The Chol Quij

The hieroglyphs found on the four walls of the Mayan temple of Chiajxucub in Coban, Alta Verapaz, are the twenty day glyphs of the sacred Mayan calendar-cum-almanac known as the Chol Quij (count of days).

Of the civilizations of pre-Colombian America, the most advanced was that of the Mayans, who populated southern Mexico and Central America between 600 B.C. and 900 A.D. They had a sophisticated system of hieroglyphic writing, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, and vast numbers of books, all but four of which were destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors in the 1500’s. Although the Mayan state had collapsed 600 years before the Spanish arrived; and what remnants of Mayan culture and thought still existed in the 1500’s were forcibly suppressed by the Spanish conquerors and the Catholic Church; nonetheless to this day descendants of the Mayans maintain many of their cultural traditions intact.  One of these is the Chol Quij”, or count of days, which is a 260 day ceremonial calendar, almanac, and system of divination.

The archeological community is of the opinion that the Mayans have lost most of their ancient traditions; however, the Mayans of today still hold many of their mysteries intact, but have not chosen to reveal them to outsiders. What information has been published on the Chol Quij has been collected by ladinos (non-Indians); is rather fragmentary; and must be considered to be whatever a defeated and defiant people has thought fit to reveal to their conquerors. (note that the term “Mayan” – like the term “Indo-European” – refers to a group of related but mutually unintelligible languages.  At present there are some 25 Mayan languages spoken in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras.  The Chol Quij – like the hieroglyphic alphabet – is pan-Mayan).

The Chol Quij consists of 20 day names (and glyphs), each name preceded by a numerical coefficient from 1 to 13.  The day names follow one another in serial order, and so do the coefficients, e.g.:  8 Batz, 9 E, 10 Aj, 11 Ix, 12 Tzikin, 13 Ajmak; after 13 the coefficients begin again from 1, hence: 1 Noj, 2 Tijax, etc. etc. through 12 Qanil, 13 Toj, 1 Tzi; then the day names recommence: 2 Batz, 3 E, etc. etc. Thus 13 coefficients times 20 day names yields 260 different combinations of day name with numerical coefficient.  The Chol Quij commences on the day 8 Batz.

The Chol Quij is a spiritual link to the Oxlahuntiku – the thirteen gods of the Upper World (there is a separate calendar count and set of rituals connected with the Bolontiku, the nine gods of the Lower World). Any use of the Chol Quij is basically an invocation of the assistance of the thirteen gods of the upper world, just as using the I Ching invokes the spirits of Confucianism, or the Roman Catholic Mass invokes Jesus. The symbolism of the twenty days of the Chol Quij also recounts different aspects of the story of the Popol Vuh (the Mayan creation story), which is a tale of how two brothers challenged and defeated the lord of hell (Xibalba), and became the sun and the moon.  The period of 260 days is also considered symbolical of the human gestation period; thus a person’s personality and fortunes are considered to be influenced by the actual day he was born, and also by the (theoretical) day he was conceived.

The Chol Quij has three main uses: 1) to time ceremonies and rituals, both communal and individual (e.g. petitions and prayers); 2) to divine for the answers to specific questions (like our horary astrology); and 3) to prognosticate the destiny of an individual (like our natal astrology).

Just as we celebrate Christmas on December 25th and Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November, so too is the most important (of numerous) ceremonial observances of the Mayans celebrated on 8 Batz. This day is the starting point of the Chol Quij, and is therefore considered the most favorable day of all for the efficacy of prayers. It is also a religious ceremony in which the spirit is purified by confessing to the divinity all the faults committed; and it is a thanksgiving ceremony for all the benefits received during the previous (260 day) year. 

Besides major ceremonial days such as 8 Batz, there are certain days of the Chol Quij which are used to propitiate certain spirits, or to ask for certain favors (such as success in love, business, health, hunting, war, etc.).  On one’s own Chol Quij “birthday” (every 260 days) it is customary to pray for the happiness of one’s family, to remove any maleficent influences that may be about, etc.  I personally have done a ritual alone at a power place (usually either Chiajxucub or the Grotto of Chicoy) on my Mayan “birthday” every 260 days for the past several years, and have never once failed to obtain a great blessing or inspiration as a result.

The second major use of the Chol Quij is in divination.  The procedure is explained very well by Barbara Tedlock, an anthropologist who was initiated as a Mayan daykeeper (diviner), in Time and the Highland Maya (University of New Mexico Press, 1992).   When a question is put to the daykeeper, he or she comes up with a Chol Quij day and number as an answer to the question by manipulating corn seeds or stones.  Each day of the Chol Quij has an intrinsic meaning, but these meanings are modified by the coefficient. For example, Aqabal is generally considered to be of unfavorable augury, but if 1 through 9 Aqabal comes up in answer to the question of whether the client should marry a certain person, then the answer is yes.  If the question is whether a particular journey should be made, a low or middle number Aqabal indicates a favorable outcome, but a 10 through 13 Aqabal indicates hidden dangers.  If 1, 8, or 9 Aqabal should come up in a divination about illness, then it means some member of the client’s family fought with him or complained about him behind his back.  After the cause of a problem is divined, propitiatory rituals can be done (timed by the Chol Quij) to overcome the problem.

The third major use of the Chol Quij is to foretell a person’s destiny, depending upon the day he was born. In addition to the 260-day ceremonial calendar, there exists a 365-day civil calendar called the Haab (rain – i.e., rainy season – or year).  Because the Haab has no provision for leap year, the days of the Haab slip back in our (Gregorian) calendar by one day every four years (i.e. no effort is made to fix the equinoxes and solstices in the Haab). The Haab consists of 18 twenty-day “months” with 5 intercalary days at the end which are considered to be of evil augury. Where the Chol Quij coefficients are numbered from 1 to 13, the days in a Haab “month” are numbered from 0 to 19.   The first day of the Haab (0 Pop) this year is April 6th.  A “Mayan Horoscope” consists of a Chol Quij day and coefficient combined with a Haab month and date.  Because 260 and 365 have the common factor of 5, only four days of the Chol Quij can ever serve as “New Years’ Day” (the initial day = 0 Pop) of the Haab, and these four days are termed the “year-bearers”: E, Noj, Iq,and Kej.

 It is said that the E years are good for business and health, since the year-bearer E is quiet, calm, and enduring. The year-bearer Noj is said to have a good head and many thoughts, and the years it opens are creative years, both for good and for evil. The year-bearer Iq is very angry, and it brings violent rainstorms, or else no rain at all.  Many people die in Iq years from being struck by lightening, from drowning, or from hunger. The year-bearer Kej is also wild, and likes to trample people underfoot, causing many business losses and illnesses.   The current year-bearer influences all divinations made from the Chol Quij;  for example, a somewhat negative prediction made during an Iq year becomes extremely negative; whereas the same prediction made during and E year is somewhat ameliorated. 

Because 260 and 365 have the common factor of 5, a Mayan Horoscope is unique within 260 x 365 / 5 = 18980 days, or roughly 52 years (i.e. the cycle repeats every 52 years), which is known as a “calendar round”.

There are also other Mayan calendar counts, but the Chol Quij and Haab are the most important from a divinatory point of view. One’s “horoscope” consists of a combination of coefficient – Chol Quij day – date – Haab month, which all contribute to the interpretation of one’s destiny, and which is unique within a period of 52 years (i.e. certain days of the Chol Quij are more harmonious / inharmonious with certain months of the Haab; and the numerical coefficients and dates also modify the meanings. For example, although Imox is generally considered to be of unfavorable augury, nonetheless children born on 8 Imox become very successful leaders (since the coefficient 8 is usually of favorable augury). 

 In a general way, the lower Chol Quij coefficients (1,2,3) are considered to be gentle (although I would characterize them as naïve and impetuous); middle numbers are neutral; and higher numbers (11,12,13) are considered to be violent (though I would call them cautious and judicious).  If the Chol Quij coefficient and Haab date are identical, this is considered very fortunate for worldly affairs.


References:
Aveni, Anthony – Skywatchers of Ancient Mexico (1980) – University of Texas Press; Austin

Scofield, Bruce – Day Signs (1991) and  Signs of Time (1994) – One Reed Publications; P.O. Box 561; Amherst, MA 01004-0561

Tedlock, Barbara – Time and the Highland Maya – 1982 – University of New Mexico Press; Albuquerque