UPW BUTTERBYE'S CALENDAR PORTAL

1. Cipactli (alligator, aquatic monster) (East)
2. Éhecatl (wind, wind god) (North)
3. Calli (house) (West)
4. Cuetzpalin (lizard) (South)
5. Cóatl (serpent, snake) (E)
6. Miquiztli (death) (N)
7. Mázatl (deer) (W)
8. Tochtli (rabbit) (S)
9. Atl (water) (E)
10. Itzcuintli (dog) (N)
11. Ozomatli (monkey) (W)
12. Malinalli (dead grass) (S)
13. Ácatl (reed) (E)
14. Océlotl (ocelot, jaguar) (N)
15. Quauhtli (eagle) (W)
16. Cozcaquauhtli (king buzzard, vulture) (South)
17. Ollin (motion, earthquake) (East)
18. Técpatl (flint, flint knife) (North)
19. Quiáhuitl (rain) (West)
20. Xóchitl (flower) (South)

One calendar, called the xiuhpohualli, has 365 days. It describes the days
and rituals related to the seasons, and therefor might be called the
agricultural year or the solar year. The 365-day year or xihuitl consists of
18 months (meztli) of 20 days plus five extra (unlucky) days. The last day
of the last month of the year gives its (tonalpohualli-) name to the xihuitl.
This name is the "Xihuitl" information that is displayed by the calendar. A
simple calculation learns that only four day signs can "bear" (i.e. give their
name to) the year. These are Calli, Tochtli, Acatl and Tecpatl for the Aztec
calendar. A similar calculation tells us that the number of the xihuitl is
raised every year. So year 1-Calli is followed by 2-Tochtli, etcetera. This
means that every 52 years (4 times 13) the name of the year will be the
same. A combination of 52 years is called a calendar round or xiuhmolpilli
(bundle). The priests, however, used a ritual calendar of 260 days called
Tonalpohualli primarily for divinatory purposes. In Nahuatl, the language of
the Aztecs, it is called the tonalpohualli or, the day-count. The solar
calendar of 365 days was inseparable from the Sacred Round, or Sacred
Almanac.

The tonalpohualli, or day-count, has been called a sacred calendar because
its main purpose is that of a divinatory tool. It divides the days and rituals
between the gods. For the Aztec mind this is extremely important. Without
it the world would soon come to an end. According to Aztec cosmology, the
universe is in a very delicate equilibrium. Opposing divine forces are
competing for power. This equilibrium is in constant danger of being
disrupted by shifting powers of the gods, of the elemental forces that
influence our lifes. This struggle cannot be won by any god. The notion that
everything ultimately consists of two opposing forces is essential to the
Aztec worldview. The world is always on the brink of going under in a
spiritual war, a war of gods competing for supreme power. To prevent this
from happening, the gods have been given their own space, their own time,
their own social groups, etcetera, to rule over. The tonalpohualli tells us
how time is divided among the gods.