Twenty Tzolkin Glyphs As Maize

I should mention that I am not an expert or Mayanist. Or scientist. Right now I'm really glad about that because I want to do some pure speculation. I look at Maya calendar glyphs: I see corn kernels.

There are twenty glyphs in the Tzolkin calendar. What if each glyph was actually a "concept" in the life of a corn kernel?

Below I put them in order with my comment on what the concept could be. They are in backwards order. The calendar beginning is Imix and the ending is Ahau. (If you blog you know exactly why I am not going to fight the order that importing the pictures decided to set itself into.)

20. Ahau (ruler): the kernel now has a true corn spirit and is ready to sprout:19. Cauac (storm): the kernel is absorbing lots of water. See the droplets?:
18. Etznab (knife): the kernel is beginning to crack:

17. Caban (earth): the kernel is softening and becoming one with the earth:

16. Cib (wax): the kernel is softening and becoming waxy:

15. Men (eagle): the kernel is getting less tied to the earth. It's ready to soar:

14. Ix (jaguar): the kernel is (hmmm ... not sure), but I got help from louciao. The kernel is ready to spring forth like a jaguar:

13. Ben (green/seed): the kernel is pushing outward:

12. Eb (rain): the kernel is kept wet:

11. Chuen (monkey): the kernel is getting a spirit. It's up to monkey level:

10. Oc (dog): the kernel is now the pet of the soil:

9. Muluc (water): The kernel is gathering moisture and expanding:
8. Lamat (Venus or rabbit): the kernel is developing in an organized internal pattern:
7. Manik (deer): the kernel is grasping at the soil:
6. Cimi (death): the kernel is dying. It can't be a kernel anymore. It is transforming with the earth:
5. Chicchan (serpent): the kernel is getting ready to sprout. To let those serpents of roots out:
4. Kan (maize): the kernel is planted and left to itself:
3. Akbal (dark): the kernel is in the dark. Soil was prepared by decay and centipedes. The glyph is a scrunchy centipede face:

2. Ik (wind): the kernel is exposed to air as it is made ready to plant:
1. Imix (crocodile): : the kernel is like a crocodile. It has a tough skin. It needs to be soaked in water: Start here >>>>

Think of it as a poem about maize. If your whole family's coming year and very life depended on the corn crop you would think of it as sacred just like the ancient Maya did. You wouldn't just throw it into the ground like we do today. You would have rituals. You would study and caress the kernels. You would check on one or two as the season progressed - digging one up to see "how it's going so far". Praying. Celebrating the life of the corn kernel.

One more thing about Etznab. It means knife AND lightning. Lightning is crucial to corn crops; it puts nitrogen into the soil. No wonder lightning was a big concept to the ancient Maya.

All the drawings of glyphs above come courtesy of a great website called Wikimedia Commons. Thanks for your great work and generosity, Wikimedia Commons!



Related posts:
The current MY2K article.