# Haabʼ

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Part of the Maya calendric system

"Haab" redirects here. For the airport designated by ICAO code HAAB, see [Bole International Airport](/source/Bole_International_Airport). For the medieval Hungarian prelate, see [Haab (bishop of Vác)](/source/Haab_(bishop_of_V%C3%A1c)).

Today (at UTC+00) Friday, 3 July 2026 Maya 13.0.13.13.2 15 Tzec, 6 Ik Other calendars Armenian 18 Hrotich 1475 Bengali 19 Asharh, BS 1433 Chinese Yang Earth Tiger・Ox Mansion 19 Wǔyuè, Bǐngwǔnián (Xiazhi, 4 days until Xiaoshu) Common Era 3 July 2026 CE Coptic 26 Paoni, AM 1742 Egyptian 18 Athyr, NE 2775 Ethiopian 26 Sanē, AD 2018 French Republican Décade II, Quintidi de Messidor de l'Année 234 de la République Gregorian 3 July, AD 2026 Hebrew 18 Tammuz, AM 5786 Islamic 17 Muharram, AH 1448 (tabular method) ISO week date 2026-W27-5 Japanese 19 Satsuki, Reiwa 8 (Geshi, 4 days until Shōsho) Julian 20 June, AD 2026 (AM 7534) Julian day 2461225 Maya 13.0.13.13.2 15 Tzec, 6 Ik Roman ante diem XII Kalendas Iulias, AUC 2779 Solar Hijri 12 Tir, SH 1405 [refresh]

The **Haabʼ** (Mayan pronunciation: [\[haːɓ\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Mayan)) is part of the [Maya calendric system](/source/Maya_calendar). It was a [365-day calendar](/source/365-day_calendar) used by many of the pre-Columbian cultures of [Mesoamerica](/source/Mesoamerica).

## Description

Haabʼ months: names in glyphs[1] in sequence No. Seq. Name of month Glyph examples glyph meaning No. Seq. Name of month Glyph examples glyph meaning 1 Pop mat 10 Yax green storm 2 Woʼ black conjunction 11 Sakʼ white storm 3 Sip red conjunction 12 Keh red storm 4 Sotzʼ bat 13 Mak enclosed 5 Sek death 14 Kʼankʼin yellow sun 6 Xul dog 15 Muwan owl 7 Yaxkʼin new sun 16 Pax planting time 8 Mol water 17 Kʼayabʼ turtle 9 Chʼen black storm 18 Kumkʼu granary 19 Wayebʼ five unlucky days

The Haabʼ 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-century orthography).

Bricker (1982) estimates that the Haabʼ was first used around 500 BCE with a starting point of the [winter solstice](/source/Winter_solstice).[2]

The Haabʼ month names are most commonly referred to by their names in colonial-era [Yucatec (Yukatek)](/source/Yucatec_Maya_language). In sequence, these (in the revised orthography[3]) are as seen on the right: Each day in the Haabʼ 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 Wayebʼ. For the majority, the first day of the year was Seating Pop. This was followed by 1 Pop, 2 Pop ... 19 Pop, Seating Wo, 1 Wo and so on.

Inscriptions on The Temple of the Cross at Palenque shows clearly that the Maya were aware of the true length of the year, even though they did not employ the use of leap days in their system of calculations generally. J. Eric Thompson[4] wrote that the Maya knew of the drift between the Haabʼ and the solar year and that they made "calculations as to the rate at which the error accumulated, but these were merely noted as corrections they were not used to change the calendar."

### Five unlucky days

The five nameless days at the end of the calendar, called Wayebʼ, was 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 Mayans had customs and rituals they practised during Wayebʼ. For example, the Mayans would not leave their homes and wash their hair.

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Kettunen and Helmke (2005), pp.47–48

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Zero Pop actually fell on the same day as the solstice on −575 December 27, −574 December 27, −573 December 27, and −572 December 26 ([astronomical year numbering](/source/Astronomical_year_numbering), [Universal Time](/source/Universal_Time)), if one does not account for the fact that the Maya region is in roughly time zone UT−6. See ["IMCCE seasons"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120823124027/http://www.imcce.fr/en/grandpublic/temps/saisons.php). Archived from [the original](http://www.imcce.fr/en/grandpublic/temps/saisons.php) on 2012-08-23.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Again, per Kettunen and Helmke (2005)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** J. Eric Thompson (1971). *Maya Hieroglyphic Writing*. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 121. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8061-0958-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8061-0958-0).

## References

- Bricker, Victoria (1982). "The Origin of the Maya Solar Calendar". *Current Anthropology*. **23** (1): 101–103. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1086/202782](https://doi.org/10.1086%2F202782).

- [Coe, Michael D.](/source/Michael_D._Coe) (1992). [*Breaking the Maya Code*](https://archive.org/details/breakingmayacode00coem_0). London: [Thames and Hudson](/source/Thames_and_Hudson). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-500-05061-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-500-05061-9).

- Foster, Lynn V. (2002). *Handbook to Life in the Ancient Mayan World*. New York: [Facts on File](/source/Facts_on_File).

- [Kettunen, Harri](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harri_Kettunen&action=edit&redlink=1); [Christophe Helmke](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Christophe_Helmke&action=edit&redlink=1) (2005). [*Introduction to Maya Hieroglyphs: 10th European Maya Conference Workshop Handbook*](http://www.mesoweb.com/resources/handbook/) (pdf). Leiden: Wayeb and Leiden University. Retrieved 2006-06-08.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Haabʼ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haab%CA%BC) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haab%CA%BC?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.