On a recent trip to Belize in Central America, I became fascinated with a tale associated with the ruins of the ancient Mayan site known as Xunantunich. Upon arrival at any of the Mayan sites one is amazed at the temples and buildings archeologists have so far uncovered. Alongside of them is the overgrowth of soil and trees that have covered these ruins for centuries, many of then excavated only since the late 19th century and many more in the past few decades. The invention of the airplane allowed a view from the sky as pilots looked down and saw the tops of structures seemingly peeking out from the tree tops. More recently, infrared technology has allowed archeologists to realize that there are thousands of sites waiting to be yet uncovered, indicating the regions of Central America where the ancient Maya flourished was a thriving region of high culture, a larger conglomerate of civilization than we previously thought, similar to the metropolitan centers of trade and commerce such as the Fertile Crescent or the Indus Valley. In other words, we are in the mere beginner's stage of uncovering the history of the Maya.
As you gaze around in awe of the edifices, or try and climb the stairways to the top of a temple to look upon the surrounding countryside one is made aware of an astonishing fact; there are many tree topped hills in the immediate flat landscape. An archeologist who accompanied my tour group pointed out an important fact- "do you see hills in this flat terrain? Every hill you see is a mound concealing yet another structure, another temple or ball court theater waiting to be uncovered." We've a long way to go.
Xunantunich, meaning 'Lady Of The Rock' is so named for a local phenomenon. In the 19th century archeologists and travelers heard tales from the locals of a white, ghostly, spirit like entity dressed like a Mayan princess who appears from time to time in the area of these ruins. Many accounts claim that this apparition is seen climbing the stairs of the great temple making her way to the top as the ancient Mayans did, step by step, sometimes on her knees as this temple was a religious site dedicated to the gods where human sacrifice was performed to appease their thirst for blood, that life force that allowed the Sun to shine so as to create another day which was and still is counted by the time keepers, the shamans who are entrusted with the recording of days, the burden of time which humanity must maintain lest the universe and all that is in it collapses into nothingness. For it is said that when the last time keeper dies and there are no more appointed heirs for this important position, all creation will cease to be, including the gods themselves. Time for the Maya is what kept the universal balance for humanity. The gods, the creatures of the Earth, all the planets and the heavenly bodies cannot exist without them, thus are humans entrusted with the important recording of the days, years, groups of years called khatuns, muliplied and divided, added, subtracted, fractioned and further subdivided as Mayan cosmology, astrology and mathematics demonstrate how obsessed they the Maya were with numbers and days. Historian Michael Wood calls this great and holy responsibility entrusted to mankind 'The Burden Of Time'.
After ascending the many steps to the upper level of the temple- I went up on my knees, to be told by the guide that this was how the Maya climbed the structure, symbolic of ascending to the heavens, an experience which was followed by conveniently modern made stairways that lead to the top of the great temple of Xunantunich, one can view the great expanse below, once many elegantly painted structures but now are individual ruins surrounded by tropical trees that are the domain of beautifully colored birds who resound a symphonic carcophony of screeches and hoots, spider monkeys who play in the canopy, iguana lizards and the curious coati, a small raccoon like creature that seems adorable and cuddly yet has a reputation among the locals as a dangerous pest with a very mean disposition. Looking around, imagining the great plaza below filled with crowds praying and appealing to the gods, with drummers and musicians playing music and shamans chanting hymns while the scent and smoke of incense permeated the air, one can somewhat know and feel what the person chosen for the honor of sacrifice might have experienced. It is beautiful and terrifying all at the same time, this meeting place of humanity and divinity, Earth and sky, time and non existence. The Maya believed in reincarnation so death was for them but a gateway to rebirth, and the sacrificial offering was seen as a brave and wonderful being who would give their life so that other might live, so that the Sun would illuminate the world so that humans might pursue the illumination of the mind. Thus the Maya created art and a form of writing with which they created books for learning and recording knowledge. Their mathematicians discovered the numeral zero on their own, independent of the old world. Like that deceptive creature the coati who seems adorably cuddly and cute yet is in reality fierce and cruel, so did the Maya view our very existence. After washing, perfuming and decorating the naked body of a human sacrificial offering, painting emblems and markings upon their skin, he or she was made to lay back upon a stone and a priest, using a sharp obsidian blade, would cut out the heart of the offering, holding it up to the heavens while it was still beating and pumping blood. The Mayan demonstrate a reality about being human; that we are capable of artistic refinement and intellectual illumination while at the same time maintaining horrific practices and terrible customs based on supposed beliefs about our state of existence. The Greek philosopher Thucydides wrote that war is natural to humanity and without it we cannot advance technologically or spiritually. The Maya, who like the Greeks organized themselves into city states and were constantly engaged in war, seem to have agreed with what many would feel is a rather pessimistic theory. Yet as much as we might protest, our life experiences inform us of the reality of being, and throughout our history into our current era we are plagued by this dual dichotomy. The Maya, like the Olmecs, Incas, the Moche and the Aztecs were no different in their world views, and in fact faced this problem honestly.
Descending from the great temple at Xunantunich was easier than going up, thanks to well constructed wooden staircase with a banister, a benefit Maya devotees did not have. One can visit lesser, smaller structures on the site which at one time graced the plaza which constituted the city square. There is one such structure, a not so high but nonetheless impressive edifice that was excavated only recently. It was explained that this newly excavated structure is actually a tomb in which a Mayan princess was buried, her sarcophagic-like grave can be viewed set and built into the very front of the pyramid like building. On either side of the grave are exhibited 'stelae' or carvings with Mayan writing, indicating the identity of the inhabitant of the tomb, a woman of noble lineage who was honored by her family and people. Considering the Maya were a patriarchal society who, like the ancient Greeks and the Romans, thought matters of state should be handled by men, they did occasionally honor women and such excavations as this one are shedding new light on just how the Mayan viewed women during their early period or the classical era. We cannot surmise fully the conditions or habits of any civilization based on what was so far excavated when we really don't know fully the role of gender in any civilization. The discovery of such tombs tells us a little more about societies of the past. Perhaps we have been able to decipher the old world a bit more because of proximity and closer contact, as this old world was where European, Asian and African history was made and these cultures all had some degree of contact with one another. But the Americas are a different story, with the sudden demise of Native civilizations and the decimation of whole populations due to disease and a merciless, prejudiced and bloody conquest. Conquerors have often sen themselves as superior, and it always was that the conqueror wrote the history books, because the vanquished like the dead cannot speak. The Europeans were not alone in this, as Native empires also had their share of conquering or exterminating their neighbors. With the calming of the the passion of the warlike and greedy victor eventually comes illumination and the seeking of knowledge, and this is where we are today. The discovery of the tomb of this Mayan princess at Xunantunich is but one more stepping stone to getting to understand this ancient civilization.
Along with art, architecture and the discovery and analysis of the books and the literature of a long gone civilization, we should not ignore folk tales and legends. In fact it were folk tales, legends and mythologies that spurred the imaginations of early explorers and historians. Heinrich Schleimann, a 19th century German businessman was intrigued by the stories of ancient Troy and set out to investigate and prove there was some truth to these tales. By doing so he in essence created the science of archeology. Just as he was intrigued by the stories of Troy, so we should not ignore the tales recounted by any people. Perhaps the phenomenon of the ghostly Maid Of The Rock is actually an indication that there is a tomb on the site. The Maya may have forgotten the actual location of her tomb or they were sworn to secrecy when the Spaniards came looking for gold so as to protect it. Yet the legend of the maid has remained, in the form of a ghost that quite a few people have supposedly seen or at least believe in. The location of the tomb and the identity of the individual has been lost but some important figure inspired the tale for sure. Or, the apparition may represent some other woman in yet unknown folklore of the Maya. We cannot be sure, but as new discoveries emerge explanations change or grow and we are understanding our past in a perpetually clearer light. Such is the importance of folk tales and mythology in trying to understand and unravel the lost history of the past. Many of the locals still maintain the apparition of the lady of the rock is real, and can now proudly point to the tomb that was uncovered by archeologists as being the place where she has been sleeping now for the past many centuries, here under the shadow of the great temple of Xunantunich.
Princess of beauty and splendor, queen of fame
Beauty and grace are how ye art described
For us the living, faith in the supernatural is what is prescribed
I know not who ye are, or why this place ye haunt at night
Climbing the temple stairs drifting, transparently
Radiant thou art in the shimmering Moon light
Do ye return to the place of thy death
That cold slab of stone 'pon high?
Where so many innocents were taken and forced to lie
Can you recall the temple priest with obsidian knife in hand?
And from that spot ye entered the realm of death in this land
Or were you a noble queen who spoke out against the ritual deed?
Perhaps ye were silenced by envious men, in their power and greed
So many possibilities, theories and suppositions
Perhaps we'll never know the truth
For thee dear lady we give our salute, for we know you died in youth
Was your tomb the gift of a lover, a husband honoring his loss
Every evening he lay down, sleepless nights
On his cot did he turn and toss
Bemoaning thy death and your parting from this earthly realm, here
For no promise of resurrection or rebirth, can satisfy that lonely fear
So I will travel once again to the climb the temple on high
And perchance you will grace my presence with an appearance...
That I too might know who ye are, and why
Ismail Butera, copyright 2023
Images:
Mayan queen from the film Apocalypto
The temple at Xunantunich
Grave shrine of the Lady Of The Rock
Modern Mayan member of reenactment troupe, Cozumel
Mayan queen from the film Apocalypto
The temple at Xunantunich
Grave shrine of the Lady Of The Rock
Modern Mayan member of reenactment troupe, Cozumel
