Abstract

GRANA-BEHRENS, Daniel. The Count of K’atuno’ob: Rituals and Regionalisms in Classic Maya Period. Estud. cult. maya [online]. 2017, vol.49, pp.123-163. ISSN 0185-2574.  https://doi.org/10.19130/iifl.ecm.2017.49.762.

The Classic Maya (AD 300-1000) used different calendars, one of them named as “the Count of the k’atun” or “k’atuno’ob” which emphasized a period of 20 years (k’atun) by means of the sign ajaw, a practice that continued to exist during the Postclassic Period. While the calendar mechanism is well-known, not much attention has been paid on the morphology and syntax in the hieroglyphic texts in order to differentiate it from other forms to annotate equally the date of the k'atun. For example the system of the tzolk’in day ajaw, which allows the recording of a k’atun as well, however only the final day of the period gets recorded but not the period itself. The present paper not only develops the corresponding arguments but also emphasizes on regional uses related to this count in the Classic, among them the so-called practice of the half-k’atun still described by fray Diego de Landa in the XVI century and the relation with death kings and ancestors.

Keywords : ajaw; k’atun; half k’atun; Diego de Landa; rituals.