Uxnial (Plate LXXI.) and from

Maya MSS.
at
the Troano and other
These genii of the cardinal points, these four creators, are
known
to the
Hindoo
or "great kings " of
occultists as the
theDhycm
"Four Maharajahs,"
Cholia/ns}
In
OcosiTigo,
Guate-
WINOED CIRCLE FROM OCOSINGO.
mala, as also in Egypt,
we
see
them portrayed
as circles with
WIWGBD CIRCLE PROM EGYPT.
wings; in Assyria, as ferouhers.

of the
Mazdeans
They became the amshaspands
the Elohim and the seraphs of the
the archangels of the Chi-istians and
and Titans
Mohammedans
of Hesiod's theogony; the four gods

'
H. P. Blavatsky, The Sacred Doctrine.
Hebrews
the kabiri
whose golden
APPENDIX.
218
statues,
of Alexandria tells us,*
Clement
Egyptians at
all
were carried by the
the festivals of the gods.
WINGED CinCLE FROM ASSYRIA.
These "four
powerful
(FEROUHER.)
" Caiiobs," these

the " Great Infinite
ones," these
heavenly architects, emanated from

One, " evolved the material universe from chaos.
occultists
figured
this
manifested
inscribing a square within a circle;
universe
that
is,
The Blaya
by
by
joining the ends of the vertical and horizontal

diameters.
The
Pj'^thagoreans honored
numbers and geometrical de-
The Egyptians called the

monad "Intellect,"^ male and female, "god," "chaos,"
signs with the
names
of the gods.^
" darkness."
'
Clement of Alexandria, Stromat,
'
Plutarch,
'
De hide, s.
Macrobiua, Somnium
v., p.
76.
Scipionis, c. 6.
242.
Page
218.
Plate
LXXI.
APPENDIX.
Damascius
in his treatise
219
"IIspiApxior " says: " The Egyp-
tians asserted nothing of the First Principle of things, but cele-
brated
as a thrice
it
lectual perception. "
unknown darkness transcending

According to Servius,
all intel-
" they assigned the
Tetraktis was the

number three to the Great God.
mystic name of the Creative Power, and three was looked upon
'
perfect
'
as embracing all
oras,
"who
of the gods
is
human
"
things.
Know God,"
Number
number and harmony.
and men."
says Pythagis
the father
Pythagoras borrowed his knowledge
of numbers and their meanings from the Egyptians.

received their science from the
gers, their ancestors,
who
in
Mayas,
These
those civilized stran-
remote ages, coming from the
East and from the "West, had settled and brought civilization
Such being the
to the banks of the Nile.

ural that
we
case, it
is
but nat-
should find the same doctrine regarding cosmog-
ony and the meaning
of
numbers
Mayacli,
in
their
mother
country in the " Lands of the "West."
Pythagoras 's teachings were that the rectangular triangle
which Plato
sented by
called the mystic diagram,
3, its
base by 4, and
its
most perfect image of the "Infinite

because
4,
3,
composed of
the square of
2 and
3,
2,
-f-
1,
for the female
its
height being repre-
hypothenuse by
5,
was the
Spirit in the Universe,"
stood for the male principle;
and
5,
proceeding from both
the universe, and so was counted Penta in the general
numeration.
10)
The Mayas called the first centenary (100, the square of

the number representing the "Infinite One about to
Manifest," Hokal, and placed
it
in their
diagram at the
upper end of the vertical diameter.
The second centenary (200) they said was " the Infinite STILL WHOLLY ENCLOSED," Laluiiikal (that is, Lah,
APPENDIX.
220
" wholly; "
" one; " kal, " enclosed
hun,
and placed
"),
it
at
the right hand end of the horizontal diameter.

third centenary (300) they held to be \he piercing of the
The
closed virgin
Holhukal
womh,
(that
is,
Hoi, "to pierce;"
hu, "virgin womb," and kal, "closed"), and placed
at
it
the lower end of the vertical diameter that forms the height
of the four rectangular triangles
which compose the square,
and therefore stands for the male principle in Plato's mystic

diagram.
Out
of this notion
theogonies of
came the doctrine
all civilized
so general in the
nations of antiquity, of an
immacu-
and giving hirth to a god.

The fourth centenary (400) the Mayas caEed Hiinbak,
late virgin conceiving
the one
male organ of generation, and placed
of the horizontal diameter

triangles
that
is,
it
at the left
end
the base of the rectangular
composing the square, corresponding therefore to the
female principle of Plato's mystic diagram.
The hypothenuses, standing
for
number
five
and the uni-
verse in said diagram, form the sides of the square inscribed
the circumference.
in
closes
Their numerical aggregated value
Maya
twenty, which the
is
sages called kal, or that which
and completes the square.
Thus we come
to
know
that the identical doctrine resrard-
ing the esoteric meaning of numbers which existed in India,

Chaldea, Egypt, and Greece was likewise taught to the
ates in the temples of
ical
computations,
the
Mayacli, and why,
3Iaya
in their
initi-
numer-
sages counted in fives up to
twenty, and by twenties to one hundred, thus making use of
what we moderns call the decimal system.

They refrained from counting by tens
that
we
forbear to habitually utter the
for the
name
of
same reason
God number
;
APPENDIX.
lO, Lahun,
representing to their
321
mind the "
Spirit of the
Universe," the "Boundless," the "Infinite One,"
whose name was too sacred
Ku,
pronounced except with the
to be
utmost reverence.
mere coincidence that
Is it
of
Maya
among
civilization
where vestiges
in all countries
can be traced, there also we find that
the occultists and initiates into the sacred mysteries
number ten stood for the name of God ?

Even for the Hebrew cabalists, who no doubt learned the
doctrine from the philosophers of the school of Alexandria,
number
ten
created;
letters
The
the
letter
Jehovah, by
whom
all
was represented
signature of the
name
of
b}^
or /,
Jah (Jehovah) being a name composed
t/and H, that
10 and
is,
5,
or "
God and
Jod,
things were
of the
two
the universe."
by them
ten Sejjhiroth, or numbers, Avere regarded
as
emanations of the Divine Intelligence, that, according to the
book
of
of light, the Sohar,
whom man
on earth
is
combined to form the Heavenly Man,

an image.'
As we
count by thousands, saying " one thousand, two thou-
Mayas,
for sacred reasons,
Thus they
said " one four hun-
sand, three thousand," etc., the
counted by " four hundreds. "

dred,
two four hundred, three four hundred,"
It
may
interest
made a study
my
etc.
readers, particularly those
of occultism, to
know
who have
meaning
the esoteric
of
the names of the cardinal numbers as taught by the ancient
Maya
adepts, the
Naacals,
to those they initiated into the
mysteries of cosmogony.
In
my
rendering of the
Maya
names
have adhered to
their original purport as closely as the genius of the English
'
Moses de Leoa, Booh of Sohar,
ii.
70
5 ;
i.
30
a.
Page
SSS.
Plate
LXIX.
Plate
LXX.
APPENDIX.
different countries,
held
by
all as
would
233
establish the inference that they
were
the most learned and civilized people of those
times.
It
admitted as proved beyond controversy that the Ar-
is
yans, the Hindoos, the Chaldees, the Greeks, in fact, every
we have
nation regarded as civilized from which
knowledge of numbers, began
received our
system of numeration by
their
counting the fingers of their hands, and named each number
The Egyptians seem
accordingly.
tion.
to have formed an excep-
Bunsen has showed conclusively that
their
names for the
cardinal numbers had no relation to each other, and the few
whose etymon
suspected do not have reference to their
is
notions of the cosmic evolution.
they also took the
their numeration, since

is
It
Tu
or
now
however, probable that
hand
SB, name
regarded as an original form of

It
is,
five fingers of the
remains to explain
of the numerical five,
TT ox
why
as starting point for
Tot, the
Mayas
the
" hand."
adopted the
metre as standard of lineal measures.
That they were acquainted with exact sciences there can

be no doubt.
They were mathematicians, astronomers,
tects, navigators,
geographers,
As
etc.
possessed the science of navigation, since they

calculate longitudes
tion of the
gnomon
and
latitudes, as
discovered by
archi-
well as the art thej^
knew how
to
proved by the construc-
me
at
Mayapan.
They
were, therefore, familiar with plane aud spherical trigonometry.
They had computed
distance
ian.
from pole
the size of the earth, estimated the
to pole, calculated the length of the merid-
have already mentioned
tlie
fact that in the construc-
tion of their sacred buildings they invariably
cosmogonic and
'
religious
Bunsen, EgypVs Place in
embodied their
conceptions, particularly
in
their
the Universal History, vol. iv., pp. 105-106.
APPENDIX.
234
pyramids.
The
several parts of these edifices
and proportioned as to agree with the
were so arranged
ratio of the diameter to
= 3.1415; the sum total of which, 2x7,

the circumference,
was a numerical that, to the Maya initiates, as to all the occulttt
in other parts of
ists
the world, represented the "circum-
scribed world," the earth.
The vertical section of the plans of these sacred buildings

was always inscribed in a half circumference having a radius
of 21 = 3 X 7 metres, whose diameter formed the ground line.
Esoterically these buildings figured the earth; their height
stood for the gods of the earth, represented numerically
number 1,065
number
21,
by
of the creators or jyrajapdtis, ac-
cording to the " Mahabharata; " and that of the rays on each
side of the cosmic
We
egg in the creation tableau at CMcllen.^
have seen that
letters
it is
likewise the numerical value of the
composing the name of Jehovah.^
It is well to
that the height of the principal pyramids in Yucatan
is
remark
invari-
ably twenty-one metres.^
In fixing a standard of lineal measures the

adopted a subdivision of the
circle
Maya
which was naturally
sages
di^'ided
into four hundred parts, in accordance with their cosmic conceptions, whilst the Egyptians selected a subdivision of
'
Ubi supra,
the
p. 76, illustration xxiii.
Ibid.
Those of my readers who are desirous to know why the Maya archialways inscribed the vertical section of the plan of their pyramids
within a circumference, I beg to refer to the work of my friend the late
'
tects
J.
Ralston Skinner of Cincinnati, O., Source of Measures, at
g 55,
"Effect
of Putting a Pyramid in a Square " (p. 95), and to I 83, "Pyramid Symbolization " (p. 159), published by the Robert Clarke Company of said city.
Also to the remarkable work The lost Solar System of the A?icienU Discovered, by Mr. John Wilson, an English astronomer, vol. i., parts i. and
ii.,
London
edition of 1856.
APPENDIX.
circle divided into three
scientists
do
hundred and sixty
225
parts, as
modern
this subdivision representing the abstract circum-
ference value of the celestial circle, being the
mean between
number of the days of the lunar synodical year, and 365,

number of the days of the solar year. The Mayas chose
355,
the
the twenty-millionth part of one-half of the meridian

is,
the metre
instead of
between the poles of the earth as did the Egyptians.
15
that
the ten-millionth part of the distance
APPENDIX.
226
Note XIV.
(Page 105.)
Having explained how the ancient
(1)
Maya
sages
came
to
adopt the decimal system in their numeration, and the metre as
a standard of
lineal measures, as
found by actual survey of their
ancient temples and palaces, I will premise a few observations
"Maya Measures'" by some

lines from the introduction to my paper on " Maya and Maya
on Dr. Brinton's chapters on
Inscriptions," published in the " Proceedings of the
Antiquarian Society,
ten
by Mr. Stephen
tleman has
many
ruined
'
of "Worcester, Mass.
Salisbury,
now
its
American
They were
president.
writ-
This gen-
which he has
friends in Yucatan, a country
These know personally Mrs. Le Plongeon and
often visited.
They
myself.
'
are well acquainted with our
cities of their
work among the
native land.
" Dr. and Mrs. Le Plongeon have the rare advantage of an
among
almost continuous residence

seven
jêars,
and of constant
most likely to preserve
Maya ruins
for
more than
relations with a class of Indians
ti'aditions
regarding the past history of
the mysterious structures which abound in Yucatan."^
being settled, I hope beyond doubt, that
It
ied the
by
Mayas where they
living
among them and
can be thoroughly studied

as one of
ted that such being the case
manners, traditions,
'
etc.,
we have
them
we ought
better than
to
and
know
it
stud-
that
is,
being admit-
their customs,
any one who has not
D. G. Bi-inton, Esmii/s of an Amerir.uiist, pp. 433-439.

Stephen Salisbury, ProiveJings of Am. Antiq. Soc, April, 1881.
APPENDIX.
even set foot in their country,
may
227
I be permitted to ask Dr.
Brinton a few questions respecting the "only measures''^ that,
he
asserts,
were used by their ancestors ?
If these did not use
the metric system, why, in speaking of the size of the pages of

the Dresden Codex, does he say, "
The
total length of the sheet
and the height of each page

width 0.086 metre "?'
is
3.5 metres,
0.296 metre, the
name of common sense and professorial condoes this mean ? Does he not assert authoritatively,
What,
sistency,
is
in the
on page 434 of his book, "The
Maya
measures are derived
and almost exclusively from the human body, and

largely from the hand " ? ^ It would seem that the apostrophe
of Festus to Paul suits his case exactly: " Thou art 'beside
directly
thyself;
much
of a teacher,
sistent
learning doth make
Describing the
with himself.
Codex, a
Maya
size
of
fingers in width. "
the Dresden
three
is
and
His readers would then have been

its size,
particularly
Maya
perused the half dozen pages of the

;
duty
be con-
one span and four fingers in height,
able to form a very exact idea of
step, pace, or stride
first
critic, is to
book, he should have said, "It
one-half paces long,
and four
The
mad.^''^
tliee
and particularly a would-be
for the distance
names
had they
for foot-
from the ground to the
anlde, to the knee, to the waist, to the breast, to the neck,

to the mouth, to the top of the head
then for the width of
the finger, of the hand, of the stretch between the end of the
thumb and each
of the other finger tips,
from Dr. Carl Herman
his readers as being, of his
'
'
'
which he has copied
Berendt's notebook, and imposes upon
own knowledge,
the only measures
D. G. Brinton, Essays of an Americanist, " Maya Codioes,"

Ibid., work quoted, " Maya Measures," 434^39.
Acts of the Apostles, chap, xxvi., verse
24.
p. 251.
APPENDIX.
228
of length in use among the
Mayas.
Unhappily the
late Dr.
Berendt's cast-off philological garments are a misfit
He
Brinton's figure.
that
it is
does not
know how
to
on Dr.
wear them, nor
not always safe to parade with the feathers of a
strange bird, though the feathers are paid for and the bird
is
dead.
The German
when
he
began
to learn
naturalist certainly noted them down
Maya, from the mouth of the natives, not because he believed
All the words quoted are perfectly correct.
that the learned
Maya mathematicians
and
architects
had no
other lineal measures than these rough estimates, which, on
the other hand, are not peculiar to the
Mayas,
but are used
by ignorant people in every country, and even by those who

are not ignorant.
Do we
not say ankle deep in the sand;
knee deep in the mud; waist, breast, chin deep in the water?
Do we not measure distances approximately by steps
or strides ?
by fathoms ? Describing the stature of a horse, do we

Does this
not express it by saying it is so many hands high ?
mean that these are the only standard measures of length in
vogue among us? that astronomers, surveyors, architects,
and mechanics make use of them in their mathematical computations ? Can any one with common sense be guilty of such
depth,
stupendous absurdity as to pretend that they do ?

intelligent person
doubt that that which happens to-day among
us has happened in all times, in

skilful
Will any
workmen have wanted
all countries,
when and where
accurate measurements to carry
on their undertakings ?
How,
then, can the learned Professor of Linguistics
and
Archaeology in the Pennsylvania Universitj" assert that the

ancient
Maya
astronomers and architects had no other stand-
ard of lineal measures for their mathematical calculations, and
APPENDIX.
then attribute to
my
the metre and
divisions ?
its
In conclusion,
useless
they used
eccentricity the statement that
it is
apparent that this pedantic display of a
nomenclature of
Maya
standard lineal measure of the
much
329
names
for
what he
Mayas, was not
calls the
published so
to impart to his readers exact information, as to parade
Dr. Berendt's knowledge of the
Maya
language, while con-
veying the impression that this knowledge was his own.
He
"Those who live in

" to which I wiU add:
should have remembered the saying:

glass houses should not
If
they venture to do
so,
throw
stones;
they should at
neighbors are dead and buried.
least
wait until their
APPENDIX.
230
Note XV.
(3)
how
May we
great
(Page 105.)
inquire, without being accused of indiscretion,
Dr. Brinton's acquaintance with this most inter-
is
esting of languages, the
Maya ?
must indeed be quite
It
extensive, since he presumes to declare
Abbe Brasseur "knew next
authoritatively that
to nothing about it,"'
and that
Father CogoUudo, the author of the best history of Yucatan,

published for the
first
time in Madrid in 1688, although he,
during twenty-one years, preached the gospel to the natives

in their
the
language, " was only moderately acquainted with
own
Maya
tongue. "
This
know
does the learned doctor
statement
students of
Maya
making
Bain,
'
nothing about
this,
Maya
prayer, "
The Invocation
the
why, instead
for himself a correct translation of that
most
to the
inter-
God
of
has he given a crippled, curtailed English rendei'ing of
the French version published

his readers as a
intent
to
Dr. Brinton was aware of
esting ancient
'
such preposterous
it ?
Abbe Brasseur "knew next
If
Maya," and
proof has he that such
the pretension to expect that
civilization Avill accept
averment because he makes
of
What
it ?
Has he
true?
is
How
indeed a singular assertion.
is
sample of
by Brasseur, and
Maya
upon imposing on them
offered
it
to
Since he was
this deception,
as he did not
composition
even preserve the depth of fervor exhibited in the French

'
"
D. G. Brinton, Essays of an Americanist,
md.,
\1.
137.
p. 261.
APPENDIX.
interpretation, the least
231
he could have done was to give the
invocation complete.
As rendered by
the Spanish translator,
Dr. Brinton's version
is
text expresses devotion
is
oriente,
de la
en
and
is
for us,
and information,
as
shown
religious sentiment,
(pp. 107, 108).
the Spanish version given by Brasseur in Vol. II.
Troano MS.
of
and
and
my own interpretation
This
little,
Maya
at this late date, full of significance
by
means
it
quite as meaningless, whilst the
" Al asomarse
(pp. 101, 102):
las cuatro esquinas del cielo,
mi palabra
tierra, cae
el sol,
cada cuatro punto, a la
6.
senor del
en las cuatro esquinas
mano
del
Dios padre, de Dios hijo, de Dios Espiritu Santo.

" Al levantarse las nubes al oriente, 61 subir en medio de
majestad
la
itadores, el
a las trece ordenes de las nubes el que
celeste,
pone en orden
el
uracan amarillo, esperanza de los senores
que pone en orden
los asientos
para
el
vis-
precioso vino,
amor para los senores cuidadores de milpas,

para que vengan a poner su precioso favor, al santo grande
con
el precioso
Dios padre, Dios hijo, Dios Espiritu Santo.

" Yo entrego su virgen semilla con mi santo amor, tu tendras
que mirarme un momento; yo suplico que
dicion con todo tu corazon
alcanzar tu creciente
gar en la
mano
del
y virgen
me
lleves tu ben-
entregues tu santo amor, para
favor; porque es precioso entre-
Dios padre, de Dios
hijo,
de Dios Espiritu
Santo.''''
The following
Maya
the
text:
" At the
is
Dr. Brinton's pretended interpretation of
rising of the Sun,
Lord of the East,
my word
goes
forth to the four corners of heaven, to the four corners of the

'
own
D.
Or.
Brinton, Essays of an Americanist^ p. 167.
version of this invocation, pp. 107, 108.
Compare with
my
APPENDIX.
232
name
earth, in the
the
of
God
God
the Father,
the Son, and
God
Holy Ghost.
"
When
the clouds rise in the East,
sets in order the thirteen
when he comes who
forms of the clouds, the yellow lord
who
of the hurricane, the hope of the lords to come, he
the preparation of the divine liquor, he

spirits of the fields,
for I trust all in
who
rules
loves the guardian
then I pray to him for his precious favor;
the hands of
God
the Father,
God
the Son,
and God the Holy Ghost."
Did he not know
then, does he not
know now,
that even
with the admixture of Christian ideas as Brasseur received
from the mouth

of
of Marcelo Ccmich,
X-Canchakan (who
it
mayoral of the hacienda
also recited it to me),
if
the mean-
ing of the words had been properly rendered, far from being the senseless sentences he has published, he would have
found
it,
as
it
is,
replete with
curious
and most valuable
information ?
rendering of the Invocation
Plis
the
Maya
text tells its o^vn
is
indeed worthless, but
most interesting
his not giving a proper translation,
made
story.
b}^ himself,
From
are we
to infer that the learned professor of linguistics does not
know
the
Maya
language
as
he
would have the world
believe ?
No
one can read the learned anah'sis of the
Maya, and
grammatical construction with that of
the comparison of
its
the ancient Greek,
by the scholarly Brasseur, which forms the

"Elements of the Maya tongue,"' in the
introduction to his
second volume of the Troano MS., without being satisfied that
he was thoroughly acquainted with said language; and without acquiring the conviction that,
of
a great scholar,
who now
lies
b}^
attacking the
silent
in
memory
the grave,
Dr.
APPENDIX.
233
Brinton has given another proof that he wants to build for

himself a reputation for learning at the cost of that of fellowstudents.
In mentioning
Balam,
the
Yumilcax,
the "lord of the
fields," the learned Professor of Archaeology of the University
of Pennsylvania confounds
him with the Cliacs, " the gods
rain," " guardians of the cardinal points."
of
" These Balams,"
says he, "are in fact the gods of the cardinal points, and
of the winds and rains which proceed from them,"
etc.,i
and to
prove his assertion he covers several pages of his book with

tales,
idle
known to everybody. They are current to-day among

who beguile the evening hours by recounting them
the natives,
over and over.
These stories have no relation with ancient
They contain as much teaching

Boots " and " Bluebeard."
traditions.
" Puss
We
in
have seen
(p.
as the stories of
103) that the Cliacs were the
"gods
of rain," and as such held as the "keepers of the fields," the

'
D. G. Brinton, Essays of an Americanist, " The Birds of the Winds "

It will be noticed that Dr. Brinton -writes the word Balams and
(p. 17n).
gives H-Balamdb as the
Maya plural.
This
is
a word of his
own
coinage.
copy of Brown Library (Motul) dictionary. He

does not seem to know that the ancient termination ob, as sign of plural
in nouns, has not been in use for very many years, having been replaced
by ex, second person jilural of the personal pronoun. So that, if in addressing his workmen he should say to them, " Palob " (" Boys "), as it was
proper anciently, they would cast at each other an inquiring glance, the
meaning of which would plainly be, "What does he say ? But should he
tell them, " Palex ! conex banal " (" Boys, let us go to eat "), he would
not have to repeat the order twice.
Neither does he seem to know that h is never used before a noun,
except as a mark of the masculine gender, it being the contraction of ah,
masculine article, never as a diminutive or particle of elegance. In that
case X, contraction of the feminine article ix, is, and has always been, employed, even before a masculine noun, as, for instance, in X-Kukulcan.
But this is regarded as affectation on the part of the speaker.
He
will not find it in his
APPENDIX.
234
good genii who brought

however,
office,
is
He
quite different.
fields, the protector of the crops,

all
Balam's
fertility to the earth.
and
to
is
the lord of the
him the primiti^
the fruits of the earth are offered before the harvesting
By no
Is he an imaginary Being ?
begun.
Balam tells who
he
is
means.
an anthropomorphism
of
is
His name
of the
puma,
whose clear, shriU whistle rings sharply through the forests,

breaks the
stillness
of the night, and,
waking the sleeping
echoes, sends a thriU of terror coursing along the spine of the

superstitious native.
How
came he
protector, the guardian of the
upon as the
Yunail col? Most
to be looked
fields
naturally, indeed.
The
fields,
covered with their abundant, ripening crops of
corn, beans, and pumpkins, are nightly the resort of deer,

peccaries, rabbits,
and other herbivora
that,
during the day,
by thick foliage from the fierce rays of the tropical

All these grass-eating denizens of
sun, roam in the forests.
the woods are the natural food of leopards, pumas, catamounts, and other carnivora. These emerge from their lairs
sheltered
after sunset in search of prey.
In the twilight, in the dark-
ness, they prowl in and around the
fields
their intended victims are feeding.

nearest, an awful struggle for
life
where they know
Pouncing upon those
takes place.
Alarmed by
the noise and the despairing cries of the victims, the others
seek safety in flight, and the crops are thus saved from destruction.
crops
This
came
is
why
Believing that the

invisible
these self -constituted protectors of the
to be regarded as natural guardians of the fields.
spirit
pumas and leopards obey the orders
lord,
Balam,
ceremonies called Tich,

fruits of their fields.
make
(Plate
of their
the natives, with appropriate
him
LXXII.)
to
offerings of the best
Page
$36.
Plate
LXXIL
APPENDIX.
335
Notwithstanding his pretensions, Dr. Brinton does not
know Maya,
even remotely.
any further proof were
If
needed of the truth of this assertion,

this simple sentence,
book
''
it
and
original
Tihosuco,
translation,
named
Zetina,
He
has copied both,
from a manuscript by a native
who,
it
seems,
ular in the choice of his language.
learned Professor of Linguistics
is
call particular attention,
Maya,
printing
them
Maya
ing of which in that tongue would be, "
does
in italics, to
words
the exact render-
Pixe a
ito,
xnoch
whilst the intention of Senor Zetina was to write,
" Pixe a uitho, xnoch cizin."

countrymen, he did not
mother tongue.
first
It
Like the majority of his
know how
to write
must be confessed very few
lesson in
Maya
taught to pupils
correctly his
do.
is
the alphabet and their proper pronunciation.

thej^ are told that several of the characters
time
how
what was prob-
that, besides, are not a correct translation of
The
else
in refined society ?
ably intended to be conveyed in the
of
partic-
but httle better acquainted
by
words that no gentleman would use
was not over
wish to believe that the
with the Spanish tongue than with the
cizin,"
in
Spanish
1Y4), as it is here, in italics; as is also his
(p.
translation, which, with cause, I omit.
he dare
would be found
Piose avito^ xnoch cizin,^' printed in his
of the Latin alphabet are not used in the
these the letter
the letters of
At
the same
forming part
Maya among
;
v.
It has no meaning in that language.

is not a Maya word.
might be censured for publishing this sentence, which is a verbatim
My excuse for doing so is to show
translation of Dr. Brinton's Spanish.
that the learned doctor does not know Maya, which is an unknown
language outside of the countries where it is spoken I do not therefore
run the risk of shocking the sense of propriety or decency of my readers in
this or in European countries.
'
Avito
APPENDIX.
236
Dr. Brinton
Throughout
Maya
tion the
mnio}
is
is
evidently ignorant of this elementary fact.
his book,
This
is
word
whenever he has had occasion to menfor Tnan, he has invariably spelled
Quiche.
The
Maya
it
orthography of the word
uinic.
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the letters v and
u were used
Thus
indifferently one for the other.
Landa, CogoUudo,
uinic and vinic.
writers of those times wrote both
that
it is
and the other
Torquemada, Las Casas,
It is
quite different, however, in our day.

It is evident that the learned Professor of Linguistics does
is the right word in Maya for "man," any
knows what was the true name for each of the
points among the Mayas, although Landa gives
know which
not
better than he
cardinal
them very explicitly. Shall it be

wooden saints, He has eyes but
said of Dr. Brinton as of the

sees
not?
Or has he
also,
perchance, the pretension of being better informed on that subject
than the author of " Las Cosas de Yucatan "
In every
one of his books he assigns a different name to each of said

points, in the
hope of perhaps
hitting, in
one at
on the
least,
right name.
For instance,
article
in his
book "Myths of the
"Quiche Legends"
readers:
"The
four
(p. 82),
known by
Cauac, represent respectively

As in Oriental symbolism, the
New
"World,"
he magistrally informs his
the names of
Kau, Muluc,
the
east, north, west,
east
was
the west black, the north white."
and
Ix,
south.
jêllow, the south red,
These were the names of
the guardians of the pillars that sustained the vault of heaveu.^
In his "Essays of an Americanist"

'
"
(p. 20J:),
the author seems
D. G. Briuton, Essays of an Americanist, pp. 176, 254, 438,

Ihid., Myths of the New World, p. 83.
et
passim.
APPENDIX.
237
to indorse Prof. Cyrus Thomas's interpretation of the
In that case he would take
signs for the cardinal points.
Muluc
to be the Tiorth,
Kan the west;
'
Maya
Cauac
but he does not
Ix
the south,
know
the
east,
and
that the signs he repro-
duces are not the names of the cardinal points, nor even of the
genii, guardians of the same, but of certain localities situated
Again, in another of his works,

" Hero Myths," the learned doctor, foUoAving Bishop Landa's
in the direction of said points.
assertion that in his
Muluc
south,
Mayas
day the
to the east,
Ix
to the north,
west, informs his readers that such
names
What
know
to the
and
Cauac
to the
were the true respective
But he probabty reasoned.
of the cardinal points.^
did Bishop Landa
Kan
assigned
So he
of Oriental sjonbolism ?
Landa's positive teachings, with the result that,
casts aside
to-
know which are really the names of said

As for me, I positively affirm that it can be
day, he does not

cardinal points.
demonstrated that Bishop Landa has transmitted to us the
name
correct
of each point,
and that they agree with those
given by the authors of the various

tions
known
Maya
books and inscrip-
to us, notwithstanding the learned Dr. Brinton's
opinion.^
On
October
Maya
inscriptions
and books,
to misrepresent him,
which
of the
Mayas
him
16, 1887, I Avrote to
what had been done
a review of
if
in the
that, as I
glad, so as not
he Avould be kind enough to

as the real one given
to each particular cardinal point, as
'
Avriting
decipherment of the
would be very
names he looked upon
to find out his opinion
was
from
his
own
it
D. G. Bfinton, Essays of an Americanist,

Eero Myths, p. 209.
lUcl.,
Landa, Las Gosas de Yucatan, cap. xxxiv.
me
by the
was impossible
Avorks.
'
tell
p. 304.
APPENDIX.
238
Five days later
that
is,
on October 21
answered
^he
me:
"The first time I visit New York I hope to have the pleasure of seeing
you and Mrs. Le Plongeon, and then I should like exceedingly to hear of
your discoveries, and also to explain to you my views about the cardinal
points and their representations in the Maya hieroglyphs.
'
'
I remain, etc.
"D.
"Well,
G. Brinton."
Dr. Brinton has never called upon me, nor given
me
his views about the cardinal points and their representations in
Maya hieroglyphs,
though in August, 1887, I offered him an

excellent opportunity, when the " American Association for the
Advancement
York.
By
of Science
'
'
met
request of Professor
at
Columbia College
Putnam
in jSTew
then wrote to him,
as president of the archseological section, asking the privilege

of reading a paper on " Ancient
I did not read such
members.
Maya Civilization " before its

paper; neither was my request
refused; but the envelope containing the granting of
me
exactly three weelcs after the association
sions.
It
N. Y.
in the apologetic letter that
Dr. Brinton's essay on the "
at least, so
came
Maya
its ses-
in the
was
in-
same envelope.
Phonetics," from page
196 to 205, had better not have been written,

lished.
reached
had been sent to me, by mistake, to San Francisco,
Cal., instead of to Brooldyn,
formed
it
had closed
much
less
pub-
most misleading, injurious even, to

paleography, who might place reliance on
Its contents are
students of
Maya
the assumed knowledge of the author on this particular subject.
The following statement made by him

" Turning
first to
the
Maya,
is
may
positively inaccurate
in passing refer to the
disa]ipointment which resulted from the publication of Landa's
alphabet by the
Abbe Brasseur
in
186-.
Here was what
APPENDIX.
239
seemed a complete phonetic alphabet, which should at once

unlock the mysteries of the inscriptions on the temples of
Yucatan and Chiapas, and enable us to interpret the

the Dresden and other codices.
scripts."
Now,
His work
any such hope.
fallacy of
script of
Experience proved the utter
Maya
no key to the
is
aiSrm
that,
be true that the characters of
if it
Landa's alphabet are not of themselves a complete clew to the
Maya
decipherment of
theless repeatedly
us,
and with the
books and inscriptions, they are never-
Maya
found in the
I furthermore maintain that,
Of
same, as there are
by him, the
our
mode
the translator's business to
is
Mayach and
of
codices
of writing; there are also

in the language.
know what they
This I have demonstrated in
Monuments
Maya
course, there are modifications of the
Avitli
composed signs as there are composed words

It
to
them by Landa.^
with the names of the days and
the alphabetic characters preserved
can be translated.
known
manuscripts
identical value attributed to
my
are.
"The
unpublished worli,
their
Historical
Teachings,"
which contains translations from the Troano and Cortesianus
whose authors have recorded many interesting
codices,
'
D. G. Brinton,
Esmys of an
To
exemplify
(^
character
tion.
No.
negation,
" land,"
Americanist, p. 199.
my
assertion, let us take, for instance, the
that Lancia tells us stands for nia, adverb of nega-
r^
in
Is
it
Nenf
not identical with
But
ina, radical
the
"country," both in Egyptian
Maya
Egyptian
adverb of
Mayach, also means

and in Maya. The sign
of
scripts is the hieroglyph for
Mayach
that
peninsula of Yucatan, standing between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, both represented by the sign
iiuix, "bosom," "
bosom
of the deep."
circular shape.
is,
the
;Q
|
The Egyptian word Nen
Nen-ha, the "mirror of water,"

in Maya "mirror."
have been the ancient name of the Mexican Gulf, on account of
means
his-
is
said to
its
almost
APPENDIX.
240
and ages ago, and which have
torical events that occurred ages
reached us in the guise of myths and misty traditions.
As
to the late
Abb6
Brasseur, I cannot claim the honor of
having been personally acquainted with him, but among

friends
and acquaintances in Yucatan and British Honduras
several have
known him
those countries.
Maya
my
AH
intimately
when he was
residing in
agree that he understood and spoke
and could converse freely with the natives.
The late Dn. Juan Villanueva, a well-known lawyer in Merida, when in 1873 I made his acquaintance, was acknowledged
by
his
He
country.
gave Brasseur his
and was proud of
his pupil,
Dn. Juan now
idly.
Maya
scholars in the
first lessons in
that language,
countrymen to be one of the best
who, he. said, learned
still
living
who were
very rap-
knows no wakMany, however, are
sleeps that sleep that
ing but I can testify to what he told me.
Abbe, and who have
it
intimatety acquainted with the learned
me that he had a fair knowlAmong these I may mention raj
also assured
edge of the language.
esteemed friend the Bight Bev. Dr. Dn. Crecencio Carillo y

Ancona, now bishop of Yucatan, hunself a student and a
thorough 3Iaya scholar
owner
of
the hacienda of
engineer; Dn. Bafael Begil
landed gentleman; Dn.
also
Dn. Vicente
citizens of
are situated.
Merida,
de Leon,
X-Canchakaii, a govermnent
y Peon, a wealthy merchant and
Jose Tiburcio
owner of the lands on which the ruins
Labnaa
Solis
Cervera,
a planter,
of the ancient city of
All these gentlemen are well-known
who have imbibed
Maya
with their nurses'
milk.
Henry Trumback, a merchant, whose name

mentioned by Abbe Brasseur among those of the persons to
In Belize,
is
whom
]Mr.
he was indebted for information whilst acquiring data
APPENDIX.
for
Maya
the compilation of his
241
vocabulary
Anderson, a Baptist minister, author of a
and English and
John
and English,
dictionary; and E.ev. Father Pitar,
Avhen in that city, have assured me,
particular, that they
Abbe
Maya
Eev.
the Jesuit college in Belize, wherein dwelt the
superior of
Abbe
Maya
all
and each one, in
had been well acquainted with the
Brasseur and that he
knew
the
late
Maya language.
Let us hope that the testimony of such witnesses, and
names
others whose
wipe
I could mention, will suffice to
off
the slanderous aspersion with which Dr. Brinton has tried to
memory of a great scholar.

To Abbe Brasseur belongs the honor
tarnish the
first to
bring to public notice the existence, in our day, of
ancient books of
Maya
origin,
when
exhibition in the Exposition on the
some
having been the
of
of the proof-sheets of the
in 1867
Champ
he placed on
de Mars, in Paris,
Troano MS., which was then
being reproduced under his supervision.
In November, 1864, as a member of the " French
Commission
'
'
which went
to
Scientiiie
Mexico under the auspices of
the French Government, he landed in Yucatan, and at once set

to Avork to study the
friend, the late
Maya
language under the tuition of our
Dn. Juan Villanueva, a great
He was
unable to
Uxmal
on account of the
make
a prolix
many
Maya
study of
difficulties
the
scholar.
ruins
placed in his
of
way
by the Imperial Commissary.
On
of
his return to Europe,
he found in Madrid, in possession
Dn. Juan Tro y Ortelano, professor
of palaeography at the
University, an original American manuscript, which at a glance
he recognized as being written with characters analogous to

those he had seen on the edifices at
from the owner not only the loan

16
Uxmal.
of
the
He
obtained
document for
all
APPENDIX.
242
the time he might need
reproduce
to
for his study, but also permission
it
reaching Paris the
After
it.
Abbe
applied
himself Avith ardor to the classification and deciphering of
the characters and symbols
contained
the manuscript,
in
with the help of those handed down by Landa.

published the result of his labors in his
Systeme Graphique
et la
In 1869 he
work, "Etudes sur
Langue Maya."
In
it
le
he announced
that he had discovered, classified, and deciphered two hun-
dred and thirty-three variants of the thirty-five alphabetic

characters of Landa, and one hundred and forty-one variants
of his twenty sjanbols of the days.
With
this vast array of signs, the value of
he knew, and with
his
knowledge of the
undertook the deciphering of the texts
He
which he fancied
Maya language, he
of the Maya book.
work than those who

it, as proved by the resTilts.
StiU,
not only have they criticised his interpretations, without howcertainly Avas better qualified for the
after
him have attempted
ever offering better in their stead, but they have tried to belittle his labors, going so far as to assert that he had hindered for
a long time the study of American palaeography. Yet it maj'
be asked,
What have
his critics
done ?
Have they not made
use of his works in their endeavors to find a clew to the mean-
ing of these same texts
Have they not
built
a reputation for
learning on the debris of his fame, and from his

rials,
to
Do we
ulary,
of
which they have added not a
not find them consulting his
unknown
and French vocab-
to be found in old dictionaries,
it
and that
in the vernacular of the natives ?
Brasseur's vocabulary
Were
Maya
and translating ancient characters and spnbols by words
modern coinage, not
are
own mate-
single valuable particle ?
mine
is
decidedly the
should be i)roud of
it.
work
It is a
of a scholar.
comparative
APPENDIX.
study of
Maya
243
with ancient Greek and other languages,
marred, however, by his having taken too great a license with

the language, and having given explanations of ancient lore
and traditions according to
also
for students of
is
his
own
personal bias and precon-
Barring these blemishes,
ceived ideas.
work
his
Maya antiquities
is
it
a most valuable
and of philology.
So
French translation and rearrangement of Father
Gabriel de San Buenaventura's
"Arte
which he transcribed from the copy
Idioma Maya,"
del
in possession
of
my
honored friend, Bishop Dn. Crecencio Carillo y Ancona.

Although his many scholarly attainments preeminently
qualified
Maya
ions
him
for the undertaking of the interpretation of the
texts, his great
drawbacks Avere
his preconceived opin-
on the one hand, and a strange weakmindedness on the

The first led him to see analogies and similitudes where
other.
none
existed,
and
to launch into speculations
ported by facts and lacking evidence
and fancies unsup-
the second caused
him to
be influenced by criticisms of persons incapable, for want of the

necessary knowledge, of judging of the accuracy or inaccuracy
of his renderings; but who, in their dogmatic ignorance, pre-
sumed
to jeer at the idea of the Troano
MS. containing an
account of earthquakes, of the subsidence of certain countries
and the upheaval
of others, of volcanic eruptions, of inunda-
and cyclones and other geological and meteorological

phenomena, that either happened in the writer's time or a relations
tion of
known
among
which he had found in older works.

that
all earljr chroniclers,
Yet
it is Avell
speaking of the books found
the natives, state that some contained the events of their
ancient history; that they had treatises on archaeology, medicine,
and other
one of these?
sciences;
Still
and why should not the Troano be
he allowed himself to be persuaded, and
APPENDIX.
244
acknowledged
(p.
xxvii) in his
malienne preoedee d'un coup
" Bibliotheque Mexico Guatesur les Etudes
d'oeil
caines, " that he had begun the reading of the
wrong end adding, however, that

;
intended as Tnere experiments.
his translations
you wrote
making
it ?
You had
were simply
Could he answer from beyond
the grave, I would ask him: " Abbe,

this confession, that
Ameri-
Maya text at the
how
did you know,
when
you were not mistaken again
in
how to read the texts

know it at the time of
not learned then
better than before; you did not even
Friend," I would teU him could he hear me,

your demise.
" you have been weak, and many have taken advantage of your
weakness to ridicule you, and then place themselves where
you ought
to be,
by making use of your own discoveries."

he had no reliance on his ability to wade
It is evident that
through the intricacies of the
Maya
symbols and characters
and that he did not notice the clew, placed by the author of the
Troano within reach of
his readers,
like
another thread of
Ariadne, to guide them out of the mazes of the labyrinth.
he took no heed of the red

graphs, and
He
mark
to
So
lines that divide the text into para-
which part the
illustrations correspond.
read the horizontal lines from end to end, mixing discon-
nected sentences of one paragraph with equally disconnected

sentences of another, then beginning the reading of the per-
pendicular columns at the bottom instead of at the top; the

results were, of course,
what might naturally be expected
an
incoherent jumble and senseless phrases.
He
likewise interpreted hterally the
for the days,
many
the originals given
names
of the s3^nbols
of Avhich he simply' regarded as vai'iants of
by Landa, not
l-eflecting that variation in
the sign implied also variation in the meaning, and that

of the characters were
many
composed of the elements of several
APPENDIX.
words are formed of
others, just as our polysyllabic
many
found ia
tion of the
and
he
Maya
his acquaintance
more than he
felt,
with the
significa-
words, and the works of the early writers
chroniclers, perhaps also guided
contents of the
syllables
other vocables having very distinct mean-
However, through
ings.
245
really
Maya
made
by
his scholarly intuition,
out, the general drift of the
text which he attempted to interpret.
So he became convinced that
in his writings the
Maya author
described volcanic eruptions and other geological phenomena.
By
publishing his convictions, he afforded his would-be critics
an opportunity to condemn the
results of his labors,
although
incapable themselves of deciphering a single sentence of the
Maya books.
To
by
the present day they are unable to correct his mistakes
offering a true translation of
the passages which they
And may
accused Brasseur of having improperly rendered.
ask
how
they
know
that they are not well translated ?
It
I
is
the same old, old story so happily expressed in these few French
words
had on
mais Vart
Iâ critique est facile,
This recalls to
this
my mind a
est difficile.
certain conversation
which
I once
same subject with a French antiquary, a member
of the Societe Ethnologique de Paris.
He
also
was
bitter in
his denunciation of Brasseur's interpretation of the Troano.
"
What do you know, personally, about translating Maya

Do j'ôu understand the Maya language ? Can you
writings ?
interpret a single
Maya
sign? "
" No," he answered, " but Mr. de Rosny, and with him
all
authorized Americanists, have condemned Brasseur's interpretation."
" So,
so,
my man,"
I replied,
a had name and hang him,
is
it ?
"
this
is
Pray
a case of give a dog

tell
me who
are the
APPENDIX.
246
Who
authorised Americcunists f
ment on the
efforts of
are they that dare pass judg-
a fellow student and condemn
him ?
Is
Mr. de Charencey, whose assertions and speculations are

not worth refuting? " '
it
"
Oh "
replied
my
antiquary friend,
"Mr. de Eosny has
severely criticised all his attempts at decipherment of Central
American inscriptions."^
"Yes,
am aware of it;
By what
he has also bitterly condemned
those of Brasseur.
right,
has published large volumes on
amount
their contents
books and inscriptions
he has determined,
greatest part of the
''
Is it because
Maya palaeography ?
to, so far as
is
pray ?
"What do
the reading of the

True, he
concerned ?
he
saj^s
Maya
that since
after a certain fashion,^ the value of the
Maya
characters,
it
will be easy to read
But he himself cannot translate a single sentence of
them.
said books
and yet he seems quite proud because the meaning
a few words interpreted by him has been accepted by

some authorized Americanists, whoever these may be; or, in
of
his
own
words,
'
J''ai dmine,
quelques mots, la quelle a

rises.
'
'
And
him a
right to
pass such a severe verdict, on
What
par
I say of the
sit
as judge,
Abbe
and enable him to
Brasseur ?
German, and American Americanists.
'
They have not advanced
beyond Brasseur's attempts.
Maya
He, at
books and
least,
Centrale, p. 13, Paris, 1870.

"
never
H. de Charencey, Essai de Dechiffrement, Actes de la Societe Philohgique

i., No. 3, p. 50, Mars, 1870.
Leon de Rosny, Essai sur le Dechiffrement de V^criture de V Amcrique
de Paris, vol.
'
auto-
French applies equally to the English
one step toward the interpretation of the

inscriptions,
lecture de
les americaiiistes
do these quelques mots, which he thinks he has
interpreted, give
"
dans divers receuils la
eie aecej>tee
Ibid.,
Le Decliiffremcnt de VEcriture Uieratique, Introduction.
APPENDIX.
designated any of the personages
247
who
Maya
figure in the
books as does Dr. P. Sohellhas,' and after him
many whose
name
Maya
is
legion,
ography,
'
long nose,'
as
Ppa
who
pretend to be authorities on
the god with the banded face,

etc.,
'
'
palae-
the god with the
instead of giving each his proper
and XJacach, which are plainly written
title,
such
in the orna-
ments that adorn these anthropomorphic personifications of the
and phenomena of nature.

" They assert that their god with the long nose
forces
'
the
is
'
of rain,' disdaining to take heed of the broad hint as to
he
'
god
who
given by the author of the Dresden Codex on the lower
is,
of
division
XJacach
swimming
plate
of
Ixv.
his
work, where
he
represents
paddling a canoe, under which a big fish
May we
in the ocean.
occasion the
'
god
of rain
'
had
figured
is
be allowed to ask on what
to paddle his
when big fishes swam in the clouds ?

"It may truthfully be said that a
own
canoe, and
very great part of what
Maya
has been published in modern times on the subject of
writings can only be ranked with comic literature, though not
very amusing
either.
Even the
beautifully printed papers of
the Smithsonian Institution, on the subject, are as meaningless as
they are pretentious; and I challenge any Americanist,
authorized or not authorized, to disprove this assertion.
"
I will
add: more than any of those
wake on the road opened by him,
his
who have
followed in
the learned
Abbe was
competent and well prepared to surmount the difficulties with
which
it
is
streAvn.
His knowledge of the
as of the Quichd, a cognate tongue
Maya
as well
his acquaintance
the lore and traditions of the Indians of Eabinal, in the

"
Schellhas, P., Die
den, p. 149.
Maya
with
moun-
Handschrift der Edliglkhen Bibliotheh zu Dres-
APPENDIX.
248
tains of
Mams
Guatemala;
to
whom
Church, and
many
among
his sojourn
he administered the
preached in their
own
other scholastic attainments
the Quiches and the

rites
the Catholic
of
vernacular, besides his
repeat, qualified
preeminently for undertaking the interpretation of the
He
texts.
erred in letting
his
imagination and his pre-
But who on earth
conceived opinions blind his judgment.

is
perfect?
judges err
him
Maya
To err is human. Did not his self-appointed

when they condemned him because he dared say
that the Troano contained the narratives of geological events ?
Yet the learned Abbe was right in so saying; and they were
wrong in presuming to pass an opinion on what they did not
know, and do not even
translation,
it
was
Have they done
rect.
Whilst disapproving his
at present.
their
duty to point out where
this ?
JSTo
Why not ?
Maya
it
was
incor-
Because they
themselves are unable to interpret the
texts,
and are
ignorant of their meaning.
" Instead of accusing him of having impeded the study of
Maya palaeography, they

made known
to
Maya
public, since they
him
in 1520
of Yucatan,
him
for having
books in Europe in our
These books had been preserved in
day.
and
should have thanked
the existence of
libraries, private
were sent to Charles V. and presented

,
by Dn. Francisco de Montejo, the conqueror
and Porto Carrero, by order of Hernando Cortez,
whose companions
in
arms they were.
No
one knew
in
what
language they were written, nor to what kind of alphabet the
them as being
work Belacion de
characters belonged, until Brasseur recognized

similar to those preserved
las
by Landa
in his
'
Cosas de Yucatan,' which had remained unpublished in the
library
of
the
'
Royal Academy of
Brasseur again unearthed
it
History
'
in
Madrid.
from beneath the coating of dust
APPENDIX.
where
it
had
printed.
it
had
more than
lain for
my
all
mem-
students of American archaeology? "
who had been
interlocutor,
impatience to
three centuries, and in 1860
Is not that alone sufficient to cause his
ory to be respected by
My
349
hstening with manifest
Abbe,
just panegyric of the learned
inter-
me and exclaimed: " Do not speak so, or you will kill

your own reputation and lose the fruits of your own labors;
rupted
all
authorized Americanists wiU.
condemn you
as they have
Brasseur."
"Indeed!
"Well, sir,
when they can do
it
they are welcome to do
knowingly.
nounce their sentence,
let
it;
that
is,
Meanwhile, before they pro-
them remember the words
tocles to the over-hasty Eurybiades:
'
Strike, but
of Themis-
heaeme! "
'
APPENDIX.
250
Note XVI.
(7)
(Pages 132, 133.)
This custom of carrying children astride the hip
still
pre-
Buddaghosha Parables,"
vails in Yucatan, as it
translation by H. T. Eogers, R.E.) and other places where we
does in India ("
find
Maya customs
(1)
and
traditions.
Landa, "Las Cosas de Yucatan "
(p.
236):
"El primer
dia del ano desta gente era siempre a xvi dias de nuestro
mes
de Julio, y primero de su mes de Popp."

ChampoUion Figeac, " Egypte " (p. 336): " Or pendant plus
de trois mil ans avant I'ere chretienne et quelques
cette belle etoile (Sirius) s'est levee le
(parallele
moyen) un peu avant
siecles apres
meme jour fixe en Egypte
le soleil (lever heliatique) et ce
jour a ete le 20 Juillet de notre calendrier Julien."

Censorius, "
De die Natali,"
regularly rises on the
20th of July, 1322
Egypt
b.c.
Porphyry says " that the
first
of the year are fixed in Egjrpt
star."
says that the canicula in
Thoth, that corresponded to the
first of
day of the month Thoth and
by the
rising of Sothis, or
Dog-
APPENDIX.
Note XVII.
(2)
251
(Page 124.)
During the reconstruction of the temple of Jerusalem,
under the reign of Josiah, on a certain morning the High Priest

Hilkiah, in the year 621 b.c, told Shapham, a scribe, that
he had found the Book of the
Law
in the house of the Lord.
Shapham took the book and presented it to the king, who

named a committee to go and consult the prophetess Huldah
regarding the genuineness of the book.
She, wise
make an enemy
she was, not wishing to
woman
evasive answer, that, however, satisfied the king, who,
was not
of a very critical turn of mind.
that
of Hilkiah, gave an
it
seems,
The prevalent
opin-
ion at the beginning of the Christian era, regarding the authorship of the Pentateuch,
(Clementine, Homily,
ISôTE
(1)
p. 95):
Henry Grose,
was that Moses never wrote the book.

51; Homily, VIII. 42.)
II.,
'
'
XVIII.
Voyage
(Page 127.)
in the
East Indies
'
'
(chap.
vii.
"Elephanta Island, near Bombay, contains cave tem-
ples so old that there
is
no tradition as to who made them.
There are paintings round the cornices
that, for the
beauty and
freshness of the coloring, not any particularity in the design, call
the attention; which must have lasted for some tliousands of

years,
on supposing
it,
as there
temporary with the building."
is all
reason to suppose
it,
con-
APPENDIX.
252
Note XIX.
(Page 139.)
by a young girl, of a fruit sent by her

lover constituted betrothal among the ancient Mayas, as it
In Yucatan, if a
does in our day among their descendants.
young man wishes to propose marriage to a girl, he sends by a
The
friend, as a present, a fruit, a flower, or some sweetmeat.
(1)
The
acceptance,
acceptance of
it is
From
mitted.
of the present
a sign that the proposal of the suitor
that
moment they
means that he
When
exists in Japan.
marriage, a flower-pot
window-sill.
the flower
is
The
is
is
are betrothed.
rejected.
The
is
ad-
refusal
similar custom
a young lady expects a proposal of

placed in a convenient position on the
lover plants a flower in
it.
If
next morning
watered, he can present himself to his lady-love,
knowing that he
is
welcome.
If,
on the contrary, the flower
has been uprooted and thrown on the sidewalk, he understands

that he
is
not wanted.
In Egypt the eating of a quince by two young people,

gether, constituted betrothal.
So also in Greece, where the
custom was introduced from Egypt.

a natural explanation of the
chapter of Genesis, and
why
offered a fruit to the \\'oman.
to-
first
In
this
custom we find
seven verses of the third
the serpent
was
said to have
APPENDIX.
Note XX.
253
(Pages 15, 155.)
The Mayas held Fire to be the breath, the direct emanation of Ku, the Supreme Intelligence; its immediate agent
through which all things were produced, and the whole crea(1)
tion kept alive.
To
it,
ual
in high places, they raised altars, on
special
duty was to see that
it
as deity itself.
which a perpet-
by
priestesses
never became extin-
These were recruited from among the daughters of
guished.
priests
it
rekindled once a year, was watched
fire,
whose
Therefore they worshipped
and
They were called Zvihiiy Kak, "VirAt their head was a Lady Superior,
naacaii-katun,^
Ix
meant " She who is forever
nobles.
gins of the Fire.'"
whose
title,
exalted."
They procured
the
new
fire either directly
from the rays of
the sun, or from the shock of two hard stones, or by rubbing
two
pieces of
wood
together.
Among the symbols
sculptured on the mastodon trunks that,
at a very remote period of
facades of
all
Maya
history,
embellished the
sacred and public edifices, these signs are occasion-
Taken
collectively
they read
thunder," hence, "fire."
Far deeper, however,
is
their esoteric meaning.
The
inter-
pretation of each individual sign reveals the fact that they
form a
on the creation of the
cosraological pandect, or treatise,

'
lUd.
lib. iv.
cap.
ii.,
p. 177.
APPENDIX.
254
They thus
world.
afford us a glimpse of
attainments of the learned
Maya
some
priesthood.
of the scientific
Their knowl-
edge they communicated in the mysterious recesses of the tem-
PART OF MASTODON TRUNK.
pies,
FROM USMAL.
(PLATE LXSHI.)
where the profane never penetrated, to
initiates only.
These were bound by the most solemn oaths never to make
known
the sacred mysteries there taught,
except to those
rightly entitled to receive them.
Science
few.
was then,
as
it is
even to-day, the privilege of the
In those remote ages the sacerdotal class and the nobility
claimed
it
own; now it is that of the wealthy. True,

knowledge is denied to none, px'ovided the appli-
as their
in our times,
cant can paj' for
it,
what he has learned
and no one
but
its
is
under oath not to divulge
acquirement
is
costly,
and beyond
reach of the majority.
The temples
of the
Maya
surely crumbling to dust,
time; and,
tic
hand
what
is
sages are in ruins,
gnawed by the
slowl}'-
but
relentless tooth of
worse, recklessly destroyed by the iconoclas-
of ignorance
and avarice.
Sanctuaries have become
Page
S56.
Plate
LXXni.
APPENDIX.
tlie
abode of
and
bats, swallows,
355
Lairs of the wild
serpents.
beasts of the forests, they are not only deserted but shunned
by human
the sages
beings,
who
who
stand in
awe
Where now
of them.
used to assemble within their sacred precincts
from
to delve into the mysteries of creation, to wrest her secrets
the bosom of Mother Nature ?
Do
their spirits still hover there,
Purified from all earthly defilement,
as the natives assert?
have they been reabsorbed in the great ocean of

as Buddhists
are
would have us believe ?
perfect repose of Nirvana, Avaiting to
intelligence,
Are they enjoying the

be summoned to begin
another cycle of mundane existences in more advanced planetary worlds than ours
To-day
I surely violate
no oath
if
I reveal part of those
very teachings that the adepts of old so carefully kept from

the multitudes,
whom
they regarded as unAvorthy to participate
in the divine light that
had been vouchsafed to
principle practised, likewise,
by the Egyptian
Clement of Alexandria, Avho had been

teries,
ries of
their
priests,
minds
proclaimed hj asserting (Stromate XII.), " The

all.
and that
initiated into their
the faith are not to be divulged to
mys-
mj^steIt is
requisite to hide in a mystery the wisdom spoken."

I Avill premise the explanation of the signs
ation
by
garding creation that Ave find in
and authentic of the
first
uted to Thoth, that
is,
[chaos]
under consider-
same doctrine re" Primander," the most ancient
stating that they teach precisely the
came forth the
philosophical books of Egj^pt, attrib-
Hermes
fire,
Trismegistus.
pure and
light,
"Out
and rising
of
it
it
Avas
lost in the air that, spirit-like, occupies the intermediate space
betAveen the water and the

so
mixed that the surface
appeared noAvhere."
fire.
The earth and the
of the earth, covered
Avater Avere
by the
Avater,
'
::
APPENDIX.
256
Again we read
in the
Hermetic books on the origin of things
"For
there were boundless darkness in the abyss, and water,
and a
subtile spirit, intellectual in power, existing in chaos."
Berosus, recounting the Chaldean legend of creation, says
" In the beginning
was darkness and water."

In Genesis we read: " In the beginning darkness was upon
the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the
all
face of the waters."
The author
of
how
of the
" Popol-vuh "
everything was without
" This is the
tells us:
life,
calm and
recital
aU was
silent;
motionless and quiet; void was the immensity of the heavens,
and the face of the earth did not manifest
yet only the
itself;
tranquil sea was, and the space of the heavens."
In the
'
'
Manava-Dharraa-Sastra,
universe in the beginning

great, self -existing
Power
He
in all his splendor.
'
'
we are told
'
'
The visible
was nothing but darkness.

dispelled that darkness
first
Then the
and appeared
produced the waters; and on
them moved Narayana, the Divine
Spirit.
'
\ corresponds to
our Latin letter h, or ch, which in Maya UlJ
pronounced
As
in Egjqitian so in
Maya,
the sign /^
is
with a peculiar hard accent, clla.

Ctia
is
the radical of the verb cllab,
"to
create,"
"to
bring forth from nothing," "to animate," "to give breath
Also of the word cllah,
or life."
Placed as
epitome of
it is
its
in the inscription,
horizon
It is
;
\xy
is
of water."
stands for
its
heading or
a complex sign, as the world
five radii, or rays,
it
repre-
composed of a circumference, image of the
of a central point, or boss,
from right
it
contents.
The next (^s\

sents.
"a drop
emanating from
symbol of the sun

it.
and
of
These rays are curved
to left, to indicate the direction in
which the sun
APPENDIX.
apparently travels every day.
257
These same
the numerical "five," ho, in the
Maya
hool, the "head," "that which
is
and
also the universe.
circle is divided,
nents
North
As
five radii stand for
language, radical of
above," hence the Deity,
to the five parts into
which the
they probably stood for the five great conti-
America,
South America, Asia, Africa, and
Europe.
The whole sign is therefore symbolical of the world, with

the Deity, "the sun," shedding its beneficent rays over it, as
it travels from east to west.
We
have just seen that in the cosmogonies of
aU. civilized
nations of antiquity, in Asia and Africa, as well as in America,
water
is
not only regarded as the primordial element, but
to have covered the
whole surface of the
the Chaldeans, and the Egyptians also called
because that
is
the
first
it
is
said
The Mayas,
earth.
"J.," probably
sound uttered without constraint by
the vocal organs of infants.
The Mayas graphically represented that name

by a circumference
Q,
of the water
the shape of a drop of water, or of
the horizon, sometimes with, sometimes without, a central point,

indicating the sun.
When
inventing the characters of their alphabet, which are
mostly images of objects surrounding them, they naturally

Thus " J. " became the first letter
assigned it the first place.
in the alphabets of all nations with
cations,
and it is yet the first
which they had communi-
letter of the
majority of alphabets
in use.
The Egyptians were not the inventors of their own alphaThey attributed it to Thoth, their god of letters. Did
bet.
they learn from the Mayas the name and shape of their first
letter?
17
APPENDIX.
258
" J. " in
Maya is
radical of
many words conveying the
A few
of humidity, generation, reviviscence.
Aakal, a pond; humidity;
as a verb, to
the plants after the
Aakil,
first
will sulBce.
become green,
as
showers.
to spring back to
to revivify;
idea
as does nature
life,
after its apparent death during winter,
when
it lies
dormant.
Ab,
Ac,
is
the breath; the respiration; vapor.
to prepare for cultivation dried-up
swamps; popula-
tion; people.
This last sign
C\r%
t^
is
perhaps the most comprehensive, and
therefore the most interesting.
As an
alphabetical sign,
pronounced as the English
it is
the
As
sh.
X of
the
Maya alphabet,
prefix to a noun,
it
indicates
the feminine gender, being a contraction of ix, the feminine
In the inscription under consideration,
article.
female forces of
the
Maya
letter
represents
it
f N, component part of Q,
corresponding U\J to our H, stands \D
th.e
as
nature.,
for all, the masculine article, the male forces.
Oo'
The character
the signs that in
to
letter
iV
in
Ô
is
composed of two C
the
Maya
As a
ours.
four times only in the Troano

part
distinct
MS.
one of
^,
alphabet
equivalent
is
symbol
it
is
found
(plates xx., xxi., xxiii.,
ii.).
This sign has been mistaken by the learned Dr. Henry Schliemann for
Quoting my name in his work Troja (p. 122), he says it was discovered by me in the mural inscriptions of the Mayas. This is an error,
'
a svastica.
so far as the
meaning
of tlie sign
inscriptions nor in the

svastica.
sages.
I
concerned.
Neither in the monumental

to-day have
am not aware that such sj'uibol was used bv

may have existed among them, however. All
It
is
3Iaya books known
have met with no proof of
it.
ever found
the ancient
I
can assert
;i
Maya
is
that
APPENDIX.
The author
that
it
most interesting work informs
represents the " boundaries of the
seas;"
of
of this
259
that
his readers
two inclosed basins or
the two American mediterraneans, the Gulf
is,
Mexico and the Caribbean Sea
fact easily verified
by
tracing a general outline of the shores of the Gulf of Mexico
from Cape Sable, the southernmost point
of Florida, to
Cape
Catoche, the northernmost end of Yucatan; then continuing

the drawing to Cape San Antonio, the westernmost extremity
of the island of Cuba, thence following the general contour
West India Islands to Grenada.

The curved line thus obtained will be precisely the sign C -^
N, initial letter of the ancient names Nen-lia of the Mexican
of the western shores of the
Gulf,
Nau
and
Does not
of the Caribbean Sea.
this sign recall that over
which stands the serpent
with inflated breast, emblem of Lower Egypt ?
Ady it
is
the image
The
dominion.
of a sieve,
sieve in
Maya
is
Under
symbol of lordship and

called
Mayab,
one of the
ancient names of Yucatan.
The
character
initial letter of
X, the female
many words
principle, the matrix,
relating both to water
is
the
and to
generation.
The ancient philosophers
held,
had
teach, that all living things
would appear that the
Maya
and modern physiologists

their origin in water.
It
remote times, had
dis-
sages, in
covered this scientific truth, and adapted their language to

this, as to
express
many
them
other of their scientific discoveries, so as to
in as concise a
manner
as possible.
instance
Xaa,
Xaan,
to flow.
to flow slowly.
It
becomes, by permutation.
So, for
APPENDIX.
360
Nax,
to
shine in the darkness, as fire;
the divine spirit
on the surface of the waters; or the phosphorescence of the water in tropical seas.
floating
the abyss of water in which took place the genera-
Xaab,
may
tion
xab.
wise
Maya priests
This
be one of the reasons
selected as
emblem
why
the
for god of the
ocean the mastodon, that, like the elephant, could
propagate ordy in water.
Now, if we consider the ^JO as a composite sign formed

"wisis then "power,"
by two C
^, its meaning
dom," "knowledge," since it gives us the word ca-n,
which, as we have seen (p. 96), is always significant of might,
Ô
power, intelligence, as
all
vocables allied to
it.
Such, for
instance, as:
Kaan,
manifested, raised.
K.aauaat,
great intelligence; genius.
Kanab,
Kanha,
Kanchaac,
Kauan,
the sea.
The
the rain storm.

hurricane.
that which
'
necessary,
which
is
precious.
doctrine contained in the three signs that form the
inscription can therefore

'
is
In water, by
fire
be epitomized in the following words
the vivifying power of the universe, were
created the male and female forces of nature, and they pro-
duced
all
things."
A glance at the sculpture of the dying warrior that adorned

Prince Coh's mausoleum
suffices for us to see that

'Plate LVIII.
the ancient
APPENDIX.
Mayas,
261
like the Egyptians, G-reeks, Chaldeans,
Hindoos, and
other civilized nations of antiquity, held that the mtal principle, the soul, in
man and
was an igneous
animals,
fluid that
escaped as a blue flame through the mouth at the death of the
" This blue flame," says Baron Charles von

Reichenbach, in his work " Physico-physiological Eesearohes
material body.
in the
Dynamics
of Magnetism, Electricity, etc.,"
seen escaping from dying persons,
We learn
by
"often
is
sensitives."
from the Hermetic books the
ideas of the
tians regarding the composition of the soul.
Egyp-
Fire, a constit-
uent part of divine intelligence, becomes a soul
when immersed
and a body when it enters into organic clay,

hence the old philosophic saying, " Corpus est terra, anima est
in organic water,
ignis."
Hermes Trimegistus
teaches that
"at the moment of
death, our intelligence, one of God's subtle thoughts, escapes
the body's dross, puts on
its fiery
tunic again,
and
floats hence-
forth in space, leaving the soul to await judgment."
Among
hymns of
unity of God
are passages in which the
prayers begins thus: "Fire

that; so
is
the Yajur Yeda, there
the prayers and
the air; so
is
is
is
taught.
One
the moon; such, too,
is
viii., p.
is
that pure
Brahm, and those waters, and that Lord of creatures. "

Researches, vol.
of said
the original cause; the sun
{Asiatic
431.)
Macrobius in his work " Somnium Scipionis " (cap. xiv.),

resumes the doctrine thus: " There is a fluid luminous, igneous,
very subtle, called ether, spiritus, that
fills
The substance
is
of the sun, of the stars,
the pi-inciple, the essential agent, of

is,
on
in fact, the Deity.
"When a body
all
is
the whole universe.
composed of
motion, of aU
it.
life.
It is
It
about to become animated
earth, a globular molecule of said fluid gravitates through
the milky
way toward
the moon.
There
it
combines with
APPENDIX.
262
grosser air, thus becoming
body that
enters the
it,
grows,
suffers,
and
perishes
is
fit
forming;
It then
completely, animates
fills it
expands, contracts with
"When
it.
this
body
material elements dissolve, this incorruptible
its
molecule escapes from
It
it.
great ocean of ether were
with lunar
to associate with matter.
It
air.
is
would return immediately to the

not detained by
it
its
association
the latter that, preserving the shape of
the body, remains in the condition of shadow or ghost, a perfect
The Greeks called that shadow

The Pythagoreans said it was
image of the deceased.
the image or idol of the soul.

its vehicle
or envelope.
The
rabbinical school regarded
If the individual
vessel or hoat.
that
whole soul
his vehicle
is,
had
lived a righteous
it
life,
ascended
and
as
his ether
its
his
back
immediately to the moon, where their separation took place.
The
to
God.
life,
remained in the lunar elysium
vehicle
the ether returned
on the other hand, he had lived an unrighteous
If,
his soul
remained on earth until
became
it
purified,
wander-
ing here and there in the fashion of Homer's shadows."
While
Homer had become
in Asia,
acquainted with this
doctrine, three centuries before its introduction into Greece,
according
and
of
Cicero {Tuscul.,
to
his pupil Pythagoras,
it, if
believe Herodotus.
i:he
soul
the Egyptians.'^
Kak
Ka
i.,
16),
who pretended
we
story of
lib.
He
to be the inventors
positivel}' asserts that the
and its transmigrations had

Did these receive it from the
Maya word for
by Pherecides
heen invented hy
Mayas ?
" fire."
is
the
is
the Egyptian for the double; the astral shape; exist-
ence; individuality.
Kii
is
the
Maya
'
for the Divine Essence; the God-head.
Herodotus,
Hist., lib.
ii.,
cxxiii.
APPENDIX.
Khu = Akh
is
Maya,
Khu = Akh,
'
the Egyptian for intelligence; spirit; manes;
God-head.
light;
Kul,
263
to worship
to adore.
Egyptian, to worship; to adore.
The root of life was in every drop of the ocean of immortaland the ocean was radiant light, which was fire, am,d heat,
'
ity,
and
motion.
peared in
and
its
Darkness vanished and was no more;
own
essence,
tlie
it
disap-
hody of fire and water, or father
(From the Book of Dzyan, stanza iii., 6.

Apvd H. P. Blavatsky, " The Secret Doctrine," vol. i., p. 29.)
The ancient Mayas believed in the immortality of the
spirit and in reincarnation, as do their descendants to this day.
mother.''''
APPENDIX.
264
Note XXI.
(1)
It
may be
(Page 158.)
seen from the following passage in the Saddh-
arma potmdarika, " The Lotus

entitled " Effect of the
tas,"
'
Good Law," chap, xx.,

Supernatural Power of the Tathagaof the
that the putting out of the tongue
wisdom
in India.
This chapter
in a council of Bodhisattvas
is
was a symbol of great
a record of what took place
that
is,
of
men who, having
acquired the learning necessary to teach aU creatures,
had
" The
arrived at the supreme intelligence of a Buddha.
hands joined they worship Buddha,

together,
who
and they promise him, when he
Nirvana, to teach the law in his stead.
Then the
them.
blessed
has brought them

shall
have entered
The Master thanks
Qakyamouni, and the blessed Pra-
choutavatma, always seated on the throne of their stoupa, began

to smile of one accord; then their tongites came out of their
mouth, and reached the world of Brahma.
innumerable Tathagatas, by
whom
The
these personages are sur-
rounded, imitate them."
This simply means that
all
these wise
men pronounced
dis-
courses and gave their opinions on the matters discussed in the

council.
(2)
Abbe Hue,
in his work, " Recollections of a
Journey
through Thibet and Tartary " (vol. ii., chap, vi., p. 158),
says: " A respectful salutation in Thibet consists in uncovering
'
Apud
Bartlifilemy de Saint-Hilaire, Vie de Bouddha, pp. 71-72.
'
APPENDIX.
the head,
lolliiig
the same time.
W.
265
out the tongue., and scratching the right ear at
'
Woodville Eockhill, in the Century Magazine (New
York, edition of February, 1891,
p. 606),
says
" The draw-
ing out of the tongue, and at the same time holding out both
hands pabns uppermost,

in Thibet.
...
is
At
the
mode
of salutation near Dre-chu,
I'Hasa, capital of Thibet, the
mode
of salutation consists in one sticking out his tongue, pulling

his right ear,
and rubbing
his left limb at the
same time."
INDEX.
A, meanings of letter
Afghanistan, names of places
Maya words
PAGE
358
....
Akkadian
in,
197
treatises, copies of old,
ordered by Assurbanipal
37
the scientific language of the
Bligio, biographical sketch, 181
Annals,
Maya,
den
Antagonism
and
destroyed and hidIviii
Maya
Maya
meaning
Art,
.18
Ashes, preserved in heads of statues
in Mayacli.
In Egypt, like7
America, its ancient history never
ness placed on coffin lid
taken into account
.10 Asps, emblematic of royalty in
.
the oldest continent

,
hypotheses regarding
...
its
pling and civilization
ix
Egypt
Aspersions of Dr. Brinton
peo.
xiv
universe
Altar in Prince Coil's Memorial

Hall
123
abhorred by
works of, destroyed

196
Aryans, had no idea of a created
languages com-
pared
its
sciences,
early Christians
and
Coll
of the brothers
andAac
Arts
East
Akkad,
Ancona,
viii
Asshur, god,
name
of
88
.5
Maya
199
ori-
Analyses of sign of negation Ma,

gin
43
239 (note), liii Astronomical tables, Hindoo, the
Ancients, the, generally acquainted
oldest, the most accurate
183, 185
with size of earth
307 Attitude of respect, alike in MayAncient
acli and Egypt
buildings, regard131
ed with awe by natives
xxxii
.
Maya
Maj'a structures,
ers
unknown
their build-
to natives
xxxiii
buildings in ruins at time of
Spanish invasion
xxxii
name Maj'a
GO
in Mayacli,
attendant of God of Death
115
Baal, god, his
Baao,
cynocephalus
Babel,
its
Maya etymology
34
INDEX.
268
PAGE
Maya
Chaldeans used the metre

207
.33 Chaldean magicians exorcised with
Chaldean names
.40
Maya words
Babylonian standard of measures 207
magicians first welcomed, and
Balain, why regarded as proteclater condemned to death, in
284
tor of crops
Rome
39
233
and CliaCS not the same
204
(note) 111 Challenge to Dr. Brinton
Balch^, sacred liquor
Babylon,
etymology of
its
....
Bel-Marduk, god, his name Maya,

Bird, emblem of Deity in Sandwich
Islands
73
Children, carried astride the hip in
74
Cocom,
Mayaell and
killed
India
by
133
105
his nobles
172
Ill CogoUudo, biographical sketch of
God of Rain
wrote the most complete hissymbol of principal female
tory of Yucatan
xxxiii. 330
13
divinity
Blue, mourning color of Mayas, 89 Consulting fate on the entrails of a
peccary
134
90
of Egyptians
Cosmic egg, origin of all things
Books, Maya, written in alphabetical characters
xxxi Cosmic diagram, Chaldean and
17
Hindoo amplifications of the
Brahmins, origin of, obscure
borrowed their science from
26
Maya
others
17 Cosmogonic
conceptions,
epitoBurmah, Mayas in
201
mized in names of cardinal numoffering to
....
bers
Can,
,
Maya rulers
title of
important meanings
initiated into Sacred Mys-
its
Cans,
teries
...
....
93
Khati
Maya,
points,
named
300
genii
of,
according to
Maya writings
Carian and Maya woman's dress,
.
Caribbean Sea,
its
emblem a deer
Carthaginians, America
Carvings of
A'isited by,
perfect
xliv
xii
nists
Maya
...Maya
Empire
Clialdeans, primitive,
their
122
.5
name
Maya word
75
of
256
Cross,
emblem
of
Rain God among
Mayas
rarely
103
found
in
Maya sculp-
.29
.
33
33
110
of
proffering love with a
140
fruit
Curio hunters, guilty of leze-history
xxiii
Cynocephali, represented with
colo-
strangers in Babylonia
egg
tures
figure in cosmic
77
70
336 Cremation of bodies

87
preparation of bodies for
138
219 Criticisms on Abbe Brasseur's work. 242
Custom
Their meaning
man
,
entrance to
Central America, ancient
215
make
Creation, various accounts of
Prince Coli's funeral chamber.
lintel at
reli-
gious conceptions
62
03
.
Maya
Creation Tableau, explained
how
...
Creator, his attempts to
Carchemish, commercial city of the

Cardinal
notions, base of
God
of Death at Uxnial
115
Cynocephalus, indigenous to Central America, not to Egypt
116
.
INDEX.
Danavas, of Maya origin
Decimal system, use of, proved by
,
PAGE
2
Egyptian pyramid, king's chamber,

measurements of
209
.211 Egyptians pointed to the West as
Maya ruins
why used by the Mayas,
220
used by Egyptians
310
Defilement, presence of corpse
Mu,
names
the Greek letters
149
narrated in Egyptian
archives
in the
53
Mayas
Emblems,
Maya,
319
258
interpreted
Mayas
Can dynasty
that of the
End
of
.
strangers
of the universe, the simplest
146
told in the
187
received their sciences from
described by
Maya authors
52
of their ancestors
primitive,
the
58
valley of the Nile
240
Maya
not of Aryan stock

,
word
Destruction of
home
a,
(note) 138
Defence of Abbe Brasseur

Desert of Shur, its name a
269
of
Enmity
tional
149
Dhyan Chohans,
14
143
Sun and Serpent,

among all nations
of
tradi-
133
Memorial Hall,
meaning of ornamentation
130
Entablature
of
four Maharajahs
Hindoos
.217 Errors of Abbe Brasseur
343
Diagram, mystic, of the Mayas 220 Esoteric meaning of cardinal numDragon, emblem on banners of
bers, Maya
233
Khans in Asia
199
of numbers in various
of the
Ma-
Dress of laborers, alike in
yacll and Egypt
Maya,
countries
83
Drowned valleys of Antillean lands,
xliv
in olden times
Durability of
pigments used by
Mayas
cosmic diagram of
in the
its
origin
Maya doctrine of
sciences
known
330
316
16
71
79
the
to
Mayas
333
xv
Failure of scholars to read
01
must be sought
West
Mayas
Evolution of creation, doctrine of,

among various ancient nations
Exact
unknown
Maya,
88
Early Christians plunged Western

Europe into ignorance
Egyptian civilization, infancy of,
doctrine of creation,
132
hieroglyphics
Maya
348
ceremony of Pou,
Pate, read by
53
(note) 129
Feast of Feralia
10
Sphinx, the enigma of history, 159 Feathers worn by kings and waropinion of various wririors
xlv
ters regarding it
159
insignia of gods and kings,
painted red
95
(note) 100
.
Art, maturity of
301
its
names
at base of
whose portrait was
it
Festival of ancestors,
to
.
buildings surrounding
position relative
the pyramid
,
it,
among
all
nations at same time of year

IGO First Principle, the, a thrice un-
100
161
known darkness
102
Fire, the essential
element
319
187, 301
INDEX.
270
PAGE
Francisco De Cordova, first Spaniard who landed in Mayacli, xxviii
Homen,
French, modern measurements of

the earth, accord with those of a
Horned snake, sacred

and Mayacli
unknown
remote,
admired by John h. Stephens

in Memorial Hall
disfigured by visitors
.
208
and
viscera
pre-
...
in
Canopi
Maya meaning of word
of, its
84
in
of
cardinal
the
Maya and others

Geometric
Mayas
symbology
and others
meaning
Goddess
God
Isis,
...
the bird an emblem
of Rain, invocations to
tian characters
of,
13
104
260
Egyp-
God
goddess, her
Islitar,
like
Maya
of Kain.
100, 232
60
in Egypt,
in Greece, India,
...
...
and
.167
xxx
symbolized by image
Mexico
.109 Itzaes, abandoned their homes
of Southern Cross
.
72
Its
name Maya,
Good Mother,
the
Isis,
199
with
historical interest
132
70
Intimate relation of
Invocation to
195
....
Mayas
in
primitive Chaldeans
15
Gift of cloaks to victors in athletic
games
of
261
Tableau,
85
.86
.
Egyptian and Maya

.
on mastodon trunk, esoteric
the
of
87
Kabul mound
220
believed
...
Inscription on Creation
points,
Mayas
India, British invasion of
on
Genii
....
origin
Immortality, the
Egypt.
in
Immaculate Conception, doctrine
served in red oxide of mercury

vases,
127
Mayas
charred
.5
symbol of royalty
urns,
(note) 148
Egypt
in
Funeral customs of
Egyptians
in
Coli
history of Prince
....
Forces
Volcanic
of
Huldah, prophetess, consulted

251
200 Huns, were they the founders of
Copan, Palenque, etc. ?
189
6
at Cliicllen,
paintings,
Fresco
race
God
Greek alphabet, why letters of

Izanial, description of stucco bas150
relief at
same value are placed apart
.197
71
Gucumatz, emblem of Creator
.
name
Jehovah,
Hakaptah, a
Maya word
Hanuman,
veneration
Ceylon
for,
.
Hapimau, name
etymology
Hieroglyphics,
Maya,
on
tation of
,
Kabul
48 Jesus,
mound,
by in
.38
Kabul, Afghan capital

temple in Izanial
195
196
Kanaau,
llic
Katish,
.81
.
1!)7
198
a Blaya word
nanio of the city
]>Ia>a word
Khan
interpre-
l>Iiiya, their true koy found,
47
numerical value 231
78
Maya
not
of,
words spoken
tongue
last
Maya
in
Copan and Pa-
as tliose of
lenijue
of Nile,
same
as
Cau,
58
of,
63
meaning
199
Eastern title, emblematized
a dragon
199
or
its
INDEX.
name of the, a Maya word, 61
King jMenes, his name a Maya
word
48
Knowledge among Mayas, privilege of priesthood and nobility, xxxi
Khati,
271
Maya
Empire, emblems
of
Mu,
,
pride of the ocean
emblem
....
its
struction
a powerful nation in remote

xxxviii
ages
colonists settled on the banks
.
144
ten provinces
its
Plato's Atlantis
66
xli
and
Maya
signs for days
Language,
and
.171
letters
.
trac-
in
...Maya
tures
egg,
its
side
explanation
Leleges, ancient
Maya
name
.
of
.
xvi
the
Maya
sketch of
36
.181
hydrophobia,
Map
of
Maya
.41
Maya Empire explained
xliii
Masons, wandering, measured the

circumference of the earth
208
Mastodon, God of the Ocean
110
.
Mausoleum
Chicheii
of
Coll
Prince
.
at
.155
93
73
xxiii
traditions
xvii
conquest of India anterior to

the
Aryan
.22
geographers acquainted with

contour of American continent
.
civilization, ancient,
decadency
xxxiv
xxxi
of, its cause,
books, description of
writings
name among
.174
na-
relate the
destruc-
tion of Plato's Atlantis
Canaan
xviii
....
colonists,
went
59
unknown
to chroniclers
tions of antiquity
for
books reveal origin of some
a universal
Magic words, supposed cure
myths and
adopted by the Mayas, 224

Lip ornaments, American
118
Lizana,
Bernardo,
biographical
.
meaning of yellow
mother of gods and men
remains, destroyed by curio
hunters
.213
Ain j mean-
ing of these names

.47
sages believed America the
oldest continent
xi
.63
etymology of the name

Lineal measure, true standard of
xxxiii
of Carians,
Lilcbabi,
the Nile Chem, also
.74
esoteric
cosmic
.
antiquity
112
Legend on each
25
Empire, symbolized as a tree, xlix

represented as a serpent, 125
buildings, some of vei7 gi'cat
a knowledge of
necessary for understanding sculp,
represented after
ing relationship between various

peoples
how
colonists called the Valley of

1
an accurate guide
elephant worship
death
gauge of a nation's
spirit
.44
settlement
44
rulers,
preserved
origin of tree, serpent, cross,
Nubia
Maioo
xliv
Landa, Bishop, a Maya scholar

li
his biography
.169
destroyed Maya books
170
,
called their
after de-
ex-
of the Nile in
Land
of,
plained
to the land of
history written in books
57
.
etymology of the name Brahma, and of that of the Cosmic egg,
24
INDEX.
273
Maya
Mayas
....
history, important events
carved in stone
philosophers,
cosmogonicand
their
etymology of the word by

ous authors
.74
.39
migration to the banks of the

.
.55
not a dead language, an aid

20
.58
addicted to giving nick-
names
and
artists
Cans called themselves Chil-
dren of the Sun
....
likened the earth to a caldron
and
to a calabash
colonizers, astronomers,
architects
traces of the,
found in
2
128
intensely patriotic
and Aryans seem to have had

no communication with each
xxxi
civ-
54
300
spirits of
men reanimated
stat-
ues in which their ashes were

preserved
139
Mayach,
fruit
offering a pro-
252
not India, mother of nations 23
great personages of, deified, xxxi
ruins of
city of, destroyed
Meaning of
all his-
torical nations of antiquity
xv
believed that the
Mayapan,
157
posal of marriage in
(note)
used vegetable colors

ate the hearts of enemies slain
in battle
Ixii
and
128
and Egyptians, acquired

ilization from same masters
their great
xlvi
28
proofs of their communication
Nahuatls
Iviii
27
the
with natives of Asia and Africa,

adopted religious practices of
35
scientists
,
in
country called Akkad

little acquainted with rules of
',
colonies
perspective
word tor fire, analyses of

262
names among all civilized
nations of antiquity
xliv
....
established
in finding origin of ancient civilizations
158
81,
and geographers
established colonies west of

the River Indus
16
Nile, antiquity of
geologists
and Hindoo cosmic evolution
Mayas
their skulls
vari-
identical
323
an eminently religious people,,215

did not artificially deform
notions,
others, portrayed
in sculpture
familiar with trigonome-
try
the
105
name Akkad, a puz-
zle for scholars; its interpretation
of Prince
xxx
Coh's name
28
157
Measurements of Maya gnomon 213

Mehen, serpent accompanying the
believed in reincarnation
139
Creator in Egypt
believed in the eternity of
Memorial Hall of Prince Coll at
being
90
Chiclieu, by whom erected
treatment of, and of their
description of
descendants, by the Spaniards
176 Metre, its use by the ]>Iayas
303
other
21
highly civilized, great navigators
....
believed the breatli of
be
,
fire
Migration into Egypt, Bunsen's es

1
timate of dates
and Muzur, names of Egypt

]>Iaya etymology of
Misiir
life to
155
their astronomical knowledge, 333
Mizraim,
Maya
elyniology of
INDEX.
373
Name of God Asshur's dwellingwearing the hair by

43
place, of Maya origin
and Egyptian matrons
.84 Names of Greek letters, their
in mourning
.151
Moloch, the god, his name a Maya
Maya meaning
CI
of Egyptian
gods, Maya
word
190
words
49
Mongols In America
Mode
of
Maya
......
Mayacli,
in
77, 116
in India
Monkey-god
olfered for his
....
men changed into,
their iniquities
ligious practices
Japan
and other ancients
history
of
struction preserved by
...
tions
its
stone
its
118
231
many
computation
,
na-
Maya
thirteen basis of
de-
its
professors
211
adoption discussed by
.
.211
CO
......
destruction
Number
corded by Mayas and Greeks

:
xxxvii
Numbers and geometrical figures

honored with names of gods
318
spots in
destruction re-
its
and
Egypt and Guatemala

of,
re-
Number four in the cosmogony of

many nations
.94
Number ten sacred to the Maya
buried in reserved
Mu, Land
Nose-rings worn in America
because of
Babylonia
178
adhere to ancient
.....
in
image by an In-
dian prince
sacred
worship ancient images
price
Monkeys worshipped by Egyptians,

,
Natives of Yucatan, their character 178
77
Thoth, great
Monkey worship
recorded
brought civilization to
Mesopotamia
.20
Maya etymology of the
Cannes,
in
Ixiv
......
Brahmins acquired knowlname

26
edge from the
184 Ocean, its Maya names, and their
serpent worshippers
193
meanings
180
their origin unknown to Indilikened to a serpent
.
71
.
anists
193
theii'
194
conquests
khans
rulers held sway over Hintheir rajahs called
dostan before Aryan invasion
Maya adepts
originally
meaning
of the
19
Offerings of foDd to the dead in
Peru, and elsewhere
Maya
meaning
number
of
thirteen
enmity
(note) 147
between
(note) 76
woman
and serpent
142
Ornaments in use among ancient
.
and Caribs, same

.
of British foot measure,
Empire, accordbooks
...
19
Yucatan
10
300 Origin of nobility
.97
196
of ill-luck being attributed to
....
Maya
of Carians
in China, Japan,
stroyed cities
ing to
Ma-
in
of
dead,
yacli, Egypt, and India
word
Nahuatl sacrifice
Nahuatls invaded Yucatan and de-
Name
the
Offerings to
64
Mayas
117
INDEX.
374
Osiris portrayed as a leopard
of
Tucatan
Aac
Prince
165
Moo
Outrages, Spanish, during conquest
Lorenzo
lineal
Huns
....
incited
war
civil
139
religious
141
251
Pshent, crown of Lower Egypt in
189
Ptah, Egyptian, the Creator, born
Maya sculptures
inhabitants
its
in presence of the Priest, 134
....
phanta Island
Palenque, were
142
Queen
by a present of oranges
de-
Muna
Queen
...
proffered love to
106
scendant of kings of
in cave temples, Ele-
Paintings
vanquished
.
xxxv
Mdo,
Pacab, Don
125
from an egg
110-113
:
tablet explained
74
Pyramids in Yucatan, invariably
Pdt^la (Central America), mother
twenty-one metres high
100, 194
country of Nagfis
224
Pentateuch, not written by Moses, 251 Pythagoras's teachings regarding
.
etc.,
not
Mayas
216
compared
with that shown in sculptures at

Palenque, Copan, and Quirigua
Cay,
Pontiff
entrails of
Queen
Pou
190
Maya,
Physiognomy,
82
of
II.,
pupil of Moor-
of
(note)
hand
130
Majâcli
and Egypt
156
wore leopard skin
over ceremonial dress
called
162
Prince Coll, loading his warriors

his charred heart
loin, corrupted
into Isis
154
called
136
Man
in
Egypt
155
may be the builder of the
pre-
served in red oxide of mercury
154
her flight recorded by
author of Troano MS.

142
her arrival in Egyjit, received with open arms
xix, 154
of great personages' hands,

after death, alike in
129
offer of
"West Indies
in cere-
Pou
Priests of Osiris
consulting fate by
Position of priest's
mony
....
fish
made
marriage to
130
built in
Cliicheii a
memorial haU and a mausoleum
to the memory of her husband
155
her refusal of Prince
Aac's love brought misery to
Iier and to her country
140
her flight from the
ish philosophers
Posca, what
219
Mdo,
,
consulting fate by
Pope Sylvester
numbers
People represented in sculptures,

at Copan, Palenque, Manche,
Phallic worship, origin of
Egyptian Sphinx
136
portrayed as a leopard,
willi
human head
,
his heart, part of,
166
Uabbis extol number twenty-one
159
beyond all others

.76
Rays around cosmic egg. their
number, emblem of the Creators, 70
chemi-
cally analyzed
by his brother Aac

was by his brollicr
slain
as
Osiris
Sel
Priiu-c
Aac
bocauu' a (vriint
Kod, distinclive color of nobility, 89-95

symbolical of power
99
158
143
its.
moaning
in
Mava
103
INDEX.
Red always used
for seals
ancient Egyptians
among
.
Serpent, supposed wisdom
102
hand in Mayacli, Polynesia, and India

100, 101
mark of ownership
102
Reincarnation
believed
in
by
.
Mayas
...
Maya word
Respect for
elders in
as in
Egypt
Mayacli
.
132
Royalty, yellow its distinctivecolor,

89-91
....
Royal brothers and

in marriage
sisters
222
form background to
scales of,
Chiclieii
antagonism of Sun with
offering
of
emblem
of
Mayacli
god of the Khati

Seven-headed serpent
Sign of negation,
217
Aum
"
liv,
239
shape of the
.
i.v
origin
its
iv
of the West, alike in
Mayacli and Egypt

Sieve, one
explained by
Maya language
90
yacli
word "
97
Egyptian,
unknown
for Land
199
Maya,
252
Maya and Egyp-
tian alike
,
ex-
by,
.
Set,
131
Ma-
Sacred Pour, in India and
fruit
.
Yucatan peninsula
united
75
123
plained
59
pos-
figure of Creator in tableau at
223
Rephaim, a
of,
sible origin
263
Religious ideas embodied in sacred

edifices
275
name
lix
of Yucatan,
Egyp-
symbol of dominion
259
the Egyptians
as symbol of power
137
of Cliristian era
xxxi Similarity of Maya and Hindoo
architecture and customs
Sati, a, Maya word, name given
24
by Egyptians to the Rephaim
58 Skulls deformed by some Pacific
Islanders
Science, the privilege of the few
254
190
Soul, escape of the
Scientific knowledge revealed in
261
224 Sphinx, totem of Prince Coh,
Maya architecture
adorning his mausoleum
Sculptured portraits used as fu158
mode
13,
24
Maya
no
longer understood at beginning
of writing
tian
,
why chosen by
87 Sri-Santara, names of
neral urns
Sculptures in
in Greece
Mayacli, colored
and
parts are
as
otlier countries
its
various
Maya words
an
22
araplifieation of the
Maya
cosmic diagram
of dying warrior, on
17
155 Standard lineal measure, why the
Prince Coil's mausoleum
Self-torture by devotees of Goddess
Mayas adopted the metre
224
109 Statues of deceased persons, made
Kali
Scidpture
...
in
America
108
Selk, goddess, deification of
Indies,
Serpent,
its
,
West
name of Maya origin

emblem of the Creator.
Maya origin
emblem
Mayas,
of the Creator
Mayas
87
provided with shell eyes and

67
nails
94
as in
colored in Eastern countries
among
Egyptians, and others,
by the
America
192
in the East, as in
71
provided with eyes
America,
.
.192
INDEX.
376
Statues of
Maya
rulers,
Troana MS.,
conven-
tional posture of, explained
59
15
Stone circles, their meaning
Story of enmity between the woman
142
and the serpent
buildings careSurvey of
203
fully made
.
....
Maya
Symbolism, a knowledge of, necessary for the understanding of
Maya sculptures
Maya
origin
Taba, word of
Tau, Egyptian, explained
language
Maya
Tehom,
word
name
Thalatth, her
gin
of
document
torical
.73
39
Thibet, corpses preserved in mer-
lation of
....
Ivi
Part Second, plate xiii. Trans-
...
Maya word
a Maya word
Tzidon, a
Tzur,
Maya
Urukh,
(note) Ix
.59
.60
....
Maya
royalty in
128
conception of
Maya
2l'5
etymology of the
name of
Uxnial, escutcheon
.
of
.36
xlvi
hung from necks of the

dead in Egypt
placed on the abdomen of the
dead in Mayacli
Vase,
191
cury in
.175
...
174
Part First, plate xxii. Trans-
Universe,
ori-
244
a precious scientific and his-
Umbrella, insignia of
110
48
by
gives a
description of the
lation of
Maya
....Maya
deep,
the
author
112
its
clue to the reading of his text
Thirteen, computation by, to com-
85
146
memorate date of cataclysm
God of Wisdom, as eynoVirgins of the fire
cephalus monkey, second God of
Votive offerings
114
the Dead
Vulture, symbol of Goddess
.
Thotli,
....
.
God
Maya word
name a
....
Maya
of Letters, its
78
Tiamat, monster, name of
72
origin
Isis
Water, primordial substance

,
analysis of the
Maya
of the
God
12
73
word
259
for
of the Fields
T-Mu, god, personification
62
of At-
9Q
lantis
Tongue, the putting out of

symbol of wisdom
.
xi
xli
116
264 Winged Serpent, insignia of roy-
Tradition of Sandwich Islanders

regarding creation
,74
.
" Land of the Scorpion "
West, the, regarded by Egyptians

as place of the dead, where Thoth
exercised his duty as Scribe
the,
101
Western continent, mentioned by

Tiaii-Chilians, "Sacred Pour"
.216
classical authors
of the Mayas
West Indies called by Mayas
Ticll, religious ceremony in honor
.
85
253
alty
in
Mayacli,
the
like
winged dragon in Asiatic coun-
upward fire, apex

tries
129
downward water
.15 Winged circles in America, Egypt,
Troano
JIS.
made known by
and Assyria, origin of
217
Abb(5 Brasseur
243 Words written on Belshazzar's banwhy thus called
175
quet hall were Maya
37
Triangle, apex
....
INDEX.
Work
of
Worship
Abbe Brasseur
of elephants, of
PAGE
243
Maya
origin
Maya origin
of serpent, of Maya origin
of tree, Maya origin
.
PAGE
Yucatan, its various names

xxix
Peninsula of, represented as
a shoot and a veretrum
xlvii
.
Sf)
of cross, of
277
25
25
25
Zactalab, modern God

Crops,
its
of
Eastern Yucatan
Ma-
Year, began on same day in
yacli and Egypt
.250
Yucatan, description of thecountry,
Zahi,
name given
the Egyptians.
to Phoenicia
Maya
58
West
....
of
179
by
A Maya word,
Zinaan (Scorpion), name

Indies,
the
worship by natives of
Ix

Queen Moo and The Egyptian Sphinx

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QUEEN M60 and THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX

THE EGYPTIAN SPHINX

SACRED MYSTERIES AMONG THE MAYAS AND THE QUICHES

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR

Entered according to act of Congress, April,

in the oiHce of the Librarian of Conirress, at

AU rights of translation and reproduction reserved

MT CONSTANT COMPANION DURINa MY EXPLORATIONS

APPECTIONATBLY AND RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.

Charencey, Hyacinthe de.

Acts of the Apostles.

JElian, Claud inus.

Alcedo, Antonio de.

Cieza de Leon, Pedro.

Beltran de Santa Rosa, Pedro.

Bernal Diez del Castillo.

Cook, Captain James.

and Foreign Review.

Rougfi, Olivier Charles Camille.

Bunsen, Christian Karl Julius.

Dubois de Jancigny, Adolphe

Duncker, Maximilian Wolfgang.

Emerson, Ralph Waldo.

LIST OF AUTHORS QUOTED.

Layard, Sir Henry.

Lepsius, Karl Richard.

Mahabharata, Adiparva 'Vyasa(otherwise Krishna Dwaipa^'ana).

Heber, Bishop Reginald.

Hilkiah (the High Priest).

Hue, Abbs Evariste

Humphreys, Heni-y Noel.

Juvenal, Decimus Junius.

Oman, John Campbell.

Papyrus IV., Bulaq Museum.

Kingsborough (Lord), Edward King,

Klaproth, Heiurich Julius.

Landa, Diego de.

Pio Perez, Juan.

LIST OF AVTE0R8 QUOTED.

Roman, Fray Geronimo.

Wilkinson, Sir Gardner.

Santa Buena Ventura, Gabriel de.

from Troano MS.

Prom Captain Cook's

Cay's Mausoleum, Chiclleii

Head with Crown, carved on the entablature of the

east fa9ade of the west

IX. Ruins of Prince Coil's Memorial Hall at Cliicrieii

XI. Altar at the Entrance of Funeral Chamber in Prince

Memorial Hall, discovered by the author

Burmese Embassy at Paris

Atlautes supporting the Table of the Altar in

Prince Coil's Memorial Hall

Phoenician Features, discovered by the author

XX. Head with