Every fifty two years was marked out because they believed that fifty two years was a life cycle and at the end of any given life cycle the gods could take away all that they have and destroy the world.Ī set of thirteen numbered days is known by the Spanish term trecena (from trece "thirteen"). The Aztecs believed that they were in the fifth sun and like all of the suns before them they would also eventually perish due to their own imperfections. Each world was called a sun, and each sun had its own species of inhabitants. Other marks on the stone showed the current world and also the worlds before this one. Wind and Rain are represented by images of their associated gods, Ehecatl and Tlaloc (respectively). They also show various deities, indigenous religious rites, costumes, and cosmological beliefs. They depict in turn the 20 day-names of the tonalpohualli the 18 monthly feasts, and the 52-year cycle. Its 92 pages are almost a glossary of cosmological and religious elements. The Codex Magliabechiano is primarily a religious document. Others in the group include the Codex Tudela and the Codex Ixtlilxochitl. It is representative of a set of codices known collectively as the Magliabechiano Group. The Codex Magliabechiano is a pictorial Aztec codex created during the mid-16th century, in the early Spanish colonial period. Those here were taken from the Codex Magliabechiano. ![]() There is some variation in the way the day signs were drawn or carved. Each of the day signs also bears an association with one of the four cardinal directions. The set of day signs used in central Mexico is identical to that used by Mixtecs, and to a lesser degree similar to those of other Mesoamerican calendars. A god or goddess was believed to preside over each day-sign. The almanac year was thus made up of 20 13-day weeks, with the first week beginning on 1-Crocodile and ending on 13-Reed, the second week running from 1-Ocelot to 13-Deaths' Head and so on. The almanac year comprised of 260 days, each of which was assigned a date by intermeshing one of 20 day-signs, represented graphically with a glyph, and a number from 1 to13, represented by dots so that no two days in the cycle could be confused. This ritual calendar was registered in the tonalamatl (book of days), a green-fold bark paper or deerskin codex from which a priest (called tonalpouque) cast horoscopes and predicated favorable and unfavorable days of the cycle. The tonalpohualli (count of days) was the sacred almanac of the Mexicas. Outer Ring - Dedication Plate - Herbs with Buds - White Scrolls - Flame Sign - Xiucoatl's Tail Third Ring - Sun Rays - Chalchihuite Ornaments - Splashed Blood Symbols Each year starts on one of four of these 20 days. ![]() Second Ring - The second ring from the center is composed of 20 named days contained in one month, also used for naming years. ![]() The four epochs represented inside the square portions of this symbol correspond to the four previous epochs also called suns. Four Olin representing the Earthquake Epoch or Sun. And the tongue, stuck out is the form of an obsidian knife, indicates that the diety demands to be fed with blood and human hearts.įirst Ring - from Center. The wrinkles on the face show age and maturity. The hair is blond, due to the golden appearance of the sun. ![]() The crown, nose-pendant, ear-rings and necklace are magnificent, as must be the ornaments characteristic of this deity. Tonatiuh's Face is the face of the sun, Lord of Heaven, around which takes place all daily and periodic phenomena. Early Spanish chroniclers recorded it being celebrated in proximity with the Spring equinox. But due to the precession of the Earth's axis, it fell out of favor to a more constant reference point such as a solstice or equinox. The calendric year may have begun at some point in the distant past with the first appearance of the Pleiades (Tianquiztli) asterism in the east immediately before the dawn light. The xiuhpohualli is considered to be the agricultural calendar, since it is based on the sun, and the tonalpohualli is considered to be the sacred calendar. These two cycles together formed a 52-year "century," sometimes called the "calendar round". The calendar consisted of a 365-day calendar cycle called xiuhpohualli (year count) and a 260-day ritual cycle called tonalpohualli (day count). It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica. The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |