Horoscopes · Systems of many cultures
Mayan (Tzolk'in) · Mayan day sign 11
Chuwen
Monkey; thread · B'atz' (K'iche') · Chuen
The monkey, patron of artists and scribes. K'iche' B'atz' is also 'thread' — the thread of time and of life — and 8 B'atz' is the day on which K'iche' daykeepers are initiated.
Chuwen is the monkey, and in Maya myth the monkey gods — the half-brothers of the Hero Twins in the Popol Vuh — were patrons of writing, art and music. The Classic scribes depicted monkey-scribes at work, and the day is linked with craft and creativity.
In K'iche' the day is B'atz', which means both 'howler monkey' and 'thread'. The thread is the thread of time, of life and of the generations, and B'atz' days are favoured for weddings and for beginning important undertakings. The day 8 B'atz' (Wajxaqib' B'atz') is the great festival on which new daykeepers are initiated and the 260-day count is said to begin anew. Those born on B'atz' are described as artists, weavers, musicians and organisers, gifted and charming.
Personality
artistic · creative · charming · organised · gifted · joyful
Among K'iche' Maya daykeepers, a person born on B'atz' (Yucatec Chuwen) is described as an artist, weaver, musician or organiser, gifted and charming. B'atz' means both 'howler monkey' and 'thread': the thread of time, of life and of the generations, and the monkey gods of the Popol Vuh were patrons of writing, art and music.
Daykeepers credit B'atz' people with creativity, skill with their hands and minds, a sense of joy and play, and the ability to weave together people and projects. The day 8 B'atz' is the great festival on which new daykeepers are initiated and the 260-day count is said to begin anew, so B'atz' is associated with beginnings, weddings and important undertakings. The challenges traditionally named are vanity, a tendency to tangle their affairs and to start more than they can finish.
In love and friendship B'atz' people are portrayed as warm, entertaining and sociable, good at drawing others into their circle. In work they are suited to the arts, crafts, weaving, music, writing and organising events or communities. As with every Maya day sign, the number of the birth day modifies the reading.
Sources and further reading
- Time and the Highland Maya — Barbara Tedlock, 1982
- The Code of Kings — Linda Schele and Peter Mathews, 1998
- Maya Calendar Origins — Prudence M. Rice, 2007