In the Land of Mayans

“at the mouth of the well of the Itza”. The archaeological site was a large pre-Columbian city built by the Maya civilization and is presently located in the Mexican state of Yucat?n. The buildings of Chichen Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and the three best known of these complexes are the Great North Platform, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court. Dominating the North Platform of Chichen Itza is the Temple of Kukulkan (a Maya feathered serpent deity), usually referred to as El Castillo (“the castle”). A loud clap evokes different kinds of interesting reverberations at this point. On the spring and autumn equinoxes, in the late afternoon, the northwest corner of the pyramid casts a series of triangular shadows against the western balustrade on the north side that evokes the appearance of a serpent wriggling down the staircase. Some have suggested the effect was an intentional design by the Maya builders to represent the feathered-serpent god, Kukulcan.

DEADLY MAYAN BALLGAME

There is a Great Ball Court about 150 metres to the north-west of the Castillo for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame, a game that is not played using hands or feet but in which solid balls made of rubber and weighing around 4 kg are pushed using only hips and struck into the stone ball court goals fixed at a height of around 10 m. At the base of the high interior walls of the ball court are slanted benches with sculpted panels of teams of ball players. In one panel, one of the players has been decapitated; the wound emits streams of blood in the form of wriggling snakes. Decapitated player is the winning captain who has been sacrificed to please and invigorate the Mayan gods. This was the saddest part of the Mayan story that made us melancholic and depressed. Even more saddening was the fact that Mayan people used to sacrifice children in a nearby well called Cenote Sagrado during situations like drought to please their gods. The Tzompantli, or Skull Platform (Plataforma de los Cr?neos), was the place where decapitated head of the winning captain would be erected over a stick until it turns into a skull. Chac-Mool is the name given to a type of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican stone statue that depicts a human figure in a position of reclining with the head up and turned to one side, holding a tray over the stomach and believed to be used for human sacrifice by the Mayans. Behind the temple of Kukulcan is the temple of thousand pillars used by Mayans for trade, religious and social congregations. Visit to Chichen Itza is a historian’s dream and a common man’s delight.

MUSICAL SHOW AT XCARET, RIVIERA MAYA

Social program on the third day of the conference was arranged at Xcaret, a majestic archaeological park located in Riviera Maya, Cancun in the Mexican Caribbean Sea shore where we enjoyed a show at night with more than 300 actors on stage, resulting in a musical journey through the history of Mexico since pre-Hispanic times with all the colourful costumes, folklore and dancing. Actors posing as inhabitants of the pre-Hispanic world greeted us with aromatic copal resin incense and the beating of drums. A nocturnal bird emerged from the darkness of a cave to tell its story in the form of a dance. Xcaret Park Riviera Maya presented a live performance of the Mayan ball game, a cosmic metaphor between warriors from heaven and the underworld.

DAY OF THE DEAD CELEBRATIONS:

As in many Latin American countries, Mexico commemorates El Dia de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead or All Soul’s Day on Nov 2 every year. Our visit to Xcaret coincided with the Day of the Dead celebrations. The legacy of past civilizations is graphically manifested on this occasion through people’s beliefs that death is a transition from one life to another at different levels where communication exists between the living and the dead. Despite the morbid subject matter, this holiday is celebrated joyfully and the emphasis is on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits. It is common practice to keep skulls known as “Katrina la Muerte” as trophies and display them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. Apart from the scintillating and mesmerizing musical and dramatic performances by folk artists inside Xcaret on the Day of the Dead that we enjoyed to the hilt while having cold drinks, dinner, dessert, etc. right on our seats, whole ambience around Xcaret that night was magical. It was a different world altogether whose imprints will remain indelible on my mind for a long time to come.

VALEDICTION OF THE CONFERENCE:

My oral presentation was scheduled on the last day of the conference whereas I had presented my poster on the very first day. Both my presentations were well received and I answered a lot of questions. My return journey was quite pleasant and well on time, in spite of being tiresome since the impact of hurricane Sandy had completely subsided by then and flights were operating as per schedule. It was a memorable trip to sum it all.

(Author is working as Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Kashmir and can be reached at [email protected])