the last were carefully guarded and paraded from village to village until the fatal day arrived. But even at this date human sacrifices were not made on the same scale as in Mexico, and the principal offerings consisted of incense, animals, and the worshippers' own blood. 'To obtain the latter, the tongue, ears or limbs were pierced, and a cord was frequently passed through the wound. Scenes showing the practice of this penitential rite are not uncommon on the early monuments, as can be seen from the slab from Menché (Pl. XXII; p. 294), where the worshipper is passing through his tongue a cord furnished with thorns, while a basket containing the implements for piercing lies on the on the ground beside him. But the ritual of the later Maya will appear best from a short description of the ceremonies observed at the commencement of the year and during the various months.
The new-year ceremonies were especially important, since the fortune to be experienced during the year depended to a very large extent upon their proper performance. They commenced in the Uayeb days of the dying year, that is to say in the second week of July, according to Landa. In preparation for a year beginning on the day-sign kan, an image of the Bacab Hobnil was taken to the pile of stones at the southern entrance to the town (the south being the point associated with the dying year), and a figure of Ah Bolon Tzacab was carried in procession and set up opposite it. Various offerings were made, including the worshippers' own blood, and Hobnil was then carried to the east entrance (the point associated with the commencing year) and left there to watch over the town, while Ah Bolon Tzacab was taken to the temple. Good luck and fertility were expected during the kan years, and if misfortune supervened, a special image of Itzamna-canil was made and sacrifices, including a man, were offered to it. At the end of this year, and in preparation for the
