EK' BALAM

Ek’ Balam                                        

Leaving Merida by car or bus, after circling the outskirts of the city on the Periferico, my hosts, Evonne and Sam headed for the super highway that takes one to Cancun. After about 50 miles or so, one encounters a large, very modern toll booth.

Located about half way between Cancun and Merida, north of Valladolid, lies the relatively newly excavated (mid 1990’s) archeological site of Ek’ Balam, or the “Black Tiger”.  Since it was neither huge in size, nor overly touristed, it was a delight to visit.  Its “claim to fame” among Mayan sites is its remarkably well-preserved stucco frieze, which had been protected by a 2-foot thick stone façade near the top of the site’s main pyramid.  This Pyramid, known as the Acropolis, is still open to be climbed, unlike the more famous Chichen Itza and others.  

Although not as elegant or commanding as Chichen Itza’s Temple of Kukulkan, the Winged Serpent, it is taller, rising to 108’ in height.  The steps still show fossils of shells, suggesting that either they were excavated from lands closer to the sea, only about 70km to the north where the flamingos live in Rio Lagartos, or that the entire pancake-flat area was underwater long ago.  Some geologists postulate that the Yucatan, Cuba and Florida were all one land mass at one time.

Ek’ Balam was probably founded around 300 BC., reaching its height between 700-1100 AD.  Although it is a walled city, the wall is low and wide, so it probably had nothing to do with defense, as is so clearly the case at Tulum.  It is speculated that it probably served a more social function … of separating the gentry from the peasants, who may have been forbidden entry except for specific purposes.  If so, it may have been one of the first “gated communities” for the elite.  

El Trono, or “The Throne”, was the name given to the stucco frieze of carvings 2/3rds of the way up the Acropolis, which are centered around an open Jaguar Mouth, complete with teeth.  Several of the statues, notably the one that sits atop the main door, are now headless, whether due to erosion or “beheading” is mere speculation.  But the fact that the carved frieze was sealed behind a wall soon after completion suggests to me that perhaps it was built by a leader/king, who was then dishonored or conquered and his “life’s work” was desecrated by his enemy and/or successor, the conquered one’s representations losing their heads, while priests in the frieze remained in possession of theirs.  Some of the priests have wings, like angels, a rather unique representation among Mayan sites, while others are deformed, often considered a sign of spirituality to the Maya.

  

Possessing a north and south plaza with a ball court in the middle, Ek’ Balam was probably an important commercial center in its day.  

The South Plaza is dominated by an Oval Palace, known as La Redondo for its rare rounded wall. 

To its left, built in the more standard rectangular fashion, are two attached, once-identical buildings know as Las Gemelas, the twins. 

Like most Mayan ruin sites, the current inhabitants are mostly birds and lizards.  Here is a proud iguana posturing amid the ruins.

There is a near-by Cenote X’Canche, which has become the center of a community-run ecotourism project that I did not get to visit.  Instead we went to the close-by Italian Restaurant and B&B known as Dolcemente for an early dinner.  So far the Italian pastas I have ordered in and around Merida have all been on the somewhat “crunchy” side, or to my way of thinking, barely cooked.  But dinner was tasty and dessert was fabulous! And the kids in the village were friendly...