[Aztlan] EK & CHAY glyphs related?

[Gary Daniels]

Since I've gotten this question twice off-list I thought I'd better share
where I've found the two glyphs in question. They both can be found on page
73 of the Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs located here:

http://www.mesoweb.com/resources/handbook/index.html

-gary


On 1/22/10 3:19 PM, "Gary Daniels" <Gary at LostWorlds.org> wrote:

> Are the glyphs for EK and CHAY related or did they evolve separately? CHAY
> looks like an upside down version of EK. Is this the case or just a
> coincidence? Does turning a Mayan glyph upside down give it a negative
> association? In many cultures turning a symbol upside down has a negative
> association....is it the same in Mayan?
> 
> Since EK means ³star² and CHAY means ³to be destroyed² it immediately brings
> to mind the English word DISASTER. ASTER means ³star² and the prefix DIS
> always creates a negative or opposite meaning to the word it precedes. (A
> DIShonest person is the opposite of honest.) Thus DISASTER would literally
> mean the opposite of star (or bad star) although its real meaning is very
> similar to CHAY in that it relates to destruction:
> 
> disaster: a calamitous event, esp. one occurring suddenly and causing great
> loss of life, damage, or hardship, as a flood
> 
> I¹ve also read in a classic Maya dictionary that CHAY means fish. How can
> CHAY mean both fish and destruction?
> 
> All of this makes me think of the ³Mayan Flood Myth and the Decapitation of
> the Cosmic Caiman.² The events begin with the enthronement of God GI in the
> sky thus clearly associating God GI with a star. Eleven years later the
> cosmic caiman is decapitated and his body thrown into the ocean causing a
> flood. The cosmic caiman is a water creature....like a fish. Thus the Mayan
> word CHAY meaning both fish and ³to be destroyed² now makes sense as does
> its association with EK/star (if, in fact, there is an association.)
> 
> Interestingly, the third definition of CHAY is ³to set down.² Does this mean
> that CHAY is also related to CHUM? Again, this brings me back to the Mayan
> Flood Myth with the enthronement of God GI in the sky. Enthronement is
> scripted as CHUM. Since the enthronement happened in the sky, we get an
> association with star or EK. Since all of this precedes the great flood
> disaster, we get an association with CHAY (to be destroyed).  Since the
> flood was caused by a water creature we get another association with CHAY
> (fish). Thus, at least in the Mayan Flood Myth, CHAY, EK and CHUM are
> interrelated.
> 
> The other question I have about CHAY is in regards to the 18 dots beneath
> it. What do these represent? They consist of two groups of dots, 5 big dots
> and 4 small dots, repeated twice, once on either side of the glyph. The
> petroglyph I¹m studying also has 18 dots carved into it and I can¹t come up
> with a good explanation as to why.
> 
> -Gary Daniels
> http://www.LostWorlds.org
> 
> 
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