Commentary on the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Public Library of Dresden

by Ernst Förstemann

PAPERS

OF THE

PEABODY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND
ETHNOLOGY, HARVARD UNIVERSITY

VOL. IV.—No. 2

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COMMENTARY

ON THE

MAYA MANUSCRIPT

IN THE

ROYAL PUBLIC LIBRARY OF DRESDEN

 

BY

DR. ERNST FÖRSTEMANN

————

TRANSLATED BY

MISS SELMA WESSELHOEFT
AND
MISS A. M. PARKER

Translation revised by the Author

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Cambridge, Mass.
Published by the Museum
October, 1906

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NOTE

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In pursuance of the plan of publishing translations of valuable contributions to the study of the Maya hieroglyphs, the Museum Committee on Central American Research has the pleasure of offering the following translation of Dr. Ernst Förstemann's important Commentary on the Maya Manuscript in the Royal Library of Dresden, generally known as the Dresden Codex.

The translation by Miss Selma Wesselhoeft and Miss A. M. Parker was made under the direction of Mr. Charles P. Bowditch of the Museum Committee.

In the original German edition, published in 1901, Dr. Förstemann used the Arabic numerals to designate the days, but in this translation, with the consent of the author who has kindly revised the translation, Mr. Bowditch has substituted the corresponding Maya names of the days, in uniformity with the general use of students in this country. It is needless to call attention to the importance of this paper by Dr. Förstemann whose long-continued study of the intricate system of hieroglyphic writing by the ancient Mayas makes all he writes of great value to students engaged in this most interesting research.

F. W. Putname.

Harvard University,
October, 1906.

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PREFACE.

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Some of those who examine this book will say, that it is too early for a commentary on the "Dresdensis," since Maya research is yet in its infancy, and this opinion is certainly justified inasmuch as a final explanation of that remarkable monument is, of course, impossible at the present time. On the other hand the accounts of the numerous investigations and discoveries which have been made thus far are so isolated and so scattered in the shape of a hundred short magazine articles, that it is certainly desirable to have what we know and what we have still to learn gathered together under one head. This book is intended, therefore, to give an idea of the state of our knowledge in this department of research at this time, when the nineteenth century is passing into the twentieth, with the definite expectation that this work will soon be far outstripped and will possess an historical value only.

The contents of the following pages are of very little value, unless the student can compare them with an edition of the manuscript. My first edition was published in 1880 at Leipsic and the second at Dresden in 1892. The edition in Lord Kingsborough's "Mexican Antiquities" (in Volume III of that work, London, 1831) is still of practical use.

And since in this work I must premise a knowledge of the elements of the subject, I would recommend, as additional aids to the comprehension of the following pages, my "Erläuterungen zur Mayahandschrift der Königlichen öffentlichen Bibliothek zu Dresden" (Dresden, 1886), and also Brinton, "A Primer of Mayan Hieroglyphics" (in the publications of the University of Pennsylvania. Series in Philology, Literature and Archaeology, Vol. III). I would also mention the very valuable work by Paul Schellhas, "Die Göttergestalten der Mayahandschriften" (Dresden, 1897), which I follow in the designation of the various gods by letters of the alphabet.

It need hardly be pointed out, that the numerous pioneer articles by Edward Seler offer abundant instruction to the student in this field as well as in that of Aztec remains.

I wish to express heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Zelia Nuttall and Mr. Charles P. Bowditch, who have aided my work in various ways and have thus rendered possible the publication of this book.

E. Förstemann.

Charlottenburg.

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INDEX.

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The numbers in the first column refer to the pages of the Manuscript, and those in the second column to the pages of the Commentary.

FIRST PART.
1a	55	16a	90	42a-44a	146
2a	55	16a-17a	90	45a	148
3a	59	18a-19a	92	29b-30b	150
4a-10a	61	19a-21a	93	30b-31b	151
4b-5ba	67	21a-22a	93	31b-35b	152
10a-12a	69	22a-23a	95	35b-37b	156
12a	69	16b-17b	96	38b-41b	159
5b-6ba	70	17b-18b	97	41b-43b	162
6b-7ba	71	16c-17c	98	43b-44b	164
8ba	72	17c-18c	99	44b-45b	165
9ba	73	18c-19c	100	29c-30c	167
10b	74	19c-20c	100	30c-33c	168
10b-11b	75	19b	101	33c-39c	170
12b	76	19b-20b	101	40c-41c	176
4c-5ca	77	20b	102	42c-45c	178
5c-6ca	78	21b	103
6c-7ca	79	21c-22c	104	SECOND PART.
8ca	80	22c-23c	105
9ca	81	22b	107	46-50a	182
10c-11c	82	23b	108	51a-52a	197
12c	83	24a	110	51-58a	200
13a	84	25-28a	120	58-59a	215
13b-14b	85	29a-30a	132	60a	219
13c-14c	86	30a-31a	133	61-64a	222
14a-15a	85	31a-32a	133	65-69a	235
15a	88	32a-39a	138	69-73a	245
15b-16b	88	40a-41a	144	74a	265
15c	89

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GLYPHS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT.

GLYPHS REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT.

CARDINAL POINTS.

CARDINAL POINTS.

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Notes