Page:A Study of the Manuscript Troano.djvu/222

156 Third group: "Toward the east; sprinkle water on the child; (?); tortillas."

Fourth group: "Toward the south, (ichintzah) give a bath; (?); sprinkling water on the child."

This character (Fig. 88), found in the first, second, and fourth groups, I am unable to interpret. The larger right-hand portion may be a variant of chicchan, and the whole stand for the words a or u chichan, "a little," or ha-chen, "water from the senote or well"

The third character in the third group (Fig. 89) is also one I have been unable to interpret. The smaller figures to the left may possibly denote the words ca-chuc, "a cuff" or "blow." The peculiar eye in the right portion I think refers to some particular deity.

I am aware that this interpretation of these groups hangs on a very slender thread which, if broken, lets the whole thing fall to the ground, and hence have given it with a feeling of considerable doubt. But the four similar figures and the symbols of the cardinal points agree very well with this conclusion.

As I have already intimated, there are good reasons for believing that the compound character shown in Fig. 90 denotes "bread of maize" or "corn bread." As will be seen, this consists of the characters for Imix (or Ymix) and Kan; as ixim signifies "maize," we may assume, without great liability of being in error, that this is the equivalent of Imix. But I am inclined to believe the latter symbol (that for Kan) is used not only to denote bread (tortillas), but that in the pictorial portion it is also frequently given to represent corn (maize).

The combination shown in Fig. 91, and found so frequently on the plates of the Manuscript and Codex, probably denotes "cakes" or "two cakes," or "tortillas of maize." The two are found combined as in Fig. 90 and with the accompanying characters on Plate III*.

Turning to Plates VIII* and IX* of the Manuscript, we notice along the lower border of the middle division what are evidently offerings: some are pictorial representations and some perhaps symbols; among these we