The 260-day Calendar and Other Calendars in Light of the Wisdom of the Ayöök People of Oaxaca

This article explores the nature of pre-colonial calendars in Mesoamerica. Unlike other studies, data from the current utilization of the 260-and 365-day calendars among the Ayöök (Mixe) of Oaxaca are used here. In the following, I offer a definition of the  nature and management of the 260-day cycl...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Rojas Martínez Gracida, Araceli
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:México
Recursos:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Estudios de Cultura Náhuatl
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/77995
Acesso em linha:https://nahuatl.historicas.unam.mx/index.php/ecn/article/view/77995
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:calendarios
260 días
mixes
Oaxaca
bisiesto
calendars
260 days
Mixe people
leap year
Descrição
Resumo:This article explores the nature of pre-colonial calendars in Mesoamerica. Unlike other studies, data from the current utilization of the 260-and 365-day calendars among the Ayöök (Mixe) of Oaxaca are used here. In the following, I offer a definition of the  nature and management of the 260-day cycle, whose mantic and prescriptive aspects do not exclude its measurable and nominal functions of time, which define it as an authentic calendar. I propose to conceive the course of other calendars, not as gears, but as systems in relative independence. This made possible counts such as the calendar of 18 veintenas plus five days (xihuitl), which gave order and name to these cycles, in turn, producing a broader calendar of 52 “years” (xiuhpohualli). Furthermore, there were other counts: one that had to do with agricultural programming, in accordance with the seasons and astronomical phenomena such as solstices and equinoxes, and another, of the feasts, which were not necessarily celebrated every 20 days, but rather on auspicious days of the 260-day cycle. The Ayöök also explain how the calendars worked without a leap year, thus resolving the debate on the seasonal discrepancy between calendars.