Page:Queen Moo's talisman; the fall of the Maya empire (IA queenmoostalisma00leplrich).djvu/20

 tracing certain incidents which occurred in the last family of the CAN dynasty, and which led to its downfall. Upon studying the famous Troano MS., he found the same story recorded there; and the tragic events resulting from the acts of one member of that family, Prince Aac, are the theme of the present poem.

The scene is laid at Chicħen, which appears to have been the favorite city of the CANS, judging from certain indications, among these the prevalence of the serpent as an ornament in all the buildings. These serpents are represented covered with feathers indicating that they were emblems of Maya potentates. On ceremonial occasions royal personages and high officials wore mantles of feathers, whose colors varied according to the rank of the individual; yellow being that of the royal family, red that of the nobility, and green that of the learned men. The word CAN has in the Maya language a great variety of meanings, as Dr. Le Plongeon explains in his works; it is the generic name for serpent.

The personages whom Dr. Le Plongeon succeeded in tracing were—the CAN, his Queen, Zoɔ; their three sons—Cay, Aac, and Coh; and two daughters Móo and Nicté. There was also an aged man named Cay, the High Priest, elder brother of the King. This venerable person is introduced in the early part of the poem. When he died, his nephew and namesake, Cay, succeeded to his position and title. Let it be noted that the High Priest was, as among the Egyptians and the Hindoos of old, superior in authority to the King himself.

At the death of King Can, his daughter Móo became Queen of Chicħen. As among the Egyptians, and the Incas in Peru, so among the Mayas, royal brothers and sisters were obliged to marry each other; in Siam and some other places the same