One of the most important Maya cities ever constructed, Chichn Itz was a center of culture, power, diversity, and religious practice for much of their civilization's reign over the Yucatn peninsula. Established around 600 AD and active through the majority of Mayan history through the early Post-Classic period, its diverse population and fascinating architecture stood as a testament to Mayan ingenuity and capability. Within its area of influence, however, the practice of human sacrifice thrived for at least a part of the city's lifespan. On the northern edges of Chichn Itz lies a cenote, which is a round depression left by the collapse of an underground cave's roof that often then fills with water. This cenote, called the Sacred Cenote (or Cenote Sagrando in Spanish) was used exclusively to send untold numbers of sacrificial victims to their deaths.
Below the soil, the Yucatn peninsula is made largely of limestone. Because of this, surface waterways like streams and rivers are extremely rare, and the Mayans came to rely on cenotes as their primary source of fresh water, to be used for irrigation, drinking, bathing, and so on. Though the Sacred Cenote at Chichn Itz is impressive in size and purity, and therefore of great practical value, its well of water was strictly reserved for the practice of human sacrifice. Writings preserved from both Spanish ecumenical sources such as Bishop Landa's journals, as well as Mayan histories, indicate that there was most likely a chamber inside the city itself where perhaps thousands of slaves were kept, waiting to be thrown to their deaths over the sheer, steep walls of the sacred well.
Those victims were by and large slaves and captives of war, often as not young virgin women, although there is evidence that any regular citizen stood a chance of being selected to make a passage to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. They would then face a long and terrifying fall past the cenote's 27-meter high sheer walls, which form a hole nearly 60 meters in diameter. The force of impact with the water below was likely enough to make a quick end of nearly all who were chosen to give up their souls in this fashion.
Scientists have been attempting to recover artifacts from the bottom of the well since the early 1900s. In the beginning, methods were generally crude, utilizing steel buckets and claws to dredge the floor, which didn't contribute positively to the structural integrity of the well. Modern research methods are gentler, and archaeologists take care to repair the damage caused by earlier expeditions while they sift for new objects, including the use of scuba gear to manually examine the contents in situ. The purity of the cenote's water is one of its most striking features; materials normally apt to decay in a short time, like wood, can last for centuries and are regularly recovered, along with gold, jade, incense, weapons, pottery, tools, statues, and human bones. From this wide collection of recovered objects, we can deduce that the Mayan nobility (and perhaps regular citizens as well) took up the practice of offering valuables to the gods by tossing them into the cenote in addition to sacrificial captives. Many of the items bear the marks of intentional damage, which is thought to have been a method of symbolically 'killing' the items so that they could find their way to their intended recipients in Xibalba.
The Mayan underworld could be reached by three methods, according to their religious teachings, and the Sacred Cenote was one such portal to the lands of the dead (aside from other designated cenote/cave systems or competition in the Mesoamerican Ball Game, tlatchtli, at locations such as Chichn Itz's Great Ballcourt). Called Chen Kul " Well of the Gods " in the Nahuatl language, it received offerings mainly to Chac, the Mayan rain god, who was thought to dwell in its depths and grant bountiful harvests and prosperous weather to those who paid proper respect to his power. A description of the sacrificial process, which of course can't be fully authenticated, was given by a Spanish report from the late 1500s.
The report claims that Chichn Itz itself was named for an ancient Mayan called Ah Kin Itz. "A Kin" was a title given to high-status or revered priests; the name "Chichn Itz," we now know, literally translates to "at the mouth of the well of Itz." It was the custom, according to the report, for the nobility of the region to undergo a sixty-day fast of purification, during which time they not only abstained from most food, but even from making eye contact with others, including the wives and servants who brought them the meager sustenance they were allowed.
After the fast, the nobles would attend the sacrifice at the Sacred Cenote, and would each personally cast a young woman into the pit, telling her to make all requests for a bountiful year as she passed through the gates of the underworld. If the gods were pleased with the lords, at least one woman would be spared, surviving the impact and avoiding drowning; once drawn out of the cenote and revived by burning incense, she would tell of her meeting with the gods and her reception in Xibalba. However, should the gods be displeased, they would leave no survivors to confirm a passage to the land of the dead, and the nobles would look forward to a grim year full of hardship and misfortune.
Below the soil, the Yucatn peninsula is made largely of limestone. Because of this, surface waterways like streams and rivers are extremely rare, and the Mayans came to rely on cenotes as their primary source of fresh water, to be used for irrigation, drinking, bathing, and so on. Though the Sacred Cenote at Chichn Itz is impressive in size and purity, and therefore of great practical value, its well of water was strictly reserved for the practice of human sacrifice. Writings preserved from both Spanish ecumenical sources such as Bishop Landa's journals, as well as Mayan histories, indicate that there was most likely a chamber inside the city itself where perhaps thousands of slaves were kept, waiting to be thrown to their deaths over the sheer, steep walls of the sacred well.
Those victims were by and large slaves and captives of war, often as not young virgin women, although there is evidence that any regular citizen stood a chance of being selected to make a passage to Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. They would then face a long and terrifying fall past the cenote's 27-meter high sheer walls, which form a hole nearly 60 meters in diameter. The force of impact with the water below was likely enough to make a quick end of nearly all who were chosen to give up their souls in this fashion.
Scientists have been attempting to recover artifacts from the bottom of the well since the early 1900s. In the beginning, methods were generally crude, utilizing steel buckets and claws to dredge the floor, which didn't contribute positively to the structural integrity of the well. Modern research methods are gentler, and archaeologists take care to repair the damage caused by earlier expeditions while they sift for new objects, including the use of scuba gear to manually examine the contents in situ. The purity of the cenote's water is one of its most striking features; materials normally apt to decay in a short time, like wood, can last for centuries and are regularly recovered, along with gold, jade, incense, weapons, pottery, tools, statues, and human bones. From this wide collection of recovered objects, we can deduce that the Mayan nobility (and perhaps regular citizens as well) took up the practice of offering valuables to the gods by tossing them into the cenote in addition to sacrificial captives. Many of the items bear the marks of intentional damage, which is thought to have been a method of symbolically 'killing' the items so that they could find their way to their intended recipients in Xibalba.
The Mayan underworld could be reached by three methods, according to their religious teachings, and the Sacred Cenote was one such portal to the lands of the dead (aside from other designated cenote/cave systems or competition in the Mesoamerican Ball Game, tlatchtli, at locations such as Chichn Itz's Great Ballcourt). Called Chen Kul " Well of the Gods " in the Nahuatl language, it received offerings mainly to Chac, the Mayan rain god, who was thought to dwell in its depths and grant bountiful harvests and prosperous weather to those who paid proper respect to his power. A description of the sacrificial process, which of course can't be fully authenticated, was given by a Spanish report from the late 1500s.
The report claims that Chichn Itz itself was named for an ancient Mayan called Ah Kin Itz. "A Kin" was a title given to high-status or revered priests; the name "Chichn Itz," we now know, literally translates to "at the mouth of the well of Itz." It was the custom, according to the report, for the nobility of the region to undergo a sixty-day fast of purification, during which time they not only abstained from most food, but even from making eye contact with others, including the wives and servants who brought them the meager sustenance they were allowed.
After the fast, the nobles would attend the sacrifice at the Sacred Cenote, and would each personally cast a young woman into the pit, telling her to make all requests for a bountiful year as she passed through the gates of the underworld. If the gods were pleased with the lords, at least one woman would be spared, surviving the impact and avoiding drowning; once drawn out of the cenote and revived by burning incense, she would tell of her meeting with the gods and her reception in Xibalba. However, should the gods be displeased, they would leave no survivors to confirm a passage to the land of the dead, and the nobles would look forward to a grim year full of hardship and misfortune.
About the Author:
if you're going to the Riviera Maya you'll enjoy the Mayan Riviera travel community. For hassle free tours departing from Cancun, Playa del Carmen and any other place in the Riviera Maya see Mexico Travel.
No comments:
Post a Comment