Wayobis the plural form ofway(oruay), a Maya word with a basic meaning of 'sleep(ing)', but which inYucatec Mayais a term specifically denoting the Mesoamericannagual,that is, a person who cantransform into an animalwhile asleep in order to do harm, or else the resulting animal transformation itself.[1]Already in Classic Maya belief,wayanimals, identifiable by a special hieroglyph, had an important role to play.
In Maya ethnography
editIn Yucatec ethnography, the animal transformation involved is usually a common domestic or domesticated animal, but may also be a ghost or apparition, for example 'a creature with wings of straw mats'.[2]Moreover, in the 16th century, wild animals such asjaguarand grey fox are mentioned as animal shapes of the sorcerer, together with theah uaay xibalbaor 'underworld transformer'.[3]Some sort of 'devil's pact' seems to be implied. The Yucatecwayhas its counterparts among other Maya groups. InTzotzilethnography, theway(here calledwayihelorchanul[4][5]) is more often an animal companion and refers not only to domestic animals, but also to igneous powers such as meteor and lightning. InTzeltal Cancuc,thenagualanimal companion is considered a 'caster of disease'.[6]Other names found are: lab,labil,wayixelalorvayijelal,wayandwayxelorwayjel.[7]
In the Classic Period
edit
A Classic Maya hieroglyph is read asway(wa-ya) by Houston and Stuart. These authors assert that a glyph representing a stylised, frontal 'Ahau' (Ajaw) face half covered by a jaguar-pelt represents theway,with syllabicwaandyaelements attached to the main sign clarifying its meaning.[8]Manywayanimals are distinguished by (i) a shoulder cape or scarf tied in front; (ii) a splashing of jaguar spots or other jaguar characteristics; (iii) the attribute of an upturned 'jar of darkness'; and (iv) fire elements.[9]
The Classicwayobinclude a far wider array of shapes than the 20th-century ones from Yucatán (insofar as the latter have been reported), with specific names assigned to each of them. They include not only many mammals (especially jaguars) and birds, but also apparitions and spooks: hybrids of deer and spider monkey, walking skeletons, a self-decapitating man, a young man within a fire, etc.[10]The animalwayobare likely to be transformative shapes of human beings, the walking skeletons (Maya Death Gods) more particularly of theah uaay xibalbatransformers.
At times, the name of thewayis followed by an 'emblem glyph' giving the name of a specific Maya kingdom (or perhaps its ruling family).[11]The skeletalwayprominent on aToninastucco wall carries the severed head of a defeated opponent.[12]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^Diccionario Maya Cordemex 1980,p. 916.
- ^Redfield & Villa Rojas 1934,pp. 178–180.
- ^Roys 1965,pp. 166–171.
- ^Calvin 1997,p. 870.
- ^Pitt-Rivers 1970,p. 186.
- ^Villa Rojas 1947,p. 584.
- ^Diccionario Multilingue Svanal Bats'i K'opetik Siglo xxi editores argentina, S.A. 2005 p 175
- ^Houston & Stuart 1989.
- ^See figures inRobicsek & Hales 1981,pp. 28–34.
- ^Grube & Nahm 1994.
- ^Freidel, Schele & Parker 1993,pp. 191–2.
- ^Freidel, Schele & Parker 1993,pp. 320–3.
Works cited
edit- Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo; Bastarrachea Manzano, Juan Ramón; Brito Sansores, William, eds. (1980).Diccionario Maya Cordemex: maya-español, español-maya.with collaborations by Refugio Vermont Salas, David Dzul Góngora, and Domingo Dzul Poot. Mérida, Mexico: Ediciones Cordemex.OCLC7550928.(in Spanish and Mayan languages)
- Calvin, Inga (1997). "Where the Wayob Live: A Further Examination of Classic Maya Supernaturals". In Justin Kerr (ed.).The Maya Vase Book: A Corpus of Rollout Photographs of Maya Vases.Vol. 5. New York: Kerr Associates. pp. 868–883.
- Freidel, David A.;Schele, Linda;Parker, Joy (1993).Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path.New York:William Morrow & Co.ISBN0-688-10081-3.OCLC27430287.
- Grube, Nikolai; Nahm, Werner (1994). "A Census of Xibalba". In Justin Kerr (ed.).The Maya Vase Book.Vol. 4. New York: Kerr Associates.
- Houston, Stephen;Stuart, David(1989).Thewayglyph: evidence for "co-essences" among the Classic Maya(PDF online facsimile).Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing series, no. 30. Barnardsville, NC: Center for Maya Research.OCLC248784010.
- Pitt-Rivers, Julian (1970). "Spiritual Power in Central America: The Naguals of Chiapas". In Mary Douglas (ed.).Witchcraft Confessions and Accusations.pp. 183–206.Reprint, London: Routledge, 2004.
- Redfield, Robert; Villa Rojas, Alfonso (1934) [1964].Chan Kom, A Maya Village.University of Chicago Press.OCLC634014054.
- Robicsek, Francis; Hales, Donald M. (1981).The Maya Book of the Dead: The Ceramic Codex.University of Virginia Art Museum.OCLC9073379.
- Roys, Ralph Loveland (1965).Ritual of the Bacabs.University of Oklahoma Press.OCLC492341.
- Villa Rojas, Alfonso (December 1947). "Kinship and Nagualism in a Tzeltal Community, Southeastern Mexico".American Anthropologist.49(4): 578–587.doi:10.1525/aa.1947.49.4.02a00050.ISSN0002-7294.OCLC481352036.
Further reading
edit- Brinton, Daniel Garrison (1894).Nagualism, a study in native American folk-lore and history.Philadelphia: MacCalla.OCLC465085853.
- Kerr, Justin (5 February 2007)."A Possible Origin of the Form of the" Way "Glyph"(PDF online publication of contributed paper).FAMSI Journal of the Ancient Americas.Crystal River, FL.: Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc.Retrieved10 February2010.
- Köhler, Ulrich (1995).Chonbilal Ch'ulelal, Alma vendida. Elementos fundamentales de la cosmología y religión mesoamericanas en una oración maya-tzotzil(in Spanish). Mexico City: Universidad Autónoma de México, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas.OCLC36295597.
- Miller, Mary;Karl Taube(1993).The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican Religion.London:Thames & Hudson.ISBN0-500-05068-6.OCLC27667317.