“Of that I have no doubt.” She smiled to think of this brave warrior afraid of his own infant son. Best to let him escape his discomfort with an excuse. “It is perhaps time for feeding, do send in my attendant on your way out.”
The relief flooding his face was comical. He bent and nuzzled her cheek, patted the baby’s dark fuzzy head and quickly departed.
Ek Chuuah strode purposefully out his household compound, heading nowhere in particular. Instead of taking the wide plaster walkway toward the central plaza of Usihwitz, he turned onto a smaller path covered with crushed limestone that led to the river. Today he wanted to think, or more accurately, to scheme; something his mind was naturally inclined to do. Walking the path along the river provided more solitude.
Life in Usihwitz had treated him well. The warriors were first to befriend him, having admired his prowess during the flower war. Soon the Nakom-War Chief was consulting him about tactics and advice for trainings. The Ix Chel priestesses attended his wound and helped it heal without infection. The family who housed him considered it an honor and appeared somewhat in awe due to his reputation and bloodlines. As an elite ahau, he was asked to join the Popol Nah and sit in council with the city’s leaders. There he drew upon experience with the larger, more complex political structure at Lakam Ha and impressed Usihwitz’s ruler Joy Bahlam.
Glancing back over his shoulder, he noted the few tall temples of Usihwitz that rose above the forest canopy. It was true that this adopted city was smaller and less grand than his home. Continuing skirmishes with its domineering neighbor city Pa’chan, situated in a loop of the K’umaxha River, had weakened the Usihwitz dynasty. Pa’chan had put in place puppet rulers on occasion, most likely the underlying reason why Usihwitz sought alliance with Lakam Ha. As the circles of influence and alliance took shape, Pa’chan was drawn into the polity of Ka’an while Usihwitz gravitated toward the polity of B’aakal. The Kan leaders, however, appeared to have designs upon Usihwitz to judge from recent visits by trading delegations. Joy Bahlam remained firmly neutral to overtures, keeping his commitment to B’aakal.
But that was something Ek Chuuah meant to change. The birth of his son, his first child, set off a storm of scheming about his future in Usihwitz. His lovely wife was the eldest daughter of ruler Joy Bahlam, and winning her hand was a fine accomplishment. This pleased him greatly. It showed how high his status had become in the city of his banishment. When the year of service was complete after his hair was cut at the flower war, his decision was unequivocal: to remain in Usihwitz. Rage against Lakam Ha ruler Kan Bahlam made returning to his home impossible.
For he was certain that his wounding at the flower war was not an accident. There was something in the clever way that his opponent conveniently missed his target and slashed deeply to create a serious wound. The process seemed choreographed, even to Kan Bahlam’s refusal to challenge the referee’s call. An unfortunate accident, indeed. With an advantageous outcome that allowed Kan Bahlam to exile an opponent. Fury exploded at the injustice, at the blatant violation of sacred rules given by the gods for conduct of these mock warfare games.
An uneven pocket in the path twisted his right leg and he winced in pain. The cut that almost severed his right hamstrings was well healed but still remained painful when stressed. Probably he would always walk with a slight limp. He seethed while rubbing the scar; it would prevent him from ever fighting as effectively as before. He often saw the Usihwitz warrior who wounded him, evidently in collusion with Kan Bahlam, but was wise enough never to confront the older man. Soon enough the old warrior would join the spirits, and the order of power would change in Usihwitz.
That thought brought Ek Chuuah back to his current scheming. Joy Bahlam was in declining health and had designated his only son as successor. The young man lacked charisma and leadership, his following was tenuous, and Usihwitz had a history of dynastic changes. The perfect set-up for bringing a new bloodline into rulership – his own. Married to the ruler’s eldest daughter who had given him a son, well respected among warriors, accepted into a leadership role in the Council, more experienced in politics than most, he was the perfect choice as the next ruler.
To consolidate his position, he would spearhead a raid on Lakam Ha. Once Joy Bahlam joined the ancestors, convincing his weak-minded son would be an easy task. From conversations with Kan visitors, among whom were a few warriors, he knew that support could be gleaned from the distant polity. The Kan ruler in Dzibanche had ambitions for expansion, and Lakam Ha was in his sights.
The path reached the river, also called Usihwitz because it passed close to the city. It was a tributary of the mighty K’umaxha River, major transportation artery giving access to the Chacamax River running just south of Lakam Ha. He stood on the bank, watching the current form swirls around posts placed for tying canoes. Around the next curve was the main docking area for the city, with a wide plaster walkway leading to the plaza. The rushing water masked men’s voices in the distance. Breathing deeply of moist and pungent air, he concluded that his plan would work. The rivers were the access, and the foils. It might take a few years, but he could almost taste the sweetness of victory – and the satisfaction of revenge.
3
Sak K’uk sat at the edge of a small pool formed by an aqueduct that diverted flow from the Bisik River into the royal residences. Near the courtyard edge, a narrow rivulet broke off and burbled gently over its shallow rocky bottom. The courtyard off the children’s chambers bordered the pool and the child frequently splashed in its cool waters. The dark-haired girl, just over two solar years in age, was busily weaving twigs and leaves into fanciful shapes. Once satisfied with her creations, she set them in a semi-circle between her and the building. Standing, she drew her tiny body as tall as possible and tilted up her chin, gesturing imperially and babbling rapidly at the twig figures. A mixture of simple Maya words and nonsense syllables, her speech continued for several minutes. From time to time she rose on her toes, gesturing forcefully to make a point.
Her speech finished with several loud exclamations, as she shook her finger at the twig figures. Dropping to her knees, she swept the figures into the pool and watched as the current carried them slowly into the stream.
“What are you doing, Sak K’uk?” Her mother, Yohl Ik’nal, had been watching from a shaded area of the courtyard.
“Bad men,” the girl replied, pointing at the disappearing twig figures. “Not do, very bad, they go.”
She gestured again toward the figures in a dismissing command, tossed her head and shot a winning smile at her mother as she pirouetted prettily over the courtyard.
Yohl Ik’nal clapped her hands in appreciation of the girl’s dance and laughed. Her daughter never failed to amaze her. The girl’s birth had been as easy as her older brother’s was difficult, and their characters could not be more different. Sak K’uk was confident, assertive and self-assured beyond anything reasonable for such a small child. She seemed fearless, would explore any crevice and climb any branch, and frequently wandered off alone if not carefully watched. Her attendants and nursemaid were already cowed by her commanding manner and seldom crossed her desires. It made discipline nearly impossible. The mother learned early that coaxing worked better than ordering and had several creative techniques to lure the girl into cooperation.
Already her brother, although six years her senior, was intimidated by her strong personality and did her bidding. Yohl Ik’nal worried that her son Aj Ne Ohl Mat might never develop the character of a leader, and his little sister was not helping. That she was a born leader left little doubt.
The sound of footsteps approaching the courtyard interrupted Yohl Ik’nal’s musings. She smiled as her husband Hun Pakal entered with two companions, trusted advisors from the royal court. She was expecting them, anticipating their report of a recent surveillance trip around the B’aakal polity. Gesturing that the men be seated on nearby mats, she called for Sak K’uk’s nursemaid.
The girl tumbled into her m
other’s lap as the nursemaid approached. The determination of the little body to stay put was communicated immediately to Yohl Ik’nal. She sighed and waved the nursemaid to remain nearby, but did not try to dislodge the girl. It would only be asking for a scene, one she did not want exposed before the men. Stroking the girl’s hair, she whispered:
“You may stay if you remain quiet. I must speak of important things with your father and our friends. Will you be good?”
“Yes, mother,” Sak K’uk whispered back with a colluding smile.
“It is good to have you back, and to be with you all again,” Yohl Ik’nal said warmly to the men. She reached to touch Hun Pakal’s hand and their eyes met in fond acknowledgement. His fingers entwined briefly with hers, then he became businesslike.
“This we have seen, the general mood of the cities of B’aakal, is one of calmness and content,” reported Tilkach. The middle-aged noble was among her most trusted court advisors, a man whose large hatchet nose and severe mouth belied his good-humored character.
“It is thus, the year’s crops have been bountiful, festivals were provided for the people by their Sahals and Ah Kuch Kabs, and calendar ceremonies performed as ordained by village Ah Kinob,” added Itzam Ik, a young pleasant-featured man whose acumen in building trust among village leaders made him an indispensable asset. He was included in the inner circle of court advisors.
“When people’s bellies are full, their work close to home, and their homage to the Triad deities enacted correctly by those entrusted to assure continued good fortune, then comes a time of satisfaction. The people and the city ahauob are less inclined to follow those who agitate for something different,” commented Hun Pakal.
Yohl Ik’nal nodded in acknowledgement, then queried:
“In regard to the city of Usihwitz and of Ek Chuuah, what have you found?”
Fourteen solar years had passed since the flower war in which Ek Chuuah had been injured and required to give service to his victor’s city, Usihwitz. Although he could have returned to Lakam Ha after his hair re-grew, the embittered warrior had stayed. There was little doubt that he held deep grudges against the family of Kan Bahlam, and would seek to avenge this dishonor in some way.
“Ek Chuuah has insinuated himself into favor with Joy Bahlam, ruler of Usihwitz,” Tilkach responded. “After recovering from his wound, he befriended the young warriors and taught them new strategies, for he is a clever combatant. He believes his wounding in the flower war was deliberate, and thus his anger simmers. Gaining respect as a tireless worker and fearless warrior, after a few years he was so favored by the ruler that his marriage to a royal daughter was approved. Now he has a son and his position among the leadership in the Popol Nah is assured.”
“Joy Bahlam was my father’s good friend,” mused Yohl Ik’nal. “Strange are the ways of rulers to become fickle. Surely he must not trust Ek Chuuah, knowing the basis for his service and understanding the dark motives propelling this warrior. To give him such favor seems ill-advised.”
“Holy Lady, the esteemed ruler Joy Bahlam is an old man. His hand upon the city is no longer strong. To protect his heir, to keep the rulership in his succession, he needs every alliance among the ahauob he can cultivate. There continues an undercurrent of dissidence among younger ahauob, slyly fed by the devious plans of Ek Chuuah. Although none said it openly, I suspect continued contact with Kan,” observed Itzam Ik.
“We will not see Ek Chuuah back here in peace,” observed Hun Pakal darkly.
“Were observed by you any hints, any signs of plotting against Lakam Ha?” asked Yohl Ik’nal.
“Much did I speak with merchants, warriors, courtiers and carvers but gained no specific information about such plotting,” added Itzam Ik. “There was a trading group in the past two years from Kan, but none knew of a continuing relationship or of excursions from Usihwitz to the Ka’an polity. It seems that the Great Snake of Ka’an is busily occupied with its campaigns to the south. When Uneh Chan became Kan ruler, that was seven years ago, he directed incursions beyond Mutul—much is our sadness that the polity of the Jaguar lineage is so humbled and dispossessed. These incursions were carried to Uxwitza, where Uneh Chan assumed a supervising position in ceremonies done by Yujaw Te’Kinich, ruler of Uxwitza. It is spoken of much in Usihwitz, this bragging by the Kan dynasty of its exploits in the south.”
“Spoken of with admiration, especially among the circle headed by Ek Chuuah,” observed Tilkach.
“But nothing is said of more solid actions,” Hun Pakal added.
“Then will we wait and watch events at Usihwitz,” said Yohl Ik’nal. “Now I would know of our other cities, of Popo’ and Yokib, of Sak Tz’i and the smaller villages around them.”
The men described at length details of their observations in these cities of B’aakal. In Popo’ the rulership had passed seven years ago from Zotz Choj to his son Chak B’olon Chaak. This transition went smoothly and the young ruler appeared well favored by his people. Shortly after his accession, an upsurge in artistic expression and new water works occurred. In Yokib, the venerable ruler Cauac Ahk continued his long, stable reign with widespread support. He had weathered foreign influences early in his tenure, absorbing into local expression both the agents and cultural icons of the distant superpower Teotihuacan whose influence was felt throughout the Maya lands. Succession was in place with his heir formally acknowledged. Even in the small city of Sak Tz’i, the tenor of contentment and abundance pervaded.
Yohl Ik’nal stroked Sak K’uk’s hair as she listened intently, noting nuances in the scouts’ voices that might indicate something needing further attention. The girl nestled comfortably and kept silent, her intelligent eyes appearing to shine with understanding as she nodded now and then. Hun Pakal smiled inwardly at his precocious daughter, and wondered what her little mind comprehended. Perhaps he would find it surprising.
Attendants brought refreshing fruit juices while the ruler and her closest advisors discussed the types and amounts of tribute expected in this period of prolific crops. After both the first and second harvests, ahauob and prosperous villagers would bring offerings to the Lakam Ha court consisting of fruits, vegetables and nuts, pottery and fabrics, jewelry and body adornments. Farmers brought a portion of their dried maize. It was this tribute that sustained the royal court and nourished the workers who carried out the building projects that communicated in grand scale the greatness of the ruling dynasty and its May Ku city.
As the courtiers rose to take their leave, Sak K’uk catapulted herself into her surprised father’s arms. The strategy session came to an inglorious end as father and daughter tumbled on the ground, laughing hysterically.
Later that day, as the sun dropped toward the horizon and ignited the underbellies of streaky clouds with golden shafts, Yohl Ik’nal and Hun Pakal strolled the western plaza edge overlooking the vast plains below. From this huge, nearly empty plaza close to the royal residence complex, the mountainside dropped precipitously into craggy foothills where stunted trees struggled for a foothold. The Bisik River plunged rapidly down, breaking into cascades far below. The river and steep hillsides kept this far western part of Lakam Ha isolated from numerous complexes nearby, perched on terraces between three rivers: the Bisik, Tun Pitz and Ixha.
Sunrays deepened and trees cast long shadows across smooth plaster plazas. The temple situated halfway between the Bisik and Tun Pitz rivers blazed into color. Later called Templo Olvidado by archeologists, it rose above a base of four platforms spanned by a wide staircase. The north-facing front had three doors of equal size, with square stone roof and tall roofcomb. The red-orange paint gleamed in the setting sunlight.
Turning her back to the plains, Yohl Ik’nal gazed at the glowing temple. It was recently built as her father Kan Bahlam’s funerary monument. To her eyes, it was not finished.
“It is time to build,” she murmured without shifting her gaze.
Hun Pakal turned to face the temple.
“What is it t
hat you think to build?”
“My father’s temple requires adornment and monuments. There must be frescoes on the roof and carved panels beside the doors. The roofcomb must bear figures, shapes to remind all who look that Kan Bahlam was the bodily form of the Triad Deities, and is now an ancestor who brings wisdom and guidance to his people.”
Hun Pakal nodded. The art of carving stone into fine shapes and glyphs was advancing under the ruler’s patronage of outstanding carvers, not the least being young Uxul whom she had brought from his village. The large terrace upon which the temple sat seemed to call for other structures to complement and extend its grandeur. His eyes swept farther east and north across the long ridge upon which Lakam Ha was based. Beyond the Ixha river there was little construction. Ridge upon sub-ridge undulated in an ocean of green.
“Much land remains upon which Lakam Ha can expand,” he observed.
“So it is, the city will expand to cover the entire range of ridges.” In the waning light a vision swept before her gaze; a magnificent city in red-orange and white with countless temples on mountain summits, a unique palace on an immense plaza, ceremonial and residential complexes draping the hilly terrain and cascading down the far eastern slope.
Glancing at her transfixed expression, Hun Pakal almost imagined what she saw.
“May the gods will it,” he said.
“They do.”
4
The royal court of B’aakal gathered in an administrative complex across the Bisik River from the royal residences. A raised pathway spanned the narrow part of the river not far from where it emerged from the mountain as a burbling spring. Water management with aqueducts, squared bridges, walled pools, drains and conduits traveling under buildings were important features of Lakam Ha. These water features channeled the rivers through residential complexes for easy water access. A technique of gradually narrowing the stone conduits created water pressure. In some places the conduits had vertical channels forcing water to surge upward as fountains, or flow into vats serving as water reservoirs for elite homes. Household water structures also provided for waste removal, the equivalent of small stone toilets.
The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik'Nal of Palenque Page 20