a time-count modelled on solar time; and in the legends of the two first peoples, the morning star is the herald of the "dawn," which in the Aztec myth is called the "dawn for the administration of society." The Kakchiquel account seems to hint that the "dawn" was not the same for all the tribes of this people. The translation runs as follows: "Three of our tribes had seen the dawn appear, the Zotzil, the Kakchiquel and the Tukuchi. As for the Akahal they were but a little distance from the place when the dawn appeared to the three nations. At the spot called Tohohil the Quiché saw their dawn, and those of Rabinal saw it at Zamaneb; and the Tzutuhil sought to see their dawn at Tzala, but their labours had not been completed by this tribe when the sun arose. They had not yet finished drawing their lines in Tzala when it arose in the sky, precisely above the place Geletat." The last sentence at least suggests that some process analogous to observation of the solstice is implied. I think that the passages relative to the appearance of the "dawn" in the various tribal legends are worth careful study, especially in view of the fact that no entirely satisfactory translations of the annals of Xahila and the Popol Vuh exist. As for the books of Chilan Balam, no mention of a "dawn"? is made, but it may be argued that the statement "Pop was first counted in order" has the same essential meaning.[1]
- ↑ The use of the rising of the morning star to commence a solar time-count would explain the peculiar fact that the commencement of the year never coincided with that of the tonalamatl. It has been stated (p. 77) that the initial days of the Venus-periods were cipactli, coatl, atl, acatl, and olin; cipactli being the initial day also of the tonalamatl. But the day acatl was not only one of the initial days of the 365-day year, but was the initial day also of the Mexican double cycle of 104 years, which was in addition the initial day of a complete cycle of Venus-periods. The conclusion is tempting, that after the invention of the tonalamatl, correlated with the observation of the planet Venus, a change was made to solar time as near as it could be observed. As a starting-point for the new system, the next heliacal rising of the
