5 Manix, 5th day in the 5-day Nok (Thread) Week
5 Man ix (Chorti): Worker of the earth; artisan
5 Kej (Quiche) - Deer / 5 Manik' (Yucatec): Glyph of grasping hand
5 Mazatl (Aztec): Deer
Direction: West
Note: This sign is named after one of the four original Mesoamerican leaders, Maza Manix, who was the Quiche Maya leader. He received the name Maza or "Deer" for copying the deer in trying various leaves, fruits, nuts, and berries to see if they were edible. He received the name Manix or "worker of the earth" for having the vision of cultivating edible plants which would lead to establishing a way of life based on agriculture. Both doing art - being an artisan - and working the earth are described by the same verb, man, in Ch'orti' Maya. The glyph of the grasping hand describes an action that could either be artisanal or agricultural.
At some point, mostly likely when their leaders were suffering from mental illness caused by pellegra, the Quiche Maya might have mistakenly changed this name from manix to maix, although they retained the 'deer' meaning which they took with them when they were banished to northwest Mexico. Maix means 'not yet' in Ch'orti and the Quiche-written Popol Vuh says that Not Yet was one of the first four people and the founder of the Quiche. But it is possible that the name maix came from an agricultural rhyme associated with it. One can imagine the saying 'maix manix' or 'not ready yet, work the corn some more'. The tzolkin was used a guide to know when to plant and harvest.
This day sign was the first sign of the week and the year for the Quiches, unlike other Mayans. That makes sense, the previous two days are Serpent and Tapir and the blood of the serpent and tapir are mixed with corn dough to make the first person. It is likely that when the Quiche were banished by the other leaders that the calendar start date was adjusted from Manix to Imix. If not, the Quiches confused this as well.
Akbar Week: Balam Akbar or Night Jaguar was one of the four leaders that founded the Mayan-Mesoamerican civilizations. The nation that he founded was also called the Greathouses, possibly due to the large or long houses that they lived in. The Greathouses lived near the ocean on El Salvador's eastern coast and became a great sailing people. Most of the great Mesoamerican peoples, other than the Mayans, come from the Balam Akbar lineage.
Manix in Akbar Week: The development of agriculture was a collaborative process among the Mesoamericans. The pre-Mayans first cultivated corn while crops, such as squash and cacao, may have been developed by the Greathouses and shared with the pre-Mayans. Everything was shared back and forth to create civilization.
Night Sky: Venus is just now reappearing as a morning star where it will be for nearly one tzolkin (260-day cycle).
Acajutla High Tides: 1:43 AM and 2:17 PMSemi-diurnal Tide range (Difference in High/Low Tides): 1.37 meters average and increasing.
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