Uxmal
(pronounced oosh-mal)
Visiting Uxmal was amazing!
It’s my favorite Mayan site to date, and it is surprisingly
under-touristed. It is impressive in its massiveness, especially
The Sorcerer’s
Pyramid, which reaches 115’ high and has an unusual elliptical shape to its
base. It is quite irregular as well as
unusually rounded, suggesting, as is the case, that it has been rebuilt several
times, each time over the preceding temple, for a total of at least 5 and
possibly 7 temples!
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| Front Side Steps are now Closed to the Public - NO Climbing Allowed |
The Temple Altar Room
at the top level of the Pyramid is rectangular, however, which is the more
common building style of the Maya, with carved lintels and colored frescos in
stucco on the walls. These unfortunately
have faded and washed away over time and are no longer evident, except for a
fleck of color here or there that defied the ravages of time. There is no question that this site was once a
Great Ceremonial and Administrative Center
that commanded respect over a large domain, arising as it did, from the
beautiful Capital City of
Xiues.
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| Back Side of the Sorcerer's Pyramid |
When I first entered present-day Uxmal in the early morning,
The Sorcerer’s Pyramid was immediately before me, albeit with its back facing
west toward me as well as toward the rising sun. I was quickly
engaged and in awe from this first glimpse…
The front of this massive hulking
Pyramid Temple was shaded at this early hour of 8:30AM (often the best time
of day for visiting popular ruins - before the tour buses arrive and disembowel their charges into the parking lot).
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| Nun's Quadrangle |
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| Nun's Quadrangle - North Building |
So I proceeded into the commanding courtyard at its feet, known as the
Nun’s Quadrangle. Many of these Mayan ruins were given the name
of Nun’s this or that because the excavators saw rows of individual rooms with
doors and were reminded of nunneries back home in Spain.
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| South Side of the Nun's Quadrangle |
However, the concept is erroneous. These were administrative offices of the
highest order – of Kings and Priest-Shamans with commanding responsibilities in
their day.
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| Mayan Arch |
I entered the Quadrangle through a
Classic Mayan Arch and into an open flat courtyard, and yes, it was
somewhat reminiscent of the grand Atrium I beheld at the convent in Izamal (see
that former post), it’s true, except that instead of open rounded arches
shading processional walkways, there were solid buildings on all 4 sides, with
incredible stone carvings above and across the entire façade above the doorways
and around the corners.
I was fascinated
by the geometric stonework before me, each building differently designed and executed.
The most common theme throughout Uxmal and at many other
Mayan sites, is the
repeating presence of innumerable Chac Masks, which
represented and supplicated their Rain
God, CHAC,
because water was so crucial to sustaining life on the dry
limestone plateau of the Yucatan plain, albeit Uxmal is at the beginning of the
rolling hills known as the
PUUC. How
the peoples of first & second centuries survived at all (probably at least
20,000 of them in the city’s “glory days” around the year 1000AD) when they had
no cenote for fresh water… is a miracle
in itself! But they did build themselves
chaltunes, or shallow wells, to access fresh water. Regardless,
The Maya had a
CRITICAL relationship with their
Rain God CHAC! Thus hundreds of
Chac Masks adorn most of their large buildings with a fierce
representations of his visage.
It took me awhile to be able to “see”
Chac in the deteriorating masks, but once you discern a curly nose,
you know his mask is there. The more I
looked, the more clearly I could make out the features of these masks, always
with round stones for eyes, carved eyelids above and below the eyes, round
holes for ears (or maybe they were once filled with wooden ear plugs and perhaps
the ear is the curly-Q sometimes found behind the hole), the curling nose (which was the first
feature to succumb to the ravages of time, so they are often missing), and in
some cases, rounded teeth beneath and feathered headdresses above the face. They were fearsome indeed!
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| Ball Court |
Leaving the Quadrangle via the same
Mayan Arch I entered, I wandered through the park-like setting
while workers raked leaves under the shade of the spreading trees. Down a few wide steps and onto the grassy
grounds at the foot of the
Quadrangle
is a medium sized
Ball Court with
single round stone ring high on each side (only one remains), which registered
a goal when penetrated by the hard rubber ball that was hit through it by
shoulder, elbow, hip or thigh, all heavily shielded to protect the player. Most games were played with 2 players per
team (although the
Super Bowl of Ball
Courts at Chichen Itza had 4 or more players per team) alternating with back-up
players as needed.
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| Ball Court's Ring |
The center of the
Ball Court is flat and perhaps 20 feet
across with open ends. It has stone sides
that slant upward toward a vertical wall on either side, at the center peak of
which is
the carved RING that the
ball must pass through. When the ball
was hit, it made a “pok” sound that resonated between the walls, the noble
Gentry watched from
above, while
Kings and certain privileged
members of his court watched from the stone steps at one end of the court,
where they could better see the ball passing through the stone ring.
I have been told there was a hierarchy of classes with the
King-Priest and his immediate family or entourage at the top, his wealthy and
influential nobles and advisors, astronomers, priests, etc. beneath him, warriors
and ball players below them, the business owners beneath them, and all resting
on the labors of the peasants. However,
ONLY the King and his High Court were privy
to the Ball Game, unlike so many societies where games are used to satiate
and appease the masses. Peasants were not even allowed within the
walls of these great Mayan cities unless on specific service to the privileged
ones. In fact the walls of these cities were meant to
keep the classes separated, rather than for protection (Tulum being the most
obvious exception), which is why when it came to war, these Mayan cities were
vulnerable.
Another interesting detail which was clarified for me by a Mayan
Guide in
Coba was that in the early
days, before the
Toltec/Aztec influx
from
the Central Valley of Mexico gradually
overran the original Mayan influences, there was a simple
blood-letting ceremony held after the Ball game when the Captain of
the winning Team would slice his ear or cheek in order to offer his “superior”
blood to the gods. As the fiercer
Toltec/Aztec customs won the day after 1000AD, the
captain of the WINNING team would be sacrificed, which was his
great honor – to be worthy to give his life to the gods as a reward for his
excellence!
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| Partially Excavated Great Pyramid |
With the
Ball Court
now behind me, I continued forward to the foot of the
Great Pyramid, impressive and still climbable, although hardly as
daunting as the steps of the
Sorcerer’s
Pyramid, which is now closed to the public.
What I liked best about this pyramid is that the back of it remains
unexcavated and quietly overrun with forest, as when the explorers first found
these ruins.
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| Detail At Top Temple of Great Pyramid |
Only a few Mayan ruin sites
continue with excavation, such as
Ek
Balam (see former post) and
Tikal. The word I heard was that Uxmal is “done” and
no more new ruins are to be uncovered.
It IS quite impressive as it is, although I’m sure there’s more to learn
at this and many other archeological sites.
Uxmal was not the
least bit crowded, as opposed to
Chichen
Itza which is verily overrun with tourists.
None the less, I prefer to veer away from the places where others tend
to gather, so as a few groups scrambled up the
Great Pyramid, I took a right turn and found myself all alone at
the charming and unique formation called the
Dovecote Group.
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| Front Rooms & Roof Combs of the Dovecote Group |
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| Back Side of Dovecote |
There is
nothing else like this in all of Mayadom!
It is but a wall with a central arch that takes you beyond and perhaps
out of the old city.
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| Dovecote Seen From Atop the Great Pyramid |
What makes this formation so unique is the
9 roof combs that are stepped, with fretted
niches throughout, like giant triangles of stone reaching to the sky! There used to be rooms and stucco reliefs and
stone statues of important personages on pedestals, but they are all gone now,
while the deteriorating roof combs still stand as one-of-a-kind sentinels
against an azure blue sky - a reminder of
Uxmal’s
majestic past. Perhaps this was the
official entry into the Once Great City, full of rooms busy with commerce and
administrative tasks that one needed to satisfy in order to enter the Valley
beyond… all the way to the great
Sorcerer’s Pyramid and Temple beyond.
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| Small Room Behind Dovecote Gate |
I found myself spending time alone in the forest behind the Dovecote Wall, exploring the un-excavated backside of the great Pyramid, and other semi-exposed ruins that sparked my curiosity. Having it all to myself for at least an hour was a special treat!
There's more to follow on Uxmal....
