1 - Histomesoamericana

24
4 Ahau was the eleventh in
the Itza katun series. Chichen
Itza was its seat. For both the
Xiu and the Itza attended, and
there was a plague. And KukuL
Can came for the fourth Itza
term. For the fourth time he
ruled the katun. (400)
4 Ahau
5. Trials of the Itza
(I7v) Can Ahau*
U buluc tz'it
Katun
C u xocol
T u Chi Ch'en Ytza
U hetz' katun
Ulom kuk
Ulom yaxum*
(I8r) Ulom Ah Kan Tenal
Ulom xe kik*
T u can uatz'
Ulom Kukul Can t u pach Ah
Ytzaob
T u can ten
U than katun ual e.*
* mi í25>> ^ng>
4 Ahau
Was the eleventh part
Of the katun
390 To be counted.
At Chichen Itza
Was the seat of the katun.
Come is the quetzal;
Come is the blue bird;
395 Come are the yellow deaths;
Come is blood vomit.
For the fourth time
Come is Kukul Can after the Itzas.
For the fourth time
400 Is the word of the katun's return.
387. This is probably a glyphic text of late 4 Ahau (1500) or a little after,
transcribed in 9 Ahau (1559). Kukul Can continued as lord of the Itza katun,
apparently without Xiu competition, an astonishing longevity in that office
(ca. 1461-1500): even the author is amazed at what he describes as a fourth term.
394. Kuk 'quetzal' (Pharomachrus) was the emblem of the Itza as uitzil 'hummingbird'
[Archilochus, Náhuatl huitzitziUin) was for the Xiu. I believe yax um
'blue bird' is a euphemism for the hummingbird, which had astonishingly ferocious
theological implications for the Nahuas—Huitzilopochtli, for example. The
couplet is frequent in the Tizimin.
396. Kan tenal 'yellow deaths': jaundice? hepatitis? yellow fever? Barrera 1948:
140 has 'he of the yellow tree'. There is still considerable controversy about
preconquest diseases. Xe kik 'blood vomit': tuberculosis? smallpox? The latter,
generally considered a European introduction, would hardly be expected before
1500.
400. Barrera 1948: 141 says 'the fourth time the katun speaks'.