d the one
below, its teeth, as distinguishing marks of a bird of prey furnished
with ears and a powerful beak. The head of the owl appears on a human
body several times in the Dresden manuscript as a substitute for the
death-deity, thus Dr. 18c, 19c, 20a and 20c and in other places, and
the hieroglyphic group (Fig. 5) is almost a regular attendant hieroglyph
of the death-god.

A series of other figures of the Maya mythology is connected with the
death-god. This is evident from the fact that his hieroglyphs or his
symbols occur with certain other figures, which are thus brought into
connection with death and the death-deity.

These figures are as follows:

1. His companion, god F, the god of war, of human sacrifice and of
violent death in battle, apparently a counterpart of the Aztec Xipe, who
will be discussed farther on.

2. The moan bird. See beyond under Mythological Animals, No. 1.

3. The dog. See the same, No. 3.

4. A human figure, possibly representing the priest of the death-god (see
Dr. 28, centre, Dr. 5b and 9a). The last figure is a little doubtful.
It is blindfolded and thus recalls the Aztec deity of frost and sin,
Itztlacoliuhqui. A similar form with eyes bound occurs only once again in
the Maya manuscripts, namely Dr. 50 (centre). That this figure is related
to the death-god is proved by the fact that on Dr. 9a it wears the
Cimi-sign on the middle piece of the chain around its neck. Furthermore
it should be emphasized that the Aztec sin-god, Itztlacoliuhqui, likewise
appears with symbols of death.

5. An isolated figure, Dr. 50a (the sitting figure at the right). This
wears the skull as head ornament, which is represented in exactly the
same way as in the Aztec manuscripts (see Fig. 6).

6. Another isolated figure is twice represented combined with the
death-god in Dr. 22c. This picture is so effaced that it is impossible
to tell what it means. The hieroglyph represents a variant of the
death's-head, Cimi. It seems to signify an ape, which also in the
pictures of the Mexican codices was sometimes used in relation to the
death-god.

The symbols of the death-god are also found with the figure without a
head on Dr. 2 (45)a, clearly the picture of a beheaded prisoner. Death
symbols occur, too, with the curious picture of a hanged woman on Dr.
53b, a picture which is interesting from the fact that it recalls
vividly a communication of Bishop Landa. Landa tells us, the Mayas
believed that whoever h