Text | Utopia on the clouds
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The role of different glyphs of the Mayans
Although rare and still somewhat uncertain to read, the Kukaj glyph is undoubtedly a depiction of the firefly or lightning bug that is well known in Mayan iconography.
Thus, a "dark" sign appears on its skull plate, labeling fireflies as nocturnal or subsurface creatures, like many other insects, as well as some mammals such as jaguars, bats and gophers.
In addition to providing interesting zoological classifications, dark labels help distinguish the Kukaj logo from similar signs of death and skull.
However, fireflies share other features with these signs, such as invisible eyes, which are present in almost all examples, and often appear in the Grim Reaper.
These associations exist in depictions of other insects in Maya art and suggest that the Maya saw kinship between certain hard, shiny insect carapaces and bones.
The firefly is most famous for appearing on the Metropolitan Vase, which flies over the grim scene of the baby sacrifice. The bulbous lower part of the firefly is actually a fair depiction of the bioluminescent belly lantern of many firefly species.
A vase scene depicts a group of fireflies with flaming lanterns. Like sick fireflies. I, these also have carb marks on the wings and head.
Cosmopolitan vase fireflies hold flaming torches to illuminate the scene below, while other lightning bugs instead smoke tubular cigars. These scenes have long been seen as a reference to mysterious events in which heroic twins attach fireflies to the unlit ends of a cigar in the House of Darkness in order to outwit the lords of the underworld.
While a direct connection between fireflies and heroic twins has not yet been found in Mayan art, there seems to be good reason to associate fireflies with the nocturnal underworld.
Mayan writings even have some indications that the gods of fireflies were worshipped in locations such as Tikal and Dos Piras, with firefly imitators appearing on a late classical colored vessel.
Note that the clear dark sign on the headdress, the invisible eyes and the rotating fire sign emanating from the skeletal nose are clearly visible on all features on the Kukaj logo.
The Petras Neglas stele offers one of the few insect appearances on a carved monument. The monument was erected by King Kinich Jonal Ach II in 716 AD.
The king and his loyal courtiers Canmot are shown. Holding a scepter, the king sits on a huge war junk carved into a cave resembling a mountain.
A cigar-lit firefly emerges from a cave opening behind him, as do monkeys and the jaguar god of the underworld. Like the ceramic vessels, the presence of fireflies marks the dark underground environment of the scene.
The Maya had in-depth knowledge of river and coastal marine fish, so it's no surprise that the kayi glyph is based on their familiarity with edible freshwater fish species.
As a result, this creature has the distinctive tail shrinkage and ray-shaped side fins of cichlids, a large group of fish that inhabit lakes and lower river valleys in Central America, particularly the drainage system of the Usumasinta River.
One member of this family, the red-headed cichlid, even has dark body spots with kay character features. Fish are a recurring symbol in Mayan art, although it must be said that their presence in the scene usually does nothing more than define the location of aquatic action.
Thus, in a late classic big shark spear scene, a fish swimming over the leg of one of the protagonists may indicate that the action took place underwater, as in the case of a fish swimming to the foot of Chuck in the Zapa Stone I, most likely setting the scene at sea.
A common theme is "fish nibbling on water lilies". While this occasionally identifies imitators of water lily snakes, most incidents are more common in nature and may only reflect aquatic associations.
The widespread "water-swallowing birdfish" motif may also be the same, albeit with the same caveat: as a headdress, this motif often represents a god.
In the Dresden Codex, a fish is sacrificed, reminding us that fish was an important part of the classic Mayan diet. However, fishing is also an important religious metaphor. In the aforementioned Riba stele.
Fishing has been likened to a rain-making act as clouds and water cascade down Chuck's nets and racks. In two related scenes where Tikal buries the bone-cutting number 116, several directional rain gods fish from their canoes.
While one of the gods paddles a canoe, two gods wade waist-deep spray and surf, plucking fish from the water and storing them in a fish rack fixed to their backs.
Although ostensibly a simple fishing scene, these events may represent a folk interpretation of Chuck's role in rain-making activities.
On the Dallas Quadruped, the sun god rowed west across the sea, the fish on his back clearly indicating his water level, two large fish parallel to his course, and the characteristic waves and ocean vortexes below him.
The container is supported by four wild boars with long snouts rooted in the earth, whose foreheads are marked with spiral volutes, indicating their strong musk. Their eyelids bear dark markings, suggesting that we glimpsed the scene at night before the sun god ascended the eastern horizon.
The convention of repeating the kabu element apparently means that the composition of this ground line is a solid and complete strip. This convention also appears in an important scene of the post-classical Dresden Codex.
Creatures of the Mayan period
Among the creatures that roam the tropical forests of Central America, there is no more respected than the jaguar, a beast that usually weighs more than 200 pounds.
The word jaguar, which appears in the names of Mayan kings more than any other animal, is not surprising, since jaguars are a model of cunning and brute force, a metaphor for military courage.
The emblem of the jaguar is the head of a feline with spotted fur, front teeth and cracked ears. In the depiction of a full-length jaguar, the rosy pattern of the fur is sometimes carefully rendered, but more typically reduced to three black circles.
The ear is a unique feature; The figurative ears of the jaguar are made of pottery, with the ears as a separate symbol. Anthropomorphic gods wearing jaguar ears include the hero twins, the god of the jaguar of the underworld, and the god of jaguar paddlehands.
The ferocity of the jaguar makes it an ideal badge for warriors, who wear jaguar parts, whether head, skin, tail, or paws, like a medal of honor.
"Spread jaguar skin" is an expression of war, and tools of war such as shields and spears are decorated with fur strips. As a staple item of the royal court, jaguar skins were a conspicuous sign of wealth and were probably obtained as tributes.
This is illustrated by a detail of the Bonan Park fresco: jaguar skins adorn the dancers' kilts and sandals and cover a box, while the servant on the left offers several furs.
In addition to the jaguar mat throne*, the king sits on the jaguar statue throne. The single- and double-headed jaguar throne is found in northern lowland Mayan sites such as Uxmal and Chiqinerza.
Ritual performers don jaguar body parts such as tail, ears, and paws, as well as full-length jaguar skin suits. Jaguar skins are decorated with precious items such as books and offering bowls.
The jaguar hunts at dusk, its eyes, adapted to low-light golden orbs, emit an eerie glow in the dark. Because of this, coupled with the fact that jaguars sought refuge at cave entrances, Mesoamericans associated jaguars with witchcraft and nocturnal phenomena.
The Jaguar's association with the night* is embodied in the Kabu logo, which is often embedded in the Jaguar logo. The strange jaguar creature is one of the most common yokai ogres, a jaguar that emits flames.
Jaguars are associated with water and fire. Jaguars often hunt near the water and are skilled swimmers. The water lily jaguar embodies this water-based aspect.
The fire aspect of the jaguar is embodied in the jaguar god of the underworld, who combines the face of the sun* god, the ears of the jaguar, the twisting device or curler above the nose, and the shell beard.
Its face is a decorative ceramic brazier used for burning ceremonies. The platform terrace displays a carved version of the god of the jaguar underworld, believed to mark the station of the fire ceremony.
The Jaguar staircase from Copan has jaguar ears and star signs on either side of his head. The fire aspect of the jaguar is associated with war, and the face of the jaguar's god of the underworld is a common pattern on the small round shield.
Two important monkey genera still make their home in the tropical lowland forests of the Mayan region: howler monkeys and spider monkeys. The Maya used various terms for these monkeys, but only the latter knew the sign form.
The Marcos logo clearly shows the 3-shaped pattern of intersecting light and dark facial hair common in monkey portraits, dark cheek spots characteristic of mammals, and the common dotted oval mark of rough, wrinkled skin.
Interestingly, while both monkeys are equipped with powerful tails*, Mayan artists seem to associate these organs primarily with spider monkeys.
Howler monkeys are somewhat lethargic and sleep about fifteen hours a day, rarely more than a quarter mile a day. Their deafening roar is generated by vibrations of the laryngeal hyoid bone, mainly to warn other groups of their movements in order to avoid direct confrontation.
Mayan artists associated powerful growlers with scribes and craftsmen, disguises who most often appear in art. Spider monkeys, on the other hand, are active and agile and enjoy a well-deserved reputation as a prankmaker.
They have been known to throw sticks and stones at passers-by, and occasionally harass and attack even larger growlers.
This playful mischievous nature of spider monkeys was a favorite subject of Mayan painters, occasionally depicting monkeys scratching themselves, dancing and enjoying fruit and cocoa pods stolen from the kitchen garden.
Perhaps it is for these reasons that monkeys are so often associated with clowns in Mayan art, and monkeys' reputation as humorists is common in Central America.
But there is also a serious side to this abolition of social norms, with monkeys widely associated with drunkenness, debauchery, and sexual assault, often depicted exposing their genitals and even engaging in interspecific mating.
Similarly, the theme of the modern Chamula Zozil Carnival is the destruction of the world, with actors dressed as monkeys performing violent Pasion.
Like the clown, the monkey's ritual clown and excesses cause laughter, but also highlight misconduct by associating it with the animal world and the punishment of the gods.
The author thinks
Taken together, the scenes reflect the Maya's concern about explaining the apparent similarities between monkeys and humans: observations clearly focus on the monkey's role as a failed human, accompanied by lessons shared with humans. This effect is evident in Popol Take, where the gods are said to punish previously created inattentive inhabitants by turning them into monkeys.
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