[Aztlan] Re: Stars in Sahagun

[Robert Hall]

Dea,
     On p. 60 of Sahagun in the 1953 Anderson and Dibble edition Sahagun says that Aztec men burned an image of the Firesticks constellation onto their wrists as a precaution against something that might happen to them in the afterworld. In view  of the presumed identification of the Firesticks constellation with Orion it is important to note that in the northern Plains, particularly among the Crow and Hidatsa, the three stars of the "belt" of Orion are seen as the wrist of a hand.
   
  The Lakotas burned spots on the wrists of young boys. These may be the same "tattoos" that Owl Woman looks for on the wrists of Lakotas when they approach the fork in the Milky Way when traveling to the Spirit World. Some Shawnees once also burned round scars on their forearms to prepare them for their eventual journey to the afterworld.
   
  The burning of spots as mentioned above may be a practice quite deeply rooted in the Archaic / Preclassic periods. In the northeastern United States certain flat stones referred to as gorgets often exhibit three holes drilled into them with one slightly out of line with the other two, as is the case with the three stars in the "belt" of Orion. These date to the Late Archaic and/or Early Woodland Period, roughly around 1000 B.C. My guess is that they are protective amulets. I believe that the three holes represent holes drilled in the lower firestick or hearthboard to receive the drill, and Orion's belt as well, of course. 
   
  I say "protective amulets" because protective devices often are female in character and spirit traps in nature, like the spider web renamed "dream catchers" that were originally meant to protect a baby by trapping evil spirits. I believe a spider web in some codices is used to indicate "female." The lower fireboard is explicitly female and drilling fire has sexual connotations for a number of tribes. Hope this helps, Bob.
   
  "D. M. Urquidi" <deamayaspin at yahoo.com> wrote: 
    --- "D. M. Urquidi" wrote:
Historia General De Las Cosas de Nueva Espana /Libro
Septimo, Cspitulo III, De Las Estrellas Llamada
Masterlejos,.Edited by Angel Maria Garibay K.
Editorial Porrua, SA. . . .Vols. 1-4, pp. 262-263

Another point I did not present is that there is no
Spanish word Mastelejos, instead it is Masteleros. . .
(scribe could easily elongate the "r" into a "j"). It
translates as the "main mast of a ship." That agrees
with the fact that Cygnus is also called the Norther
Cross, a much better mast that the Southern Cross that
is a bit lopsided.

The times for the rising of the stars is a false
statement I think because it actually duplicates the
angles for the three stars Deneb, Vega and Altair on a
clock face. Not only that but it is the direct
opposite the Peruvian version found in Bauer' and
Dearborn's book. p. 106 (picture of the three stars
in reverse). . .I think Sahagun had to give it a 90
degree turn though to make it into a mirror image.

Mammahuatztl is another word in that section about the
stars. One of the translations for that word is the
"sticks used to create fire." Another good reason to
use the Northern Cross instead of Orion for the three
hearthstones. A small bow across the shaft and one
can create fire easily with cotton, or wood shavings
for the "Oven" of the gods.
__________________
> Could you send a follow-up with a specific
> reference in Sahagun?
> 
> -- 
> *****************************
> John F. Schwaller
> President


D. M. Urquidi
P. O. Box 49485
Austin, Texas 78765
http://www.mayalords.org 
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/ancientamericas/




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