Re-Creating Primordial Time: Foundation Rituals and Mythology in the Postclassic Maya Codices

6. Creation Mythology in Reference to Chaak, Chak Chel, and Mars in the Maya Codices

191 6 Creation Mythology in Reference to Chaak, Chak Chel, and Mars in the Maya Codices Upper Water Table The Upper Water table (UWT; Figure 6.1) is a separate instrument from the Lower Water table (LWT), but we believe there is a common bond between the two that involves creation mythology, which again is best demonstrated by an analysis of the first two frames of the table. We begin with the entry date calculation in the sixth column on page 73 (Figure 6.1, upper right). The column begins with a hieroglyphic caption that reads (http://www.hieroglyphic research.org/Documentation/UPClink118.html): ___ ix kab [tun?] ha’ ?? kab? lob? ak’bal nah Lady Earth stone? __ water ?? earth; evil? night/darkness house. This caption is reminiscent of the text associated with the first set of serpent numbers in the preface on page 69 (discussed in preceding chapter; see http://www.hiero glyphicresearch.org/Documentation/UPClink119.html). That caption made reference to Chak Chel/Lady Earth Stone’s footsteps stopping at a sacred place called the “serpent house,” which we interpreted as the primordial origin place for the winds and the rains. The caption for the entry date column of the UWT suggests that Lady Earth Stone’s footsteps are stopping at a different sacred place referred to as the “evil night house” that is associated with falling water and the earth.1 This night house could be a reference to a dark, Underworld place associated with caverns or cenotes in the natural landscape. Below the caption, the Dresden scribe recorded the information necessary to calculate the entry date for the UWT, which is 9.13.10.15.14 9 Ix 12 Muwan, corresponding to December 4, A.D. 702 (see http://www.hieroglyphicresearch.org/Documentation /UPClink120.html). 120 119 118 DOI: 10.5876/9781607322214.c06 Creation Mythology in Reference to Chaak, Chak Chel, and Mars in the Maya Codices 192 Astronomical references are an important thematic component of the UWT. An analysis by V. Bricker and H. Bricker (2005) suggests that one of the functions of the UWT was to chart the sidereal cycle of the planet Mars.2 The Brickers further suggest that the calendrical structure of the table and the explicit mention of Mars in the captions of two of the frames may relate to the influence that Mars was believed to have had on seasonal events, as suggested by the water iconography and omens recorded in the texts. The first reference to Mars appears in the caption of frame 1 and reads as follows (see http://www.hieroglyphicresearch.org/Documentation /UPClink121.html): ___ ch’ak ?? yah? k’ul k’ìn yah? kab ch’een? ___ ; Mars is chopped/decapitated; damage? to the sacred day,3 damage? to the earth-cave. Figure 6.1. Upper water table from the Dresden Codex. After Förstemann (1880). 121 Creation Mythology in Reference to Chaak, Chak Chel, and Mars in the Maya Codices 193 The uppermost glyph block is eroded, but the one below it includes the glyph identified as referring to the “Mars beast” (Kelley 1976:120), prefaced by an axe glyph that reads ch’ak ‘to chop’ or ‘to decapitate’ (Jones 1992; Orejel 1990). The Brickers’ 2005 study suggests that during the 54-day interval assigned to this caption, Mars reached the first stationary point in its synodic cycle and began its retrograde motion within the constellation of Virgo (V. Bricker and H. Bricker 2005:223; table 6.1).4 The remaining two collocations in the text are negative auguries believed to be related to the change in the motion of Mars as it appears against the background of stars and constellations in the evening sky. The second appearance of the Mars glyph occurs in frame 6. During this 54-day interval, Mars returned to its eastward movement across the sky and moved into the next constellation, that of Libra (V. Bricker and H. Bricker 2005:224). The caption to frame 6 names the Mars beast, again prefixed by the ch’ak glyph, followed by the augury ‘damage to the earth’ (see http://www.hieroglyphicresearch.org /Documentation/UPClink122.html). Interestingly, the caption to the first frame suggests that the change in Mars’ movement cast a negative influence on the upcoming rainy season, whereas the caption to the sixth frame suggests that its apparent relationship to a different constellation cast negative influence upon the earth, perhaps...