unit, known by the name of its "initial" day, e.g. katun 6. ahau, or katun 4. ahau. It is this method of reckoning which is employed in the books of Chilan Balam. Most of the other races of Maya stock, as far as is known, possessed calendars which included a series of twenty day-signs (see Appendix I) combined with the numerals one to thirteen, but the count of the Kakchiquel was different, being purely vigesimal. The periods involved were one of 400 days (), called huna, and a larger of 8000 days (20 huna). called may. The huna was known by its initial day ah (corresponding to ben and acatl) together with the number which might
A. East and yellow.B. North and red.C. West and white.
D. South and black.
be attached to it, and the time count dated from the destruction of a rebellious sub-tribe, the Tukuchi, which occurred in a huna II. ah.
As among the Mexicans, the Maya years were related to the points of the compass. The later Yucatec associated kan-years with the east, muluc-years with the north, ix-years with the west and cauac-years with the south, but the relation of the earlier year-bearers is not clear, owing to the uncertainty which attaches to the glyphs expressing the world-directions. On this point the evidence is very conflicting, but I am inclined to think that most probably they are as shown in Fig. 57. The doubt lies between east and west on the one hand and between north and south on the other. The world--
