A veintena is the Spanish-derived name for a 20-day period used in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican calendars. The division is often casually referred to as a "month", although it is not coordinated with the lunar cycle. The term is most frequently used with respect to the 365-day Aztec calendar, the xiuhpohualli, although 20-day periods are also used in the 365-day Maya calendar (the Mayan tun), as well as by other Mesoamerican civilizations such as the Zapotec and Mixtec.

The 365-day cycle is divided into 18 veintenas of 20 days each, giving 360 days; an additional 5 "nameless days" or nemontemi are appended to bring the total to 365.[1]

The name used for these periods in pre-Columbian times is unknown. In Nahuatl, the word for "twenty days" is cempōhualilhuitl [sempoːwalˈilwit͡ɬ] from the words cempōhualli [sempoːˈwalːi] "twenty" and ilhuitl [ˈilwit͡ɬ] "day".[2] Through Spanish usage, the 20-day period of the Aztec calendar has become commonly known as a veintena. The Aztec word for moon is metztli, and this word is today to describe these 20-day periods, although as the sixteenth-century missionary and early ethnographer, Diego Durán explained:

In ancient times the year was composed of eighteen months, and thus it was observed by these Indian people. Since their months were made of no more than twenty days, these were all the days contained in a month, because they were not guided by the moon but by the days; therefore, the year had eighteen months. The days of the year were counted twenty by twenty.

Each 20-day period started on a Cipactli (Crocodile) day of the tonalpohualli for which a festival was held. The eighteen veintena are listed below. The dates in the chart are from the early eyewitnesses, Diego Durán and Bernardino de Sahagún. Each wrote what they learned from Nahua informants. Sahagún's date precedes the Durán's observations by several decades and is believed to be more recent to the Aztec surrender to the Spanish. Both are shown to emphasize the fact that the beginning of the Native new year became non-uniform as a result of an absence of the unifying force of Tenochtitlan after the Mexica defeat.

Duran TimeSahagun TimeFiesta NamesSymbolEnglish Translation
1. MAR 01 - MAR 201. FEB 02 - FEB 21Atlcahualo, CuauhitlehuaCeasing of Water, Rising Trees
2. MAR 21 - APR 092. FEB 22 - MAR 13TlacaxipehualiztliRites of Fertility; Xipe-Totec
3. APR 10 - APR 293. MAR 14 - APR 02Tozoztonli..Small Perforation
4. APR 30 - MAY 194. APR 03 - APR 22Huey Tozotli.Great Perforation
5. MAY 20 - JUN 085. APR 23 - MAY 12Toxcatl..Dryness
6. JUN 09 - JUN 286. MAY 13 - JUN 01Etzalcualiztli.Eating Maize and Beans
7. JUN 29 - JULY 187. JUN 02 - JUN 21TecuilhuitontliFeast for the Revered Ones
8. JULY 19 - AUG 078. JUN 22 - JUL 11Huey TecuilhuitlFeast for the Greatly Revered Ones
9. AUG 08 - AUG 279. JUL 12 - JUL 31Miccailhuitontli Feast to the Revered Deceased
10. AUG 28 - SEP 1610. AUG01 - AUG 20Huey Miccailhuitontli Feast to the Greatly Revered Deceased
11. SEPT 17 - OCT 0611. AUG 21 - SEPT 09OchpaniztliSweeping and Cleaning
12. OCT 07 - OCT 2612. SEPT10 - SEPT 29TeotlecoReturn of the Gods
13. OCT 27 - NOV 1513. SEPT 30 - OCT 19TepeilhuitlFeast for the Mountains
14. NOV 16 - DEC 0514. OCT 20 - NOV 8QuecholliPrecious Feather
15. DEC 06 - DEC 2515. NOV 09 - NOV 28Panquetzaliztli...Raising the Banners
16. DEC 26 - JAN 1416. NOV 29 - DEC 18AtemoztliDescent of the Water
17. JAN 15 - FEB 0317. DEC 19 - JAN 07TititlStretching for Growth
18. FEB 04 - FEB 2318. JAN 08 - JAN 27Izcalli Encouragement for the Land & People
18u. FEB 24 - FEB 2818u.JAN 28 - FEB 01nemontemi (5 day period)Empty-days (nameless, undefined)

See also

References

  1. "The Nemontemi and the Month Quahuitlehua in the Aztec Solar Calendar". World Digital Library.
  2. WHP Oregon Nahuatl Dictionary


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