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civilization
Maya Calendar
Mesoamerica
pre-Columbian
Round
Solstice
tropical year
Yucatec
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The Haab' is part of the Maya calendric system used by peoples of the
pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It was the Maya version of the 365-day calendar
known to many of the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica, which 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 550 BCE with the
starting point of the December 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 left:
Haab' Months Name Meaning†
Pop mat
Wo black conjunction
Sip red conjunction
Sotz' bat
Sek ?
Xul dog
Yaxk'in new sun
Mol water
Ch'en black storm
Yax green storm
Sac white storm
Keh red storm
Mak enclosed
K'ank'in yellow sun
Muwan owl
Pax planting time
K'ayab' turtle
Kumk'u granary
Wayeb' five unlucky days
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 0 Pop (the seating of Pop). This was
followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, 0 Wo, 1 Wo and so on.
As a calendar for keeping track of the seasons, the Haab' was crude and
inaccurate, since it treated the year as having 365 days, and ignored the extra
quarter day (approximately) in the actual tropical year. This meant that the
seasons moved with respect to the calendar year by a quarter day each year, so
that the calendar months named after particular seasons no longer corresponded
to these seasons after a few centuries. The Haab' is equivalent to the wandering
365-day year of the ancient Egyptians. Some argue that the Maya knew about and
compensated for the quarter day error, even though their calendar did not
include anything comparable to a leap year, a method first implemented by the
Romans.
Wayeb'
The five nameless days at the end of the calendar called Wayeb' were thought to
be a dangerous time. Foster (2002) writes "During Wayeb, portals between the
mortal realm and the Underworld dissolved. No boundaries prevented the
ill-intending deities from causing disasters." To ward off these evil spirits,
the Maya had customs and rituals they practiced during Wayeb'. For example,
people avoided leaving their houses or washing or combing their hair.
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