Hieroglyphic Writing (Stelae)
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No doubt the Mayan system of writing
is the most complex system ever developed on the North American continent. The
Mayas used over 800 symbols or glyphs to express their thoughts in writing. Looking
at a panel of glyphs reminds one of “story boarding”.
Some 85% of known glyphs have been deciphered. All
glyphs were not engraved into stone. Many were “written” on handmade
paper, and some were folded into sections, just as one would see a modern day cardboard sun shield covering the dashboard
of a car.
Codices
There are 3 main codices that have
been preserved. There is the Paris Codex, the Madrid Codex (in the museum there),
and the Dresden Codex.
The Paris Codex contains 22 pages
of predictions and a calendar. The Madrid Codex has 112 pages and contains predictions
and other religious writings.
The Dresden Codex has 78 pages,
and is almost 11 ˝ feet long. It is believed that it was written somewhere between
A.D. 1200 to 1250. The Dresden Codex was damaged somewhat in the early 1940’s.
The first page is so smeared it is completely unreadable. It contains
predictions, records of eclipses, detailed movements of Venus, and some almanacs. The
probability that it was written at Chichén Itzá, in the Yucatán is almost unanimously accepted among scholars.
Other than the 3 main codices,
there is another one, which probably is the oldest. It was discovered in Chiapas,
Mexico in the 1970’s.
It was discovered in a cave, inside a wooden box. It is called the Grolier
Codex. Its’ contents deal with the movement of the planet Venus. It is about 10 pages in length and is dated about A.D. 1230.
There is a series of books called
the Chilam Balam. They contain prophecies,
calendars and songs. It is said that they are oral traditions which were begun
by a magician named Balam. They are now in written form. “Balam” is the Mayan word for jaguar. One can write the magician’s name in glyphs either by a glyph picture of a jaguar head, or by spelling
the name out in glyphs such as “ba-la-ma”.
Glyph signs may be a sound formed
with a consonant and a vowel such as li, ba, ki or Bu. A glyph may also be a
word or an idea. A glyph may carry both meanings simultaneously.
Glyphs, besides being written on
stalae, and in books, have also been found on shells, pottery, bone, jade, cave walls and ceilings, tombs, and other temple
parts. Some discovered pieces of pottery have glyphs which say who the maker
was, for whom it was made, and the purpose for which the vessel is to be used.
Glyph
Composite or Square
Each composite, or square, or block,
or cartouche is the equivalent of an English sentence. Each composite may contain from 3 to 50 glyphs, and each glyph may
have its own prefix, suffix, superfix, and subfix. The main glyph or sign will
be the largest object, and usually in the center, with its superfix above it, its subfix below it, its prefix to the left,
and the postfix to the right.
They
are to be read in this order: The superfix and the prefix are read first. Then
the main glyph or sign is read. Then, the postfix and subfix are read. An easy way to remember
the reading order is to imagine the cartuche or square as a long sentence. It should be read top to bottom, left to right. It is a sentence of 3 lines. On the first
line there is only one word. The second line may contain three words; while if
there is a third line, it will contain only one word.
The
Hieroglyphic Sequencing Pattern
The physical structure of the hieroglyphic
form will be in a pattern of two columns, with any number of rows. The two (vertical) columns are read as before, top to bottom, left to right. Imagine 2 columns side by side; column A and column B. Across
both columns (A and B), at the top, you have row 1. Beneath row one is row two. Beneath row two, is row three, et cetera. On
a sheet of paper, make this drawing. Label the rows going down as rows 1, 2,
and 3. At the top, label the columns A and B.
Now, see that as one reads from top to bottom, and left to right, the correct sequence of reading is as follows: A1, B1, A2, B2, A3, B3, and so forth.
Doing
a Translation
Would you like to practice making
a translation? First, have at hand the most pictures of Mayan hieroglyphics you can find, along with their meanings.
Take long translations and divide them up into short sentences. Generally the sentence structure is in this order for translation purposes.
The first part of the square, that is, the superfix if it has one, if it doesn’t, than it will be the prefix,
is the time element. Then the verb follows. Next, the object
follows. Finally, there is the subject. If there is an adverb or adverbial phrase, it comes last, after the subject.
As an example, look at the following
simplified sentence: “Yesterday,
practiced bow and arrows Full Moon.” The
first part of the glyph is the time frame. In this case it was yesterday. The second part says what was done (verb) = practiced. Third is the object of the sentence = bow and
arrows. Finally, is the subject =
Full Moon (the person’s name). There
may not be a time frame or object given. A shorter sentence may simply say as
follows: “Was born Pacal.” As you see from the above sentence examples, the verb may be followed by either one
or two nouns. Where there are two, the first noun is the object and the second
noun is the subject of the sentence. What if you want to include an adverb or
adverbial phrase? It is placed after the subject.
An example might be:
“Today ran Pacal swiftly.” One will likely find a number of short “sentences” rather than one long run-on sentence. They will probably all relate to the same person or event. In each “sentence” following, a bit of new information will be added to the account.
Stelae
The most prolific places to find
hieroglyphs are on stelae. Stelae are found in many of the Mayan ruin sites. The most popular ones are found at Tikal, Copán, Chichén
Itzá, Palenque, and Uxmal. Incorporated with the glyphs are the Mayan numbers. For an understanding in reading the Mayan number system, refer to the topic
“Astronomy and Mathematics”.
Interesting and Informative
Websites
are listed below. Their value lies in their intrinsic
hieroglyphic nature.
www.crystalinks.com/mayan.html
www.ancientscripts.com/maya.html
www.omniglot.com/writing/mayan.htm
