Like all solar calendars of an advanced civilization that has developed one, there are certain basic similarities such as the need to keep track of the seasons for agriculture.īecause the time it takes for our Sun to reappear in exactly the same positions as seen from Earth is a little longer than 365 days (365,2421897 days), periodic adjustments are needed to maintain an accumulation of annual calendar counts in alignment with the Earth revolving around the sun. As with the Tzolkin, each day is represented by a combination of number and glyph, but the numbers are now 20, one for each day of a 20-day month. Together they form the 365-year solar year called Tun. The Haab consists of 18 Uinals of 20 Kins each, and a final short Uinal of only 5 days. It’s the 260-day Tzolkin, and not the Haab, that informed an individual of his personality and destiny traits. The Uinal as a zodiac signĮven though a tourist can buy an amulet with his “Mayan month signs” in most archeological sites and souvenir shops as if they were related to the concept like the Greek zodiac signs, the Maya did not assign a meaning similar to a horoscope to these signs. In other words, the Uayeb was used as a moment to reflect deeply on the current blessings and the anticipation of the new cycle, in other words, the Mayan New Year. ![]() These preparations were fire ceremonies at sunrise and sunset, and sacred ritual purifications. Therefore, most of the time devoted to activities during the Uayeb were focused on preparing for the new cycle of the Haab calendar. What’s known with certainty, is that the end of the 365-day calendar year was a time used to observe fasting and sacrifice to the Mayan gods. On the other side of the coin, some researchers who believe that everything related to the bad side is just speculation and mere superstition. Many did not bathe, did not leave their homes, activities were not planned, etc. These 5 days, as they were considered days of bad luck, during which nothing significant should be done. It’s frequently claimed that the final 5 days of the Uayeb were considered “unfortunate” by the ancient Maya. These are unpredictable days, not to plan important events or travel away from home. The last five days of the Haab cycle are known as the 19th month and it’s called Uayeb. Given that Mesoamerican cultures are geographically and chronologically different, the fact that their 20-day symbols are so similar suggests a very old origin, which was probably from the days of the first Olmecs. For the Maya, this calendar was called Tzolkin, for the Aztecs the Tonalpohualli and for the Zapotecs the Piye.Įach culture had its own versions of these symbols and expressed the names of the days in their own languages, but in all of them, there is an almost one-to-one correlation at the basic level. Regardless of the Mesoamerican culture observed, the 260-day calendar consists of 20 symbols, each counted 13 times in the cycle. Correlation of the Tzolkin Calendar with other Mesoamerican calendars Note: It’s worth mentioning that this famous representation of the gears was NOT used by the Maya, it’s only used to understand how the days were interspersed. Representation of the Mayan calendar by means of gears. Therefore, there is a unique day name for each of the 260 days, without weeks or months. ![]() A day like 4 Lamat will not be repeated until all numbers and names have gone through a full 260-day cycle. Since 20 is not divisible by 13, the two sequences are out of date with each other and are represented by gears. The Tzolkin Calendar count involves 13 numbers matched with 20-day names.
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