Opal Myth : An Anagram for Polymath

On the Mexico Sacred Sites Workshop that I will be leading for Heart of the Initiate we will be visiting Palenque, which has some wonderful examples of the Mayan glyphic writing systems. Palenque is consistently referred to as the most beautiful of all the Mayan ruins in Mesoamerica.

The following is from Wikipedia:

The pre-Columbian Maya civilization developed and used an intricate and versatile writing system which, out of the various historical Mesoamerican scripts known, displays the highest degree of correspondence to a spoken language. Earlier-established civilizations to the west and north of the Maya homelands also had scripts which are recorded in surviving inscriptions, such as those of the Zapotec, Olmec, as well as the Zoque-speaking peoples of the southern Veracruz - western Chiapas area. There is however insufficient available evidence to demonstrate whether these earlier scripts were also able to fully record all, or only some, aspects of their languages (or even to be sure which language they are associated with). It is generally agreed that the Maya writing system was adapted from one or more of these preceding versions, with a number of references identifying the Olmec script as the most likely precursor.[49] The spoken language of the Olmec is unknown, and its relationship to early Maya spoken languages is still unclear.

The Maya writing system, known generally as Maya hieroglyphics, has however been confirmed as a fully-functioning writing system, in which it was possible to unambiguously express any statement of the spoken language. The script is a type best classified as logosyllabic, whose symbols (glyphs, or more formally graphemes) include both logograms and syllables. The script contains within it a complete syllabary (although not all possible syllables have been identified so far), and a Maya scribe could write an expression completely phonetically using these syllables. In practice however, almost all inscriptions of any length were written using a combination of logograms and syllabic signs.

Of the various Mayan languages, two major ones at least have been securely identified in the script, and at least one other is likely. An 'archaic' form known as Classic Maya appears predominantly, particularly in the Classic-era inscriptions of the southern and central lowland areas. This language is most closely related to the Cholan branch of the language family, whose modern-day descendants include Ch'ol, Chorti and Chontal. Inscriptions in an early Yucatecan language (antecedent to the prevalent surviving Yucatec language) are also known or proposed, particularly from the Yucatán Peninsula region and from a later period; three of the four extant Maya codices are based on Yucatec. It has also been surmised that some inscriptions found in the Chiapas highlands region are in a Tzeltalan tongue, whose modern forms are Tzeltal and Tzotzil. Apart from these, regional variations and dialects are also presumed to have been used, but so far not securely identified. Use and knowledge of the Maya script continued at least until the 16th century Spanish conquest when Bishop Diego de Landa described the use of hieroglyphic writing in the religious practices of Yucatecan Mayas, practices that he actively prohibited. De Landa and the Spanish colonizers of the Mayan area destroyed large numbers of codices written in hieroglyphs, effectively ending the Mesoamerican tradition of literacy in native scripts.

I am doing more research on the Mayan languages. I am getting prepared to take a group to Chiapas, Mexico, on a sacred sites tour.

Being a linguist, I naturally take interest in the languages of any area in which I travel. In this article, I am using lots of information from Wikipedia (text and images) to organize the information in a way that works for me. You can click on any of the images in this article to view the full-sized image on Wikipedia.

Overview of Mayan Languages

Mayan languages (alternatively: Maya languages) constitute a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, and Belize. In 1996, Guatemala formally recognized twenty-one Mayan languages by name, and Mexico recognizes another eight not spoken in Guatemala.

The Mayan linguistic family is one of the best documented and most studied in the Americas, and their common ancestor, known as Proto-Mayan, existed at least 5000 years ago and has been partially reconstructed.

The Mayan languages form part of the Mesoamerican Linguistic Area, a sprachbund developed throughout millennia of interaction between the peoples of Mesoamerica. All of the Mayan languages show the basic diagnostic traits of this linguistic area. Mayan languages also possess a set of grammatical and typological features that set them apart from other languages of Mesoamerica, such as the use of a large inventory of "positionals" to signal position of objects, ergative morphosyntactic alignment and elaborate systems of voice and aspect which include several types of passive and antipassive constructions.

During the pre-Columbian era of Mesoamerican history, Mayan languages were written in the Maya hieroglyphic script. The use of the Maya script was particularly widespread during the Classic period of Maya civilization (c. 250-900 CE). The surviving corpus of over 10,000 known individual Maya inscriptions on buildings, monuments, pottery and bark-paper codices, written in the hieroglyphic script, combined with the rich postcolonial literature in Mayan languages written in the Latin alphabet, provide a basis for the modern understanding of pre-Columbian history that is unparalleled in the Americas.

The following information has been altered from its original form on Wikiepdia:

For thousands of years, Maya peoples, ancestral to the present-day Tzotzil and Tzeltal peoples, have continuously lived in settlements in the general area of the modern city of San Cristobal.

San Cristobal is estimated to have about 200.000 inhabitants. This number has been increasing steadily in the past years, since many rural people have been displaced by the armed conflict in 1994 and the subsequent war of low intensity of the Mexican government. The city is located near the Tzotzil Maya communities of Chamula, and Zinacantán, and a half-day bus ride from the Classic Maya ruins of Palenque, and is therefore a popular base of operations for European and US tourists looking to experience ancient and modern Maya culture.

The city's name underwent frequent modifications. On July 27, 1829 the city became "Ciudad de San Cristóbal" and it was on May 31, 1848 that they city became know as "San Cristóbal de Las Casas", in honor of Bartolomé de Las Casas.

Surrounding San Cristobal and even within the city there are several typical mountain wetlands. They are home to an endemic fish (Profundulus hildebrandi), commonly known as "popoyote" which only lives in the valley of San Cristobal. The valley of San Cristobal is surrounded by several mountains. To the west, the Huitepec (about 2700m) is home to the Santa Anita holy site, where a Jesus appeared on a rock, and to a natural reserve with cloud forests. To the east, the Cerro de la Santa Cruz is home to a church where on May 3rd of every year a procession takes place. To the north, the Moxviquil has a prehispanic archaeological site.

San Cristobal was one of the four cities that the Zapatista Army of National Liberation took in its uprising in January of 1994. While many upper-class people in San Cristobal, who consider themselves traditionally rooted here (called "Coletos") are very much against the Zapatistas, there are also parts of the population (poor, indigenous people, civil society) that sympathize or openly cooperate with the Zapatista movement. Many tourists are interested in the Zapatista movement. In 2006, the latest political initiative of the Zapatistas, the "Other Campaign" started from San Cristobal at the beginning of the year. The Zapatistas are also omnipresent in the tourist markets (e.g. dolls, posters, t-shirts) in the city.

From Wikipedia:

Bonampak contains several medium-sized temples around a plaza, along with a few well carved stelae, but is famous for the murals in one of the buildings.

What is often referred to as The Temple of the Murals (also more prosaically called "Structure 1") is a long narrow building with 3 rooms atop a low-stepped pyramid base. The interior walls preserve the finest examples of classic Maya painting, otherwise known only from pottery and occasional small faded fragments. Through a fortunate accident, rainwater seeped into the plaster of the roof in such a way as to cover the interior walls with a layer of slightly transparent calcium carbonate. Shortly after Healy's discovery the Carnegie Institution sent an expedition to Bonampak. The walls were painted with kerosene which made the layer over the paintings temporarily transparent, then the murals were extensively and completely photographed and duplicate paintings were made by two different artists.

Professor Mary Miller of Yale, who conducted an extensive study of the murals, wrote "Perhaps no single artifact from the ancient New World offers as complex a view of Prehispanic society as do the Bonampak paintings. No other work features so many Maya engaged in the life of the court and rendered in such great detail, making the Bonampak murals an unparalleled resource for understanding ancient society."

This site seems quite interesting, even more so since it is fairly inaccessible compared to some of the other Mayan sacred sites.

I am organizing a workshop with Heart of the Initiate to visit some of the sacred sites in Chiapas. During the one-week tour we will most likely visit locations in Tabasco as well as Chiapas. We will also learn about the Mayan calendar, language and experience traditional Maya recipes from this region.

Expect more to come on all of this. View all postings about the Mexico Sacred Sites Workshops.

Snipped, Carved, Whittled, Tweaked, Gramatically Enhanced and Otherwise Adapted from Wikipedia:

Yaxchilán (also sometimes historically referred to by the names Menché and City Lorillard) is an ancient Maya city located on the Usumacinta River in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The ancient name for the city may have been Izancanac.

Yaxchilán means "green stones" in Maya.

This was a large center, important throughout the Classic era, and the dominant power of the Usumacinta area. It dominated such smaller sites as Bonampak, and was long allied with Piedras Negras and at least for a time with Tikal; it was a rival of Palenque, with which Yaxchilán warred in 654. Yat-Balam, founder of a long dynasty, took the throne on 2 August, 320 when Yaxchilán was a minor site. The city-state grew to a regional capital and the dynasty lasted into the early 9th century. Yaxchilán had its greatest power during the long reign of King Shield Jaguar II, who died in his 90s in 742.

Yaxchilán is known for the large quantity of excellent sculpture at the site.

The first published mention of the site seems to have been a brief mention by Juan Galindo in 1833. Professor Edwin Rockstoh of the National College of Guatemala visited in 1881 and published another short account. Explorers Alfred Maudslay and Désiré Charnay arrived here within days of each other in 1882, and they published more detailed accounts of the ruins with drawings and photographs. Charnay dubbed the ruins "City Lorillard" in honor of Pierre Lorillard who contributed to defray the expense of his expedition into the Maya zone. Teoberto Maler visited the site repeatedly from 1897 to 1900 and published a detailed two volume description of Yaxchilán and nearby sites in 1903.

In 1931 Sylvanus Morley led a Carnegie Institution expedition to Yaxchilán, mapped the site and discovered more monuments.

The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) conducted archaeological research at Yaxchilán in 1972 - 1973, again in 1983, and further INAH work was conducted in the early 1990s.

Yaxchilán has long been difficult to reach other by river. Until recently, no roads existed within 100 miles. The only ways to get to the site were hundreds of miles by boat, or else by small plane. Since the construction of the Border Highway by the Mexican Government in the early 1990s, it is possible for tourists to visit. To reach the site, it is necessary now only to take an hour long boat ride down the Usumacinta River from Frontera Corozal.

The following excerpts begin to tell a story about the mystery and wonder of Palenque. This is continuation of some research that I have been doing into Palenque.

From Mexico Mystique: Coming 6th World Of Consciousness, by Frank Waters:

"Why did this phenomenal birth of classic Mayan civilization take place in only one central area? One might suppose it would have occurred in the norther ara, at the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula where Dzibilchaltún, founded a thousand years before, was still occupied. Or that the new great cities would have been built in the Guatemala-Chiapas highlands which offered better living conditions. It is also curious, considering the amount of sea trade around the peninsula, why they were not built along the coasts instead of in the tropical lowlands a hundred miles inland. The great ceremonial sites largely centered in the almost impassable heart of the Petén in Guatemala, and in the the rain-forest of the Usamacinta valley in Chiapas, Mexico...

Knowing the compelling religious motivation of the Mayas and their deep knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, one may well wonder if the sites were picked astronomically, perhaps as centers of astrological influence from various celestial bodies. It might be interesting the see if their geometric ground pattern reflected in any way those of the constellations."

"How indescribably beautiful (the Mayan ruins) all are! Embalmed in meditative silence, they lie in a time-dimension unfamiliar to us, their mystery appealing to something in our deeper selves. Sublime Palenque bespeaks it best. It lies on the slope of a rain-forested hill in the valley of the Usamacinta. Over its ruins fly macaws and parrots, always in pairs, and there sounds at night the roar of howler monkeys."

"Maya tradition affirms this was the birthplace of the gods. Also of mankind. According to the Popul Vuh's creation myth, the yellow and white ears of corn from which the flesh of the first men were formed came from Paxil and Cayala. These mythical places lay in the region of Palenque. Paxil has been interpreted as "the separation of the waters," evidently meaning the land which first emerged from the watery abyss."

"Pythagorean tradition affirms Palenque is the geographical center of the area embraced by the continental land mass of America. Its architecture is said to exemplify the highest Pythagorean art developed in America, combining the abstract precision of mathematics with the emotional power of poetry and music.

All of this information intrigues me very much. I will continue to look into the sacred ancestral connection of Palenque with other historical and religious traditions on other continents, its connection with the birthplace of the gods and mankind and the sacred geometric connection with the center of the American land-mass.

If you want an excellent read on the Maya and Mexico, consider getting a copy of Mexico Mystique: Coming 6th World Of Consciousness.

Snipped, Carved, Whittled, Tweaked, Gramatically Enhanced and Otherwise Adapted from Wikipedia:

Palenque is perhaps the most studied and written about of Maya sites. Although it is a medium-sized site, much smaller than such huge sites as Tikal or Copán, Palenque, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, and bas-relief carvings the Maya produced.

The site was already long abandoned when the Spanish arrived in Chiapas. The first European to visit the ruins and publish an account was Father Pedro Lorenzo de la Nada in 1567; at the time the local Chol Maya called it Otolum meaning "Land with strong houses", de la Nada roughly translated this into Spanish to give the site the name "Palenque", meaning "fortification".

K'inich Janaab' Pacal, also known as Pacal the Great, is the most famous of the Maya Ajaw (king, lord, leader, ruler). Starting at twelve years of age, he reigned in B'aakal, the Maya city-state in which Palenque was the largest city, from 615-683. Known as the favorite of the gods, he carried Palenque to new levels of splendor, in spite of having come to power when the city was at a low point. During his government, most of the palaces and temples of Palenque were constructed; the city flourished as never before, eclipsing Tikal. The central complex, known as The Palace, was enlarged and remodeled on various occasions, notably in the years 654, 661, and 668.

After the death of Pacal the Great in 683, his eldest son K'inich Kan B'alam assumed the kingship of B'aakal, who in turn was succeeded in 702 by his brother K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II. The first continued the architectural and sculptural works that were begun by his father, as well as finishing the construction of the famous tomb of Pacal and starting ambitious projects such as the Group of the Crosses. The second, with the same enthusiasm for construction and art, continued reconstructing and enlarging the north side of the Palace. Thanks to the reign of Pacal the Great and those of his two sons, Palenque enjoyed a century of growth and splendor.

In 711, Palenque was sacked by the realm of Toniná, and the old king K'inich K'an Joy Chitam II was taken prisoner, and for ten years there was no Ajaw. Finally, a man named K'inich Ahkal Nab' arrived to power, most likely after years of maneuvering and forging political alliances. Whether he was a direct descendant of Pacal the Great or not remains a mystery. This king, his son and grandson, governed until the end of the 8th century. Little is known about this time period, except that, among other events, the war with Toniná continued, and there are hieroglyphics in Toniná that record a new defeat of Palenque.

During the 8th century, the Maya city-state of B'aakal came under increasing stress, in concert with most other Classic Maya city-states, and there was no new elite construction in the ceremonial center sometime after 800. An agricultural population continued to live here for a few generations, then the site was abandoned and was slowly grown over by the forest. The district was very sparsely populated when the Spanish first arrived in the 1520s.