Xiuhpohualli
Encyclopedia
The Xiuhpohualli was a 365-day calendar
used by the Aztecs and other pre-Columbian
Nahua peoples in central Mexico. It was composed of eighteen 20-day "months," called veintena
s or metzli (the contemporary Nahuatl word for month) with a separate 5 day period at the end of the year called the nemontemi. Whatever name that was used for these periods in pre-Columbian times is unknown. Through Spanish usage, the 20 day period of the Aztec calendar has become commonly known as a veintena. The Aztec word for moon is metzli, and this word is today to describe these 20-day periods, although as the sixteenth-century missionary and early ethnographer, Diego Durán
explained:
The xiuhpohualli calendar, also known as the "vague year," had its antecedents in form and function in earlier Mesoamerican calendars
, and the 365-day count has a long history of use throughout the region. The Maya civilization
version of the xiuhpohualli is known as the haab'
, and 20-days period was the uinal. The Maya equivalent of nemontemi is Wayeb. In common with other Mesoamerican cultures the Aztecs also used a separate 260-day calendar (in ). The Maya equivalent of the tonalpohualli is the tzolk'in
. Together, these calendars would coincide once every 52 years, the so-called "calendar round
," which was initiated by a New Fire ceremony
.
Aztec years were named for the last day of the 18th month according to the 260-day calendar the tonalpohualli. The first year of the Aztec calendar round was called 2 Acatl and the last 1 Tochtli. The solar calendar was connected to agricultural practices
and held an important place in Aztec religion
, with each month being associated with its own particular religious and agricultural festivals.
Each 20-day period started on a Cipactli (Crocodile) day of the tonalpohualli for which a festival was held. The eighteen veintena are listed below. The dates in the chart are from the early eye-witnesses, Diego Durán and Bernardino de Sahagún
. Each wrote what they learned from Nahua informants. Sahagún's date precedes the Durán's observations by several decades and is believed to be more recent to the Aztec surrender to the Spanish. Both are shown to emphasize the fact that the beginning of the Native new year became non-uniform as a result of an absence of the unifying force of Tenochtitlan after the Mexica defeat.
The 20-day months (veintenas) of the Aztec solar calendar were called (in two sequences):
The five days inserted at the end of a year and which were considered unlucky:
Note:
Aztec years were named for the first day of the first month according to the 260-day calendar the tonalpohualli.
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
used by the Aztecs and other pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Nahua peoples in central Mexico. It was composed of eighteen 20-day "months," called veintena
Veintena
A veintena is the Spanish-derived name for a 20-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The division is often casually referred to as a "month", although it is not coordinated with the lunar cycle...
s or metzli (the contemporary Nahuatl word for month) with a separate 5 day period at the end of the year called the nemontemi. Whatever name that was used for these periods in pre-Columbian times is unknown. Through Spanish usage, the 20 day period of the Aztec calendar has become commonly known as a veintena. The Aztec word for moon is metzli, and this word is today to describe these 20-day periods, although as the sixteenth-century missionary and early ethnographer, Diego Durán
Diego Durán
Diego Durán was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs, The History of the Indies of New Spain, a book that was much criticized in his lifetime for helping the "heathen" maintain their culture.Also known as the...
explained:
In ancient times the year was composed of eighteen months, and thus it was observed by these Indian people. Since their months were made of no more than twenty days, these were all the days contained in a month, because they were not guided by the moon but by the days; therefore, the year had eighteen months. The days of the year were counted twenty by twenty.
The xiuhpohualli calendar, also known as the "vague year," had its antecedents in form and function in earlier Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In addition to the basic function of a calendar—defining and organizing periods of time in a way that allows events to be fixed, ordered and noted relative to each other and some...
, and the 365-day count has a long history of use throughout the region. The Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
version of the xiuhpohualli is known as the haab'
Haab'
The Haab is part of the Maya calendric system. It was the Maya version of the 365-day calendar known to many of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica...
, and 20-days period was the uinal. The Maya equivalent of nemontemi is Wayeb. In common with other Mesoamerican cultures the Aztecs also used a separate 260-day calendar (in ). The Maya equivalent of the tonalpohualli is the tzolk'in
Tzolk'in
Tzolk'in is the name bestowed by Mayanists on the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.The tzolk'in, the basic cycle of the Maya calendar, is a pre-eminent...
. Together, these calendars would coincide once every 52 years, the so-called "calendar round
Calendar round
In the Mesoamerican calendars, calendar round dates are composed by interlacing the dates of a 260-day period with dates from a 365-day period...
," which was initiated by a New Fire ceremony
New Fire ceremony
The New Fire ceremony was an Aztec ceremony performed once every 52 years — a full cycle of the Aztec calendar— in order to stave off the end of the world....
.
Aztec years were named for the last day of the 18th month according to the 260-day calendar the tonalpohualli. The first year of the Aztec calendar round was called 2 Acatl and the last 1 Tochtli. The solar calendar was connected to agricultural practices
Agriculture in Mesoamerica
Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to the Archaic period of Mesoamerican chronology . During this period, many of the hunter gatherer micro-bands in the region began to cultivate wild plants...
and held an important place in Aztec religion
Aztec religion
Aztec religion is the Mesoamerican religion practiced by the Aztec empire. Like other Mesoamerican religions, it had elements of human sacrifice in connection with a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Aztec calendar...
, with each month being associated with its own particular religious and agricultural festivals.
Each 20-day period started on a Cipactli (Crocodile) day of the tonalpohualli for which a festival was held. The eighteen veintena are listed below. The dates in the chart are from the early eye-witnesses, Diego Durán and Bernardino de Sahagún
Bernardino de Sahagún
Bernardino de Sahagún was a Franciscan friar, missionary priest and pioneering ethnographer who participated in the Catholic evangelization of colonial New Spain . Born in Sahagún, Spain, in 1499, he journeyed to New Spain in 1529, and spent more than 50 years conducting interviews regarding Aztec...
. Each wrote what they learned from Nahua informants. Sahagún's date precedes the Durán's observations by several decades and is believed to be more recent to the Aztec surrender to the Spanish. Both are shown to emphasize the fact that the beginning of the Native new year became non-uniform as a result of an absence of the unifying force of Tenochtitlan after the Mexica defeat.
The 20-day months (veintenas) of the Aztec solar calendar were called (in two sequences):
- Izcalli
- Atlcahualo or Xilomanaliztli
- Tlacaxipehualiztli
- Tozoztontli
- Hueytozoztli
- ToxcatlToxcatlToxcatl was the name of the fifth twenty-day month or "veintena" of the Aztec calendar which lasted from approximately the 5th to 22nd of May and of the festival which was held every year in this month...
or Tepopochtli - Etzalcualiztli
- Tecuilhuitontli
- Hueytecuilhuitl
- Tlaxochimaco or Miccailhuitontli
- Xocotlhuetzi or Hueymiccailhuitl
- Ochpaniztli
- Teotleco or Pachtontli
- Tepeilhiuitl or Hueypachtli
- Quecholli
- Panquetzaliztli
- Atemoztli
- Tititl
The five days inserted at the end of a year and which were considered unlucky:
- Nemontemi
|
Note:
Aztec years were named for the first day of the first month according to the 260-day calendar the tonalpohualli.