MAYAVASE.COM - MAYA - PRECOLUMBIAN ART

By Marc Zender

I suspect that this is the product of a Xultun workshop, as suggested by both glpyhic style, and a number of titles and nominal compounds which repeat on some other vessels most definitely from Xultun (e.g., MS1398, K4909).

For what it's worth, here's the transcription I quickly jotted down:

Panel A: a-AL-ya / T'AB'-VY / yu-lu / xu? / na-ja-la / yu-k'i-b'i / ta-yu-ta-la

/ TI-tzi-hi / CHAK-ma-na / ka-KAN? / sa-ku-WINIK? / ch'o-ko

Panel B: a-K'UK' / EL-K'IN-ni-CH'EEN-na / CHAN-na / e / k'e / U-MIHIIN?-IL /

ch'a-HOM-ma / a-mu-lu / K'UK'-k'u / a-k'u / EL-K'IN-ni / CH'EN-na-b'a?

The text would seem to identify the owner of this vessel as none other than Chan Ek', the same Xultun lord named on K4909 and elsewhere, although here with the long name and title string Chak Man Kan, Elder Brother, Ch'ok, A[j]-K'uk', and the Elk'in Ch'een or "East Cave" title which appears in part on MS1398 and elsewhere. Intriguingly, however, the text would also seem to provide his father's name, given as Ch'ahom A[j] Mul K'uk', A[j] K'u[k'], El K'in Ch'enab'. I can't do much with the -ab' suffix on Ch'en (any ideas?), though this too is known from other vases in the Xultun sphere (e.g. K4909, glyph 11).

Incidentally, this is the only case I know of where the K'UK' logograph takes a phonetic complement (final -k'u). By the way, I've been toying with a reading of MIHIIN or something similar (MIJIIIN, say) for the "father of" glyph. Steve's brilliant observation of the initial mi- complements were most suggestive, as were the frequent -na. Most importantly, though, I wonder whether this couldn't be cognate with Yucatec mehen "hijo varon respecto del padre; hijo primero". The pages and pages of 'yal X umehen Y' in the Chilam Balam books draw ready parallels with many of the parentage statements on Lowland monuments. The occasional -ki is still a problem, but perhaps this is just the honorific -ik or some such.

All best,

Marc