Tzolkin

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Tzolkin (or tzolk'in, in the revised orthography which is now preferred) is the name bestowed by Mayanist scholars upon the version of the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar which was used by the Maya civilization.

The tzolk'in is the most fundamental and widely-attested of all the Maya calendars, and was a pre-eminent component in the society and rituals of the ancient Maya. The tzolk'in calendar remains in use amongst several Maya communities in the Guatemalan highlands.

The word was coined based on the Yucatec language, with an intended meaning of "count of days". The actual names of this calendar as used by the pre-Columbian Maya are not known. The Aztec calendar equivalent was called by them tonalpohualli, in the Nahuatl language.

Tzolk'in table of named days

The tzolk'in calendar combines a cycle of twenty named days with another cycle of thirteen numbers (the trecena), to produce 260 unique days (i.e., 20 × 13 = 260). Each successive named day was numbered from 1 up to 13 and then starting again at 1. There were 20 individual named days, as shown in the table below:

Tzolk'in calendar: named days and associated glyphs (in sequence)

Seq. No. 1	Day Name 2	Inscription glyph example 3	Codex glyph example 4	16th C. Yucatec 5	Reconstructed Classic Maya 6	Associated natural phenomena or meaning 7
01	Imix'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D01-Imix.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D01-Imix-cdxW.png	Imix	Imix (?) / Ha' (?)	waterlily
02	Ik'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D02-Ik.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D02-Ik-cdxW.png	Ik	Ik'	wind
03	Ak'b'al	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D03-Akbal.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D03-Akbal-cdxW.png	Akbal	Ak'b'al (?)	darkness, night
04	K'an	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D04-Kan.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D04-Kan-cdxW.png	Kan	K'an (?)	maize
05	Chikchan	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D05-Chikchan.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D05-Chikchan-cdxW.png	Chicchan	(unknown)	celestial snake
06	Kimi	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D06-Kimi.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D06-Kimi-cdxW.png	Cimi	Cham (?)	death
07	Manik'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D07-Manik.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D07-Manik-cdxW.png	Manik	Manich' (?)	deer
08	Lamat	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D08-Lamat.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D08-Lamat-cdxW.png	Lamat	Ek' (?)	Venus
09	Muluk	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D09-Muluk.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D09-Muluk-cdxW.png	Muluc	(unknown)	jade, water
10	Ok	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D10-Ok.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D10-Ok-cdxW.png	Oc	(unknown)	dog
11	Chuwen	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D11-Chuwen.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D11-Chuwen-cdxW.png	Chuen	(unknown)	monkey
12	Eb'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D12-Eb.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D12-Eb-cdxW.png	Eb	(unknown)	rain
13	B'en	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D13-Ben.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D13-Ben-cdxW.png	Ben	(unknown)	green/young maize
14	Ix	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D14-Ix.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D14-Ix-cdxW.png	Ix	Hix (?)	jaguar
15	Men	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D15-Men.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D15-Men-cdxW.png	Men	(unknown)	eagle
16	Kib'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D16-Kib.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D16-Kib-cdxW.png	Cib	(unknown)	wax
17	Kab'an	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D17-Kaban.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D17-Kaban-cdxW.png	Caban	Chab' (?)	earth
18	Etz'nab'	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D18-Etznab.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D18-Etznab-cdxW.png	Etznab	(unknown)	flint
19	Kawak	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D19-Kawak.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D19-Kawak-cdxW.png	Cauac	(unknown)	storm
20	Ajaw	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D20-Ajaw.png	Image:MAYA-g-log-cal-D20-Ajaw-cdxW.png	Ahau	Ajaw	lord, ruler
NOTES: 1. the sequence number of the named day in the Tzolk'in calendar 2. Day name, in the standardised and revised orthography of the Guatemalan Academia de Lenguas Mayas 3. An example glyph (logogram) for the named day, typical of monumental inscriptions ("cartouche" version). Note that for most of these several alternate forms also exist. 4. Example glyph, Maya codex style. When drawn or painted, most often a more economical style was employed; the meaning is the same. Again, variations to codex-style glyphs also exist. 5. Day name, as recorded from 16th century Yucatec language accounts, according to Diego de Landa; this orthography has (until recently) been widely used 6. In most cases, the actual day name as spoken in the time of the Classic Period (c. 200-900) when most inscriptions were made is not known. The versions given here (in Classical Maya, the main language of the inscriptions) are reconstructed based on phonological comparisons; a '?' symbol indicates the reconstruction is tentative. 7. Each named day had a common association or identification with particular natural phenomena

• 1 Imix is the first day of the Tzolkin.
• 2 Ik
• 3 Akbal
• 4 Kan
• 5 Chicchan
• 6 Cimi
• 7 Manik
• 8 Lama
• 9 Muluc
• 10 Oc
• 11 Chuen
• 12 Eb
• 13 Ben is the 13th day of the Tzolkin
• 1 Ix is the 14th day of the Tzolkin
• 2 Men
• 3 Cib
• 4 Cabab
• 5 Eznab
• 6 Cauac
• 7 Ahau
• 8 Imix
• 9 Ik
• 10 Akbal
• 11 Kan

...

• 9 Cib
• 10 Cabab
• 11 Eznab
• 12 Cauac
• 13 Ahau is the 260th day of the Tzolkin.

It was used to determine the time of religious and ceremonial events and for divination.

Tzolkin is part of Maya Long Count Calendar.

See also

• Maya calendar

de:Tzolkin nl:Tzolkin ja:ツォルキン