[Aztlan] Votan

[Aaron]

Daniel Brinton in 'American Hero-Myths' writes:

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"As we are informed by Bishop Nunez de la Vega, _uotan_ in Tzendal means _heart_. Votan was spoken of as "the heart or soul of his people." <...> In regard to derivation, _uotan_ is from the pure Maya root-word _tan_, which means primarily "the breast," or that which is in front or in the middle of the body; with the possessive prefix it becomes _utan_. In Tzendal this word means both _breast_ and _heart_. This is well illustrated by an ancient manuscript, dating from 1707, in my possession. It is a guide to priests for administering the sacraments in Spanish and Tzendal. I quote the passage in point[1]:

[Footnote 1: _Modo de Administrar los Sacramentos en Castellano y Tzendal_, 1707. 4to MX., p. 13.]

"Con todo tu corazon, hiriendote

en los pechos, di, conmigo."

_Ta zpizil auotan, xatigh zny

auotan, zghoyoc, alagh ghoyoc_."

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Brinton goes on to equate this definition "heart" with the K'iche' concept of "heart of sky heart of earth".

Also, having apparently made a critical examination of these among other sources, (Ordonez y Aguiar, Bourbourg, etc), Brinton specifically names "Palenque, Nachan, Huehuetlan" as cities attributed to Votan. One can't help but wonder if Tzendal myths of "Nachan" played a role in kindling the Ordonez brothers' interest in the ancient cities. Or, posed as a question, why did scholars of the late 19th/early 20th century (apparently even as late as 1955) so habitually accept the connection of Votan to Nachan and therefore Palenque?