Some Notes on Fireflies

Transcription

1 Some Notes on Fireflies Luís Lopes ( 1 I. Introduction Animals are omnipresent in Mayan art. Mammals, reptiles, birds and amphibians are more common, but several insects also appear. Many of these animals, besides being identified in the iconography, have also been identified by name in the corpus of inscriptions. One of the most common insects pictured, specially in ceramic bowls, is the firefly. Despite being relatively common, occurrences of its name in the inscriptions seem non-existent. In this small essay I review the iconography of fireflies and, based on this information, propose that the name of an important deity at Tikal and Dos Pilas may in fact include a logogram for a firefly. II. The Firefly in Mayan Languages The words for firefly in lowland mayan languages are fairly similar. Checking a few sources we have the following entries: kokay luciernagas que relucen de noche, que son casi como moscas Barrera Vasquez [1]; kuhkay large firefly Cholti [2]; aj kuhkay firefly-like insect Chorti [3]; kukay firefly Tzotzil [4]; kokay firefly Yucatec [4]. Given this consistency, it seems reasonable to assume that the Classic word for firefly was likely kuhkay or perhaps kokay. III. The Firefly in Myth and Religion There are a few interesting references to fireflies in conquest time documents and, most important, in the Popol Vuh itself. The reference in the Popol Vuh is particularly interesting as it associates fireflies to the practice of cigar smoking. This is quite in agreement with the available iconography for the insect, as I will show latter on. Fireflies appear in the Popol Vuh in the context of the Dark House, one of the tests imposed on the hero twins by the lords of Xibalba. Here is the relevant passage from Dennis Tedlock s translation [5]: And after that, the messenger of One Death brought their torch, burning when arrived, along with one cigar apiece. Here is their torch, says the lord. They must return the torch in the morning, along with the cigars. They must return them intact, say the lords, the messenger said when he arrived. Very well, they said, but they didn t burn the torch - instead, something that looked like fire was substituted. This was the tail of the macaw, which looked like a torch to the sentries. And as for the cigars, they just put fireflies at the tips of those cigars, which they kept lit all night.

2 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 2 In fact, anyone who has seen a cigar lit in a dark night can easily notice the similarity with a flying, glowing, firefly. Another interesting occurrence of fireflies appears in the name of a deity referred in conquest time documents. The name of this deity was yax kokah mut (first firefly bird). From Lopez de Cogolludo (1650) we have the following [6]: The indians of Yucatan believe that there is only one live and true god [...] and that he had a son whom they called Hun Itzamna or Yaxcocahmut. During the 16th century, in the Muluk years a bird god named yax kokah mut was worshiped in public ceremonies. Later, in the 17th century, father Avendano visiting Tayasal, the capital of the Itza maya in lake Petén-Itza, wrote that in the center of kan ek s palace stood a pedestal with a column representing yax cheel kab (first world tree) and that the western side of the pedestal was sculptured with the image of ah kokah mut [7]. Susan Milbrath [8] mentions that several metaphors for stars were used in Conquest time Yucatan. Among these metaphors we have jaguar and deer spots, flowers, eyes and fireflies. Of fireflies we read: The queen of stars is a firefly (cocay), according to one colonial Yucatec source, and fireflies are said to carry lights from the stars (Lamb n.d.a). Firefly is also a ritual term used to refer to a cigar or smoking tube in the Chilam Balam of Chumayel (Roys 1967:30, 97). As we have seen, comets are also compared to cigars. Thus, references to fireflies are common in mayan mythology. There is also precedent for names of deities incorporating the word for firefly. Finally, fireflies were a common metaphor for stars in conquest-time Yucatan. IV. Iconography The best record of firefly images in mayan art is found in several vases, especially codex style vases depicting the sacrifice of the baby jaguar. The vases K521, K1003 and K1815 (figures 1, 2 and 3), incorporate fireflies that witness, and likely lit, the ongoing ritual. The scene happens in darkness as a few of these vases state explicitly (e.g., K2008) in the text: nuun ak abil (great? darkness). The characteristics of the fireflies are clear: a somewhat atypical skull with a beak, an ak ab sign in the forehead, disembodied eyes attached to the skull and, long wings with ak ab markings, a roughly circular appendix in the firefly s butt and a cigar held in the hand or in the mouth. This last characteristic, likely diagnostic, clearly invokes the insect s ability for producing light. Two other vases, K2226 and K8007 (figures 4 and 5), illustrate fireflies with cigars in their mouths rather than in their hands. A particularly lovely example of a full body firefly smoking a cigar can be found in the magnificent codex-style vase K8608 (figure 6), where it seems to be part of a somewhat atypical sacrifice of the baby jaguar scene. Another interesting occurrence of a firefly appears in Piedras Negras, stela 5 (figure 7), where an enthroned ruler is surrounded by supernaturals and animals, one of which is likely a firefly. This is one of the few appearances of an insect in a sculptured monument. Another very interesting appearance of a firefly creature may be seen in K793 (figure 8). In this vase, one of the depicted way creatures is likely in the guise of a firefly. Note the skull with no

3 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 3 eyes, the ak ab sign, the disembodied eyes and the cigar/smoke in the mouth. The text on the side of this way also provides some more information. It can be transcribed to: mi-ma-na che-ke-na AKAN?-? ya-la-ji-ya?-ek or miman cheke:n akan? y-alajiiy? ek. The text is difficult to translate, but apparently it is a citation of the words spoken (y-alajiiy) by the way creature itself. The name of this creature appears last and is composed of a head variant of some sort, not easily visible, plus the logogram for star, read ek. Thus, there seems to be some equation between firelies and stars in the name of this way. Further occurrences of fireflies appear in vases with mythic scenes. Good examples can be found in K1386 (figure 9), K1490 (figure 10) and in a recently excavated Codex vessel from Nakbé (figure 11). V. A Firefly Deity? At Tikal and Dos Pilas we find references to a deity that seems to have been particularly important to the dynasty of these cities and thus likely originating in the early history of Tikal, the yax mutuul [9]. The first occurrence of this deity is in Tikal stela 5, west side, at B10 (figure 12). The collocation is composed of a main sign which has the attributes of a firefly head, smoking a cigar, as may be observed by comparing it with the images above. Notice the ak ab sign,the unusual shape of the skull, a small disembodied eye just above the ear and, most important, the smoke comming from the mouth. It is topped by a square nose beast and finally succeeded by an ek (star) glyph. The name may read square-nose-beast kuhkay ek. At Dos Pilas, the same deity appears in Panel 18, where it appears twice, at A3 and H1 (figure 13).The context is again mythic, this deity apparently witnessing the beginning of the current creation at 4 ajaw 8 k umku. These examples are particularly revealing: notice the ak ab sign, the abnormal skull shape, the disembodied eye attached to the forehead and, most important, the smoke comming from the mouth. Again, the name may read, with a slightly distinct glyph arrangement from Tikal, square-nose-beast kuhkay ek. According to Houston [9] a somewhat similar character appears at Tamarindito (figure 14) where it is the founder of the dynasty. There, the skull is apparently replaced by a macaw head. The Dos Pilas example at H1 may also have a mo bellow the square-nose-beast but it is hard to tell if it is a real feature or an artifact. There may be a connection between these deities as Houston points out, but it would be interesting to check that detail at H1 in Dos Pilas Panel 18, to make sure it is either a mo or a flame volute. The deity at Tamarindito may read square-nose-beast mo ek. Another possible reading for this logogram is akan, the wine and tobacco god. However, based on the many available examples of the god A glyph where it never occurs with a cigar or with smoke comming out of its mouth, this seems an unlikely reading for this logogram. Moreover, the head in the akan logogram is most commonly quite human-like and unlike the skull observed in these examples. Another suggestion has been that the glyph, is one of a set of ingestion glyphs. These relate to the ingestion of food, water, cigarette smoke, among others. The reading would probably be something like tz utz ( to smoke, to suck ). While I feel there is merit in this suggestion, it seems to me that the above arguments and iconography provide a much simpler explanation for the collocation. VI. Conclusions In this short essay I have provided iconographic evidence that indicates that fireflies were associated with the underworld and that there are several references associating them with deities and

4 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 4 important Maya myths. In particular they seem to be equated with stars in some of these myths. From the point of view of iconography, the identification of fireflies in Mayan art is greatly simplified by the existence of clear diagnostic features. Finally, based on the iconography just mentioned I have speculated, lacking adequate phonetic information, on the possibility that at least one important deity at Tikal and Dos Pilas, was named after this wonderful insect. VII. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Justin Kerr for generously publishing his maya vase database on the Web and all those who read and commented on this short essay. That said, any mistakes are of the author s sole responsibility. References [1] Barrera Vasquez et. al., 2001, Diccionario Maya, fourth edition, Editorial Porrua. [2] Moran s Cholti Dictionary, electronic version kindly provided by Brian Stross. [3] Wisdom s Chorti Dictionary, electronic version kindly provided by Brian Stross. [4] John Dienhart, The Mayan Languages- A Comparative Vocabulary, electronic version, Odense University, [5] Dennis Tedlock, Popol Vuh, Simon & Schuster, [6] Eric Thompson, Maya History & Religion, University of Oklahoma Press, [7] Grant D. Jones, The Conquest of the Last Maya Kingdom, Stanford University Press, [8] Susan Milbrath, Star Gods of the Maya, University of Texas Press, [9] Stephen D. Houston, Hieroglyphs and History at Dos Pilas, University of Texas Press, 1993.

5 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 5 Figures Fig. 1. K521 Fig. 2. K1003 Fig. 3. K1815

6 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 6 Fig. 4. K2226 Fig. 5. K8007 Fig. 6. K8608

7 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 7 Fig. 7. Piedras Negras, stela 5, front (detail) Fig. 8. K793 Fig. 9. K1386

8 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 8 Fig. 10. K1490 Fig. 11. Nakbé codex vase Fig. 12. Tikal, stela 5, B10

9 Luís Lopes: SOME NOTES ON FIREFLIES 9 Fig. 13. Dos Pilas, panel 18, A3 and H1 Fig. 14. Tamarindito, Hieroglyphic Stairway