Haab'
Encyclopedia
The Haab' is part of the Maya calendric system
. It was the Maya version of the 365-day calendar
known to many of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica
. Unlike the Tzolk'in
, another Mayan Calendar system with no obvious relation to an astronomical or geophysical cycle, the Haab' approximated the solar year.
The Haab' comprises eighteen "months" of twenty days each, plus an additional period of five days ("nameless days") at the end of the year known as Wayeb (or Uayeb in 16th C. orthography).
Bricker (1982) estimates that the Haab' was first used around 500 BCE with a starting point of the winter solstice
. The Haab' was the foundation of the agrarian calendar and the month names are based on the seasons and agricultural events. For example the thirteenth month, Mak, may refer to the end of the rainy season and the fourteenth month, K'ank'in, may refer to ripe crops in the fall.
The Haab' month names are most commonly referred to by their names in colonial-era Yucatec (Yukatek). In sequence, these (in the revised orthography) are as seen on the right:
Each day in the Haab' calendar was identified by a day number within the month followed by the name of the month. Day numbers began with a glyph translated as the "seating of" a named month, which is usually regarded as day 0 of that month, although a minority treat it as day 20 of the month preceding the named month. In the latter case, the seating of Pop is day 5 of Wayeb'. For the majority, the first day of the year was Seating Pop. This was followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, Seating Wo, 1 Wo and so on.
Inscriptions on The Temple of the Cross at Palenque shows clearly that the Maya were aware of the true length of the year, even though they did not employ the use of leap days in their system of calculations generally. J. Eric Thompson wrote that the Maya knew of the drift between the Haab and the solar year and that they made "calculations as to the rate at which the error accumulated, but these were merely noted as corrections they were not used to change the calendar."
There are at least two inscriptions with periods of 1508 Haab from Palenque which equates to 1507 tropical year
s, or 550420 days. This gives the Maya approximation to the tropical year at being 365.2422 days, being more accurate than the Gregorian Year currently used across the world today. 1508 Haab also incorporates 29 full Calendar Round
s, and two codices, the Codex Laud and Codex Mexicanus also records the 1508 Haab intervals.
Maya calendar
The Maya calendar is a system of calendars and almanacs used in the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, and in many modern Maya communities in highland Guatemala. and in Chiapas....
. It was the Maya version of the 365-day calendar
Mesoamerican calendars
Mesoamerican calendars are the calendrical systems devised and used by the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica. In addition to the basic function of a calendar—defining and organizing periods of time in a way that allows events to be fixed, ordered and noted relative to each other and some...
known to many of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
. Unlike the Tzolk'in
Tzolk'in
Tzolk'in is the name bestowed by Mayanists on the 260-day Mesoamerican calendar used by the Maya civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.The tzolk'in, the basic cycle of the Maya calendar, is a pre-eminent...
, another Mayan Calendar system with no obvious relation to an astronomical or geophysical cycle, the Haab' approximated the solar year.
Description
| No. Seq. |
Name of month |
Glyph example |
meaning | No. Seq. |
Name of month |
Glyph example |
meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pop | mat | 10 | Yax | green storm | ||
| 2 | Wo' | black conjunction | 11 | Sak' | white storm | ||
| 3 | Sip | red conjunction | 12 | Keh | red storm | ||
| 4 | Sotz' | bat | 13 | Mak | enclosed | ||
| 5 | Tzek | death | 14 | K'ank'in | yellow sun | ||
| 6 | Xul | dog | 15 | Muwan' | owl | ||
| 7 | Yaxk'in' | new sun | 16 | Pax | planting time | ||
| 8 | Mol | water | 17 | K'ayab | turtle | ||
| 9 | Ch'en | black storm | 18 | Kumk'u | granary | ||
| 19 | Wayeb' | five unlucky days | |||||
The Haab' comprises eighteen "months" of twenty days each, plus an additional period of five days ("nameless days") at the end of the year known as Wayeb (or Uayeb in 16th C. orthography).
Bricker (1982) estimates that the Haab' was first used around 500 BCE with a starting point of the winter solstice
Winter solstice
Winter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
. The Haab' was the foundation of the agrarian calendar and the month names are based on the seasons and agricultural events. For example the thirteenth month, Mak, may refer to the end of the rainy season and the fourteenth month, K'ank'in, may refer to ripe crops in the fall.
The Haab' month names are most commonly referred to by their names in colonial-era Yucatec (Yukatek). In sequence, these (in the revised orthography) are as seen on the right:
Each day in the Haab' calendar was identified by a day number within the month followed by the name of the month. Day numbers began with a glyph translated as the "seating of" a named month, which is usually regarded as day 0 of that month, although a minority treat it as day 20 of the month preceding the named month. In the latter case, the seating of Pop is day 5 of Wayeb'. For the majority, the first day of the year was Seating Pop. This was followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, Seating Wo, 1 Wo and so on.
Inscriptions on The Temple of the Cross at Palenque shows clearly that the Maya were aware of the true length of the year, even though they did not employ the use of leap days in their system of calculations generally. J. Eric Thompson wrote that the Maya knew of the drift between the Haab and the solar year and that they made "calculations as to the rate at which the error accumulated, but these were merely noted as corrections they were not used to change the calendar."
There are at least two inscriptions with periods of 1508 Haab from Palenque which equates to 1507 tropical year
Tropical year
A tropical year , for general purposes, is the length of time that the Sun takes to return to the same position in the cycle of seasons, as seen from Earth; for example, the time from vernal equinox to vernal equinox, or from summer solstice to summer solstice...
s, or 550420 days. This gives the Maya approximation to the tropical year at being 365.2422 days, being more accurate than the Gregorian Year currently used across the world today. 1508 Haab also incorporates 29 full Calendar Round
Calendar round
In the Mesoamerican calendars, calendar round dates are composed by interlacing the dates of a 260-day period with dates from a 365-day period...
s, and two codices, the Codex Laud and Codex Mexicanus also records the 1508 Haab intervals.