by Mildred Boyd
Every
MesoAmerican child born on that particular day of the sacred calendar
was automatically named "Thirteen Death". A day earlier he would
have been "Twelve Serpent" or later "One Deer." With
only 260 possible names available, he would also bear an individual name
like "Eight Deer-Tiger Claw."
Birthdays automatically determined
fates as well and, though it seems that parents sometimes tried to fool
the gods by renaming the child to avoid a particularly ominous future,
those fates were inevitable. Special deities, benevolent or malign, influenced
the fortunes of each named day as well as each thirteen day tercena
and twenty day "month" but other factors, such as seasons and
directions, also affected the future. Many of the lavishly painted pre-conquest
"books" were divinatory and, possibly, diagnostic tools. Extremely
complex and little understood, their overall purpose is clear; to discover
the most auspicious days, not only for births, but for more easily controllable
endeavors such as getting married, planting crops or starting journeys.
More.....
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