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his statement he left out something which a more careful writer would have expressed, and placed at the head of his explanation. The wanting statement, however, can be supplied. It will be noticed that Landa in his text only refers to two Ahau-Idols worshipped in the temple. But this number must have been 13, as is evident from the 3d Idol Vuc Ahau, mentioned afterwards in the statement with which he finished his description, in order not to always repeat the same thing of the ten other idols which are painted on the wheel. Let us then take the statement of Landa snpplemented by what we have said above as to the questionable nomenclature of these Ahaues as they appear in the row of numbers 13, 11, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. Landa's description gives us to understand that the lapse of twenty years was always required before the new" combination of two idols was presented to the worshippers, and which had not before been seen in the temple in company with the former Idols. For example: When Idol 3 was placed in the temple, Idol 2 took a first place among the worshippers. Indeed, Idol 2 was in the temple with Idol 1, but Idol 3 was not with Idol 1, nor Idol 4 with Idol 2. If such a combination repeating itself after 20 years, represented a space of time familiar to the Mayas, it is natural that it should receive the name Ahau or period of the god[1] and that it should receive its name from the number of the Idol presiding at the expiration of this space of 20 years. If therefore in the rotation of the circle Idols 2 and 3 passed out of the temple, the combination, or what is the same, the space of 20 years, during which they had ornamented the temple will have borne the name 2 Ahau, on the ground that Idol 2 had pre-
- ↑ Ahau translated means: soverain, king, august, principal. See page 3 of Juan Pio Perez's " Diccionario de la lengua Maya," published in Merida in 1877, by the friends and faithful executors of the last will of the defunct scholar. This valuable work comprises the whole of the linguistical stock of the Maya language, the words collected exceeding the number of 20,000, on 437 pages, quarto. It may be purchased from Dr. George E. Shiels, 896 Broadway, New York.
