Birds in Maya Imagination: a Historical Ethno-Ornithology

Author(s): E. N. Anderson
Source: Journal of Ethnobiology, 37(4):621-636.
Published By: Society of Ethnobiology
https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.621
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2993/0278-0771-37.4.621

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Journal of Ethnobiology 37(4): 621–636 2017

BIRDS IN MAYA IMAGINATION:

A HISTORICAL ETHNO-ORNITHOLOGY

E. N. Anderson1

Birds are important in the thought of the Maya of the Yucatan Peninsula, from prehistory down to the
present. Maya/Spanish dictionaries from the Spanish colonial period contain almost 60 bird names. Codices and
Colonial-era texts describe relationships between birds and the supernatural, medicine, and prognostication.
Birds are especially noted as cause and cure of psychological ailments. Today, field studies show that birds are
still associated with omens, luck, and beauty, and are kept as pets and otherwise loved. Their use in medicine is
limited today, but magical uses of a few in love magic are still widely known. In general, the Yucatec Maya are
acutely aware of birds and their ecological significance.

Keywords: ethno-ornithology, Maya, Mexico, ethnoecology, folk taxonomy

Introduction

The Yucatec Maya of southern Mexico and neighboring Guatemala and

Belize have a profound knowledge of birds. This was demonstrated strikingly to
me the one time I saw a Piratic Flycatcher (Legatus leucophaius) in Mexico. My
field assistant, Don Felix Medina Tzuc, looked at it and said, ‘‘It’s trying to take
over the nest of that oriole to use for itself.’’ Indeed, it was doing that; this
species’ habit of taking over nests is the source of its English name. The fact that
Don Felix knew about the behavior of this rare bird, and one that is difficult to
distinguish from several other local flycatchers, indicates a knowledge of birds
beyond that of the average university-trained field naturalist. Eugene Hunn’s
(1977) research with Tzeltal Maya in Chiapas, and research by Anderson and
Medina Tzuc (2005) in Quintana Roo, confirms a similar widespread awareness
of bird life among the Maya.
Maya knowledge about birds can be gleaned from a range of sources,
including Classic Maya painting on pots and walls, a few pre-Columbian texts,
excellent Colonial-era dictionaries, and Maya writings in Spanish letters, and
recent ethnographic accounts. These sources concern themselves primarily with
birds in Maya imagination—their role in myth, in causing disease, as omens, and
in magic. In this paper, I summarize this vast knowledge from these diverse
sources as a way of collating and preserving the Mayan ethno-ornithological
knowledge. I have several goals in doing this compilation: 1) to summarize the
kinds of information available from the different sources, 2) to identify, with
scientific names, the birds found in the early sources, 3) to summarize beliefs
about birds in religion, ritual, magic, and healing, as represented in those early

1
Dept. of Anthropology. University of California, Riverside (gene@ucr.edu)
622 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

sources, and, finally, 4) to compare this early knowledge with current knowledge
and beliefs about birds by the Yucatec Maya.
The modern Maya, at least those in my research sample, are eminently
practical and have lost much of the lore about birds. Assembling what is known
about ritual and healing uses—largely from Spanish Colonial-era documents—
provides insights into a largely vanished realm of rituals, spells, and dangerous
non-ordinary powers. Today, birds are still seen as conscious beings with agency,
but if they were ever fully ‘‘persons’’—as they are in some North American
Indigenous traditions—they are no longer. Five hundred years of European
influences on the Maya have slowly disenchanted bird lore. Even today, however,
birds are important beings, valued for beauty, song, and habits.

Methods

This paper is based on a combination of multiple years of fieldwork and

extensive literature search. Field research included three half-year sessions (1991,
1996, 2001) in Chunhuhub, Quintana Roo, and visits roughly every two years
from 1989 to 2012. I spent most days in the field, usually with Maya experts on
nature, agriculture, and curing. Interviewing about bird lore consisted largely of
asking about birds we encountered in the field, with supplementary interviewing
at homes; Eugene Hunn worked with me for a week in 1991 and we went
through Peterson’s Mexican bird guide (Peterson 1999) with consultants. Usually,
I was alone in the field with Maya woodsmen and farmers—a practical-minded
but sensitive group with a deep knowledge and love of nature. As Felix Medina
Tzuc said, ‘‘I love the forest, I love the trees!’’ Maya place a value on quietness,
but will talk for long periods about the birds, plants, and other life forms of their
rainforest and dry forest environment (Anderson and Medina Tzuc 2005).
I conducted library research in Yucatan, Quintana Roo, and Chiapas, visiting
all major libraries and seeking out early Spanish sources, as well as references to
Maya ethnobiology and ethnoecology. This allowed me to compile a list of all
birds mentioned in all major Colonial sources, especially those written down by
Maya individuals using Spanish letters. My main contributions are picking the
names out of obscure and hard-to-read sources and identifying them based on
my knowledge of Yucatec names and bird knowledge. There is every reason to
believe that names have been generally constant over time. Descriptions of the
birds and their uses make this clear; one can identify all well-described species. A
few changes are detectable and will be noted below.
Data on pre-Columbian Maya bird portrayals is derived from working
through standard sources on pre-Columbian Maya art and from my observations
of museum artifacts. I visited all museums in Mexico that have major Maya
collections and several museums in the United States, recording birds shown on
pre-Columbian art objects. Eduard Seler also compiled bird art figures in pre-
Columbian art from all Mexico (Seler 1961), but his work was done in the early
twentieth century and needs updating.
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 623

Birds in Classic Maya Art

The pre-Columbian Maya depicted birds in different media, including

ceramics, wall murals, and sculpture. Birds are often associated in art and in
discourse with mammals and reptiles, particularly deer, jaguars, turtles, and
crocodiles (Seler [1961] provides the Classic period information; I have
encountered the same connections in field work). One pot shows what is
probably the creation of animals (a myth in the Popol Vuh; see section Maya Land
Birds for a more detailed description); it features deer, jaguars, monkeys,
squirrels, a puma, an opossum, and possibly other creatures (Grube 2000:29).
Most of this art comes from the Classic period (200–800 CE). Here I discuss
the most commonly depicted and discussed birds (Table 1 and Supplementary
Table).

Maya Water Birds

Many birds represented in Classic period art were water birds, often those
now explicitly associated with rain. The Yucatan Peninsula is a dry environment
and is particularly susceptible to droughts in early summer when maize—the
staff of life—is growing. In addition, surface water for drinking and cooking is
rare and precious. Thus, previous researchers have identified cormorants
(presumably the Neotropical Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus; see e.g., Coe
and Kerr 1997:188), ducks, and herons on Maya pottery. Limpkins (Aramus
guarauna) were unmistakably portrayed on a set of incense-burning urns from
Palenque, displaying in a way they often do when storms arrive (personal
observation, Palenque museum). Curved bills with longer upper mandibles rule
out the only other likely option: herons (see e.g., Pillsbury et al. 2012:334–335).
American Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga) were portrayed and may be related to the
underworld, as well as rain magic (personal observation; see illustration and
discussion, Coe and Kerr 1997:209). Cormorants, easily identified by long narrow
bills with strongly hooked tips, abound on pots in museums. The cormorant is
common and visible in Yucatan and greedy in devouring fish, so it is highly
salient as a water bird.
Further representations of water birds include a surrealistic representation of
a stork or Limpkin with a turkey-tail-like crest that was portrayed on a man’s
headdress; it is evidently quite alive, since it is seizing a fish (Robicsek 1981:189; a
similar but less lively picture is figured in Seler [1961:643]). I also observed, on
two museum vessels, a strange bird-lizard with teeth and a huge crest; it bears no
resemblance to any real-world animal or indeed to other Mesoamerican art
motifs (figured in Schmidt et al. 1998:284–287).
In David Finamore and Stephen Houston’s book Fiery Pool (2010), a study of
water representations in Maya art, there are many representations of water birds,
including ducks, cormorants, herons, pelicans, and birds with both heron and
cormorant attributes on ceramics and in murals (Finamore and Houston 2010:
plates on pp. 52, 54, 57, 102, 105; often a range of other water beings are shown).
Temple murals at Chichen Itza show what appears to be an egret (Finamore and
Houston 2010:199). A Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), with its unmistakable
Table 1. Birds in Maya art, magic, and healing, organized as per Howell and Webb (1995). For Maya and scientific names, see Supplementary Table. 624

Bird Time period1 Significance and Use

Thicket Tinamou Spanish colonial Poetry; food

Brown Pelican Ancient Art, water association
Neotropical Cormorant Ancient Art, water association
American Anhinga Ancient Art, water association
Herons and heron-like birds (identification unclear) Ancient Art, water association
Wood Stork Ancient Art, water association
Ducks (unidentified) Ancient Art, water association
Vultures in general Ancient, colonial Art, sky, death
King Vulture Ancient, colonial, modern Art, power and rule, sky, death
Hawks and eagles in general Ancient, colonial Good luck (rodent control), probably healing
Harpy Eagle Ancient, colonial Power, high authority
Ornate Hawk-eagle Ancient, colonial, modern Good luck, magic power, authority, control
Laughing Falcon Ancient, colonial, modern Good luck, healing (rodent control makes it a good bird)
Plain Chachalaca Colonial Poetry
Curassow Ancient, colonial Art, poetry
Turkeys (Domestic and Ocellated) Ancient, colonial Art, poetry, probably religious significance but unclear
Yucatan Bobwhite Colonial Poetry
ANDERSON

Limpkin Ancient Art, water association

Red-billed Pigeon Early modern Good fortune
Ground doves in general Colonial Poetry
White-winged Dove Colonial Poetry
White-tipped Dove Colonial Poetry
Parrots Ancient, colonial Sickness, sometimes healing
Macaws, mostly imaginary ones with no resemblance to Ancient, colonial Art; sickness, healing, magic
real species
Purple tankas parrot Early modern Imaginary disease-bringing spirit
Pheasant cuckoo Early modern Good bird, to be protected and not mocked
Owls in general (including Great Horned Owl) Ancient, colonial, modern Bad omen
Ferruginous Pygmy-owl Ancient, colonial, modern Bad omen, even more than other owls
Nightjars (focally Pauraque) Colonial, modern Bad omen; often presages death
Hummingbirds in general (no identifiable species; generic) Ancient, colonial, modern Sex, love, love magic, healing; rulership (unclear
significance on headdresses), flowers; poetry
Vol. 37, No. 4
Table 1. Continued.
2017

Bird Time period1 Significance and Use

Resplendent Quetzal Ancient, colonial Power, especially royal power; by extension, magic and
healing
Turquoise-browed Motmot Colonial Poetry
Collared Aracari Colonial Probable identification of a bird used in curing magic
Large woodpeckers (kolonte’) Colonial Sickness and healing
Small woodpeckers Colonial Sickness and healing
Mexican Antthrush Modern Mount for the rain gods (unclear how or why, but its
beautiful, hard-to-trace whistle seems associated with
rain)
Brown Jay Colonial, modern Associated with magic, mental illness, and healing
(colonial); modern status unclear; sometimes eaten
Yucatan Jay Colonial Association with magic, poetry
Tropical Mockingbird Colonial Poetry
Clay-colored Thrush Colonial Poetry
Rufous-browed Peppershrike Modern Call sometimes held a bad omen
Northern Cardinal Colonial Poetry
Red-winged Blackbird (?) Colonial Poetry
Melodious Blackbird Colonial Poetry
Great-tailed Grackle Ancient, colonial, modern Major pest, eating grain, but tolerated; shown in early art
Bronzed Cowbird Colonial Poetry and possibly magic
Montezuma Oropendola Colonial Poetry, magic, healing
JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY

Lesser Goldfinch and other finches Colonial Poetry

1
Ancient ¼ 200–900 CE, Colonial ¼ 1500–1821, Modern ¼ 1821–2017.
625
626 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

down-curved bill and black-tipped white wings, appear in one complex scene
(though is misidentified as a heron in the text; Finamore and Houston 2010:164).
The Classic Maya seem to have used birds to symbolize the importance of
water. Water is not only the source of life, especially through the desperately-
sought rain; water is also the undergirding of the world, the birthplace of the
Maize God (literally as well as mythically), and the subject of a complicated
symbolic and mythic discourse, hazily and tantalizingly visible in art.

Maya Land Birds

Among land birds, the most prominent on Classic pots is a strange composite
bird that seems to be a mix of parrot, Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus
mocinno), and possibly Curassow (Crax rubra). Sometimes, this bird is probably
the imaginary and terrifying muwaan bird (‘‘moan’’ in earlier literature; e.g., Seler
1961), a bird that threatened humans in mythic time. Several such birds are seen
in The Maya Book of the Dead, a selection of pre-Columbian pottery photographed
and discussed by Francis Robicsek (1981). A possible earlier example occurs in
murals of caves and mountains (Saturno et al. 2005; Taube 2004).
The Popol Vuh, a Quiché Maya version of the Maya creation myth written
down shortly after the Conquest (in Quiché but in Spanish characters), refers to
birds in contexts that explain some of the bird images. For example, Seven
Macaw, a human but probably a macaw too, rose and fell in the early part of the
story (Christenson 2003:91–100). The Hero Twins—main characters of the myth—
use a blowgun to overcome a falcon (wak, probably the Laughing Falcon,
Herpetotheres cachinnans; Nahuatl oactli; Christenson 2003:vol. I, 156–159).
Robicsek (1981:83) illustrates a pot with a muwaan-like bird being shot with a
blowgun, probably an illustration of the same scene. The Popol Vuh also
mentions owls in the land of death (e.g., Christenson 2003:vol. I, 119; one is a
‘‘Macaw Owl’’), especially around the ball court, and refers to parrots, eagles, and
other fowl. A much more spectacular version of the blowgun scene, with both
Hero Twins, occurs on a fine orange plate (Schmidt et al. 1998:279), giving
evidence that the Popol Vuh contains material from Classic times.
Other mythic birds portrayed in early art include unreal owls and strange
hummingbirds (see e.g., Schmidt et al. 1998:224–225; Seler 1961). Mentioned in
surviving texts is the jaguar macaw, a fantastic macaw with jaguar spots, known
to be associated with disease. It is illustrated on a pot shown in Robicsek
(1981:183) and a different representation (on another pot) appears in Grube’s
Maya (2000:253).
The quetzal’s tail is the most common feature portrayed in Classic period art,
especially because it was used in the headdresses of the powerful. The
Resplendent Quetzal, presumably because of rarity and spectacular plumage,
was a symbol of royalty and power all over Mesoamerica (Seler 1961).
Hummingbirds are also represented on various painted ceramics, sometimes
in humorous contexts. For instance, Maya lords were typically portrayed as
looking angry—presumably to appear tough and dominating—but, on one Late
Classic vase, the message is softened by showing live hummingbirds drinking
from the flowers in the lords’ headdresses (Coe and Kerr 1997:74–75). The motif
of a hummingbird drinking from a headdress flower occurs in pictures of gods in
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 627

later Aztec art (Seler 1961:579). These may be humorous figures, which in Maya
art are often sacred or associated with the sacred (Karl Taube, personal
communication, 1989). Maya art often shows gods and men with bird
headdresses or shoulder ornaments. In the Dresden Codex, from just before
the Spanish conquest, such adornments are particularly common (Seler 1961:555–
556).
Eagles and vultures are commonly shown on pots and wall art (Seler 1961:
passim). Often in central Mexico, less often in Mayaland, there occur Classic
period pictures of an eagle that is vividly striped, partially red, and crested—
almost certainly the Ornate Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus). Vultures may imply
life and strength, but they also imply morbid concepts; see e.g., Coe and Kerr
(1997:202) where a vulture skin is associated with human sacrifice. Vultures are
usually too generalized to be identifiable by species; when identifiable, they are
usually King Vultures (Sarcorhamphus papa). Generalized hawks, falcons, and
vulture-like birds are commonly depicted on a variety of Classic Period ceramics,
as well as in the few surviving Maya wall paintings and codices (Seler 1961 and
personal observation).
There is a significant presence in texts and depictions of Montezuma
Oropendolas (Psarocolius montezuma, probably also Wagler’s Oropendola, P.
wagleri), huge orioles that nest in colonies with enormous pendant nests. They are
shown in some of the earliest Maya art, the murals at San Bartolo, dating around
200 CE (Saturno et al. 2005; Karl Taube, personal communication over several
years, 2000–2006). The size, noise, and colonial habits of these birds are still
remarked on by modern Maya.
Some pre-Columbian portrayals seem to illustrate pests. At least in later art,
black birds are shown eating maize. These are almost certainly k’aau, Great-tailed
Grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus), still a pest today.
Alfred Tozzer and Glover Allen (1910) and Seler (1961) made valuable
progress in identifying birds and animals in early art. Tozzer and Allen thought
the few and partial pictures of turkeys were of the endemic Yucatan Ocellated
Turkey (Meleagris ocellata), but more likely the domestic Meleagris gallopavo is
represented. These scholars correctly identified King Vultures (Sarcorhamphus
papa) and Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja), generalized vulture figures, and
probably Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus). The identification of the muwaan
(moan) bird by Tozzer and Allen (1910; and others) with the little Vermiculated or
Guatemalan Screech-owl (Otus guatemalae) is not credible; the representations
look nothing like that owl. Seler (1961) related the moan bird to clouds.

Birds in Spanish Colonial Era Sources

Many Spanish colonial era sources have notes on birds. Those authored by
the Spanish are of interest largely to show what birds were salient to both the
Maya and the Spanish in Yucatan. More interesting are the sources written by
Maya who had learned to write their language in Spanish script. These reveal a
tremendous interest in birds as omens, symbols, and cures.
628 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

Fray Diego de Landa’s Observations

Fray Diego de Landa, notorious for destroying Maya books but valued for
preparing his own work on Yucatan, devoted a chapter to birds (Landa 1937
[1566]:107–109; see Supplementary Table). Of the domestic birds, Landa noted
that the Maya ‘‘have taken to raising Spanish fowls, in great numbers’’ (Landa
1937 [1566]:109), but also noted that they had their own turkeys and indigenous
ducks. The latter are Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata), which Landa called
maxix, and correctly thought that they came from Peru. (The wild ones are native
to the Yucatan Peninsula, but domestic ones are not.) Landa (1937 [1566]:109) also
noted a ‘‘little bird like a nightingale,’’ ixyalchamil, a name not known from other
sources; it is probably a mishearing of ixyankotil, ‘‘one in the wall,’’ the Tropical
House Wren (Troglodytes musculus), which loves to nest in loose stone walls.
Landa (1937 [1566]:107) also notes that owls and nightjars ‘‘irritate the Indians
greatly, for they take them as birds of omen,’’ and that the Magnificent Frigate-
bird’s (Fregata magnificens) ‘‘fat is an excellent remedy for scars, and for numbness
caused from cuts’’ (Landa 1937 [1566]:108).

Relaciones Histórico-geográficas de la Gobernación de Yucatán

Another early source of Maya bird knowledge is the Relaciones Histórico-
geográficas de la Gobernación de Yucatán (1983), compiled in 1583 to satisfy a royal
request for information about the Spanish colonies in the New World. The main
author was probably Gaspar Antonio Chi, an elite Yucatec Maya. The book
mentions common, salient birds.

Early Spanish Dictionaries

The early Spanish dictionaries provide a measure of bird salience among the
Maya. Birds in the dictionaries are usually either game or domestic birds used for
food. They are also often birds with mythical, magical, folkloric, or symbolic
meanings, notably birds of prey—magical protectors and symbols of power.
The main dictionaries of the early Spanish Colonial period are the Vocabulario
Maya (VM; Andrews Heath de Zapata 1980, orig. late sixteenth or very early
seventeenth century) and the Calepino de Motul (Arzápalo Marı́n 1995, orig. ca.
1610, drawing heavily on the VM). The VM contains 50 bird names, the Calepino
de Motul contains 58. There is considerable overlap between the two. One bird
name in the VM is not identified as a bird name: ‘‘tsutsuy, penis of a small boy.’’ It
literally means ‘‘dove’’ (genus Leptotila, specifically) and is still extended today
with the same metaphoric sense. In the Calepino de Motul (Arzápalo Marı́n 1995),
it is correctly identified as a dove.
The same Mayan name is often given twice in each dictionary, with and
without the agentive prefix ah (aj). In most of what follows, I have respelled the
dictionary entries according to modern usage. When I need to leave the old
spelling to make a point, I have added the modern spelling in parentheses.
The extended definitions and illustrative sentences, especially in the VM,
throw some insight into Mayan perceived ecologies. For instance, the kip choo
(Squirrel Cuckoo, Piaya cayana, named from its loud call) and the aj yaj (Myiarchus
spp., focally the smaller ones; extended small flycatchers in general) are noted as
eating bees. The Myiarchus flycatchers are less prone to do this than kingbirds
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 629

(Tyrannus spp.), but they probably eat the small, stingless Mayan bees. (The Maya
do not seem to mind this, in spite of Maya love for bees, because the flycatchers
eat insignificant amounts.) Yaj is another call-derived name, but is a pun: yaj
means ‘‘pain’’ or ‘‘I hurt!’’ in Yucatec and the mournful calls of these species
sound like a child whining.
The dictionaries contain observations on omens and fear of night birds, and
make notes on making ‘‘idols’’ of hummingbirds, which were dried for good luck
charms and love magic. As priests, the dictionary authors were concerned about
such matters because they were writing for other priests who had to speak Maya
with their congregants and who had to root out ‘‘sins,’’ such as believing in pre-
Columbian magic and omens.
Also of interest to the priests were large, obvious birds, such as birds of prey
and domestic birds. Chickens (Gallus domesticus) were cax (kaax), as they are
today. The name comes from Kastelan, later Kaaxlan, ch’ich’, ‘‘Castilian bird.’’ Its
naming is consistent with many Spanish items: the word Kaaxlan was added as
qualifier to many Maya terms. (There is an Indigenous Maya word for ‘‘gun,’’
because of marking reversal—the Kaaxlan ts’oon, ‘‘Castilian blowgun,’’ became
simply ts’oon as blowguns fell out of use.) The Domestic Turkey (Meleagris
gallopavo) is not attested with its current name of uulum; possibly kuts, now
confined to the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata), was the name used for both.
Thau (t’au), now not known, is given for turkeys. This is the only major change in
nomenclature from the dictionary period to today and is interesting for
nomenclatural history.

The Books of Chilam Balam

The Books of Chilam Balam (Barrera Vásquez and Rendón 1989) are Colonial-
era manuscripts that record prophetic and calendric lore; they often reference the
‘‘jaguar priest,’’ Chilam Balam. The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel is
particularly extensive (see Roys 1933:22 and Supplementary Table). The
Language of Zuyua, an arcane and esoteric language, is explained for neophytes
in the book. An example given in the book is a passage that concerns turkeys:
‘‘‘Son, bring me the green gallants here. Let them come and dance, that I may look
on with pleasure. Let them come with drum and rattle, fan and drum-stick. I am
expecting them.’ ‘Even so, father.’ What he asks for is a turkey-cock. The drum is
its crop. The rattle is its head. The fan is its tail. The drum-stick is its leg’’ (Roys
1933:49, 69).
More medicine and macaws are presented in the Book of Chilam Balam of Kaua
(Bricker and Miram 2002), which begins with a list of several kinds of tankas
(more fully tamakas; Roys 1965:xviii), a word generally translated as ‘‘frenzy’’ or
‘‘seizure,’’ but today includes paralysis, nervous attacks, and similar psycholog-
ical disturbances. The Kaua mentions imaginary birds and winds: obsidian-
snake, macaw-wind, purple-macaw-wind, green macaw, and other tankas
(Bricker and Miram 2002:95, 161). The association with parrots and macaws
remains mysterious. This prognostication of the days of the 20-day cycle may be
Nahuatl in origin, but is linked with animals and birds in the Book of Chilam Balam
of Kaua (Barrera Vásquez and Rendón 1989:91–93). Birds mentioned include
yaxum, probably from ya’ax hum, ‘‘green chatterer’’; this is translated as quetzal
630 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

(Barrera Vásquez and Rendón’s translation of the same passage [Barrera Vásquez
and Rendón 1989:91]) but identified as ‘‘lovely cotinga’’ (Cotinga amabilis) by
Bricker and Miram (2002:106). Neither the quetzal nor the cotinga occurs in the
Yucatan Peninsula, but the quetzal’s feathers were imported from nearby
highlands. Other birds include ts’iu (Bronzed Cowbird, Molothrus aeneus [Barrera
Vásquez and Rendón 1989:92]). Another day count (Barrera Vásquez and Rendón
1989:128–130) adds eagle (cot, in modern spelling koot), probably the Ornate
Hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus).
Elsewhere, the Kaua mentions a few standard birds like doves (paloma, the
Spanish word; Barrera Vásquez and Rendón 1989:202). Much of the book consists
of folk cures for almost every conceivable illness. (A mysterious ix kan, literally
‘‘female yellow,’’ in the 20-day cycle is translated by Barrera Vásquez and Rendón
[1989:91] as ‘‘maize woman,’’ but translated by Bricker and Miram [2002:105] as
‘‘magpie,’’ though there are no magpies anywhere near Yucatan, nor are magpies
yellow.) Other books of Chilam Balam, such as The Book of Chilam Balam of Ixil
(Caso Barrera 2011), say little about birds.
A little-known and beautiful Maya work from the early Colonial period is the
Book of Songs of Dzitbalche, a collection of poetry (Barrera Vásquez 1980). The
songs feature many plants and animals of the Yucatan forest (Supplementary
Table). Song 14 lists, as birds of the Beautiful Lady (Virgin Mary), Squirrel
Cuckoo, chuuleeb (glossed by Barrera Vásquez [1980] as Red-winged Blackbird
[Agelaius phoeniceus]), kukun (unknown, possibly quetzal or roadrunner), ground
doves (Columbigallina spp.), Tropical Mockingbird (Mimus gilvus), Northern
Cardinal (Richmondena cardinalis), finches (chinchinbakal, focally the Lesser
Goldfinch [Carduelis psaltria]), and hummingbirds. Perhaps these were sacred
to a Maya goddess, but European bird lore is apparent: doves are associated with
the Virgin in European thought and the goldfinch was a symbol of the infant
Jesus in Spanish and Italian art.

Birds and Healing in Colonial-era Manuscripts

Birds in medicine are best known from a unique source, The Rituals of the
Bacabs (there are now two bilingual editions, with translations into Spanish and
English respectively: El Ritual de los Bacabes [Arzápalo Marı́n 1987] and Ritual of
the Bacabs [Roys 1965]). This manuscript, copied in 1779 from an earlier work
(possibly from before or near 1600), consists of over 60 spells used in healing
magic. It is a unique and rich source for Maya magical medicine and birds feature
as critically important elements, so it deserves some background consideration.
The book reveals a whole world, otherwise known only from hints in other
sources and thin memories in modern times. It consists of spells for healing
tankas, a condition often brought about by lust, overindulgence, and similar
problems. The book provides a unique and important insight into a whole
medical world now almost unknown. The Bacabs’ biology awaits serious study;
here the birds are discussed in their healing or disease-bringing roles. It is hoped
that this discussion will stimulate interest in a work too little appreciated.
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 631

The Bacabs are gods of the four directions and seem only tangentially related
to these spells. The spells were used presumably by jmeen (traditional Maya
officiants and healers). Some jmeen have shamanic powers of soul-sending and
transformation; all have powers over the ik’ (‘‘winds,’’ a term including
disembodied spirit beings) and spirits of the fields, forests, and hills. They
usually use their power for good, but some jmeen, as well as witches, use their
powers for evil. The Calepino de Motul (Arzápalo Marı́n 1995) lists many words
for witches, wizards, and sorcerers; Ralph Roys (1965:168–171) collected these in
his edition of the Bacabs. According to my older rural Maya consultants, there are
a great deal of ‘‘secret operations’’—malevolent magic—going on all the time
today. In addition to human wizards, there are animals that have, or send, bad
forces. Some, like centipedes and rattlesnakes, can be observed. Others are the
subjects of folktales, such as the ‘‘purple frenzy parrot,’’ the so-called ‘‘mat
transformer’’ (a witch that flies on, or appears to be, a mat), the demon opossum,
the shadow-biter (a snake that kills by biting the victim’s shadow), and other
beings (Anderson and Medina Tzuc 2005). Spells to drive away these ‘‘bad
winds’’ (k’as ik’) are still commonly used.
The Rituals of the Bacabs (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987), however, though often
referring to the above magical-medical problems as ‘‘winds,’’ more generally
defines them as tankas: frenzy, paralysis, and psychological illness in general.
Ralph Roys (1965) thought that ‘‘winds’’ are a relatively new concept in Maya
thought, with tankas being older. In the Rituals of the Bacabs, tankas is used for all
sorts of illnesses. The book consists of a range of spells to deal with these. Many
of the tankas are associated with birds; sometimes the birds are evil spirits that are
causing the disease; sometimes they are helpers to assist in curing. Macaws are
particularly common villains; hawks and eagles are particularly common helpers
of the curer. Roys (1965: plate following p. 66) provides a picture (from the Book of
Chilam Balam of Kaua) of a spider-snake-macaw-wind tankas.
Some of Roys’ (1965) bird identifications are based on incomplete knowledge.
For example, he identifies mut’ as a guan or relative; it is in fact the Yellow-billed
Cacique (Cacicus holosericeus; not mentioned in the actual spells). The word mut’
is the general word for ‘‘bird’’ in many Maya languages.
The second spell (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:269–276) concerns the balam-mo-
tankas, ‘‘jaguar macaw frenzy.’’ It is associated somehow with a mysterious oo
bird, unidentified (but mentioned in some later spells also). The spell attributes
jaguar macaw tankas to lust and overindulgence and requires curing with
k’antemo’ (Acacia angustissima, whose tannins have medical uses; the Maya name
of this tree may mean ‘‘yellow tree macaw’’), mamey fruits, tankasche’ ‘‘tankas
tree,’’ and other plants. The term ‘‘tankas tree’’ today refers to a number of small
trees which cause a stinging and numbing sensation; some of them are closely
related to Chinese brown pepper (Zanthoxylum spp., Esenbeckia pentaphylla) and
have a similar effect. They are still used to treat tankas. Body parts (not specified)
of the macaw are used in the ritual.
The fifth spell (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:284–288) concerns a macaw tankas and
swelling and moving tankas. These tankas forms involve pain and fever. A ‘‘sun
fire macaw’’ (unidentified) and a fire-breasted jay are mentioned, and may be
either causes or symbols of the diseases. The jay may be a Collared Aracari
632 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

(Pteroglossus torquatus), pan ch’el in Yucatec; ch’el by itself means ‘‘jay,’’ and the
aracari has a fire-colored throat. In the sixth spell (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:288–290),
a spell for tankas caused by eroticism, ‘‘back then was born the avocado, the
flower, back then was born the hummingbird flower’’ is translated as ‘‘and then
was born the male member, the female member,. . . the genital part of the female’’
(Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:289; my translations of the Maya and the Spanish), but I
suspect the hummingbird is the male member here, because of parallelism in the
text and because hummingbirds are connected with male love magic (then and
now). The eighth spell (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:300), in a list of gods, mentions a
cardinal-bird god. The ninth spell (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:301–313), a very long
and difficult charm, has much more about macaws, and mentions Brown Jays
(Psilorhinus morio), Yucatan Jays (Cissilopha yucatanicus), and yellow takay
(kingbirds, Tyrannus sp., or, by extension, any large flycatcher with yellow
underparts) as related to them (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:302, 313). It and spell eleven
(Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:315–328) also mention ground doves (mukuy; Roys
[1965:25] inserts a ‘‘trogon’’ into this spell; there is none in the Maya text). Much
more concern is shown with wasps, evidently seen as senders or at least closely
associated with tankas. Spell fourteen (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:313–334) introduces
red and white hawk-eagles (ek’ pip; here clearly the Ornate Hawk-eagle, which is
largely red and white) and Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpjya, jonk’uk’; Arzápalo
Marı́n 1987:333) and red Brown Jays (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:334) as animal spirit
aids (way) of the curer. Way is a complex, poorly-understood concept, probably
once including animal-soul doubles like the ch’ulel of the Tzotzil and Tzeltal
Maya (see Vogt 1969). Today, it refers to various animal spirits that can help,
harm, or simply be strange, such as the praying mantis (Mantodea), which is, in
Yucatec, the ts’awayek’, ‘‘giver of way dreams.’’
Spell fifteen (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:334–338) mentions the Montezuma
Oropendola (k’ubul, Psarocolius montezuma) and yaxum (Quetzal) as supplying
tail feathers for capes (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:335) and, again, the Ornate Hawk-
eagle and Harpy as aids. Spell sixteen (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:338–342) brings back
frightening macaws (species unspecified but probably only the Scarlet Macaw
(Ara macao occurred in the area), and Hawk-eagle aid. Spell eighteen (Arzápalo
Marı́n 1987:342–346) again brings evil macaws, subdued by plants created by
imaginary cardinals of various colors, large woodpeckers, and more beneficent
macaws (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:344; it is not clear why these macaws were
beneficent, unlike others). Spell twenty-five (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:364–366),
against internal worms, brings back helpful hawk-eagles and hawks. Spell
twenty-seven uses Brown Jays and large and small woodpeckers as helpers in
treating ‘‘orange sun.’’ Spell twenty-nine (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:375–377) uses
Brown Jay, kingbirds, and ground doves, but the text is obscure.
Then follow many short charms with narrower agendas and no birds. Spell
sixty-seven (Arzápalo Marı́n 1987:434–437), for skin diseases, is the last of the 68
charms to mention birds, with ill-meaning Pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis) and
cos (koos, Laughing Falcon, Herpetotheres cachinnans), and red and white herons of
ill omen; these birds may not cause skin disease, but the charm recommends
herbal treatments.
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 633

We have little other evidence for birds in Maya medicine in the Colonial
period. For example, The Book of the Jew (Andrews Heath de Zapata 1979),
probably the most popular book of Colonial-era medicine and known from many
versions, is Spanish in conception, making no mention of birds.

Postcolonial Materials on Birds

Information on birds in modern Yucatec thought comes from ethnographic
research in Chan Kom carried out in the 1920s by Robert Redfield and Alfonso
Villa Rojas (1934). They found that the moo tankas (macaw tankas) and tsits moo
tankas (purple macaw tankas) were feared; these were blue or purple birds that
flew over infants and could kill them (there were no blue or purple parrots in the
Yucatan Peninsula; blue or purple is a color associated with sickness). Other
important spirit birds guarded the milpa: White-winged (Zenaida asiatica) and
White-tipped (Leptotila spp.) Doves and the Red-billed Pigeon (xkukutkib,
Patagioenas flavirostris). Hawks guarded milpas from pests. The ‘‘baacen-chulul’’
(bakenchulul; Pheasant Cuckoo [Dromococcyx phasianellus] and other brownish
cuckoos) ‘‘are the poultry of the balams. One should not imitate their clear
whistling note, for if one does, they become angry and fly around one’’ (Redfield
and Villa Rojas 1934:208). My coworker, Felix Medina Tzuc, demonstrated this
latter behavior to me. Such mocking was discouraged. Another bird unidentified
in Redfield and Villa Rojas (1934) was the ‘‘‘horse-catcher’ (chuc-tzimin)’’ which
‘‘whistles to summon the horses the chaacs ride when they make the rain’’
(Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934:208). In Chunhuhub, it is tsiimin chaak, ‘‘rain gods’
horse,’’ or tsiimin k’aax, ‘‘forest horse’’; it is, in fact, the Mexican Antthrush
(Formicarius moniliger). Since the horse is a Spanish introduction, the name
originally must have applied to the tapir (Tapirus bairdii), whose name (tsiimin)
was used for horses after the Spanish came (Tapirs are now tsiimin k’aax, like the
antthrush). Redfield and Villa Rojas (1934) said these birds protect people and
thus must be protected by people, even more than other birds (which are
generally protected, though children may thoughtlessly shoot some with
slingshots). Some of these beliefs survive today, including the guardian hawk.
Tankas is no longer associated with birds, in my experience. Ancillary information
comes from Pacheco Cruz’s (1958 [1939]) Diccionario de la Fauna Yucateca but, like
the Book of the Jew (Andrews Heath de Zapata 1979), it purveys largely European
folklore (including some delightful Hispanic folktales) transferred to the Yucatan
Peninsula.

Contemporary Mayan Understandings of Birds

My field research in and near Chunhuhub, Quintana Roo, from 1989 to 2012,
elicited many of the same beliefs as those in Redfield and Villa Rojas (1934).
Pauraques and owls still announce death. There are magical beliefs associated with
takay and hummingbirds (ts’unuun), both of which are dried and powdered—the
whole bodies or just the heads. A young man wanting the love of a young girl can
covertly throw the powder on her head. Eagles still have power associations.
634 ANDERSON Vol. 37, No. 4

Hawks are still seen as guardians of the fields; they eat rodents. Vultures are still
associated with death: the Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus), in particular. The
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) and King Vulture are less clearly associated with
death. The Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture (Cathartes burrovianus) is common in
Campeche but unknown in Chunhuhub, so I know nothing about its status in
Maya knowledge. Small woodpeckers have joined doves as a metaphor for a boy’s
penis. The call of the Rufous-browed Peppershrike (Cyclarhis gujanensis) is
sometimes thought to be a bad omen. Hawks and vultures are ‘‘natural symbols’’
(Douglas 1970), but jays and parrots are not. I found no trace of the demonic
parrots noted by Redfield and Villa Rojas (1934).
The very loud, clear spring call of the Bright-rumped Attila (Attila spadiceus)
is taken as a sign that it is time to plant fields that are covered with light brush
and easily cleared (forest fields have already been cleared) and, thus, the bird is
called either juiiro from the call or pak’sak’al, ‘‘plant-the-brushfield.’’ There is lore
concerning pewees: the Tropical Pewee (Contopus cinereus) is always present; the
Eastern Pewee (C. virens) is a migrant, coming in fall; they are visually
indistinguishable except to experts, but the songs are very different. To the
Maya, it seems that one kind of yaj (small flycatcher) has suddenly begun to sing
a very mournful song about the time of All Souls Day (Nov. 1; jaanal pixaan ‘‘food
of the souls’’ in Maya).
Maya are keen hunters and crack shots, but they have traditional controls on
taking too many animals, including birds. Wild turkeys, for instance, were
protected by the ‘‘Leaf-litter Turkey,’’ a giant spirit-guardian turkey who would
bring bad luck to overhunters (Llanes Pasos 1993). In recent years, traditional
controls have broken down and hunters have exterminated large game birds near
human settlements. Older woodspeople are unhappy over this (for full details on
hunting, see Anderson and Medina Tzuc [2005] and Martinez Reyes [2004, 2016]).
Birds are popular pets, especially doves because they are gentle, parrots
because they are clever, and finches because they sing. Domestic birds—chickens,
turkeys, ducks, sometimes others—are universal in house-gardens, but do not
command much intellectual attention.
Birds receive great respect, because they are beautiful, interesting, and
always present, and because they can fly through worlds and foretell the future.
All animals are respected and cared for, except absolute pests. Even the ever-
present k’aau (Great-tailed Grackles) are tolerated, though they are noisy and
dirty and steal corn in the fields. The continual low-key but vital respect for
nature and all lives remains an undercurrent that sustains Maya life.

Conclusions

This paper brings together the major bird lore relating to spirits, healing, and
religion from the Yucatec Maya culture. It shows important associations of birds
with water, but especially the relationship of birds with disease and healing.
Association of birds with beauty and nature is also demonstrated. Certain birds
are believed to protect people and, thus, in turn should be protected.
2017 JOURNAL OF ETHNOBIOLOGY 635

The dictionaries reveal that Maya bird names have changed little in 400
years, in spite of culture contact. Some names have dropped out of use; some
have changed reference slightly. The medical lore about birds in the Rituals of the
Bacabs reveals a whole side of medicine concerned with magical, ritual, and
esoteric treatment of what appear to be psychological conditions. This aspect of
Maya life barely survives and more attention should be directed to it.
Bird lore is useful in understanding Maya culture, including the ancient
Maya civilization; it also allows us to appreciate the ancient origins of much
modern culture and the persistent, now unfortunately little-remembered,
association between birds and psychological medicine. Longitudinal studies
may be useful to archaeologists and art historians in relating birds to known and
inferred beliefs regarding water, healing, and general respect for nonhuman lives
in ancient and contemporary times.
This research lays the foundation for future research on traditional and
current Maya bird knowledge. For instance, more research on changing bird
nomenclature over time is needed, as are more studies of Maya traditional
medicine, especially the magical and ritual aspects. ‘‘Secrets’’—magical practic-
es—are still important, and involve birds, but this has been little researched.
Finally, we need a thorough analysis of birds in Classic Maya art comparable to
Ashley Sharpe’s (2014) superb study of birds in the central Mexican codices.
Collectively, these will give us insights into Maya-bird relations through time.

Acknowledgments

Deepest thanks above all to Felix Medina Tzuc, Maria Aurora Dzib Xihum de Cen,
and their families; also Pastor Valdez, Myra Appel, Eugene Hunn, Gerald Islebe, and
others too numerous to mention. Thanks also to Nicole Sault, Lewis Daly, Andrea Cloutier,
and anonymous readers, for editing and advice.

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