The Wounded Bird Man. Ajmak (Quiche), Kib (Yucatec), Cozcacuauhtli (Aztec). The tzolk'in day sign of 1 Ajmok or 1 Ahmok (in Ch'orti') sets the tone for the next 13 days. Like many of the day signs, Ajmok has a double meaning. The straight forward meaning is "the sick one or the wounded one" and may refer to the suffering of those who became sick in general or it could refer specifically to an early Maya birdman who was wounded when he or she fell to the earth.
The second meaning for this sign comes from Ahmo' which means the large bird man or the falcon man. This helps explain the Aztec sign of the vulture for this day. The Maya believe that a falcon god or falcon man flies up to the sun and eats
the sun thus causing a solar eclipse (or alternately to the moon for a lunar eclipse). This falcon man is called Ahkilis. The tzolk'in glpyh (above left) has been described as an empty shell, which symbolizes both an eclipse and the number zero. I believe that it was several nearly consecutive eclipses that took place during Ahmok week over several years or generations that allowed the Maya to time the frecuency of eclipses. This took place between 3300 and 3100 BCE, when eclipses visible from Central America often occurred during Ahmok week. This led to the 4th Sun on April 28, 3114 BCE and the long count calendar, which is in essence an eclipse calendar. The days of the calendar named Ahmok were used as markers to help remember when the eclipses would occur.
Like the previous ruler of the 13-day week, Ak'bar, Ajmok is ruled Saturn. Ajmok can also be spelled Ah Mok. Cib, the Yucatec version, means "swelling" in Ch'orti', so it is a compatible meaning as Ajmok.
The Mars retrograde long-count date that corresponds to 1 Ajmok is 2750 BCE.
Note: The names of the Ch'orti' day signs come from the Ch'orti' Linguistic Institute, based in Jocotan, Guatemala.
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