HEAVEN BORN MERIDA AND ITS DESTINY - Histomesoamericana

26 INTRODUCTION
his regalia—his mask, robe, staff, crown, fan, cask, cup, bowl, plate, burden,
and probably other paraphernalia as well—and the new Jaguar is
seated, suitably accoutred, on his mat and throne. (The throne must certainly
have been a stone bench, and the mat on it was a necessity for comfort.
Quiche lords got pillows, too.) Presumably the Jaguar's Spokesman
was similarly invested, but nowhere is there any indication of how he was
dressed or equipped.
Act 10. Yearbearer Seating. Since this ceremony was held in 1618, the
senior yearbearer was 11 Kan, here identified with the Red Noble. The
East and North priests were "leaders of the foot"; those of the west and
south were "leaders of the hand," a detail not mentioned elsewhere. The
yearbearer-seating ceremony is said to "establish the town," and presumably
everybody else could now sit down, but in the strictest order of rank.
Act 11. Pacing. The 7 Pacers [uuc taz cab) now parade, theirsurveying
stick [p'iz te) borne on the back of the alligator god. The pacers are elsewhere
identified as the Surveyor [ah p'iz te), the Marker [ah lub te), the
Scrubber [ah xuk, who was the Jaguar himself), the Sweeper [ah miz),
the Remover [cit ahau), the Wakener [ahel cab), and the Renewer ( tumte
ahau). At the end of a katun, all titles to lands and offices weie canceled
and renewed. This is the ceremony that did it. The ex officio participation
of the Jaguar is thus highly significant. The alligator god, who has the
power to destroy the world by earthquakes, demonstrated his beneficence
by bringing light, in what must have been an impressive candlelight procession.
(Yucatan is outside the earthquake zone in any case.)
Act 12. Dawn. The 9 Gods sacrifice the 7 Pacers and count (and rank)
the mats. This had the same significance for titles to office that the preceding
act had for titles to land. What was involved was an initial (ceremonial)
lineup of the candidates for investiture for the coming katun,
subject to their satisfactory (ceremonial) demonstration of legitimacy in
act 14. No wonder this taxing job was delegated to the impersonators of
the gods of the underworld. No wonder either that haggling and trading
and envy were involved.
Act 13. Sacrifice. The 4 Yearbearers reappear, this time in the guise of
the four death gods. Some (symbolic?) sacrifice was doubtless made, but it
is discreetly omitted from the text. Human sacrifice was still going on in
Yucatan at this date, but in Merida!?
Act 14. Examination. The examination ceremony was always accompanied
by a feast. Chapters 30 and 31 provide a pony for the questions and
answers expected in "The Language of.Zuyua." Itza or Xiu, every aspirant
to nobility had to know the right answers, whatever scandal may have
surrounded his birth. The ritual riddles largely concern the feast—and
one may well imagine that it was usually memorable, even apart from
the spice added by the examination, which must in any case have been
largely pro forma.
Act 15. The Word. This is also referred to as the news [mut] of the
katun. The 9 Gods announce the fate of the katun, phrased as a matter
of its food. As usual, the news in this case was bad.
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