CONTINUITIES IN MAYA POLITICAL RHETORIC:K'AWIILS, K'ATUNS, AND KENNINGS

Abstract

Abstract Classic hieroglyphic texts do not describe Maya political organization, nor do colonial documents, forcing archaeologists to look elsewhere for clues. I propose that continuities in calendrically-based geopolitical rhetoric are recognizable in imagery and literary devices that can be traced from Preclassic/Formative times into the Colonial period. Imagery revolves around God K,k'awiil, and manikin scepters. The Classic manikin scepter materializes God K/K'awiil as a symbol of legitimate rulership, particularly at accession; the Postclassic analogue in the Dresden and Paris Codices is a God K effigy head, God K also symbolizingk'atuns. Related literary devices are kennings, specifically thetook'-pakalor “flint-and-shield,” which appear in Classic texts and in theChilam B'alambooks in the context of defeat in warfare, the latter particularly referring tok'atunwars. Interrelated concepts, including obsidian, mirrors, serpents, and one-legged deities in thePopol Vuhand in Mexico (Tezcatlipoca), amplify these proposed continuities.

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