del fundador (de Itzamal).” Historia Antigua de Yucatan, p. 145. (Merida, 1881.) This does not explain the last syllable, na, which is always strongly accented.  It is said that Itzamna spoke of himself only in the words Itz en caan, “I am that which trickles from the sky;” Itz en muyal, “I am that which trickles from the clouds.”  This plainly refers to his character as a rain god.  Lizana, Historia de Yucatan, Lib. i, cap. 4.  If a compound of itz, amal, na, the name, could be translated, “the milk of the mother of the morning,” or of the dawn, i. e., the dew; while i, zamal, na would be “son of the mother of the morning.”]

His next most frequent title was Kin-ich-ahau, which may be translated either, “Lord of the Sun’s Face,” or, “The Lord, the Eye of the Day."[1] As such he was the deity who presided in the Sun’s disk and shot forth his scorching rays.  There was a temple at Itzamal consecrated to him as Kin-ich-kak-mo, “the Eye of the Day, the Bird of Fire."[2] In a time of pestilence the people resorted to this temple, and at high noon a sacrifice was spread upon the altar.  The moment the sun reached the zenith, a bird of brilliant plumage, but which, in fact, was nothing else than a fiery flame shot from the sun, descended and consumed the offering in the sight of all.  At Campeche he had a temple, as Kin-ich-ahau-haban, “the Lord of the Sun’s face, the Hunter,” where the rites were sanguinary.[3]

[Footnote 1:  Cogolludo, who makes a distinction between Kinich-ahau and Itzamna (Hist. de Yucatan, Lib. iv, cap. viii), may be corrected by Landa and Buenaventura, whom I have already quoted.]

[Footnote 2:  Kin, the sun, the day; ich, the face, but generally the eye or eyes; kak, fire; mo, the brilliant plumaged, sacred bird, the ara or guacamaya, the red macaw.  This was adopted as the title of the ruler of Itzamal, as we learn from the Chronicle of Chichen Itza—­“Ho ahau paxci u cah yahau ah Itzmal Kinich Kakmo”—­“In the fifth Age the town (of Chichen Itza) was destroyed by King Kinich Kakmo, of Itzamal.” El Libro de Chilan Balam de Chumayel, MS.]

[Footnote 3:  Cogolludo, Historia de Yucatan, Lib. iv, cap. viii.]

Another temple at Itzamal was consecrated to him, under one of his names, Kabil, He of the Lucky Hand,[1] and the sick were brought there, as it was said that he had cured many by merely touching them.  This fane was extremely popular, and to it pilgrimages were made from even such remote regions as Tabasco, Guatemala and Chiapas.  To accommodate the pilgrims four paved roads had been constructed, to the North, South, East and West, straight toward the quarters of the four winds.

[Footnote 1:  Lizana says:  “Se llama y nombra Kab-ul que quiere decir mano obradora,” and all writers have followed him, although no such meaning can be made out of the name thus written.  The proper word is kabil, which is defined in the Diccionario del Convento de Motul, MS., “el que tiene buena mano para sembrar, o para poner colmenas, etc.”  Landa also gives this orthography, Relacion, p. 216.]