The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque)
Page 30
Pakal’s lips brushed her crown as he slowly disengaged from their embrace. She did not protest, lifting eyes bright with promise to meet his once again.
“Climb quickly over the hill, there is a deer path through the meadow,” he said, pointing the direction. “I will return to my grandmother’s temple, so we will seem to come from different places.”
She nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly she whirled around, grasped his shoulders and pulled herself up to brush her lips against his.
“Remember that I am waiting, ever waiting, for your command.”
List of Characters and Places
Sak K’uk – Characters (*historical person)
Sak K’uk* – Acting ruler of Lakam Ha 612-615 CE, mother of Janaab Pakal
Kan Mo’ Hix* – husband of Sak K’uk
K’inich Janaab Pakal* – son of Sak K’uk and Kan Mo’ Hix
Muwaan Mat – Primordial Mother Goddess, named ruler of Lakam Ha 612-615 CE
Hun Pakal* – father of Sak K’uk
Aj Ne Ohl Mat* - Ruler of Lakam Ha 605-612 CE, brother of Sak K'uk
Hohmay - wife of Aj Ne Ohl Mat
Yaxun Xul – father of Kan Mo’ Hix
Pasah Chan – High Priest of Lakam Ha
Kab’ – wife of Pasah Chan
Ah Kuy – old calendar priest
Usin Ch’ob – High Priestess of Lakam Ha
Tunsel – Pakal’s nursemaid
Chakab – older Nakom (warrior chief) of Lakam Ha
Oaxac Ok – distant cousin of Sak K’uk
Ch’amak – distant cousin of Sak K’uk
Uc Ayin – courtier, musician, artist of Lakam Ha
Manik – sister of Uc Ayin, lives in Sak Tz’i
Ek Chuuah – vengeful noble of Usihwitz, leader of attack plot
Yax Chapat – son of Ek Chuuah
Yuknoom Ti’ Chan* – ruler of Kan 619-? CE
Tajoom Uk’ab K’ak* – ruler of Kan 622-630 CE
Uneh Chan* – ruler of Kan 579-611 CE
Tajoom – High Priest of Kan
Wamaw Took – Nakom (warrior chief) of Kan
Zodz (Bat) Dynasty – displaced Kan Dynasty from Uxte’tun
Yahau Chan Muwaan I* – ruler of Usihwitz 603 - ? CE
Kitam – noble opponent to Bahlam dynasty in Lakam Ha
Pax Koh – noble opponent to Bahlam dynasty in Lakam Ha
Yax Chan* – young architect of Lakam Ha
Ho’ Tok – visitor from Nab’nahotot with traders
K’anal – scribe of Lakam Ha
Ikim – potter of ceramics at Lakam Ha
Yonil – young noblewoman of Lakam Ha, in love with Pakal
Tulix – young noblewoman of Lakam Ha
Muyal – young noblewoman of Lakam Ha
Cities and Polities
Matawiil – mythohistoric origin lands at Six Sky Place
Toktan – ancestral city of K’uk Bahlam, founder of Lakam Ha dynasty
B’aakal – “Kingdom of the Bone,” polity governed by Lakam Ha (Palenque)
Lakam Ha – (Palenque) “Big Waters,” major city of B’aakal polity, May Ku
Kan – refers to residence city of Kan (Snake) Dynasty
Uxte’tun – (Kalakmul) early home city of Kan Dynasty, usurped by Zodz (Bat) Dynasty
Dzibanche – home city of Kan dynasty (circa 400-600 CE)
Ka’an – “Kingdom of the Snake,” polity governed by Kan
Usihwitz – (Bonampak) in B’aakal polity, later enemy of Lakam Ha, allied with Kan
Yalamha – coastal trading city on long peninsula (Ambergris Caye)
Nakbe – (El Mirador), called Chatan Uinik – Second Center of Humans
Xpuhil – City near Wukhalal Lagoon
Kuhunlich – City near Wukhalal Lagoon
Becan – City near Wukhalal Lagoon
Popo’ – (Tonina) in B’aakal polity, linked to Lakam Ha by royal marriage
Yokib – (Piedras Negras) in B’aakal polity, later allied with Kan
Wa-Mut – (Wa-Bird, Santa Elena) in B’aakal polity
Nututun – City on Chakamax River, near Lakam Ha
Sak Tz’i – (White Dog) in B’aakal polity, later allied with Kan
Anaay Te – (Anayte) in B’aakal polity
B’aak – (Tortuguero) in B’aakal polity
Pakab – (Pomona, Pia) in Ka’an polity, joined Usihwitz in raid on Lakam Ha
Pa’chan – (Yaxchilan) in Ka’an polity
Uxwitza – (Caracol) allied with Mutul, later with Kan
Mutul – (Tikal) great city of southern region, ally of Lakam Ha, enemy of Kan
Nab’nahotot – (Comalcalco) city on coast of Great North Sea (Gulf of Mexico)
B’uuk – (Las Alacranes) city where Kan installed puppet ruler
Nahokan – (Quirigua) southern city, ally of Oxwitik
Oxwitik – (Copan) southern city allied with Lakam Ha by marriage
Tan-nal – (Seibal) southern city, ally of Maxam
Imix-ha – (Dos Pilas) southern city, ally of Tan-nal and Kan
Maxam/Saal – (Naranjo) southern city, initially offshoot of Mutul, then ally of Kan
Kan Witz-nal – (Ucanal) southern city, ally of Kan and Tan-nal, former Mutul ally
Waka’ – (El Peru) ally of Kan, enemy of Mutul
Peten – lowlands area in north Guatemala, densely populated with Maya sites
Places and Rivers
K’uk Lakam Witz – Fiery Water Mountain, sacred mountain of Lakam Ha
Nab’nah – Great North Sea (Gulf of Mexico)
K’ak-nab – Great East Sea (Gulf of Honduras, Caribbean Sea)
Wukhalal – lagoon of seven colors (Bacalar Lagoon)
K’umaxha – Sacred Monkey River (Usumacinta River), largest river in region, crosses plains north of Lakam Ha, empties into Gulf of Mexico
Michol – river on plains northwest of Lakam Ha, flows below city plateau
Chakamax – river flowing into K’umaxha, southeast of Lakam Ha
Tulixha – large river (Tulija River) flowing near B’aak
Chih Ha – subsidiary river (Chinal River) flows into Tulixha
B’ub’ulha – western river (Rio Grijalva) flowing into Gulf of Mexico near Nab’nahotot
Pokolha – southern river (Rio Motagua) by Nahokan, near Oxwitik
Small rivers flowing across Lakam Ha ridges
Kisiin – Diablo River
Bisik – Picota River
Tun Pitz – Piedras Bolas
Ixha – Motiepa River
Otolum – Otolum River
Sutzha – Murcielagos River
Balunte – Balunte River
Ach’ – Ach’ River
Maya Deities
Hunab K’u (Hun Ahb K’u) – Supreme Creator Being, giver of movement and measure
Muwaan Mat (Duck Hawk, Cormorant) – Primordial Mother Goddess, mother of B’aakal Triad
Hun Ahau (One Lord) – First born of Triad, Celestial Realm
Mah Kinah Ahau (Underworld Sun Lord) – Second born of Triad, Underworld Realm, Jaguar Sun, Underworld Sun-Moon, Waterlily Jaguar
Unen K’awill (Infant Powerful One) – Third born of Triad, Earthly Realm, Baby Jaguar, Patron of royal bloodlines, lightning in forehead, often has one snake-foot
Ahauob (Lords) of the First Sky:
B’olon Chan Yoch’ok’in (Sky That Enters the Sun) – 9 Sky Place
Waklahun Ch’ok’in (Emergent Young Sun) – 16 Sky Place
B’olon Tz’ak Ahau (Conjuring Lord) – 9 Sky Place
Ix Chel – Earth Mother Goddess, healer, midwife, weaver of life, fertility and abundance, commands snake energies, waters and fluids, Lady Rainbow
Hun Hunahpu – Maize God, First Father, resurrected by Hero Twins, ancestor of Mayas
Yum K’ax – Young Maize God, foliated god of growing corn, resurrected Hun Hunahpu
Wuqub’ Kaquix – Seven Macaw, false deity of polestar, defeated by Hero Twins
Hun Ahau – (Hunahp
u), first Hero Twin
Yax Bahlam – (Xbalanque), second Hero Twin
Wakah Chan Te – Jeweled Sky Tree, connects the three dimensions (roots-Underworld, trunk-Middleworld, branches-Upperworld)
Xibalba – Underworld, realm of the Lords of Death
Xmucane – Grandmother Deity of Maya People, Heart of Earth
Xpiyakok – Grandfather Deity of Maya People
Bacabs – Lords of the Four Directions, Hold up the Sky
Ahau Kinh – Lord Time
Itzamna – Sky Bar Deity, Magician of Water-Sacred Itz, Teacher-Builder
K’ukulkan – “Feathered Serpent” God of Transformation
Witz Monster – Cave openings to Underworld depicted as fanged monster mask
Titles
Ahau – Lord
Ixik – Lady
Ix – honorable way to address women
Ah – honorable way to address men
K’uhul Ahau – Divine/Holy Lord
K’uhul Ixik - Divine/Holy Lady
Ah K’in – Solar Priest
Ix K’in – Solar Priestess
Halach Uinik – True Human
Yum - Master
Nakom – War Chief
Sahal – ruler of subsidiary city
Ah Kuch Kab – head of village (Kuchte’el)
Chilam – spokesperson, prophet
Batab – town governor, local leader from noble lineage
Kalomte – K’uhul Ahau ruling several cities, used often at Mutul and Oxwitik
May Ku – seat of the may cycle (260 tuns, 256 solar years), dominant city of region
Yahau – His Lord (high subordinate noble)
Yahau K’ak – His Lord of Fire (high ceremonial-military noble)
Ba-ch’ok – heir designate
Juntan – precious one, signifies relationship between mother and child as well as between deities and ahau, also translated “beloved of”
Dynasty of Lakam Ha (Palenque)
Codes: b. born a. acceded d. died r. ruled
All dates are CE
Long Count Maya Calendar
Although considered a vigesimal (20 base) system, the Maya used modifications in 2 places for calendric and numerological reasons. In Classic times the counts went from 0 to 19 in all but the 2nd position, in which they went from 0 to 17. Postclassic adaptations changed the counts to begin with 1, making them 1 to 20 and 1 to 18.
After 19 Kin occur, the Uinal count goes up by 1 on the next day; after 17 Uinal the Tun count goes up by 1 on the next day, after 19 Tun the Katun count goes up by 1 the next day, and after 19 Katun the Baktun count goes up by 1 the next day.
Thus, we see this progression in the Long Count:
11.19.19.17.19 + 1 kin (day) = 12.0.0.0.0
Increasingly larger units of time beyond the Baktun are: Piktun, Kalabtun, Kinchiltun, and Alautun. These were usually noted by placing 13 in the counts larger than Baktun, indicating 13 to a multiple of the 20th power:
13.13.13.13.13.0.0.0.0
When a 13 Baktun is reached, this signifies the end of a Great Cycle of 1,872,000 kins (days) or 5200 tuns (5125.2567 solar years). But this does not signify the end of the Maya calendar. Larger baktun units occur on stela with numbers above 13, indicating that this count went up to 19 before converting into the next higher unit in the 6th position. When the 5th position (Baktun) reaches 19, on the following day the 6th position (Pictun) becomes 1 and the 5th position becomes 0. This results in a Long Count such as that projected by glyphs at Palenque to a Gregorian date of 4772 AD (GMT correlation), written as 1.0.0.0.0.0.
About the Author
Leonide (Lennie) Martin: Retired California State University professor, former Family Nurse Practitioner, currently author and Maya researcher. My books bring ancient Maya culture and civilization to life in stories about both real historical Mayans and fictional characters. For historical accuracy, I researched Maya archeology, anthropology and history from the scientific. For indigenous viewpoints, I studied with Maya teachers including Aum Rak Sapper, Guatemalan Priestess-Daykeeper and Hunbatz Men, Itza Maya Elder-Daykeeper. I lived in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico for five years to apprentice with Hunbatz Men, becoming a Solar Initiate and Maya Fire Woman in the Itza Maya tradition. The ancient Mayas created the most highly advanced civilization in the Western hemisphere, and my work is dedicated to their wisdom, spirituality, scientific, and cultural accomplishments through compelling historical novels. For more information about my writing and the Mayas, visit:
Website: www.mistsofpalenque.com
Blog: http://leonidemartinblog.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leonide.martin
Acknowledgements
The contributions of many people provide a supportive framework for this book. My greatest respect goes to the archeologists who devoted years to uncovering hidden ruins and analyzing the messages communicated through stones, structures, artifacts and hieroglyphs. Seminal work uncovering Maya civilization was done by Teobert Mahler, Alfred Maudslay, Sylvanus Morley and J. Eric Thompson. Early decipherment made progress through Ernst Forstemann, Eduard Seler, Joseph T. Goodman and Juan Martinez. Franz Blom made early maps of Palenque structures and Heinrich Berlin advanced epigraphy by identifying emblem glyphs for cities.
Alberto Ruz Lhuillier made the famous discovery of Janaab Pakal’s tomb deep inside the Temple of the Inscriptions. Merle Green Robertson, whose drawings of Palenque structures still captivate researchers, gathered an inter-disciplinary team in the Mesas Redondas held near the archeological site. The Palenque Dynasty was identified by the Mesa Redonda teams including Linda Schele, Floyd Lounsbury, Simon Martin, David Stuart, Peter Mathews, Nicolai Grube and Karl Taube. David Stuart and his father George Stuart continued to advance knowledge of Palenque rulers, while Michael Coe captured the public’s interest in books about Maya culture and deciphering the Maya hieroglyphic code.
Two Russian scholars figured large in Maya research. Tatiana Proskouriakoff rendered beautiful reconstructions of cities and uncovered patterns of dates that recorded historical events on monuments. Epigraphy leapt forward with the work of linguist Yuri Knorosov showing that Maya symbols were both syllabic and phonetic. Later scholars added the concept polyvalence, when a single sign has multiple values and a sound can be symbolized by more than one sign.
Dennis Tedlock translated the Popol Vuh, giving us a poetic rendition of Maya creation mythology. Edwin Barnhart oversaw the masterful Palenque Mapping Project, uncovering numerous hidden structures west of the Great Plaza and demonstrating that Palenque was a very large city. Prudence Rice provided fresh and instructive interpretations of Maya social and political organization, including the may cycle in which ceremonial and political leadership passed cooperatively among cities.
Gerardo Aldana explored different interpretations of Palenque dynasties, power structures and astronomy. The amazing intellectual feats of Maya royal courts were exemplified in the 819-day count, a calendric construct used to maintain elite prestige. Aldana’s acumen in reading glyphic texts was pure inspiration for me, leading to major ideas for the succession surrounding Sak K’uk and Muwaan Mat, and Pakal’s reconstruction of the destroyed portal to the gods.
Arnoldo Gonzalez Cruz directed the excavations at Palenque that revealed the tomb of the “Red Queen,” first uncovered by Fanny Lopez Jimenez. The story of discovering the first Mayan queen’s sarcophagus was told in lively fashion by journalist Adriana Malvido in La Reina Roja. Arturo Romano Pacheco determined that the bones were those of a woman, one of the queens in my novel.
The richness of my experiences with indigenous Mayas goes beyond description. I could not write about the ancient Maya without the insights gained in ceremony and study with mentors Hunbatz Men and Aum Rak Sapper, who initiated me into Maya spirituality, and the examples of ancient rituals provided by Tata Pedro Cruz, Don Alejandro Cirilio Oxlaj, Don Pedro Pablo and members of the Grand Maya Itza Council of Priests and Elders.
Thanks
to my readers Lisa Jorgensen, Cate Tennyson, Karen Van Tassell, and Ginger Bensman. Endless accolades and many hugs to my husband David Gortner, inveterate web researcher who ferreted out esoteric facts and elusive images, tirelessly re-read chapters, dissected grammar, and always challenged me to get things straight and make them clear.
Author Notes
Writing historical fiction about the ancient Mayan culture has its particular challenges. There is a large body of scientific research spanning 150 years, and with continuing discoveries have come fresh interpretations. The predominant archeological view has transitioned from viewing the Mayas as priestly astronomers with ceremonial cities to power-seeking kings conducting endless warfare. In recent years a more balanced view is emerging that acknowledges the importance of spiritual and worldly concerns in a complex, multi-dimensional culture.
Progress in epigraphy and linguistic study of Maya inscriptions has allowed the ancient Mayas to speak for themselves. Experts are able to read about 80% of the complex hieroglyphs left on walls and monuments in many Maya cities. These expressions have their own point of view, usually regaling the accomplishments of rulers or giving the history of dynasties and ceremonial events. New interpretations of glyphic writing bring forth other possibilities for Mayan culture, such as its cooperative aspects and profound engagement with spirituality through vital and immediate relationships with deities.
Mayan rulers and priests were mystics and shamans. They envisioned and experienced other realities, interacted with otherworldly creatures, communicated with and even became the earthly manifestation of deities. Historical fiction about their experiences, in my view, must include these extraordinary events. Some have questioned whether this belongs in historical fiction, but to me it is part of Mayan history.
“History is interpretation.” I have taken a particular interpretation of dynastic succession at Palenque, based on work of Peter Mathews and Gerardo Aldana. Different successions were proposed by David Stuart, Linda Schele and David Friedel, Simon Martin and Nicolai Grube. For my focus on the women rulers, succession makes more sense by placing Yohl Ik’nal as the daughter of Kan Bahlam I, Hun Pakal as her husband, Aj Ne Ohl Mat as her son, and Sak K’uk as her daughter and the mother of K’inich Janaab Pakal. Book I in the Mists of Palenque series tells the story of Yohl Ik’nal, who ruled in her own right for 22 years, the first woman ruler of Lakam Ha.