1 - Histomesoamericana

^s 1
invented in Mayapan, and was
the beginning of the decline of
the Itza and Xiu matrilineages,
the beginning of the end of the
legitimate nobility. (1570)
There used to be three pyramids
at Akab P'ix, now in ruins
near Yaxche. It was all moved
FIVE AHAU 71
Hi u ch'abal
Katun la e*
Mayapan u u ich
U kex katun
T u kin*
U y emel
Y al kuk
Y al yaxum*
T u kin i
Uil*
Chibil al
Chibil mehen*
T u kin y an ox muí tun tzek*
Pail Akab Ppix*
Ich ox nublan cot
Ox tz'alab u nak Yax Che*
That was the creation
1560 Of this katun.
Mayapan was the face
Of the change of the katun,
In the sun
Of the decline
1565 Of the quetzal born,
The blue bird born,
In the sun
And moon
Of the born heirs
1570 And engendered heirs.
In the sun there were three ruins,
The stone walls of Akab P'ix,
In the three collapsed walls,
The three slabs near Yaxche.
(note continued from preceding page)
with 1 Pop rather than 0 Pop. This was the consequence of the calendar reform
opportunely inaugurated at Mayapan in 1539, when the relevant Mayan cycles
were in a conjunction almost uniquely favorable to such a change. See Edmonson
1976.
1560. That is, the inversion of the naming of the katun is responsible for the
dating system now in use. The author is specifying which calendar he wants to
use: that of Mayapan.
1563. In the sun: at the beginning.
1566. In a number of other passages the quetzal and the blue bird are paired,
commonly as a poetic reference to the Itza and the Xiu. The allusion is to the
Toltec traditions of Quetzalcoatl and Huitzilopochtli respectively. Other passages
of the Tizimin make it clear that the eastern Maya objected to the western
emphasis on the female line, presumptively a consequence of the stronger survival
of Mayan patriliny in the east. Accusing the westerners of matriliny, rather
than merely of bilaterality, was an insult, but it was also a way of questioning
their legitimacy. The Tizimin presents the eastern (Itza) viewpoint throughout
1568. The normal sequence of sun and moon, like alpha and omega, implies
eternity—all of time. Compare Quiche u be q'ih, u be zaq 'on the road of the sun,
on the road of light'.
1570. The eastern lineages are claiming permanency because they are legitimate
in both the maternal and paternal lines. Lines 1549 to 1572, translated by
Makemson 1951: 3 as follows, will serve to illustrate the futility of any detailed
comparison of her text with mine:
Thirteen Kan on the first of Pop. Katun 5 Ahau follows along its path, the
year being 1593, save that one year still remains to be checked off before the
bearer of the future arrives.
Now in those days when Mayapan was captured in battle, they confronted
the katun of affliction. During the migration of the remnant of
descendants, the remnant of the descendants of Yaxum, good fortune should
have come to generation after generation of our sons; but instead there came
all at once castigation, oppression, vigilance in the night. That was a long
time ago.
1571. Mul tun tzek 'mounds of pebbled stone': ruined stone pyramids with the
pebble fill showing.
1572.1 am unable to locate Akab P'ix 'night vigil'. See, however, note 3234.
1574. Yax Che 'green tree, first tree, ceiba' is ubiquitous as a place-name in
Yucatan, but, given that our documentation is from the east, the Yaxche about ten
kilometers north of Chichen Itza seems a likely candidate. There is also a Yaxche
near Tizimin.