Chicon (MH753r)

This may well be a calendrical name taken from the tonalpohualli, religious divinator calendar from pre-contact times, consisting of 260 days, each with a day name and a companion number. Because the clergy were trying to discourage the use of calendrical names of this sort, distortions arose, perhaps an intentional subterfuge to keep using the calendar. It was not unusual by this time to see calendrical name where the day name has dropped or the number has dropped. Here, the religious day name has been replaced with the ceramic pot, which actually serves as a phonetic indicator for the -con ending to the name. In one case, below, the tlacuilo uses only the ceramic pot (-con) for the name Chicon, dropping the number altogether–and the name already lacks the day name. In another example, the calendrical name Seven Eagle (Chiconcuauh) shows the ceramic pot with an eagle’s head and no attempt to show a real notation. The pot has become the notation in many cases. While it makes sense phonetically, it may be a clandestine effort to disguise a calendrical name.