Ajaw
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AjaworAhau/ɑːˈxaʊ/('Lord')[1]is apre-ColumbianMayapolitical title attested fromepigraphicinscriptions. It is also the name of the 20th day of thetzolkʼin,the Maya divinatory calendar, on which a ruler'skʼatun-ending rituals would fall.
Background
[edit]The word is known from severalMayan languagesboth those in pre-Columbian use (such as inClassic Maya), as well as in their contemporary descendant languages (in which there may be observed some slight variations). "Ajaw" is the modernisedorthographyin the standard revision of Mayan orthography, put forward in 1994 by theGuatemalanAcademia de Lenguas Mayas,and now widely adopted byMayanistscholars. Before this standardisation, it was more commonly written as "Ahau", following the orthography of 16th-centuryYucatec Mayain Spanish transcriptions (nowYukatekin the modernised style).
In theMaya hieroglyphicswriting system,the representation of the wordajawcould be as either alogogram,[2]or spelled-outsyllabically.In either case, quite a fewglyphicvariants are known.[2]A picture of the ruler sometimes substitutes for the more abstract day sign.
Meaning
[edit]Ajawdenoted any of the leading class of nobles in a particular polity. It was not limited to a single individual, with a meaning variously rendered as "leader", "ruler", "lord", "king", or "queen", depending on the individual. Since theajawperformed religious activities, it also designated a member of theMaya priesthood.The variantkʼuhul ajaw( "divine lord" ) indicates a sovereign leader of a polity, although the extent of the territory and influence controlled by anajawvaried considerably, andkʼuhul ajawcould also be applied to persons who, in theory, recognised the overlordship of another person, dynasty, or state. When the title was given to women rulers, such asK'awiil Ajaw(640-681 AD) ofCoba,the term was sometimes prefixed with the sign Ix ( "woman" ) to indicate their gender.
Earliest evidence
[edit]The archaeological site ofKʼo,associated with the ClassicMaya cityofHolmullocated in modern-dayGuatemala,boasts what may be the royal tomb of the earliest-known Mayan ruler. This tomb has been dated to 350-300 BC. It contains the earliest evidence of the institution of ajaw in the Maya Lowlands.[3]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Kettunen, Harri; Christophe Helmke (2005).Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs(PDF).Wayeb and Leiden University. p. 32.Archivedfrom the original on 17 June 2007.Retrieved2022-11-13.
- ^abKettunen, Harri; Christophe Helmke (2005).Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs(PDF).Wayeb and Leiden University. p. 16.Archivedfrom the original on 17 June 2007.Retrieved2022-11-13.
- ^John Tomasic and Steven Bozarth (2011),New Data from a Preclassic Tomb at Kʼo, Guatemala.Kansas.academia.edu
- Montgomery, John; Peter Mathews; Christophe Helmke (2002–2007)."Dictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs"(online version).Maya Hieroglyphic writing: Dictionaries.Foundation for the Advancement of Mesoamerican Studies, Inc (FAMSI).Archivedfrom the original on 7 June 2007.Retrieved2007-05-08.
- Osborne, Deborah (1994–95)."The History of the Transcription of the Mayan Languages"(PDF).Amerindia, Revue d'Ethnolinguistique amérindienne.19–20: 435–442.ISSN0221-8852.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2006-11-19.Retrieved2007-05-08.
- Thomas, Cyrus(1897)."Day Symbols of the Maya Year".In J. W. Powell (ed.).Sixteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1894–1895.Washington DC:Bureau of American Ethnology,Smithsonian Institution;U.S. Government Printing Office.pp. 199–266.OCLC14963920– viaProject Gutenberg.[permanent dead link]
External links
[edit]- 'AJAW',sound file and syllabic glyph example at John Montgomery'sDictionary of Maya Hieroglyphs,published online at FAMSI
