The Indigenous History of El Salvador

1 Chichan - Protective Ring

Giant Serpent. Chichan (Ch'orti'), Kan (Quiche), Chikchan (Yucatec), Coatl (Aztec). When the Mesoamerican ancestors, including the Maya, arrived in El Salvador in about 8700 BCE they were quickly captured by the Xibalbha, symbolized by the daysign 7 Chamer (Death) in the Mars retrograde calendar. The Mayan ancestors escaped and made their way the conjunction of the Lempa and Torola Rivers. They were somewhat safe because the Xibalbha could not swim and if they approached the Mayan ancestors would retreat into the Lempa River.

After several years they found a better spot - the Tecapa volcano, which had both a crater lake they could retreat into and a protective ring of the volcano, which they named the chichan, the giant serpent. They named the day sign that followed 7 Chamer in the Mars retrograde calendar, 6 Chichan, to honor the protective ring of the volcano that surrounded them, protecting them from their Xibalbha enemies. (The Mars retrograde calendar goes backward through the tzolk'in at the average pace of one sign per 26 years.)

The next time that the Chichan sign was indicated in the Mars retrograde calendar was about 8130 BCE and the four Mesoamerican lineages, including the Maya, had each moved to an island home. Three of the four island homes were in lakes surrounded by a ring of mountains: Guija, Coatepeque, and Olomega. The protective ring of the mountains looked like the body of a giant serpent forming a ring around the lake. This was especially true of Coatepeque (right). In the case of Tehuacan, where the Zapotec ancestors lived, the island was in the middle of the Lempa River near its Pacific Ocean mouth. For the Zapotec ancestors, the Lempa River was the giant serpent that protected them.

Later in 7836 BCE when the San Diego volcano erupted at Guija causing a mudslipe, flood and tzuhnami, some of the imagery of the giant serpent may have changed to that of dragon.

Chichan is the merging of the elements of earth and water. It signifies unity as a ring and protection. Mohandas Ghandi was born on a Chichan date and the United Nations became effectively operational on a Chichan date.

Chichan is opposite Tz'ikin - Clay and Sticks - in the tzolk'in. In 130 days, one-half the tzolk'in, we arrive at 1 Tz'ikin. Tz'ikin looks back at human evolution, the origin of people, the suffering of people. The protective ring of Chichan allows us to look to the future.

In the Mars retrograde calendar the date associated with 1 Chichan is 3336 BCE.

1 B'i'r - The Course

"The Course, the Route." B'i'r (Ch'orti'), E (Quiche), Eb (Yucatec), Malinalli (Nahuat-Aztec)

Using a GMT correlation of -95, the 13 day week of B'i'r begins today. In the Wisdom Ch'orti' dictionary B'i'r is spelled "Bihir". B'i'r is the itinerary, the circuit, the path, the road, the way. It refers especially to the treacherous course by water through islands, rocks, and steep cliffs as the Maya sailed to various parts of the world, such as the Straits of Magellan or the Caribbean islands. The left-hand part of the Mayan glyph for this day depicts the water path around a jutting peninsula. The Quiche name for this day, "E" would be "tooth" in Ch'orti', where teeth symbolize the sharp points and islands that the Maya encountered while sailing. A related word in Ch'orti' would seem to be eht which is "trial" or "test".  The Aztec name which means "twisted" also refers to the twisted course that they often needed to take through close straits and islands. The Aztec glyph appears to be a reed sailboat.

B'i'r has to do with maps, with navigation, with creating itineraries, with stories of journeys passed down through the generations, with solving hard problems, with finding a way out of seemingly intractible situations. B'i'r is twisted; it is a trial, a sharp tooth that gets in our way, a "beer" at the end of a journey.

B'i'r is in between B'atz and B'ahk' in the tzolk'in which illustrates what the Maya provided on their courses on the ocean - their civil engineering capacity of B'atz and their cultivation knowledge of B'ahk'.

In the Mars retrograde long-count calendar this day corresponds to 2973 BCE.

1 Kawe't - Irrigation for our neighbors, our companions

"Our neighbors, our companions." Kawe't (Ch'orti'), Kawuq (Quiche), Kawak (Yucatec), Quiahuitl (Nuhuat-Aztec)

Using a GMT correlation of -95, the 13 day week of Kawe't begins today. Kawe't is about our neighbors, near and far. Seeing all as neighbors and all as companions. The Maya are somewhat unusual in having a sacred symbol or sign be based on neighbors, someone who is non-Mayan. This is the most generous of signs and a time to assist others, rebuild neighborhoods, organize, and create companionship outside one's family or circle.

The Maya created a sign for their neighbors because they truly believed in getting to know and sharing with as many different groups and tribes as they could. It is essential to who they have been and who they are.

The Aztec symbol for this day sign is revealing - the head of Tlaloc. Tlaloc translates as tal - arrival; ahl - time of; ok' - dividing in two, "time of the arrival of the dividing in two". This refers to cutting a path for a river or canal so that water to come to a dry region. The Maya did that many times for their neighbors. The Mayan glyph appears to have water drops on it which people have assumed were raindrops, so this sign has often been interpreted as rain or storm. But the meaning is irrigation and rivers.

In the Mars retrograde long-count calendar this day corresponds to 2641 BCE to 2609 BCE.

1 Tz'ikin - Sticks and Clay

Sticks and Clay. Tz'ikin (Ch'orti'), Tz'ikin (Quiche), Men (Yucatec), Cuauhtli (Aztec)

Tz'ihk is clay or made of clay. Kin is sticks or grass blades. Tz'ikin celebrates the creation of humans - coming from sticks and clay and at death returning to sticks and clay. It also symbolizes the evolution of human beings.

This day sign gained a second meaning early in the Mayan timeline. Tzik is to count in Ch'orti' and k'in is day or sun. The second meaning for this day symbolizes when the Maya first started keeping track of days and using the tzolk'in calendar. This probably happened during the Mars long-count date of 9 Tz'ikin, which lasted from 8402 BCE to 8355 BCE. This would place it at Isla Tigre, Honduras. Tz'ikin may symbolize the oldest calendar used among humans.

Tz'ikin gained a third powerful meaning during the next time that it was the Mars long-count marker, 2 Tz'ikin from 7849 to 7834 BCE. The flood and tzuhnami at Lago Guija occurred during this time, on November 1, 7834 BCE. This is known because the Day of the Dead originates with that flood and the Ch'orti' term for Day of the Dead is sik'in, which means "series of days". More importantly a term was selected that sounded nearly identical to the Mars long-count day marker - Tz'ikin and sik'in. The Popol Vuh notes that the flood marked the end of the age of the stick humans - this primarily means that the 2 Tz'ikin (sticks and clay) long-count date was nearly at an end, but also symbolized the end of the humans of sticks and clay and the beginning of the humans of corn.

There is strong evidence for the Tz'ikin and sik'in (Day of the Dead) connection in the Ch'orti word for funeral or death ceremony, which is tz'i'k'in. Further evidence is provided by the Mayan glyph for the day which is a symbol of a dead person. The Aztec glyph is a flayed human face with an eye torn out. This symbolizes the bodies that washed ashore after the flood that the eagles (cuauhtli) and vultures picked on. These bodies came to look like the skeletons that are still used today to symbolize the Day of the Dead.

1 Tz'ikin corresponds to the period in history of 6777 BCE to 6587 BCE in the Mars retrograde long-count calendar.

1 Ik'ar - The Wind Carrying to the Void

Wind. Ik'ar (Ch'orti'), Iq' (Kiche), Ik' (Yucatek), Ehecatl (Aztec).

This is one of only three sign names that is essentially the same in the three Mayan languages in which the tzolk'in is normally presented. Ik'ar and the related syllable Ik' have numerous meanings in Ch'orti' - Ik'ar meaning wind, breeze, or evil wind. Ik' can mean air or atmosphere. It is likely that Ik' also referred to the void in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. And it's likely that Ik' at one time meant dark and evening, two of its meanings in Yucatec.

Ik' was one of the four founders of the Mesoamerican people and in that contest his name meant Evening (the time when the winds start blowing). Each of the Mayan founders took turn leading the raft flotilla. Ik' two the second hardest shift, the evening shift. Eventually the Ik' lineage settled at the mouth of the Lempa River at a place called Island of Learning or Tehuakan. Because of the quickly rising ocean the Ik' lineage settled in highland Mexico, calling it Tehuakan and eventually became the Zapotecs, Mixtecs and one of the sources of the Nuhuat peoples. The Maya called the Ik' lineage the "wind hunters".

Ik'ar is very similar to aether. Ik'ar is associated with the zodiac signs Gemini and Aquarius. You can hear Ik'ar in Icharus who flew up to the heavens.

The first six days of Ik'ar week at the present are part of the Ajmok-Tojmar-Ikar eclipse period and only solar eclipses with a Saros number of 149 or higher or lunar eclipses with a Saros number of 141 or higher occur in Ik'ar.

1 Ik'ar corresponds to the period in history of 6461 BCE to 6271 BCE in the Mars retrograde long-count calendar.

1 Tojmar - A Day to Pay and Rest

Payment Made. Tojma'r (Ch'orti'), Toj (Quiche), Muluk (Yucatec), Atl (Aztec).

Tojmar may represent the very first day created in the Mayan 20-day week, a reminder every 20 days, counted out on the fingers and toes, to stop the daily grind and pay homage to the spirits. Most likely this started in about 8,650 BCE. Each family brought an animal that was caught during the previous 19 days hunting to be sacrificed, if still alive, and given back to the earth as thanks.

At the same time the Maya discoved tobacco at Tecapa, El Salvador, which they credited to the spirit Tojil and which became the first plant to be cultivated. The day Tojmar helped to regulate tobacco, so that the community members would refrain from smoking it on Tojmar day but then could smoke again on the next day, still unnamed, which was simply called 2 Pere ("to draw in" or "puff"), followed by 3 Pere, 4 Pere, 5 Pere, and so on. Later when the Portuguese heard this story they named their days of the week Tojminyar (Domingo), 2 Feira, 3 Feira, etc. Tojminyar is "first time to make payment". Tojma'r (tohm + ahr) has a similar meaning "occasion of making payment". Eventually the Maya named the other days of the week but it appears that Tojmar was first one named. The Mayan graphic for this day sign is a person smoking. The Aztec glyph for this day sign is a plant in water, referring to tobacco being the first plant to be cultivated.

One can see the similarity of Tohma'r to the concept of taxation. It was perhaps the first act of government of the Maya. And one can see that words like "dominion" have their root in Tojma'r or Tojminyar.

Tojma'r was the day to stop everything and pay the price, sacrifice. It was a day to rest. This is seen from Tohil - hil means "rest" so that Tohil essentially means "payment and rest." Later it seems that the payment and rest day was shifted from Tojmar to the first day of every 13 day week, perhaps because people wanted to rest more often. Of course later on when the health effects of tobacco were learned, there was extreme irony in the name of Tojmar - "payment made".

Toj also is the root word for Tokar which means cloud or vapor, referring to the tobacco smoke baths that were used for shamanistic purposes, helping the Maya to communicate with the center of the galaxy, represented by the sign Ikar. Later sap from the cochineal croton tree was used and later still, copal incense was used instead of or in addition to tobacco to communicate with the gods.

Tojma'r is an eclipse week during our lifetime, many or most of which are visible from the western Hemisphere. These same Tojma'r eclipses were visible 5,125 years ago at the beginning of the previous long count calendar cycle.  For example, on Oct 14, 2023, some parts of the western Hemisphere will be able to see an annular solar eclipse on 1 Tojma'r, very similar to a solar eclipse in June 3003 BCE, each 11 years after the start of a new long count cycle.

Note: The names of the Ch'orti' day signs come from the Ch'orti' Linguistic Institute, based in Jocotan, Guatemala.

1 Ajmok - The Falcon Man that Eats the Sun

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.

1 Ak'bar - Akbar and Chomija, a story of greatness

Night. Aq'ab'al (Quiche), Ak'bal (Yucatec), Calli (Aztec). The tzolk'in day sign of 1 Ak'bar (in Ch'orti') provides the tone for the next 13 days. Ak'bar was one of the eight great founders of the Mayan people and considered the greatest of them all. The Ak'bar lineage consisted of Ak'bar on the male side and Chomija on the female side. Ak'bar is the name of the leader of the flotilla of four rafts that made the journey from South America to Central America in about 8900 BCE. Ak'bar means "night" and the name corresponds to Ak'bar taking the night shift of the leading the rafts - the most difficult and arduous shift.

The Ak'bar lineage eventually settled at Lake Guija on the Guatemala and El Salvador border and then became the source lineage for most of the Mayan settlements and Classic-era sites. The Ch'orti', Huasteca, and Yucatec Mayan peoples are some of the Mayan ethnicities that come from the Ak'bar lineage. 

The Ak'bar lineage was also called Nijayib' in the Popol Vuh. This means "shaking fast" in Ch'orti' and describes the state of the members of the Ak'bar lineage in the midst of the fasts that they would make. This daysign has the most Saturn overtones of the daysigns: providing compassionate leadership based on self-discipline and self-sacrifice. Somehow European models of Saturn leave out the compassion.

Any discussion of the Ak'bar daysign can not leave out Chomija, named as the female partner of Ak'bar in the Popul Vuh. Certainly on the raft ride to Central America, Chomija played an equal or nearly equal part as Ak'bar, since sleep was due to both. But the female energy of the Maya really came alive on Isla Tigre. It was the women who first began to domesticate animals - first the macaw parrot and then the puma and jaguar, according to the Popol Vuh. Chomija's name means "puma housecat". Chomija is the bridge which gets us to the Aztec Nahuat name for this sign: Calli or "house". Ak'bar is also know as Ak'bar Bajram or Night Jaguar. It was Chomija who tamed the jaguar and made it into a house creature, Calli.

Ak'bar and Chomija, "Night and Puma Cat", the great ones.

The origin of Ak'bar in the Ch'orti' language comes from ak' - "covering" - and bar - "weight" or "heaviness". Night is like a heavy covering.

There will never be an eclipse during an Ak'bar week, in our era. Mars always stations direct in Ak'bar or the previous 13-day week, in our era. The Mars retrograde long-count date that corresponds to 1 Ak'bar: 2500 BCE.

Mayan Day Sign: Ch'i' - "Growth"

Of the 20 Ch'orti' Maya tzolk'in day signs, Ch'i' provides the most evidence for the evolution of Mayan thought. The change in the day sign name demonstrates this evolution.

Ch'i' or "Growth". Growth is a rather abstract and advanced thought. It is likely this concept did not develop until after 2000 BCE, whereas the day sign names likely were developed by 7000 BCE from Lago Güija. I believe that the Yucatec name Manik' is the original name. Manik' or Manix is the name of the hunter people who confronted the Maya at the Corinto cave. They were also known as Xibalbha - "those afraid of water". The Popol Vuh talks about the manikins - the "manik sticks", referring to the tall nature of the Manik. The Manik were the first or original people of the Americas and likely date back tens of thousands of years. One can see their likely linguistic trace in Lake Manix at the Calico Early Man Site in southern California.

Further proof that this day sign had been Manik and that Manik corresponds to the hunter tribe at Corinto cave is that the Nahuat name for this day sign in the Aztec calendar is Mazatl, which means deer, a symbol for hunting and the hunter. In addition, this day sign is the sign of the Lord of the Hunt.

Naming a day sign after the Manik was a great honor to give to one's former enemies. Then to reassign Ch'i' or "growth" to the day sign actually further honors the Manik, symbolizing the ability of anyone, even one's enemy of 1,500 years, to grow. It equally symbolizes the ability of the Maya to grow beyond seeing the Manik or any people as enemies, beyond seeing the offspring of the Manik, whether in Northamerica or Central America, as enemies or inferior.

It is possible that there is a relationship between the Mayan Ch'i' and the Chinese concept Chi. However, the meanings are somewhat different. Mayan Ch'i' means growth while the Chinese Chi means breath or life force - which seems to correspond more to the day sign Ikar or Ik. Ch'i' is well integrated in the Ch'orti' language, so if there is a relationship it is likely from the Mayan to the Chinese.

The tile or letter that corresponds to Ch'i' (above) in written Mayan appears to be the symbol for the Chinmaya Mudra, a Hindu-Buddhist meditation hand pose. Even the name Chinmaya provides a strong hint of Ch'i' and the Maya. The Chinmaya Ch'i' symbol shows that one does not need to be bound by one's past, by one's ancestors' enemies. And it shows that all people, including those known as hunters and as the lords of Xibalbha, can evolve and grow.

Ch'orti' Day Signs

The 20 day signs of the Maya are well known and they form the basis of the 260 day tzolk'in calendar. The Yucatec version of the names are the best known, with some using the Quiche names. The much later Aztec names are used by others. The Ch'orti' names are much less known.

These are the 20 Ch'orti' day signs that I was provided in 2010 during my visit to Jocotán, Guatemala, and the Comunidad Linguística Ch'orti' (Morwa'r Ojroner Ch'orti'). The Ch'orti' names would be the original names. The Quiche and Yucatec day sign names would have begun to diverge from the proto-Ch'orti' sometime after 2000 BCE when those two language groups were formed.

Ch'orti'

English

Quiche

Yucatec

Aztec

Imi'x

Cutting movement

Imox

Imix

Cipactli

Ik'ar

Wind

Iq'

Ik

Ehecatl

Akb'ar

Night

Aq'ab'al

Ak'bal

Calli

Kach

Crystal (saltpeter)

K'at

Kan

Cuetzpallin

Chichchan

Giant Serpent

Kan

Chikchan

Coatl

Chamer

Death

Kame

Kimi

Miquitzli

Ch'i'

Growth

Kej

Manik'

Mazatl

K'anir

Yellow star

Q'anil

Lamat

Tochtli

Tojma'r

Payment made

Toj

Muluk

Atl

Tz'i'

Dog

Tz'i'

Ok

Izcuintli

B'atz

Sterile/Monkey

B'atz'

Chuen

Ozomatli

B'i'r

Water course; Trail

E

Eb

Malinalli

B'ajk'

Cultivation

Aj

Ben

Acatl

B'ajram

(Tame) Jaguar

Ix

Ix

Ocelotl

Tz'ikin

Clay and sticks

Tz'ikin

Men

Cuauhtli

Ajmok

The sick one

Ajmak

Kib

Cozcacuauhtli

Noj

Greatness

No'j

Caban

Ollin

Etz'nab'

Study-or-forget

Tijax

Etz'nab

Tecpatl

Kawe't

Our companion, neighbor

Kawuq

Kawak

Quiahuitl

Ajchuk

The observer, the present one

Junajpu

Ahaw

Xochitl

Hopefully the Ch'orti' day signs will begin to be used by scholars and practitioners of Mayan spirituality.