Four valuable sources will serve as references. First, the sacred text called Popol Vuh, which in its long-lost original used the Maya writing system of glyphs, describes deeds of the Mayan underworld gods and ends with the splendor of the Mayan lords in their Mayan kingdom. The blending of myth and history is an important element for our curriculum. Popol Vuh tells a Story about creation which is very distinct in its language, creating a meditative and quiet atmosphere. Since Popol Vuh combines the divine and the human it encompasses a mystical or magic quality. A quote from this source: “Now it still ripples, now it still murmurs, ripples, it still sighs, still hums and it is empty under the sky. Here follows the first words, the first eloquence. There is not yet one person, one animal, bird, fish, crab, tree rock, hollow canyon, meadow, forest . . .” (Tedlock, 1985: 4).
In class I will not stress the religious value that the underworld plays, but rather dwell more on the drawings, animals and cartoon-like character of these gods. I would also like to stress the imaginative qualities of the art; for example, the unusual way the figures are drawn with an emphasis on funny root-like extensions at their sides so as to suggest a vegetable animation.
Surely it is this spiritual power which is at the base of all Mayan creativity. It is the main source for the art. In the teaching I will dwell on the magical and imaginative side. I would like the students to find their own interpretations for the designs and motifs surrounding the mystery of the universe.
Another source for ancient texts can be found in the remaining Codices. Many were burned when the Spaniards arrived in the sixteenth century. They are accordion like books made of beaten bark or deer skin covered with a thin layer of plaster and are almanacs for the timing of ritual. In pictures and writing, they record information about which gods and what acts are associated with each day of the calendar cycle. For example we see some Maya gods on the reference page 1. They are “The Principal Divinities of the Mayan Cosmos.”
A third source for the unit are the ancient calendars of the Mayans and the Aztecs. One aspect of the Mesoamerican calendar is the solar cycle, similar to our western calendar. This cycle is based on 365 days, which were then divided into eighteen “months” of twenty days each (Nicholson, 1983: 43-52). The priest-astronomers used very accurate calculations for their calendar. They figured out that it took the earth 365.2420 days to revolve around the sun. Present day calculations tell us it takes 365.2422 days for the earth to revolve around the sun. It is pretty amazing how closely they calculated with such primitive methods.
Monthly festivals were regulated by the solar calendars. Each month was dedicated to a special deity and had a specific festival to honor that god. There were 20 festivals in the eighteen month period. Festivals took place on the tenth or last day of the month (Brundage, 1985: 20-26).
A second aspect of the Mesoamerican calendar is the sacred cycle or the sacred almanac. This cycle is made of 260 days formed by twenty day names and signs which rotate among the numbers one to thirteen, or twenty times thirteen (Carrasco, 1982: 25-28). The Aztecs called the cycle the Tonal pohualli, the “sacred count of days”; (Brundage, 1985: pp. 20-26), the Maya referred to it as the tzolkin, the “count of days” (Huff, 1984: 2-4). The Tonalli was the Aztec “sacred day” and was connected to destiny and fate.
The Aztecs were given names that were simply their dates of birth on the Tonalpohualli. One’s birthday was celebrated on the almanac date, not by the annual cycle. One’s future was determined by his or her date of birth. Every day had a fortune; good, bad or mixed. Each person worshipped his or her day sign for fear it would turn against him. If a person was born on the five nameless days at the end of the solar year, he or she was guaranteed a short and miserable life. That person had no true name or birthday. (Brundage, 1985: 20-26).
The complete Mesoamerican calendar is called the calendar round, or the sacred round. It meant that any given combination of an almanac day and solar day would not occur again for 52 years. Archaeologists call this 52-year cycle the calendar round. The Aztecs called it the “Xiuhmolpilli” or bundle of years.
The Meso-Americans believed that at the end of the fifty-two years, the world could come to an end. The Aztecs would extinguish all fire, lock up pregnant women for fear they would turn into wild animals, pinch children to keep them awake for fear they would turn into mice, break all their pottery, and sweep their hearths clean in preparation for the end of the world (Weaver, 1981: 164-175). The priests would then ascend to the top of the great fire mountain to wait until the constellation Pleiades reached the center of the sky (Filsinger, 1984) There would be a sacrifice and then a new flame would be kindled and spread over the valley. This “New Fire” ceremony showed the people that the world would continue for another fifty-two year cycle.
The Maya calendar recorded each day and month in the solar year with its own glyph. For the Maya, these records were a focus of artistic achievement and often found carved on the ruins of many temples and statues. The classic Maya believed that there were “time bearers” gods who took turns carrying time. They believed in four different time bearers in a fifty-two year cycle each one “carrying time” for thirteen years and then passing it on to the next (Filsinger, 1984).
Through the extensive calendrical records, the Maya in particular recorded history. Part of the recording of history is the recording of names and “titles.” What is a title? Something like “Lawgiver” or “King of Kings” or “The Great” or “Junior.” Place names follow personal names, usually to be translated last in the Maya glyphs, such as “Sacred Lord of the Such and Such Place.” When we appropriate this glyph in class, we will make a place name too, for “Sacred Children of the Prince Street School.”
We will use both Maya and Aztec symbols for “Our Book of Names”. Among the Aztec, books of calendrical auguries were used to divine horoscopes for newborn children. Many children even took their names from the days of birth. Such names included monkey, deer, house, flower, and so forth. Many of the pictographs found on reference page three and four were mass produced as stamps.
Stamps were a great part of the indigenous culture of Mexico and are the 4th and most valuable historical source for Unit I. As small baked clay objects, they survived the ravages of time. In Mexico, the oldest clay stamps were hand modeled, then with increasing demand, there arose the introduction of a new technique; the mold made stamp, for mass production. Pliable clays were used for this purpose, and baking was done in primitive and open kilns, heated by wood and covered with straw and leaves, similar to those still in use by modern day potters.
The stamping process was frequently used to decorative pottery. Flat and cylindrical forms were used for stamping flat surfaces, while concave forms were used for convex surfaces. Different handles, flat conical or rattle shaped determined the manner in which the stamp was to be applied, i.e. rolling-pin shape stamps could be used with both hands.
The Indians were familiar with a great variety of vegetable and mineral dyes. Some used commonly were: smoke black from pine trees, Chimaltizatl for white, the tree of blood for red, Zacatlascal; a parasite of tropical trees for yellow, indigo for blue; indigo mixed with white and alum for turquoise blue. Colors were ground and mixed with oil of chia, or alum.
Since stamps were articles of trade they were often found in places which were not necessarily their place of origin. In Peru, gourds were carved to be used as stamps (Enciso 1973: Intro.)