More
importantly than all the imagery captured with in this monument, however, is the
history of the royal descent depicted in the heiroglyphs and various statues.
The figurine of a seated captive is also representative of Mayan society as
it depicts someone in the process of a bloodletting ceremony, which included the
accession to kingship. This figure is of high rank as depicted by his expensive
earrings and intricately woven hip cloth. The rope collar which would usually
mark this man as a captive, reveals that he is involved in a bloodletting rite.
His genitals are exposed as he is just about to draw blood for the ceremony.
In the Indian communities, as it was with their Mayan ancestors, the basic
staple diet is corn. The clothing worn is as it was in the past. It is
relatively easy to determine the village in which the clothing was made by the
the type of embroidery, color, design and shape. Mayan dialects of Qhuche,
Cakchiquel, Kekchi, and Mam are still spoken today, although the majority of
Indians also speak Spanish.
One of the most common themes painted on Maya vases is the royal audience.
The ahau, seated characteristically with legs folded, receives visitors. At
times the names of the ahau and his visitors are given in glyphs. Most
interesting are the details: clothing styles and decorative patterning, face
painting, masks worn, gestures made and so forth. Many vases show vases as well
as indicate the style of interior decor with its curtains, pillows, and thrones.
Hats were of crucial importance to Maya social identity. Often the ahau
receiving visitors wears a conical turban hat with a large flower in front of it
and quetzal feathers behind; sometimes a hummingbird or fish is attached to the
front of that large flower.
A presentation of quetzal feathers
The elements on the head of this dragon are supposedly instruments of
self-sacrifice They are found at the base of the supernatural tree displayed as
a "cross" on Palenque temples.
The art in which above all the Maya excelled, and through which they are best
known, is architecture. The splendid ruins of temples, pyramids, and great
cities - some of which were intact and occupied at the time of the conquest -
scattered by scores and hundreds throughout the forests of Yucatan, have been
the wonder and admiration of travellers for over half a century, since they were
first brought prominently to notice by Stephens.
Says Brinton: "The material was usually a hard limestone, which was polished
and carved, and imbedded in a firm mortar. Such was also the character of the
edifices of the Quiches and Cakchiquels of Guatemala. In view of the fact that
none of these masons knew the plumb-line or the square, the accuracy of the
adjustments is remarkable. Their efforts at sculpture were equally bold.
They did not hesitate to attempt statues in the round of life size and
larger, and the fa ades of the edifices were covered with extensive and
intricate designs cut in high relief upon the stones. All this was accomplished
without the use of metal tools, as they did not have even the bronze chisels
familiar to the Aztecs."
The interior walls were also frequently covered with hieroglyphic
inscriptions carved in the stone or wood, or painted upon the plaster. Among the
most noted of the Maya ruins are those of Palenque (in Chiapas), Uxmal,
Chichen-Itz , and Maypan.
