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The Tzolk'in is the religious aspect of the Mayan calendar. It is composed of 260 days, with 20 named days that were numbered 1-13. Seeing as 20 and 13 were sacred numbers to the Mayans, it would make sense to implement them into their religious calendar.
The cycle would begin at 1 Imix, then move to 2 Ik' and so on as the days pass, until it reaches 13 Ben. Then the cycle restarts on 1 Ix. It repeats cycles of 13 until the cycle ends on 13 Ahau.
It is best to think of the days and numbers as gears: as the day gear turns, it aligns with a number on the number gear. Only after 260 days does the same pairing occur.
Here is an excellent interactive to ease comprehension of this concept.
The cycle would begin at 1 Imix, then move to 2 Ik' and so on as the days pass, until it reaches 13 Ben. Then the cycle restarts on 1 Ix. It repeats cycles of 13 until the cycle ends on 13 Ahau.
It is best to think of the days and numbers as gears: as the day gear turns, it aligns with a number on the number gear. Only after 260 days does the same pairing occur.
Here is an excellent interactive to ease comprehension of this concept.