A Map of Oaxaca and It's Sky Chart |
| Mixtec map of Apuala and Tilantongo with Dynastic Rulers. Slide available at the Benson Library at the Univerity of Texas at Austin. |
When I was in John Pohl's class, we all bought the above slide at the Benson Library. It was the map of the Mixtec area of Apuala and Tilantongo. At that time, I was only mildly interested in "La Cuna" [cradle] at the northwest corner of the map under a giant sun. Since cartographers many times put a sun onto their maps, I did not even notice it as anything notable.
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| The Fifth Sun With its Last Trajectory Across the Mixtec Sky |
The Ring Nebula is no more than a beautiful rose near on at the edge of the Sky Tree called the Milky Way. Orion became the Tree of the Warrior in the History of the Mexicans. [3] At that time, I had not yet re-compiled the translated texts of the Popol Vuh. I had no clue at all about why the sun was northwest on the map. The location was verified by the glyphs of the Dynastic rulers to the left of the map. But that was "corrected" when in my very first class on Aztec history. I amwas informed that "North" for the Aztec/Mixtec world was actually called "East and the arc above the map was an older location called Elotepec, that passed to other dynastic rulers.
The most popular map of Texcoco proved it, until I realized that that map was in Italian and printed reversed AND upside down. the word at the top is "Austro," meaning "South" or South Wind. Since a Mixtec map has little to do with an Aztec map. it never occurred to me to question that sun.
Even after I re-organized the Popol Vuh, and thought I understood it as an astronomy book, I was too amazed by a definition of Mary Ellen Miller and Karl Taube in their book about the Maya Gods and their definition of Tlaltecuhtli, a goddess whose arms and legs were torn apart and carried to Earth. [1] I had acquired that particular book when my friend died close to the year 2000. I never took the time to look into it except for the gods and goddesses i was familiar with.
Later, INAH discovered in the Great Temple at the main plaza or Zocalo of the city of México, a battered statue of Tlaltecuhtli. I had never heard of her, so I looked into Miller and Taube's book to see if she was there. She was, with even a better preserved statue from years previous. Also, in my bookcases, I also found a xerox copy of a full booklet about Tlaltecuhtli. It had been in with the books that I had gotten when my friend died. So, my friend, Jan A, had found something important about Tlalteuhtli, but during all our telephone and Fax discussions, she had never once mentioned that particular goddess to me.
What surprised me about Tlaltecuhtli was that Miller and Taube's description proved to be the same as I had discovered regarding the destruction of a nova when the double comet called Hunahpú and Xbalenqué passed (here near the Great Star of Sahagún) and interacted with its failing gravity. The comet passed by twice so the natives below believed it was two separate ball games in the courts of Xibalba.
The first game included a knife that came out of a spinning ball. It was meant to kill Hunahpú. He afforded it easily. In Astronomy, the knife was actually a bi-polar jet with gasses coming out of the north and south poles, and had the appearance of a knife. This is similar to the one in McNeil's Nebula that NASA mistaken called a "Toddler Star." It actually was a "dying star."
The second run of the double comet, Xbalenqué tied a turtle carapace over the ball court and then threw a stone at it. The carapace broke into hundreds of pieces; it appeared to be seeds of a calabasa.
The first game included a knife that came out of a spinning ball. It was meant to kill Hunahpú. He afforded it easily. In Astronomy, the knife was actually a bi-polar jet with gasses coming out of the north and south poles, and had the appearance of a knife. This is similar to the one in McNeil's Nebula that NASA mistaken called a "Toddler Star." It actually was a "dying star."
The second run of the double comet, Xbalenqué tied a turtle carapace over the ball court and then threw a stone at it. The carapace broke into hundreds of pieces; it appeared to be seeds of a calabasa.
On its third run, after the double comet neared the burning star, its gravity pulled them in and pushed it away. It was like a ball game in the sky. During that time, the dying star also expelled debris that was picked up the ball-playing double comet. The debris created a rainbow of colors in its tail.
The colorful blue-green serpent in the sky, then passed by the earth and unloaded first burning ash from its tail, and the meteorites and even larger rocks fell after that. According to the information gathered about the Sun Stone by M. Leon-Portilla, and other scholars, the water from the gulf poured over the land and went over the mountains that stood in its way. Both the men of mud died at that time, and so did the wooden manikins.
The last run of the double comet passed even closer to earth when it came over the western horizon. It was so bright and stayed so long that people had to remain in the caves until it passed by. It was called "the Birth of the Fifth Sun," that "was not the sun we see in the sky" at the present time. [2]
The colorful blue-green serpent in the sky, then passed by the earth and unloaded first burning ash from its tail, and the meteorites and even larger rocks fell after that. According to the information gathered about the Sun Stone by M. Leon-Portilla, and other scholars, the water from the gulf poured over the land and went over the mountains that stood in its way. Both the men of mud died at that time, and so did the wooden manikins.
The last run of the double comet passed even closer to earth when it came over the western horizon. It was so bright and stayed so long that people had to remain in the caves until it passed by. It was called "the Birth of the Fifth Sun," that "was not the sun we see in the sky" at the present time. [2]
Two or more years passed until I had finally found the time to put Jan's loose papers into proper booklets (the year 2013), at least twelve years had gone by much too fast. I typed out a list of titles for the various bits and pieces and came upon the picture of the map of Apoala and Tilantongo. Again I was shocked.
There in full view of the Mixtec world was the Birth of the Fifth Sun and its trajectory across the sky from its birthplace at "La Cuna." Does one need proof, well, it is there. It crosses the Milky Way and passes Lyra [and the Ring Nebula as a bright star near Vega] and goes over the now dead serpent Draco, in his role as the North Star.
The Ring Nebula was discovered with the help of the Hubble Satellite Telescope by Greenwich/Chandra Observatories. [3] Its appearance as a 'rose" is amazing. I would guess that this star was the nova, that exploded and became the great gaseous cloud that we now call a nebula.
The Ring Nebula was discovered with the help of the Hubble Satellite Telescope by Greenwich/Chandra Observatories. [3] Its appearance as a 'rose" is amazing. I would guess that this star was the nova, that exploded and became the great gaseous cloud that we now call a nebula.
Another constellation appeared in the new leg of the Milky Way. It was, in fact the same spiral, but the lower register of that part of our galaxy.
On the Apuala/Tilantongo map, a prominent constellation is drawn out. It also has a very bright star at its feet. One could identify Orion with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, since these glyphs are all above a trajectory line from one side of the world to the other. [4]
It seems the other two Sky Trees that hold up the world had not yet been seen. Or they were not invented by the Aztec or Mixtec astronomers, and only later identified and included in the Borgia Codex.
On the Apuala/Tilantongo map, a prominent constellation is drawn out. It also has a very bright star at its feet. One could identify Orion with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, since these glyphs are all above a trajectory line from one side of the world to the other. [4]
It seems the other two Sky Trees that hold up the world had not yet been seen. Or they were not invented by the Aztec or Mixtec astronomers, and only later identified and included in the Borgia Codex.
There can be no conclusion here. The comet's third trajectory was "the Birth of the Fifth Sun. " It is up to the reader to decide if it was even possible.
However, one only has to read some of the comments made, on July 17, 2008, by radio and television stations in the area about a comet that came from the northwest and sped over Oregon, Washington, and Southern Canada, and possibly into Idaho a few years ago. The comment made by a person who saw it all, claimed that it looked and sounded as if a 1,000 transformers had exploded all at once. [5] The report of the Aztec world was that the sky was red [during the day] for a long time, until a human took a rabbit and threw it at the blazing sun (here the double comet). [6]
Thus, the "sun" in the northwest was a comet. And the Native Americans, the Aztec, the Maya, the Mixtec, and the Zapotec, etc, all knew without a doubt, that the "real" sun always rose in the east. , even though it was "born' in the west. During that time when the comet was brighter than the sun, it actually met the real sun in the middle of the sky, at noon time. Since the comet was brighter, it overrode the light of the "real sun" with its powerful fiery brilliant tail as it sped eastward to the true home of the Sun we know today.
However, one only has to read some of the comments made, on July 17, 2008, by radio and television stations in the area about a comet that came from the northwest and sped over Oregon, Washington, and Southern Canada, and possibly into Idaho a few years ago. The comment made by a person who saw it all, claimed that it looked and sounded as if a 1,000 transformers had exploded all at once. [5] The report of the Aztec world was that the sky was red [during the day] for a long time, until a human took a rabbit and threw it at the blazing sun (here the double comet). [6]
Thus, the "sun" in the northwest was a comet. And the Native Americans, the Aztec, the Maya, the Mixtec, and the Zapotec, etc, all knew without a doubt, that the "real" sun always rose in the east. , even though it was "born' in the west. During that time when the comet was brighter than the sun, it actually met the real sun in the middle of the sky, at noon time. Since the comet was brighter, it overrode the light of the "real sun" with its powerful fiery brilliant tail as it sped eastward to the true home of the Sun we know today.
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[1] Miller, Mary Ellen and Taube, Karl (1993). The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya.
London: Thames and Hudson, Ltd.
[2] Tedlock, Dennis, (1996, 161) Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of the Mayan Book of the
Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Dawn of Life and the Glories of Gods and Kings. New York: Simon and Schuster.
[3] Greenwich Royal Observatory, London, England. The Night Sky for November 2007.
[4] Phillips Jr., Henry, (trans; ed.) (Appendix 21) The History of Mexicans as Told by Their
Paintings, also known as the Codex Ramirez, (Translated and edited by Henry Phillips Jr.) Read
before the American, Philosophical Society, October 19, 1883, In the Proceedings of the American
Philosophical Society XXI, 616-651 19 X 1883. Edited by Alec Christenson [on MesoWeb.com]
[5] Spokane, Washington Radio and Television Stations, Meteor Seen Across Pacific Northwest: The Associated
Press, Posted: 6:56 am PST February 19, 2008 UPDATED: 5:18 pm PST February 19, 2008.
[6] Read, Kaye Almere, (1998). Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos. Bloomington & Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 56: VI. Lines 14-20.
[6] Read, Kaye Almere, (1998). Time and Sacrifice in the Aztec Cosmos. Bloomington & Indianapolis, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 56: VI. Lines 14-20.
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