Print this page
Maya Codices - Animal Figure
Maya Codices - Animal Figures : Animal Head Dresses and Rain Bearers
ANIMALS AS RAIN BEARERS.
Various animals are associated with the rain
and water. The serpent is most frequently represented in this
connection. Snails, fish, the turtle, and the frog, as well as the
lizard-crocodile figure in Dresden 74 are naturally found associated
with water. The vulture-headed figure in Dresden 38b and the vulture as
a bird in Tro-Cortesianus 10a both appear in the rain. The peccary
(Dresden 68a), and the turkey (Tro-Cortesianus 10b) appear associated
with the rain as well as with the constellation bands. The scorpion
(Tro-Cortesianus 7a) encloses the rain within its legs.
The connection of an old female figure occurring in many places in the
codices with the rain will be discussed later (p. 316) when considering
the serpent. It remains at this place to comment upon the woman in
Tro-Cortesianus 30b from whose breasts water is flowing. She is
represented as having animal figures seated on her two outstretched
hands and on her right foot together with another animal at her side.
God B sits on her left foot. This picture immediately recalls
representations in the Mexican codices where the various parts of the
body of a god are associated with various day signs, ten of which have
animal names. In the Maya picture, a jaguar is shown on the right hand,
a peccary on the left, a dog on the right foot, and a rabbit beside the
body at her right. The peccary is not represented among the Nahua day
signs but the other three are found, namely the _oceolotl_ (jaguar),
_itzcuintli_ (dog), and _tochtli_ (rabbit).
ANIMAL HEAD-DRESSES. Animal figures appear perhaps most frequently as
head-dresses of the various gods in the codices. Here, as elsewhere,
from all that can be made out, the religious character is uppermost as
in addition to being a decoration, they undoubtedly have some religious
signification. Birds occur by far most commonly in this connection. Both
male and female figures seems to have these head-dresses. The same bird
is often found as the head-dress of several different gods as, for
example, the turkey which appears with gods A, B, C, E, and N. The
vulture, on the other hand, when used as a head-dress for male figures,
appears exclusively with god F. The whole bird is seldom represented on
the head-dress of the male figures. It is usually only the head and a
part of the body of the bird which forms but a portion of the whole
head-covering. Landa (1864, p. 148)[292-*] notes the dress of the leader
in the rites. He wears a jacket of red feathers worked with other
feathers and from it hang long plumes. He also wears a feather
head-dress.
Entire birds appear as the sole head-covering only in connection with
female figures and then only in one section of the Dresden (16-18) and a
parallel passage in the Tro-Cortesianus (94-95). In both these places
the conception and the bearing of children are shown together with their
baptism. The bird above the head of each female figure seems to be a
badge of office, possibly the totems which are held by the women and
given to the children. The parrot, quetzal, vulture, screech owl and the
horned owl appear in this connection. It is to be noted that the birds
associated with these women are not really represented as head-dresses
at all. They are quite different from the head decoration composed of a
bird's head and feathers seen in other parts of the manuscripts. In the
Dresden especially, these birds above the women's heads are shown in
almost every case standing with the claws clasping the necklace at the
back of the neck. Landa (1864, pp. 144-154) gives an interesting account
of the method of baptising children. He also states (p. 304)[292-†]
that in the month _Yaxkin_ an old woman brought the little girls to the
general feast. This old woman was dressed in a garment of feathers. It
was understood that this devoted old woman was not permitted to become
intoxicated[293-*] lest she should lose in the road the plume of her
office.
The serpent appears as a head-dress exclusively with female figures and
then usually when the woman is in the act of offering something or is
associated with water or rain. The centipede occurs only with god D.
Quadrupeds are employed as head-dresses only very seldom. The head of a
deer is, in three places, used as a part of the head decoration of god M
and the head of a jaguar appears in two places only.
