name of this deity is composed
of two Maya words, _ek_, "black," and _chu_, "calabash," and hence
signifies "the black calabash," and the form and coloring of the symbol
are apparently intended to denote this signification. If this
interpretation be correct it is phonetic, as there is nothing in or
pertaining to the figure of the deity which corresponds with it, except
the color.

If the interpretation given of the preceding symbols Nos. 22, 24, 26,
27_a_, and 33 be correct, there can be scarcely a doubt that they are
phonetic. In the first--_cacau_, _cacauak_, or _cacauche_, the "cacao"--we
see Landa's letter _Ca_, which is doubled in each of the three forms taken
from the different codices. In the twenty-sixth--_Kukuitz_, the
Quetzal--Landa's _Ku_ is duplicated, as it should be if phonetic, while in
27_a_, _Kuch_, it appears but once. There is here also an additional
evidence of phoneticism in the fact that, while one of the symbols used to
denote this bird shows simply its head, and is surely not phonetic, the
other is entirely different and bears no resemblance whatever to any
feature or characteristic of the bird. Moreover, both parts of it are used
in other combinations referring to entirely different things.

If my interpretation of No. 14 (_Xamach_ or _Chimix_) be right, it is
probably phonetic also. It is composed, as will be seen by reference to
the figure, of two symbols closely resembling that for the day Ymix,
except that the top portion of one is omitted. The resemblance in sound
to a duplication of Ymix is apparent. The slight but permanent variation
of the right hand portion from the usual Ymix symbol and the omission of
the top portion of the left hand one are scarcely explainable on the
supposition that they form simply a conventional sign; but if phonetic
the reason is apparent, as the _m_ sound is not repeated in the Maya
name. This conclusion is strengthened by the fact that the month _Mac_,
found in the last or bottom line of Plate 49, is precisely the same as
the right portion of No. 14, with Landa's symbol for _Ca_ added. This
probably justifies us in concluding that the true name of this month is
_Camach_, "the jaw" or "jaws," and that Landa's figure is simply a rude
representation of the lips or mouth.

I have expressed the opinion[370-1] that the chief phonetic element of
No. 8 (the stone symbol), if used to represent sound, is _p_ or _pp_.
This opinion seems to be confirmed by the fact that