“The first men to be created and formed were called the Sorcerer of Fatal Laughter, the Sorcerer of Night, Unkempt, and the Black Sorcerer … They were endowed with intelligence, they succeeded in knowing all that there is in the world. When they looked, instantly they saw all that is around them, and they contemplated in turn the arc of heaven and the round face of the earth … [Then the Creator said]: ‘They know all … what shall we do with them now? Let their sight reach only to that which is near; let them see only a little of the face of the earth!… Are they not by nature simple creatures of our making? Must they also be gods?”
― Anonymous, Popol Vuh
Impressions
It was a rough morning. The weather was anything but cooperating in a place tourists deemed a Caribbean paradise. We jumped on the bus in Progreso, in the state of Yucatan, which can best be described as an impoverished industrial area and made our way towards Chichen Itza, about 2 and a half hours away. This was Mexico and you could tell without looking around too much that the area we were driving through was rough, like many places throughout Mexico. In this part of the peninsula here were no historical points of interests, and the very few tourist spots were reserved for the Mexican tourists who could not afford the luxury of Cancun. The closer we drove towards the city of Merida you could see an unstoppable barrage of strip clubs and bars littering the roadside. Huge advertisements aiming at both Mexican and American tourists of tall fair-skinned blonde females were posted everywhere, in a place where the prominent features are that of indigenous Maya; with short stature, dark complexion, and jet-black hair. It didn’t surprise me too much. I’ve seen this before throughout Latin America. The local industrial complex catered to foreign investors and welcomed outsiders, as it was needed for their own survival (or so, they have been told). Driving through Merida I could see the billboards scattered throughout for newly built housing communities, cars, food, etc all of which showed individuals more resembling the people out of Southern California’s Valencia suburbs than the local demographic of people.
After Merida there wasn’t much to see except for trees and highway signs. Many of the signs were for nearby towns with strange non-Spanish names, such as Tixkokob, Kantunil, Yokdzonot, and Cuahtemoc. It brought a smile to my face travelling through a new part of Mexico I have never been to and seeing the original indigenous names of places instead of saint this or saint that. Needless to say, throughout Mexico many indigenous names of areas are still maintained, however, not to this great degree.
As we approached Chichen Itza, we could see more of a typical rural landscape. Communities of people were the western world and ancient traditions collided. Old Roman Catholic churches built with the very stones taken from their ancient temples sitting in between neighborhoods of thatched-roof huts. Impoverished? Most definitely, however, their survival was self-sufficient enough to make due after hundreds of year of conquest and war. For those with the misfortune of extreme poverty or even homelessness, there was one alternative, begging. However, I did not see too much of it here other than the occasional elderly person (and even that was rare).
Catering to visiting gringos was a necessity. This poverty of the region led to a dramatic increase of illegal vendors flooding into Chichen Itza over the years. Upon entering into the site you could see a countless array of vendors and merchants selling everything from wood-carvings to typical Mexican blankets. To me, upon first entering Chichen Itza it resembled more of a bustling tianguis (open-air flea market) than an archaeological site. It was a compelling sight; understandably due to the circumstances leading to increase of illegal selling, however, it was the lack of work opportunities for the indigenous people of the area made one reach for desperate measures to ensure a means of survival. This time in Mexico, the US dollar had just hit an equivalent of 20 Mexican pesos after the Mexican banks began to lose their stability in the market. This meant that the merchants had to sell their goods for more pesos or take a loss.
Chichen Itza was a place I’ve always wanted to go visit since I was young, and having stood in front of the great pyramid of Kukulkan I can say, it did not fail to impress. The atmosphere resembled a bit like Machu Picchu, tourists abound taking selfies to crowds hovering over a temple entrance with their cameras flashing as their guide gives a detailed explanation of its importance. For most of them, it goes in one ear and out the other. It has no tangible significance to which they can connect the power of the history of the various sites around the complex to today. For most of them, myths and stories are interesting, but nonetheless, meaningless. However, for the indigenous Mayan populations still living around the site today, it is of great pride and significance. These are the descendants of these great architects and priests and rather than have them maintain this part of their cultural heritage, they are forced to sell trinkets and staff 5-star hotels around the perimeter of the site. The complexity of their once great and flourishing culture has been reduced to clichés and posing in traditional costumes for photos. This is the result of the religious conquest. But yet, they still remain and continue on the language and many of the cultural traditions passed down through the generations. Much of the significance of the various sites has been lost forever, however, over the recent years a lot has been coming to light with the help of archaeologists and historians. And slowly, the once lost traditions and meanings have been put back into the community.
Historical reflections
The Maya were not known to practice sacrifice until it was introduced by the Toltecs, which was an integral part of their religion. Around the site of Chichen Itza, there are various influences of the Toltecs leading towards a transitional phase in the Mayan culture. Most significantly, the Temple of Skulls, also known as a Tzompantli. The platform of this temple was decorated with carved images of skulls. On top of this platform rested the actual Tzompantli, which in the Aztec language (Nahuatl) means ‘Skull Rack,’ which were wooden racks containing the skulls of their sacrificial victims, which were considered sacred. To be sacrificed was an honor among the Maya, and thus, the skull of the victims (or should I say, participants) were displaced in these large racks. The practice was first started by the Toltecs, then the Maya, and lastly, the Aztecs, evidence of which is still found today around the site of Tenochtitlan in modern day Mexico City.
Among the temples at Chichen Itza the thing that most caught my eye was the massive ballcourt. Within the court competitions were held, and the winners would be sacrificed to the gods (as was customary), and not the losers as one might have assumed. The objective, as researchers gather, was to hit the ball back and forth through the 30 foot high hoop without the use of one’s feet or hands. Seemingly impossible as the objective may be, that’s how it was played.
At the end of the ballcourt was what I later realized was the Temple of the Bearded Man. Around the temple there are several representations of bearded man which overlooks the entire ballcourt. This area was reserved only for the nobility. It is important to note that Mayans do not have beards. In fact, this same effigy can be found or described around the Americas. From the Yurok mythology in Northern California down to the Incan myths of Viracocha in the tip of South America, they have all remnant descriptions of a bearded individual (or group of people). With the complexity of fluid groups of people moving up and down the Americas it would come as no surprise if at some point in time the indigenous people did in fact encounter a different ethnic group that possessed beards. Perhaps, even distant ancestors of the indigenous Ainu of Japan, a bearded ethnic group whose unique traits can be found among some American Indians today. Pseudo-researchers, like Augustus Le Plongeon in the 1800’s, in the past have tried to tie in every link possible at this and other Mayan sites nearby to the fabled city of Atlantis. This was long before the Mayan language was even deciphered, and several fictitious translations of the Mayan writings proved to be anything but a puzzle piece tying Mayan culture with lost cities of the Atlantic.
The living mythology is still left in tact. We may be unable to decipher a great deal of the significance that it meant to these ancient people, but the feelings are still very much quite alive. Walking around you can see various sinkholes, some deeper than others. It is believed inside of El Castillo, there once was a cenote which was later filled over. A cenote is a sacred sinkhole, because much of the Yucatan is made of limestone, underneath is an open channel of just water at sea-level. This was the Mayans’ underworld, a vast network of caves filled with water spreading out for miles in every direction. At some of these sinkholes today archaeologists still uncover offerings left by the ancient Maya.
As the day came to an end I couldn’t help but feel that same feeling I always get when I visit a new place…a feeling of nostalgia, as if I had been here before. I think we all encounter it from time to time but we have no way of putting it into words. You become attached to the place, even if you just happened to walk by for an hour. There’s an ancient connection we all have inside. Maybe it has to do with our primitive roots that we as a human race can all appreciate and innately feel the significance of our past as a collective entity. The enormity of a complex such as this is rather overwhelming, and it seems like our brain tries to filter in as much as it can in order to comprehend it’s deep and most significant parts rather than the whole nature in itself. That is the human connection that we can all understand. Centuries apart and yet, we can each transcend to a higher understanding of something so powerful and yet, so silent.
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