The Lizard King (original) (raw)
Related papers
Metonyms and Metaphors in Hieroglyphic Texts of the Ancient Maya.
Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 2020
This article in English discusses the presence of figurative language resources, specifically metonyms and metaphors, in the language used in the hieroglyphic inscriptions of the ancient Maya. In particular, it is argued that certain syntactic constructions, previously not addressed by scholars, that appear in the inscriptions actually express metonyms and metaphors related to anger and bravery. This has become possible when the hieroglyphic texts are not merely rendered as literal translations but analysed philologically, which in this case has enabled to identify the figurative resources. Thus, considering the linguistic references in use by the descendants of the ancient Maya, and based on particular cases taken from representative inscriptions, the article highlights the main features of the metonymies and metaphors in question. The fact that these figurative resources are located in royal titles or attributive adjectives forming names of rulers is stressed. Therefore, the article includes a discussion of how those names and titles should be understood in terms of translation. The ancient Mayan rulers would have included in their names figurative references to their anger and courage in order to impose authority over their subjects. As a result of the analysis, the article concludes with a repertoire of ancient figurative terms referring to anger and bravery — the material that will undoubtedly complement our knowledge on the subject and underline the richness of the language of this great civilization.
The Fox and the Armadillo: An Inquiry into Classic Maya "Animal" Categories
Ancient Mesoamerica, 2022
This article investigates Classic Maya understandings of two particular animal species: the (gray) fox and the armadillo. We use these species as a point of entry into Classic Maya categorizations of the non-human animal world, examining the salient biological and physical characteristics of those animals that Classic-period artists and scribes chose to highlight. Rather than accepting the creatures depicted on painted pottery or referenced in hieroglyphic texts as generalized examples of particular kinds (i.e., simply "a fox" or "an armadillo"), however, we show how the evidence from ancient art, historical accounts, and contemporary ethnography points to an emphasis on specific beings, often named individuals, who engage in particular behaviors and relate to other entities (both human and non-human) in distinctive ways. Although this article focuses exclusively on the fox and the armadillo, those species serve as examples through which we consider the limitations of applying Western taxonomic categories to other systems of knowledge, as well as the possibilities for how we might catch glimpses of radically different ways of organizing the world. The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.
Emblem glyphs functioned as exalted regal titles that incorporated place names, some of which refer to primordial locations and the settings of mythic events. The title k’uhul kanu’l ajaw, ‘godly Kanu’l king’, most prominently borne by the Late Classic rulers of Calakmul, is one of these supernatural emblem glyphs. Evidence from hieroglyphic texts on Late Classic ceramics suggests that the toponym kanu’l names a cave where the defeat, death and resurrection of the Maize God took place. By incorporating this place name in their regal title, kings of the Classic period (AD 250-950) emulated and fostered ties to events set in deep-time and legitimated their claim for divinity.