Cédices y documentos sobre México Primer Simposio Constanza Vega Sosa (compiladora) Serie Historia Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e HistoriaPortada: Cédice Humboldt fragmento | ‘Afio 3 Viento Tlapaneca, 1521 Juliano, Edicién al cuidado de la compiladora "y de Alsgrafo/Rosa Trujano Lopez Primera edicién, 1994 @ Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia Cordoba 48, col. Roma, CP. 08700, México, OF. ISBN 968-29-5140-5 Impreso y hecho en MéxicoA Commentary on the Bee Almanacs in Codex Madrid* Gabrielle Vail The ethnohistoric and ethnographic literature Bishop Diego de Landa (Tozzer 1941) was the first to draw attention to the rituals sorrounding bess and beekeeping in postconquest Yucatan. Similar rituals are depicted in a series of almanacs found on pages 103-112! of ‘the Madrid Codex (Bunge 1936; Cordan 1966; Férstemann 1902; Mundt nd. Seler 1961; Thomas 1882: 115; Tozzer and Allen 1910: 298-301: Vail nda), a Mayan text which was apparently compiled over a period of time during the Late Postclassic Period (ie. after A.D. 1250). The present paper represents an attempt to disambiguate the meaning and structure of this, set of almanacs, using the ethnohistoric and ethographic literature as a point of departure. It will be seen that the activities and ceremonies pictured in this section of the Codex are paralleled to an amazing degree by extant practices (as documented in Redfield and Villa Rojas [1934,1962], Weaver and Weaver [1981], and Poot and Bocara [1980] Landa's discussion of beekeeping and its attendant ceremonies is rather scant. He notes that: There are two kinds of bees and both are very much smaller than ours. The larger kind of these breeds in hives, which are very small. They do not make honeycomb as ours do, but @ kind of small blisters like walnuts of wax all joined one to the other and full of honey. To cut them away they do nothing more than to open the hives and to break away these blisters with @ small stick, and thus the honey cuns aut and they take the wax when they please. The rest breed in the woods in hollows of trees and of stones and there they search for the wax, in which and in honey this land abounds, and the honey is very good... These bees do not sting, nor do they do harm when the honeycombs are cut out (Tozer 1941: 193-194). Landa notes that there were two festivals related to beekeeping —one which ‘was celebrated in the Maya month of Tzec and the other which took place ‘An eotlerdratt of this paper wae presented at the symposium Cédices y documentos sobre México: siios x0 y aut, 47th Intemational Cangress of Amaricaniete, July 7-1}, 1991, New Oxleans, “Tulane University. September 7. 1991 " The simanac on paga 80D, alhough physically romoved trom the others, also sppears 10 be ratated to ths 50 37in Mol, He does not discuss the Mol festival in any detail, beyond mentioning that it was celebrated so that the gods would provide flowers for the bess (Tozzer 1941: 159), The Tzec ceremony, which was undertaken in order to obtain an abundance of honey, is discussed in greater detail. Preparations for this festival were begun during the preceding month (Zodz). The principal preparation involved fasting, an activity which was obligatory only for the priest and his assistants; the beekeepers themselves were under no obligation to keep the fast. The festival was celebrated in the house of one of the hive owners. During the ceremony. offerings were made to a number of the Maya gods, —the Bacabs, Hobnil, and the four Chacs~ and incense was burned in their honor. The offerings to the Chacs consisted of four plates piled with pellets of incense; the plates were decorated with “certain figures of honey” The festival.ended with the consumption of the ceremonial mead (known in Maya as balche), of wich honey is the principal ingredient (Tozzer 1941 156-157). Little additional information can be gleaned from the other relevant Colonial sources (cf. for example Oviedo y Valdés 1851-55, t. 3: 245-246 for Chetumal and Gémara 1877: 305 for Cozumel). The archaeological evicience, although intriguing, is kewise limited (Wallace 1978; Sidrys 1983: 379-379). It is therefore necessary to turn to the ethnographic literature in order to round out the picture of beekeeping and its associated rituals among the Maya? Indigenous apiculture forms the subject of at least one dissertation (Calkins 1974), as well as several articles (Nordenskidld 1929: Foster 1942: Poot and Bocara 1980; Weaver and Weaver 1981). In addition, brief descriptions of beekeeping are found in a number of longer works (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934, 1962; Sapper 1935-36; Tozzer 1907: 98, 115, 124, 163; Villa Rojas 1945: 57-58, 77). Given the premise that the Madrid Codex originated somewhere in Yucatan (Thompson 1971: 26), the most relevant sources for our purposes are those that are concerned with the Yucatec Maya. Of those available, | obtained most of my data from the following three: Redfield and Villa Rojas’ (1934, 1962) study of the village of Chan Kom; Weaver and Weaver's (1981) study of beekeeping in the village of Yaxcabé: and Poot and Bocara's (1980) detailed account of the history of beekeeping in Yucatan. Additional information was elicited from Eleuterio Poot Yah, a native of Hocaba who helped his father care for the family’s bees when he was a boy. Before the recent invasion of African bees from Brazil, there were two kinds of bees in Yucatan —the native stingless bees (Melipona beechei, The hiszaids of using etlnegraphie material to imerpret Precalumbian documents and the Dractices depicted therein ave well Known and shoul be tome io sung in considering what follows 38known as either cole/ cab or xunan cab, and the so-called American bees, which are actually of European origin. Obviously, the native bees are the ones of interest for the Madrid Codex, and all subsequent references are to this variety unless otherwise specified The native bees were of great importance to the Precolumbian Maya providing them with two valuable products, honey and max.* Honey was important both as a sweetener and as the main ingredient of balche, the Maya ceremonial drink, and was widely traded throughout greater Mesoamerica. Colonial sources indicate that honey continued to form a major item of trade and tribute in Yucatan during the early historic period (Blom 1932: 536; Roys, 1972; Thompson, 1966, 1970; Tozzer, 1941). In modern Yucatan, honey is still occasionally used as a sweetener, but it has been largely replaced by cane sugar in this capacity. Honey has retained its ritual importance, however. It is used today primarily to make balche, but it also serves as a general panacea for those who are sick and for women following childbirth (Redfield and Villa Rojas, 1962: 49), In a number of areas, the European bee has replaced the native bee in terms of its importance to the economy (Poot and Bocara, 1980) Nevertheless, only the native bee holds a place in the ritual life of the Maya, These bees are protected by a hierarchy of gods who must be propitiated from time to time. These deities are sometimes equated with the balams, though a more specific identification can be made. The bee gods are said to resemble large bees and to inhabit the eastern world quarter. as do the rain gods, the Chacs (Redfield and Villa Rojas. 1962: 116-117). As we have seen Landa mentions both the Bacabs and the Chacs in conjuction with the Tzec beekeeper's ceremony. This, then, is clear case of ritual continuity. In each of the communities studied, beekeeping follows the same general pattern. Hives are established in hollow logs, the ends of which are plugged with wooden stoppers held in place with mud mortar. An entrance hole is cut into the side of the log to provide access to the hive. A number of such hives are grouped together and protected by an open-walled palm sed by Redtiols anc Villa is besea on the Spanish Colona system. Vowel length is occesionaly given but tone and glotaized vowels are not represented. Thus. phrase wrttan phoneticaly as Kole dab becomes cola! cab n the Spanish system, given the corespondences listed below. (Note: Only those phonemes which differ between the two orthographies are. gwen, Soansh Phonetic —-Spanish Pronevs Spanish Prone ° 8 4 © nom of e P a * 4 7 x a ‘Although the importance of heney to the Precolumblan Mays + woll attested itis unclear ‘whathor wex wes used pros tothe Conavest Walace 1978: 16) According fo Barnal Diaz dal Casto {in Mavesiay 1808-16: 190-191), the Spanish introduced the Maya tothe practic of making candles, 39thatch structure (see Figure 1 in Weaver and Weaver 1981 and Plate 9b in Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962), which is generally placed in a corner of the houselot. Redfield and Villa Rojas note that the structures in Chan Kom are often oriented in an east/west direction, but the Weavers found no consistent orientation at Yaxcaba (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962: 48; Weaver and Weaver 1981: 2-3), Although honey can be harvested as often as every other month (Thomas 1882: 115-116), itis generally not taken more than four times per year. Such is the case in Chan Kom, where honey is extracted in the months of March. April, May, and November (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962: 49) In Yaxcabé, on the other hand, honey is only taken during the months of March, April, and December (Weaver and Weaver 1981: 3). In Hocaba. the timing of this activity is related to when certain plants flower (Po'ot Yah. personal communication to Victoria Bricker, 1990).° The flowering season of the three relevant species generally runs from December of one year through September of the following yzar (Anne Bradburn, personal communication to V. Bricker, 1990). It may thus be seen that, in Yucatan, honey extraction is primarily a spring (dry season) activity, with the possibility of another harvest in either November or December. Rather than being a purely secular activity, the removal of honey from. the hives occasions a number of ritual elements. As the first order of business, saca, a maize gruel, is prepared and sweetened whith the first honey from the hives. It is then put into a gourd bowl and suspended from the roof of the apiary. where it remains until the concluding ceremony. As the next order of business, the beekeeper ritually cleanses himself in preparation for handling the hives (Weaver and Weaver 1981: 5). He first washes his hands and arms thoroughly with water and tien rubs them with the leaves of chacah (Elaphrium simaruba). Only then does he remove a hive from the stack and perch it on a large stone that is kept in front of the hut for this purpose. The hive remains perpendicular on the stone while the beekeeper removes the stopper from one of its ends. The honey post inside are broken with a blunt object, and the honey is strained through a shallow basket made of vines or through some other sort of strainer (see Figures 2 and 3 from Weaver and Weaver 1981). Not all of the honey is taken from a hive at one time, however, because to do so wold anger the bee gods (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962: 117). three types of plants produce Mowers which are paticulary good for honey, These include: 0 ini Plantarum var. anngonaxdes (R00) Stand. & Stover eouyconac rd between May and Se Viguera deatata (Cau) Spreng. ICOMPOSITAE} rer Blake (LEGUMINOSAE 3 March, the second betwean Janvaty and June 40Once the honey has been taken from both ends of a hive, the inside of the hive as well as the stoppers are rubbed with chacah leaves dipped in honey: this serves to purify the hive and remove any evil influences. Additionally, the beekkeper sprinkles water on any of the bees that have become covered with honey during the extraction process as a means of cleaning them (Weaver and Weaver 1981: 5-6) After honey has been taken from all the hives, they are returned to their original positions in the thatched enclosure. Any new hives which have been established are placed where the most populous colonies were previously. The extraction process is concluded with the sprinkling of saca in the four world directions, an act which serves to propitiate the bee gods. The remaining saca is the consumed by the beekeeper and those who have helped him take the honey (Weaver and Weaver 1981: 6). The Weavers (1981: 5) note that in’ Yaxcabé some Beekeepers “make increase,” or colonize new hives, only in December, whereas others do so in the spring. when removing honey from the hives. This is a simple operation Which involves the following steps: (1) purifying the interior of a new hive using the process described previously: (2) placing twigs within the hive to which the brood from several hives is attached: and (3) introducing bees from several of the more populous colonies into the new hive. In Chan Kom, a minor ceremony known as u hedz luunn! cab is occasioned whenever the bees are moved to a new hive or a new hive is established (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962: 117). It has been suggested that the rationale for moving the bees may involve relocating them in relation to those plants which are currently in bloom (Bradburn, personal ‘communication to V. Bricker, 1990). The data from the Madrid Codex (see discussion below) provide evidence for this practice during the late prehispanic period. For the ceremony, a tabletop altar is erected near the hives. A series of offerings are made, including two types of ritual bread, saca, balche, fowl, and a thick sauce known as kol The sacais hung in gourds at each corner post of the altar (ie., at each of the four cardinal directions), and a fifth jar is hung in front of and above the altar (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962 146). This mirrors the Precolumbian ritual circuit which involved the four cardinal directions and sometimes incorporated the center as well In both Chan Kom and Yaxcaba, the major bee ceremony. known locally as uhanii cab (“dinner of the bees") is celebrated only periodically, although it is supposed to be held at four-year intervals. This is in contrast to the analogous festival which Landa discusses, which was celebrated on a yearly basis. The ceremony is similar in detail to the u hanli col ceremony which is celebrated for a successful crop. The purpose of the ritual is to give thanks to the bee gods for the honey which has been obtained during the past several years. The ceremony is conducted by the local ritual specialist (the ‘fmen), who is generally supported by several assistants.The offerings for this ceremony are similar to those used in the u hedz Juumil cab ritual, although the ceremony itself is more elaborate. Once the offerings have been prepared, they are placed on the altar and dedicated to the gods. Generally, participants must retire at this point for a suitable interval of time to allow the gods to descend and consume the spirit essence, or gracia, of the offerings (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1962: 144-145), Following this, cigarretes, if used ate lighted and passed out to the participants. Meanwhile, the /rnen makes offerings to the hives: two scoops of balche and two of kolare poured into the entrance of each hive. A prayer addressed to the gods of the bees is repeated at intervals seven times during the twenty-four hour ceremony. After the hives have been blessed the participants are free to consume the remaining food (Weaver and Weaver 1981: 7-9) - Mention is also made of a ritual cleaning ceremony (called santiguan) performed in presentday Yucatin in order to protect the bees from epidemics or attacks from predators (discussed in Grube and Nahm 1990: 22), The /nmemuses a broom made from the leaves of the sipche (Bunchosia | ‘swartziana, Griseb. for this ceremony, during which he recites a prayer (cited | in Bolles 1982), the Bee Almanacs A number of specif parallels exist between the almanacs in the Madrid Codex and the activities discussed in the ethonohistoric and ethnographic literature. The most obvious involves the palm-thatcived siructures used today in Yucatan to protect the hives and similar structures depicted in the Codex (compare those seen in the almanac on M. 103 a [Figure 1] with that pictured in Figure 1 of Weaver and Weaver 1981). ‘Additionally, specific almanacs may be related to each aspect of beekeeping. The almanac on page 104a (Figure 2) may show the first stage in the process of removing honey from the hive. In the first frame, Itzamna holds ‘a Caban element, which | have interpreted as representing a beehive (the word cab has a number of meanings in Yucatec, among which are ‘bee, honey, and beehive’)’ He appears to be in the act of placing this on a stone (represented by the object with Cauac markings). A bee hovers in the air just above the hive. This scene paralles Weaver and Weaver's (1981: 5) making of cigarettes forms part ofthe situal ia Both Yaxcabs and in those areas visited by Poot and Bocara (1980), but it 14 not mentioned for Chan Kom It is possible that ths reek Ri ginter addition. es both the Weavers study and that of Poot and Boeara took place wn the early 1980s, whereas the Chan Kom study was completed in the 1930s Pauirece Visquee (1980) served 3s the source forall The Maya tansiations which follow 42