The Hero Twins and the Birth of the Maize God
The author is aware that this kind of literalist approach is frowned upon nowadays. The very remote Mayan date numbers tend to be thought of as of symbolic value only, examples of an extremely complex system of calendric-based numerology, and the notion that they could refer to actual events in the far past is no longer seriously entertained.
However, for the sake of the exercise alone, I decided to see what I could find out if I did investigate celestial events occurring on the remote dates. I ask my readers to bear this in mind and to resist drawing any conclusions from the data I've produced. Modern Mayan studies are quite advanced and I realize only too well that anything I think I may have "discovered" can easily be shown to be nothing more than fanciful constructions deriving from ignorance and naivety.
Still, that same field of study is in a state of healthy flux, so one never knows when this or that well-intended contribution, while initially frowned upon or disparaged, may prove to be of some value after all. It is in that spirit that I offer the following piece. If nothing else, hopefully it will at least be marginally entertaining.
Still, that same field of study is in a state of healthy flux, so one never knows when this or that well-intended contribution, while initially frowned upon or disparaged, may prove to be of some value after all. It is in that spirit that I offer the following piece. If nothing else, hopefully it will at least be marginally entertaining.
For my treatment of the "crosses" of Palenque, please see
https://firstjaguaronelord.blogspot.com/2021/12/the-crosses-of-palenque.html).]
On this day, the sun and Mercury are very close together at the intersection of the galactic equator and the ecliptic in the heart of the Milky Way. Both planets are in Sagittarius, a location designated as Matwil by the Maya of Palenque (see below). Mercury rises first at 5:58 a.m., while the sun rises at 5:59. Mercury would thus not have been observable, but its position could certainly have been predicted. Mercury sets at 5:35 p.m., and the sun at 5:40.
As the births of these gods are also called ‘arrivals’ or ‘earth-touchings’, I interpret the births as a moment when a heavenly body descends from the sky and “touches” the earth, immediately prior to setting. While earth-touching could denote the appearance of a heavenly body on the horizon just after it rises up from the underworld, I think this interpretation is less convincing. So, as Mercury “earth-touches” first in the evening, GI (for ‘God I’) = the planet Mercury.
Since Lounsbury’s time, it has been customary to equate GI with Venus. A nice summary of the various scholars who have supported this idea can be found in Susan Milbrath’s ‘Star Gods of the Maya’ (p. 205). But Venus is not in Matwil at this time. Milbrath (in her ‘Star Gods of the Maya’) mentions how Mercury and Venus, being the two inferior planets, could act as ‘body doubles’ for one another. The two minor planets also appear on the Creation date of 8 September 3114 B.C. as the Paddlers ('companioned', i.e. conjunctioned). Venus and Mercury, the two minor planets, are unique among the planets in being viewable as Evening and Morning Stars and thus companions of the sun.
Rebirth of GI on 10 November 2360.
On this day, the sun and Mercury are very close together at the intersection of the galactic equator and the ecliptic in the heart of the Milky Way. Both planets are in Sagittarius, a location designated as Matwil by the Maya of Palenque (see below). Mercury rises first at 5:58 a.m., while the sun rises at 5:59. Mercury would thus not have been observable, but its position could certainly have been predicted. Mercury sets at 5:35 p.m., and the sun at 5:40.
As the births of these gods are also called ‘arrivals’ or ‘earth-touchings’, I interpret the births as a moment when a heavenly body descends from the sky and “touches” the earth, immediately prior to setting. While earth-touching could denote the appearance of a heavenly body on the horizon just after it rises up from the underworld, I think this interpretation is less convincing. So, as Mercury “earth-touches” first in the evening, GI (for ‘God I’) = the planet Mercury.
Since Lounsbury’s time, it has been customary to equate GI with Venus. A nice summary of the various scholars who have supported this idea can be found in Susan Milbrath’s ‘Star Gods of the Maya’ (p. 205). But Venus is not in Matwil at this time. Milbrath (in her ‘Star Gods of the Maya’) mentions how Mercury and Venus, being the two inferior planets, could act as ‘body doubles’ for one another. The two minor planets also appear on the Creation date of 8 September 3114 B.C. as the Paddlers ('companioned', i.e. conjunctioned). Venus and Mercury, the two minor planets, are unique among the planets in being viewable as Evening and Morning Stars and thus companions of the sun.
Venus, in other words, is "reborn" on this date as Mercury, its twin, so to speak.
On this day, both the sun and Mercury have advanced beyond the intersection of the ecliptic and the galactic equator. Both still reside in Sagittarius, and are still in the heart of the Milky Way. However, the rise and set order is reversed. The sun now rises at 6:01 a.m., while Mercury rises at 6:09. The set times are similarly reversed in order, with the sun setting at 5:38 p.m. and Mercury at 5:41.
The solar attributes of GIII have been noted before by several major Mayanists and I will not repeat their work here. Suffice it to say that the second born of the Palenque Triad is definitely the sun. As with the rebirth of GI, GIII's birth occurs in Matwil.
David Stuart has said of the Palenque gods GI, GII and GII (_Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya_) “We do not know why their birth-order disagrees with the order in which they are always named…” Or again “…He [GII] was the youngest of the three members of the Triad… even though he is always named and depicted as the middle member of the three gods.”
Why is this so?
On GI’s birthday, Jupiter has just entered the same end (or “head”) of the Milky Way wherein the sun and Mercury reside. We find Jupiter in Ophiuchus very near Antares, the very bright star of the constellation Scorpius. On GIII’s birthday, Jupiter is pretty much in identically the same spot in the sky. These three planets, then, occupy this “head” of the Milky Way/Cosmic Monster at the same time. No other planets are present in this head of the Milky Way. In each case, Jupiter rises before both Mercury and the sun.
The birth of GIII on 14 November 2360 B.C.
On this day, both the sun and Mercury have advanced beyond the intersection of the ecliptic and the galactic equator. Both still reside in Sagittarius, and are still in the heart of the Milky Way. However, the rise and set order is reversed. The sun now rises at 6:01 a.m., while Mercury rises at 6:09. The set times are similarly reversed in order, with the sun setting at 5:38 p.m. and Mercury at 5:41.
The solar attributes of GIII have been noted before by several major Mayanists and I will not repeat their work here. Suffice it to say that the second born of the Palenque Triad is definitely the sun. As with the rebirth of GI, GIII's birth occurs in Matwil.
The Birth of GII on 28 November 2360 B.C.
David Stuart has said of the Palenque gods GI, GII and GII (_Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya_) “We do not know why their birth-order disagrees with the order in which they are always named…” Or again “…He [GII] was the youngest of the three members of the Triad… even though he is always named and depicted as the middle member of the three gods.”
Why is this so?
On GI’s birthday, Jupiter has just entered the same end (or “head”) of the Milky Way wherein the sun and Mercury reside. We find Jupiter in Ophiuchus very near Antares, the very bright star of the constellation Scorpius. On GIII’s birthday, Jupiter is pretty much in identically the same spot in the sky. These three planets, then, occupy this “head” of the Milky Way/Cosmic Monster at the same time. No other planets are present in this head of the Milky Way. In each case, Jupiter rises before both Mercury and the sun.
It is well known that GII is God K or K'awil. As I find in Milbrath and elsewhere, the chief planet of God K was Jupiter (although, Saturn could substitute for Jupiter).
Now, on the birthdate of GII/Jupiter, something rather unusual happens. Mercury has left the Milky Way and is residing in Capricorn. The sun is still in Sagittarius, but on the very edge of the Milky Way. Jupiter is still stubbornly hanging out in Ophiuchus; indeed, it hasn't moved much at all since the rebirth of GI. Venus, however, has just entered this head of the Cosmic Monster and is also in Ophiuchus. On the 29th, the sun exits the Milky Way.
Now, on the birthdate of GII/Jupiter, something rather unusual happens. Mercury has left the Milky Way and is residing in Capricorn. The sun is still in Sagittarius, but on the very edge of the Milky Way. Jupiter is still stubbornly hanging out in Ophiuchus; indeed, it hasn't moved much at all since the rebirth of GI. Venus, however, has just entered this head of the Cosmic Monster and is also in Ophiuchus. On the 29th, the sun exits the Milky Way.
So what has happened is that Venus has replaced Mercury within the confines of this head of the Cosmic Monster. What are we to make of this substitution, and what does it have to do with the delayed birth of GII?
Well, it is interesting to put all of this into columns that are arranged as the planets are arranged in respect to each other in the Milky Way on each of the three dates, from first rising to last, and then to note what planets are found in the middle column in each instance:
Well, it is interesting to put all of this into columns that are arranged as the planets are arranged in respect to each other in the Milky Way on each of the three dates, from first rising to last, and then to note what planets are found in the middle column in each instance:
Jupiter Mercury (= Venus) Sun
Jupiter Sun Mercury (= Venus)
Venus (= Mercury) Jupiter Sun
The idea seens to have been, then, to have three sequential births happening in Matwil, with each planet born being flanked by two of the other planets. The symmetry here is fascinating. In this scheme, Jupiter/K'awil/GII/God K simply could not have been born until the 28th, when he was properly flanked by the other two gods.
Another possibly important actor in this heavenly drama of birth may be the moon, which as a waning crescent (2.4 days before new) is in very near conjunction with Jupiter in the Milky Way at 10:00 a.m. on the 23rd. By sunrise on the 26th, the moon, just past new, has left the Milky Way. In other words, the moon was the new moon only while inside the Milky Way.
David Stuart has rendered Matwil, the location of the births of GI, GII and GIII, as the “Place of Cormorants”. As such this was a watery place, and may have been the heavenly model for part or all of Palenque itself. We know the Maya could conceive of the Milky Way as a heavenly body of water (see the famous Tikal bones, for example, which depict the deceased king and other planets passing through the Milky Way water on the ‘ecliptic canoe’). The fact that all three planets – Mercury (= Venus), Sun and Jupiter – are all born within the Milky Way strongly suggests that the Scorpius-Sagittarius head of the Cosmic Monster is Matwil.
It was once believed that 2 January 3120 B.C. was the birthday of Sak Kuk, or “White Quetzal”, mother of the Palenque king Pacal, presumably an incarnation of the moon goddess. The name Muwaan Mat was taken as an epithet for Sac Kuk. However, David Stuart has recently suggested that Muwaan Mat is a male figure and that the dates relating to him do not, therefore, have anything to do with Pacal’s mother. Stuart does concede, however, that Muwaan Mat may be the ‘Mother-Father’of the Palenque Triad. The concept of the Mother-Father is well known in contemporary Maya belief.
Another reading for Muwaan Mat’s name may be ‘Lady of Split Place’ (see Dennis Tedlock, ‘2000 Years of Mayan Literature’). Michael Grofe of the Maya Exploration Center, equates Matwil with Tamoanchan, ‘Land of Rain and Mist’. While I would not go as far as Grofe in identifying ‘Lady of Split Place’ with the tree from which the gods were born, we CAN place her birth in the Great Rift of the Milky Way. I would then say there is a fair degree of probability that the Great Rift was designated by the Maya as the ‘Split Place’.
As the Triad gods are clearly born at Matwil, i.e. the Sagittarius-Scorpius head of the Milky Way monster, and Muwaan Mat is termed the ‘Lord of Matwil’, the presence of the moon near the center of the Milky Way in Ophiuchus on 2 January 3120 B.C. should be noted. The moon is the only visible planet in this head of the Cosmic Monster.
Eight years after Muwaan Mat is born, this personage undergoes a blood-letting rite (private communication from Dr. Michael Carrasco of The University of Texas at Austin). This happens on 1 March, 3112 B.C. The day before, on February 28, the moon was in Sagittarius within the Milky Way. On the 1st of March, the moon leaves the Milky Way.
Muwaan Mat is said to accede to power on 27 September 2325. On this day, the moon is 3.3 days before New Moon (13.1% illuminated) and resides in Virgo. The action attendant upon this event consists of the tying of white paper bark onto the head of Muwaan Mat. Such a white paper bark headband was the Palenque equivalent of a crown, and thus denoted kingship. Could such white bark have represented the crescent moon?
I would remind readers of the iconographic motif known to Mayanists as the moon’s “theft” of the God L’s regalia. Typically, either the moon goddess or her rabbit is shown with the regalia of God L, who is often depicted in abject prostration before her, as if imploring the goddess to give back his usurped possessions. His regalia includes a muwaan bird or muwaan bird cloak. Sometimes God L pleads with the Sun for his owl hat, robes and staff. We have also seen the muwaan bird as the constellation of Gemini.
It has been theorized that the motif records a conjunction of Venus (or Mercury; see Milbrath) and the moon. Perhaps the moon dressed as the Muwaan bird might help explain why Muwaan Mat is, apparently, designated as male, rather than as female? Or why the moon might be best interpreted as “Mother-Father”?
Given the strictly astronomical evidence, I would have to say that Muwaan Mat is the moon.
The Location of Matwil
David Stuart has rendered Matwil, the location of the births of GI, GII and GIII, as the “Place of Cormorants”. As such this was a watery place, and may have been the heavenly model for part or all of Palenque itself. We know the Maya could conceive of the Milky Way as a heavenly body of water (see the famous Tikal bones, for example, which depict the deceased king and other planets passing through the Milky Way water on the ‘ecliptic canoe’). The fact that all three planets – Mercury (= Venus), Sun and Jupiter – are all born within the Milky Way strongly suggests that the Scorpius-Sagittarius head of the Cosmic Monster is Matwil.
Muwaan Mat’s Birth on 2 January 3120 B.C.
It was once believed that 2 January 3120 B.C. was the birthday of Sak Kuk, or “White Quetzal”, mother of the Palenque king Pacal, presumably an incarnation of the moon goddess. The name Muwaan Mat was taken as an epithet for Sac Kuk. However, David Stuart has recently suggested that Muwaan Mat is a male figure and that the dates relating to him do not, therefore, have anything to do with Pacal’s mother. Stuart does concede, however, that Muwaan Mat may be the ‘Mother-Father’of the Palenque Triad. The concept of the Mother-Father is well known in contemporary Maya belief.
Another reading for Muwaan Mat’s name may be ‘Lady of Split Place’ (see Dennis Tedlock, ‘2000 Years of Mayan Literature’). Michael Grofe of the Maya Exploration Center, equates Matwil with Tamoanchan, ‘Land of Rain and Mist’. While I would not go as far as Grofe in identifying ‘Lady of Split Place’ with the tree from which the gods were born, we CAN place her birth in the Great Rift of the Milky Way. I would then say there is a fair degree of probability that the Great Rift was designated by the Maya as the ‘Split Place’.
As the Triad gods are clearly born at Matwil, i.e. the Sagittarius-Scorpius head of the Milky Way monster, and Muwaan Mat is termed the ‘Lord of Matwil’, the presence of the moon near the center of the Milky Way in Ophiuchus on 2 January 3120 B.C. should be noted. The moon is the only visible planet in this head of the Cosmic Monster.
Eight years after Muwaan Mat is born, this personage undergoes a blood-letting rite (private communication from Dr. Michael Carrasco of The University of Texas at Austin). This happens on 1 March, 3112 B.C. The day before, on February 28, the moon was in Sagittarius within the Milky Way. On the 1st of March, the moon leaves the Milky Way.
Muwaan Mat is said to accede to power on 27 September 2325. On this day, the moon is 3.3 days before New Moon (13.1% illuminated) and resides in Virgo. The action attendant upon this event consists of the tying of white paper bark onto the head of Muwaan Mat. Such a white paper bark headband was the Palenque equivalent of a crown, and thus denoted kingship. Could such white bark have represented the crescent moon?
I would remind readers of the iconographic motif known to Mayanists as the moon’s “theft” of the God L’s regalia. Typically, either the moon goddess or her rabbit is shown with the regalia of God L, who is often depicted in abject prostration before her, as if imploring the goddess to give back his usurped possessions. His regalia includes a muwaan bird or muwaan bird cloak. Sometimes God L pleads with the Sun for his owl hat, robes and staff. We have also seen the muwaan bird as the constellation of Gemini.
It has been theorized that the motif records a conjunction of Venus (or Mercury; see Milbrath) and the moon. Perhaps the moon dressed as the Muwaan bird might help explain why Muwaan Mat is, apparently, designated as male, rather than as female? Or why the moon might be best interpreted as “Mother-Father”?
Given the strictly astronomical evidence, I would have to say that Muwaan Mat is the moon.
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