The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque)

by Leonide Martin

  Faintly, as if from far away, came the whispers of her mother’s voice, the last thing she said before transition to the spirit world:

  “When in difficult times, turn to Muwaan Mat.”

  Muwaan Mat, the primordial mother, the progenitor of the B’aakal Triad.

  As Sak K’uk formed these memories into a request, she perceived a huge dark bird flying toward her. Its long body was sleek, its wings wide and curved, its neck elongated with rounded eyes and a pointed beak – the cormorant or “duck hawk” called Muwaan Mat in her language.

  The white quetzal and the cormorant flew together, side-by-side, diving and gliding, sweeping and soaring in circles and spirals. Pure joy flooded Sak K’uk as she reveled in the ecstasy of freedom and union, the reconciliation of all differences. As the two celestial birds cavorted, the white quetzal understood the immense power of the cormorant and her guidance became clear. Muwaan Mat would take on the responsibility of the K’altun offerings for the people of B’aakal, her own creations. She would give the proper bundles to the deities in the Upperworld, and this would appease them. Sak K’uk would become her representative in the Middleworld, and would perform abbreviated rituals in her city that were primarily symbolic. The people must understand that humans would be unable to perform the full rituals until the Wakah Chan was restored, and that would take some time. Muwaan Mat would continue her Upperworld ceremonies as a substitute until Lakam Ha re-established its portal to the gods and ancestors.

  Muwaan Mat would assume the actual rulership of Lakam Ha, with Sak K’uk as her earthly ambassador. As soon as Pakal came of age, he would become ruler and his destiny was to rebuild the portal.

  4

  “Let me understand this correctly,” said Kan Mo’ Hix, sounding more annoyed than usual. “You journeyed to the Upperworld and met Muwaan Mat, and she told you that she will do the K’altun ceremony there while you undertake a limited ritual here. That will appease the deities until Pakal becomes ruler and is able to reconstruct our portal.”

  “In essence, that is what I have spoken,” replied Sak K’uk, holding back irritation at her husband. She needed his support in the council meeting.

  “Did you not also say that The Primordial Mother instructed you to assume rulership in her stead until Pakal reaches 12 tuns?” inquired Yaxun Xul.

  Sak K’uk nodded to her father-in-law, who despite his advanced age remained mentally sharp.

  “To be accurate, the ruler will be Muwaan Mat but I will act in her behalf in the Middleworld,” she said.

  Kan Mo’ Hix looked over her head with an exasperated expression.

  “How can a goddess in the Upperworld become our ruler? There is no precedent for this.”

  “Historically, there is precedent,” interjected a young man among the group. “U Kix Kan, predecessor of our founder K’uk Bahlam, was a divine being but also had human form. He was not born in a human way, but came into being by the instigation of Muwaan Mat, and thus he is of the B’aakal Triad lineage. He lived a very long time, many human lifetimes, before K’uk Bahlam was born fully human. In a sense, U Kix Kan was a representative of the Primordial Mother, who passed rulership into the B’aakal lineage through him.”

  Sak K’uk smiled and looked around at the small group gathered in her reception chamber. These were the ones she believed would support her plan. In addition to her husband and father-in-law, the group included Pasah Chan the High Priest, Usin Ch’ob the High Priestess, Chakab, elder Nakom-war chief, Oaxac Ok and Ch’amak, her distant cousins, and Yax Chan, the young man who just spoke. He demonstrated remarkable talent as an architect at an early age, and she intended to put that skill to good use in re-building Kan Bahlam’s pyramid-temple.

  “Words of wisdom spoken by the youngest among us,” she remarked wryly, but quickly caught her mistake. “Except my son Pakal, even younger but equally wise.”

  By Sak K’uk’s insistence, Pakal attended the gathering. He was to play an integral role in her plan, and needed to know every nuance. Much would be expected from him, and his preparation could not omit any aspect, however small. She smiled at him, noting his serious and determined expression. He acknowledged her only with his eyes.

  “In extraordinary circumstances, unusual measures must be taken,” observed Pasah Chan. “There is great truth in this, for only one residing in the realm of the gods could perform the rituals without an existing portal.”

  “Muwaan Mat is the perfect choice to assuage the Triad Deities, for what sons could deny their mother? And the Lords of the First Sky are her companions in the starry vastness. This plan is brilliant,” added Usin Ch’ob.

  Oaxac Ok, a seasoned courtier, spoke to other concerns.

  “There may be difficulty convincing the Council to accept Pakal as heir, the first prince-ba-ch’ok, the ruler to follow Muwaan Mat. They are disgruntled with the Bahlam family and other contenders have ambitions for rulership, although few will risk revealing their goals in our current turmoil.”

  “Can they not see that something must be done, and quickly?” retorted Sak K’uk. “The katun-ending is closing upon us, we have not much time to establish the structure for the K’altun ceremony.”

  “Perhaps they can be convinced of Muwaan Mat’s intercession, but will balk at designating Pakal,” said Ch’amak.

  “This must be overcome. Here you have the totality of the Primordial Mother’s instructions, and these include both her intercessory rulership and Pakal’s designation. His hoof-binding must closely follow the K’altun ceremony to keep the ahauob from becoming contentious and fractured again.” Sak K’uk spoke forcefully, her eyes blazing.

  “Pakal must be at least 12 tuns of age for accession to rulership,” added Pasah Chan.

  “And none would expect him to fully assume rulership responsibilities for several tuns following,” observed Yaxun Xul. “That means, in actuality, that his parents will be acting regents for some time.” He looked meaningfully at Kan Mo’ Hix.

  “Just so, as you say,” sighed Sak K’uk. “Much is yet to be accomplished, even after Pakal becomes ruler. This will not be easy. It is of utmost importance that I have all your support when I bring it before the Popol Nah.”

  She looked intently at each person, her eyes hardening as they met those of Kan Mo’ Hix. He still perplexed her, shifting positions unpredictably, but almost without fail offering criticism. She feared that his ambitions to be ruler would undermine his support for Pakal. However, he had already admitted that he was unable to establish the necessary communications with the deities. Perhaps he was chafing over her assuming stand-in rulership for Muwaan Mat. Dropping her gaze and softening her demeanor, she attempted to lure his cooperation.

  “It will be made clear that I am not actually acceding to rulership of Lakam Ha,” she said with subdued voice. “I am well aware of my opponents, that many care not for my manner and believe I am not closest in line of succession. With royal lineages from both Kan Bahlam and Yaxun Xul, in whose families course the most pure bloodlines from K’uk Bahlam, Pakal is clearly the leading choice for ba-ch’ok. This must be our emphasis.”

  Many were nodding agreement, but Kan Mo’ Hix appeared preoccupied, his expression stony. The well-respected High Priestess and skilled Ix Chel healer, Usin Ch’ob spoke to their higher duties.

  “It has come, this time of extreme hardship that was foretold by our beloved visionary ancestor and ruler, Yohl Ik’nal. In times such as this, we are called to surmount our personal goals for the survival of our city, the well-being of our people. The covenant that binds the royal ahauob of B’aakal is to serve our deities, to give what is required and proper, that they may also provide for us. This mutual exchange of sacred itz, in its many forms, is what sustains the world, this Fourth Creation of the gods that brought forth the real people-Halach Uinik. Look deeply into your hearts and find your inner knowledge that all this is so, that it is the way of our people the Maya. When we break this covenant with the gods we are putting in motion for
ces that will lead to our destruction.”

  Silence descended upon the small group as all reflected upon the priestess’ words. Kan Mo’ Hix kept his eyes lowered, but Sak K’uk could tell by his body language that he was deeply affected.

  “Let it not be said by our descendants that we were the ones to initiate the forces of destruction.” The tenor voice of High Priest Pasah Chan rang clear notes of celestial command inside the stone chamber.

  “Be it so,” rejoined Yaxun Xul and Chakab in unison.

  “Be it so,” Oaxac Ok and Ch’amak repeated. Sak K’uk bowed her head and crossed both arms over her chest, the ultimate gesture of respect. Pakal’s eyes were bright with unshed tears as he mimicked his mother’s gesture.

  In the charged silence following, all eyes turned toward Kan Mo’ Hix. He looked at his son, their eyes locking for long moments. The profound trust and belief in the boy’s expression struck deep into the father’s heart.

  “Be it so,” he repeated softly. Taking a deep breath and releasing it in a long sigh, Kan Mo’ Hix subsumed his ambitions to the collective good. “Usin Ch’ob and Pasah Chan, you have spoken well to remind us of our sacred covenant. To all present I give my respect. And to my wife, I give acknowledgement for her courage to seek this guidance and her strength to carry out the Goddess’ instructions. I am in full support. Let us proceed.”

  The stone benches along the sides of the Popol Nah were crowded with ahauob of Lakam Ha, mostly men but a few women. The call to Council had come from Sak K’uk and Kan Mo’ Hix, declaring an announcement of great portent to the city’s future that carried implications for future leadership. Rumors ran rampant through the city, inciting heated discussions and fueling the fire of opponents to the Bahlam family. Leading the opposing group were two young ahauob, Kitam and Pax Koh, whose family bloodlines traced through several branches to K’uk Bahlam, making them contenders for rulership.

  The raised platform upon which the ruler would sit was draped with jaguar skins, but was vacant. The High Priest stood beside the platform holding his staff, tipped with shining crystals and red macaw feathers. Several spaces on the benches near the ruler’s platform were kept open for the royal family. Whispers circulated among seated ahauob that one of the royals might have the audacity to sit upon the ruler’s platform, a clear declaration of assuming rulership. The hum of voices hushed as a conch was blown four times outside the council chamber, announcing the beginning of a Popol Nah session.

  In the ensuing lull, Sak K’uk and Kan Mo’ Hix entered the chamber. All eyes riveted upon them, watching as they slowly walked from the entrance toward the central ruler’s platform. When they sat on the open spaces on benches near the platform instead of the throne, there was an audible release of breath. For the moment, crisis was avoided.

  The High Priest intoned prayers for opening the Popol Nah session as attendant priests passed along the benches waving burners of copal incense, a ritual for purification that all present might enter into deliberation cleansed of negative energies. The sweet-pungent Pom smoke filled the room. Raising his staff, Pasah Chan rapped it four times on the stone floor – the number four for the directions and quadripartite world – and declared the session begun.

  Kan Mo’ Hix stood and addressed the council first. It was a strategy aimed at defusing resistance to Sak K’uk’s message. As a man from a well-respected family, he hoped to build a foundation of support among ahauob.

  “Honored Council of Lakam Ha, this session is called to address serious problems within our city and our polity. It has been well past one tun since our city suffered the wicked and immoral attack from Kan, and two uinals since their foul and despicable murder of our ruler Aj Ne Ohl Mat. We have also lost the wise leadership of Hun Pakal, another victim of the ruthless Kan. Our city still lies in ruin, many sacred temples defaced and pyramids damaged, our larders depleted, our fields laid waste, our idols of gods and ancestors destroyed, and most of our jewelry and adornments stolen. Not a single family has been spared personal loss and suffering; many of you lost kinfolk, brave warriors during the battle, or afterwards your women and children taken as slaves. Never before has Lakam Ha suffered such a defeat. In the memory of our ancestors, all the way back to our noble founder K’uk Bahlam, nothing of this magnitude has befallen our people, beloved of the Triad Deities.

  “We know that treachery and betrayal by some of our own people underlay this defeat. We suffered the infamy, the insults of the three-day mat person, that vile and despicable Ek Chuuah. He profaned the throne of Lakam Ha by sitting upon it. May his soul be damned before the gods and ancestors so he is lost forever in Xibalba, never to escape the grasp of the Death Lords. Even in this Middleworld, his evil conspirator Uneh Chan of Kan met an untimely death, delivered upon him by our avenging gods. Our deities have not deserted us, but their ability to provide and protect us has been seriously damaged.

  “The collapse of our portal in the Sak Nuk Nah has taken away our ability to access the gods and ancestors. Without this portal, we are unable to perform the ceremonies required, to give to them their bundles in the traditional and time-honored way. We cannot adorn the Triad and the First Sky Gods. We cannot keep our covenant with them. We all know this, but in our confusion and dismay we have avoided facing what is soon before us: the ending of Katun 8, which will be upon us in less than one tun. It is our sacred obligation to perform the K’altun ceremony, to bind the last tun, to set the auguries for the coming katun. The stone-binding ceremony is necessary to invoke patronage of the Lords of Time, to assure their favor for a prosperous new katun. We know the auguries of Katun 9, the attributes of the number 9. Katun 9 can carry the burden of limitation, but with proper rituals these limits can turn toward our enemies, can stop adversity and thus ensure times of expansion for Lakam Ha.

  “We must have a plan. We must take action soon. Through the grace of the B’aakal deities, such a plan of action has been revealed to my wife, Ixik Sak K’uk. This is a powerful demonstration that our gods have not abandoned us. But extraordinary means are needed to maintain our relationships; unusual measures are required in these times of great calamity. Now we shall hear from Sak K’uk of her message from the deities.”

  Kan Mo’ Hix clasped his shoulder and bowed to his wife, resuming his seat on the bench as she rose. Sak K’uk wore a simple white huipil bordered in yellow, an amber neck collar and earspools, with hair braided and twisted into a modest headdress of white cloth with intertwined bronze discs that clinked softly as she moved. She walked along the benches filled with ahauob, drawing herself to full height and straightness. Lifting her chin, her eyes swept the assembly then focused in the distance.

  “My mother, Honored Ancestor Yohl Ik’nal, came to me in a dream. She re-told a story from my childhood about her vigil at the Witz cave on K’uk Lakam Witz. The quadripartite monster mask surrounded the Witz cave and called me to come there for my own vigil. This I did, unaccompanied as instructed and without any offering but myself. Within the maw of the cave, I was taken down into the Underworld where there exists a portal, one that was not damaged in the Kan attack. There in the cave depths were the roots of the Wakah Chan, through which I was able to ascend into the Upperworld.”

  Sak K’uk continued, giving details of her encounters both inside the cave and in the sky-celestial realm. She entered a semi-trance in telling the story, and ended with the instructions of Muwaan Mat.

  “Muwaan Mat, the Primordial Mother Goddess, will give the K’altun offerings. She will give the proper bundles to the Triad Deities and Lords of the First Sky in the Upperworld. She charged me to become her representative in the Middleworld, and perform symbolic rituals so the people can see that these requirements of the gods are being carried out. But the people must understand that we cannot perform the full rituals until the Wakah Chan is restored, until Lakam Ha has re-established our portal to the gods and ancestors.

  “Muwaan Mat is to accede as our next ruler. I am to act as her earthly ambassador. When my
son Janaab Pakal reaches 12 tuns, he is to accede as ruler. The Goddess has ordained that it is his destiny to rebuild the portal.

  “Thus has our Great Mother spoken to me, and charged me to bring her communication to you, the Council of the people of Lakam Ha.”

  Still dazed with her sight blurred from revisiting the encounter with Muwaan Mat, Sak K’uk stood in the center of the Popol Nah, trembling slightly.

  All around her arose murmurs as the ahauob exclaimed among themselves, a few phrases penetrating her awareness: “The Primordial Mother has spoken …” “Can this be so?” “…Who observed this?” “…Self-serving story…” “Our deities still care for us.”

  As voices became more strident, Pasah Chan stepped forth and pounded his staff several times on the floor.

  “Let the Council come to order! Hold your speech!”

  When there was quiet, he continued. “In the absence of a ruler, let us select our Nakom to preside over the Council.”

  “Yes, yes, the Nakom!”

  “Come forth, Chakab!”

  From the bench, Kitam and Pax Koh exchanged dark glances, knowing well the long alliance of Chakab with the Bahlam family. Neither dared challenge the choice of the honored elder warrior to preside, however. Kan Mo’ Hix suppressed a smile, for this was part of their plan. He went to Sak K’uk and assisted her to sit on the bench, as Chakab stood in front of the raised platform holding the throne. Kitam signaled a request to speak and was recognized by Chakab.

  “It is with great respect that now I pose some questions to esteemed Ixik Sak K’uk. Surely what she has told us is an amazing event. She deserves our acknowledgement for braving the dangers of the Underworld to seek assistance. Such a dangerous endeavor should have received some protection by assistants. Were there not any with you at the Witz cave?”

  Kan Mo’ Hix murmured in Sak K’uk’s ear as Kitam spoke, bringing her back into the present. Although she felt shaky, she stood near her husband to reply.