Effigy Censers

Late Postclassic ceramics at Tumben-Naranjal consist almost entirely of

Navulá, Mama, and Payil Groups from the Seco Complex devised by Robles-

Castellanos (1990) for Coba, and similarly defined in the ceramic chronology of

Xelha by Canche (1992). Chen Mul Modeled from the Navulá group is by far the best

represented ceramic type for the Late Postclassic occupation of Tumben-Naranjal,

outnumbering other types nearly four to one (Figure 5). Research on these and

other Maya censers is sparse and what little that does exist is predominantly

descriptive and classificatory in nature (Borhegyi 1951, 1959; Smith 1971a, 1971b;

Ferree 1972; Goldstein 1977; Benyo 1979). A recent re-evaluation of censers by

Rice (1999) represents the most comprehensive treatment Classic-period censers

from an interpretive standpoint to date, treating issues of function, meaning, origin,

context, symbolism, and the differentiation of effigy and non-effigy forms. For

Postclassic Yucatan, the 1957 study of Mayapan censers by Thompson is the only

substantial interpretive report available. Thompson moved beyond fundamental

descriptive and chronological analyses, addressing issues such as context, function,

meaning, deity identification, and the application of ethnohistory to archaeological

analysis. In a succinct and useful explanation of Mayapan examples (Figure 6),

Thompson (1957: 599-600) describes these effigy censers as

…made of coarse, unslipped pottery. The effigy is attached to the front of a thick-walled vase which stands on a high pedestal base, both slightly flaring. The headdress of the effigy usually rises 10 to 15 cm above the rim of the vessel; interiors, particularly the bases, of many are fire blackened…. In most figures the arms are bent at an angle of 90, palms up, and the hands may support offerings…. Some parts of the effigies, notably faces, hands, and feet, were commonly made in molds…. Painting was done after firing.

Effigy censers seem to have appeared in Maya history sometime in the

middle to late 14th Century. The spread was so rapid that by Spanish arrival, the

use of effigy censers had become nearly ubiquitous in the Maya lowlands

(Thompson ibid.: 603; Robles-Castellanos ibid.). Their function for burning copal

incense is documented by resin residue and smoke stains on vessel fragments.

Based on the location of vessel remains, it appears that censers were often placed

near shrine entrances and on, or adjacent to, basal altars. Following Spanish

contact, censers continue in use among the Maya, though predominantly restricted

to the unconverted or non-Catholic Maya. Post-contact examples of Maya censers

have been encountered at several Postclassic sites, reflecting the persistence of

ritual practice and pilgrimage at abandoned centers well after Spanish arrival

(Lothrop 1924: 63, Figures 29b, 31). Post-contact censers tend to be smaller,

retaining key facial characteristics and loosing elaborate appendages, dress, and

decoration, much in the same way modern Lacandon burners or “god pots” are

fashioned (Tozzer 1907: Plates XV-XVII; Soustelle 1966: 61-84).

Apart from their use as receptacles for burning copal, historical evidence

suggests that Postclassic Maya considered effigy censers animate beings called

aluxob (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934: 119-121; Redfield 1941: 232-239; Villa Rojas

1945: 103; Thompson ibid.: 602-603, 620, 624). Brinton (1883: 1-13) states that the

term for these beings is derived from the word h-loxkatob, which he translates as

“the strong ones of clay;” however, according to Taube (personal communication

2000) this is more accurately understood as “the fighting or fierce ones of clay.”

Villa Rojas (1941: 122) notes as well, that the Yucatec Maya perceive stone-core

stucco idols as aluxob. In modern Maya mythology, these creatures are tricksters

whom roam the bush and field harassing milperos and hunters, attempting to

coerce offerings of food. If the wishes of the aluxob are met, in return they offer

protection of the cornfield. Even more importantly, in case of a prolonged dry spell,

this mischievous spirit will capture a wandering rain god unaware and force him to

water the milpa before his release - suggesting an affiliation of aluxob and effigy

censers to rain ritual and milpa rites. In fact, aluxob in their effigy form are thought

to bathe in rainstorms, exposing themselves to the elements on top of ruined

shrines in the same manner as censers abandoned at temples during and after the

Late Postclassic (Villa Rojas ibid.). A quote by an informant from Chan Kom

reinforces this connection of aluxob to censers and rain,

They are about a foot high and look like small children, except for their beards and their crowns. These crowns go around the head; they are square in outline, and are made of clay. Inside there is a hollow, and the hollow extends through the body of the alux, so that rain enters at the top and runs out the toes. (Redfield and Villa Rojas ibid.: 120)

Effigy censers are usually found shattered as if ritually smashed (Thompson

ibid.; Chase 1988). Apparently, the Colonial Spanish and Maya took every

opportunity to destroy abandoned effigies when encountered; the Spanish because

they wanted to eradicate any indication of idolatry and the Maya, to prevent the

mischief of the aluxob (Redfield and Villa Rojas ibid.: 119-121; Tozzer ibid.: 73, 108,

110; Villa Rojas ibid.: 103). Though this practice may account for limited numbers of

shattered censers, it would not explain the near-total destruction of vessels seen at

most Late Postclassic sites. A contemporary explanation for smashed censers

among the Yucatec Maya contends that as aluxob (in ceramic effigy form) wash in

rain, chaakob or rain deities take aim and cast thunderbolts from the sky,

attempting to destroy them (Villa Rojas ibid.). On the other hand, one

archaeological interpretation attributes concentrations of smashed censers

associated with monumental architecture to “termination” rituals, supposedly

meant to spiritually deactivate animate structures before their abandonment or

modification (Schele and Friedel 1990: 459; Mock 1998). In other contexts,

ethnohistoric evidence indicates that effigy censers were regularly smashed at the

conclusion of certain agricultural rites and rain rituals to release the aluxob whom

are thought to animate these vessels. For instance, Landa (Tozzer ibid.: 161, Notes

835-841) tells us that during the ceremony of ocna, a plant renewal ritual

performed in honor of the rain deities as a demonstration of their connection to

agriculture, the “renovation” of ceramic idols, censers, and all associated ritual

paraphernalia occurred. Once these vessels had fulfilled their intended purpose and

after their practical use-life expired, censers were discarded and likely smashed to

release the souls of deities captured in effigy form. In essence, this practice served

the same purpose as “kill-holes” well-documented in other New World cultures such

as those in the American Southwest – to free spirits possessing ceramics and other

inanimate objects.

Sacred Caves and the Ritual Collection of Virgin Water

Sacred water, referred to by the Yucatec Maya as zuhuy ha, is thought of as

“virgin” water for its purity and association with holiness. As a potent liquid

substance, zuhuy ha drawn from pools of pristine cave water for use in various rites

related to rainmaking, agricultural abundance, and fertility (Thompson 1959; Pohl

and Pohl 1983; Bonor 1989; Brady et al. ibid. The Chorti and Keckchi Maya likewise

use sacred water, called uh-ha’, agua bendita, or santo ha collected from sacred

springs and rivers for use in identical agricultural rites (Thompson 1930: 52-53;

Wisdom 1974: 381-Note 23, 438-Note 9). Evidence for the association of sacred

caves with agricultural rites and rain ritual is evident at a number of caves in the

Yucatan peninsula such as Balankanche, Balam Ku, Dzab-Na, and Actun Ka’. This

connection is based on numerous water jars, rain-god incense burners, metates,

and manos in ritual cave contexts (Stromsvik 1956; Thompson ibid., 1975; Andrews

1961, 1970; Reddell 1977; Pollock 1980; Bonor ibid.). At cave Balankanche near

Chichen Itza, 95 effigy censers depicting the Central Mexican rain deity Tlalloc were

clustered in front of speleothem columns, beneath stalactites, and set inside niches

carved from living cave formations near pools of water (Andrews ibid., 1970: 9, 12,

Figure 5; Bonor ibid.: 110, Figure 28). Andrews (ibid.: 9) states that out of six areas

in Cave Balankanche where rain-god censers were grouped, it was plainly clear that

each locus was offertory in nature, stating

All are directly associated with either underground bodies of water or striking stalagmitic formations (in which the cave is rich), which were apparently correctly interpreted by the ancients as phenomena attributable to the action of water. Scattered offertory material was similarly located beside or under prominent stalactitic formations. The association of all objects of an offertory nature with water or its manifestations is obvious.

This pattern of rain-god censers associated with cave formations and standing pools

of water was found replicated in the immediate vicinity of Chichen Itza, at the

recently reported cave of Balam Ku (James Brady, personal communication 2000).

Moreover, other wet caves and cenotes feature interior shrines or platforms located

adjacent to water pools such as those at Mayapan, Tancah, and Xcaret, suggesting

the performance of certain rites related to the ritual use of cave water (Lothrop

ibid.; Smith 1953, 1954; Andrews and Andrews 1975). In caves surrounding

Tumben-Naranjal, Rissolo (ibid.) has documented similar instances of ritual cave

modification, reflected in the presence of interior stairways, platform shrines,

propitiatory altars, and ritual ceramic scatters at caves Actun Maas, Actun Pak

Chen, Actun Tacbi Ha, and Actun Toh. As Brady et al. (1997) discuss, the

archaeological context of speleothems and their use among modern Maya suggest

that these rituals were strongly associated with rain, fertility, and power.

Speleothems as Petrified Zuhuy Ha

The presence of speleothems in aboveground shrine-complexes at Tumben-

Naranjal reveals that speleothems were regularly brought from caves to shrine-

altars, presumably used in rites enhanced by these spiritually charged natural

formations (Figure 7) (Lorenzen ibid.: 101-102). Alternatively, Rissolo (personal

communication 2000) believes that the systematic removal of speleothems from

caves in the Tumben-Naranjal region may indicate the “mining” of cave formations

as a convenient source for calcite, widely used as temper in ceramics. An

independent survey of caves in this region confirmed the systematic removal of

speleothems during the Late Postclassic (Rissolo ibid.). Interestingly, Tedlock (1992:

81) notes that “stone concretions” (possibly speleothem or other cave formations)

shaped like fruits, vegetables, and game animals are housed in Quiché Maya

lineage-shrines, often used with other sacred objects in divination and rituals

related to mountains, water, and agricultural fertility.

Ancient obsidian blades, flint projectile points, and stone axe-heads are

collected by modern Maya from fields and forest, considered sacred objects for use

as charms in divination and fertility-related rituals. The Chorti Maya place small

stone axes and pieces of flint referred to as “cloud-stone” on table altars during

rainmaking rituals (Wisdom 1974: 382, Note 25). These axes are also thought to

produce lightning when rain gods hurl them through the sky while “beating the

clouds into rain” (ibid.). These sacred objects along with saint effigies are

maintained in “altar-houses,” which in several ways resemble the sacred context of

caves for they are kept perpetually sealed, darkened, and off-limits to women

during the performance of rituals (ibid.: 384). Quiché Maya regard obsidian

fragments as remnants of meteors, caching them in special boxes at household

shrines (Tedlock 1992: 180), as do the Yucatec Maya whom regard obsidian as the

fallen weapons of the yumtzilob – deities whom live in caves and are closely

associated with rain, game animals, and agricultural fertility (Villa Rojas 1945: 101-

102). Moreover, the Yucatec Maya directly relate the phenomena of meteorites to

rainmaking, seen as the flaming cigars of the chaakob (the highest order of

yumtzilob) as they fly through the night sky in their journey to water the land (ibid).

Likewise, Lacandon rain gods similarly termed yumchaakob also carry weapons as

they fly across the heavens, dropping stone projectile points thought by the

Lacandon to be meteorites (Tozzer 1907: 155, 157-158). Just as speleothems

equate to water and rainmaking, meteorites are thought to create bodies of water

following their impact on earth (ibid.).

As Brady (1997: 360) points out, “In these contexts it seems likely that

speleothems are seen as an extension of the embodiment of the power of the

cave.”

The gradual formation process of stalactites and other cave formations by the

accretion of mineral deposits through dripping cave water contributes to their

rainmaking/fertility connotation. Given their presence in ritual contexts as stated

above, the ancient Maya likely viewed speleothems, particularly dripstone such as

stalactites and stalagmites, as petrified sacred water. This supposition is supported

by several early Spanish translations of “stalactite” from its Colonial-period Yucatec

Maya equivalent (Karl Taube and James Brady, personal communication 1999). The

Cordemex defines stalactite (ch’ak xix for the colonial Vienna dictionary) as “agua

destilada en pozo o cueva [estalactita],” where as the Pio Perez glosses the term as

“el agua que gotea destilándose en las bóvedas naturales or cavernas que cubren

los cenotes [la petrificación que se va formando donde caen estas gotas]” (note

that the verb destilar also means “to ooze, trickle, or drip,” clearly the meaning

intended here) (Barrera Vasquez 1995: 123). Other terms such as ch’ah, xix ha’

tunich, and ob’ak xix (along with the Motul gloss for xix) define these words

similarly, referencing forms of hardened water (Barrera Vasquez ibid.: 121, 946).

These definitions and other inferences not only reveal the perception of

speleothems as solid, concentrated forms of sacred water but more importantly,

suggest that they were likely considered its source (Bassie-Sweet 1996: 151).

Similarly, the Mixtec perceive wet caves as ve’i savi or “rain houses,” considered

“storehouses of moisture” and sources of rain production. Moreover, Mixtec caves

(rain shrines) contain pools of nute noo or “pure water,” a volatile and potent

substance identical to Yucatec Maya zuhuy ha (Monaghan 1995: 107, 109).

The idea of speleothems as generators of zuhuy ha is corroborated by the

ancient Maya use of haltunob (carved stone basins) and ollas (ceramic jugs)

archaeologically recovered from wet caves. Documented as water collection devises

for ritual purposes, stone basins and water jars found in situ were intentionally

placed under stalactites and other cave formations to catch active drip water

(Thompson 1897: 15; Starr 1908: 314-315; Gann 1928: 46-48; Pendergast 1971;

Mercer 1975: 25-27, 101-102, 149; Stone 1995: 17-19, Figure 2-5; McNatt 1996). In

a particularly pertinent example, Mercer (ibid.) reported two haltunob carved from

living stalagmites, further demonstrating the concept of speleothems as sacred

sources of zuhuy ha. Rissolo (personal communication 2000) also recorded a

number of haltunob and ollas in caves surrounding Tumben-Naranjal at Actun Xux

and Actun Maas, positioned beneath the cave drip-line to collect seep water. The

presence of haltunob and ollas in conjunction with nearby cave pools provides

inconvertible evidence of ritual water collection (as opposed to the fulfillment of

daily utilitarian concerns for water), showing that drip water from speleothems was

preferred over standing water as a source of zuhuy ha. Moreover, this fact implies

that the ancient Maya considered dripwater as exceptional zuhuy ha, tantamount to

catching drops of sacred rain. This idea is also seen in Mixtec rain symbolism.

Monaghan (1995: 107) states that “…the drops of water that fall from the ceiling of

the cave are ‘raindrops,’ and that rain clouds pour from the ve’i savi [cave rain

shrine] before a storm.” The concept of speleothems as petrified forms of zuhuy ha

and particularly, as sacred rain, is also apparent in Maya perceptions of fulgurites.

Fulgurites are made when lightning strikes quartz-laden sand, soil, or rock that

instantaneously meld into hollow stone formations that appear remarkably similar

to speleothems. These natural phenomena are intimately connected with rain in

Maya thought, perceived as petrified lightning. Interestingly, bolts of lightning held

by the Aztec rain god Tlalloc were conceived as suspended water in the form of

concentrated cloud-mist, referred to as “the mist which went winding [like a

serpent].” (Sahagun 1953: 7: 15). The suggestion that stone basins and water jars

functioned as collectors of sacred rainwater is corroborated by the etymology of

haltun as well, defined by the Pio Perez dictionary as “el hueco o concavidad de la

peña en que se deposita el agua que llueve” (Barrera Vasquez ibid.: 177).

The recent discovery of a Late Classic vase from an elite burial at Copan

provides additional evidence to substantiate the idea that the ancient Maya thought

of speleothems as generators of sacred water in petrified form. In a scene that

appears to recreate the context of a sacred cave, Fash (2000) identified two

representations of stylized speleothems shown as opposed stepped-symbols. Within

these symbols are cauac (stone) markings, which Fash (personal communication

2000) interprets as dripwater formations. The tapered shape of the stepped motifs,

the dripstone or cauac markings, and the fact that stepped symbols typically

reference mountains in Mesoamerican thought (the place most associated with

caves and rainmaking), suggest that in this context stylistically rendered

speleothems are understood. Drops of water are shown streaming from the tip of

the stylized stalactite toward the stalagmite below, implying the active production

or creation of zuhuy ha. A strikingly similar repetitive stepped-motif and one that

also features dripstone (cauac) markings, is seen painted on the rim of a vase sherd

recovered from Cave C in the Rio Frio group near Benque Viejo (Masson 1927: 37,

Figure 24). Additional stepped-motifs that likewise may represent stylized

stalactites are present on a variety of water jars recovered from caves, cenotes,

wells, and other contexts at Uxmal, Kabah, Chichen Itza, Mayapan, and the Gruta de

Chac. Described as tau, terrace, and scroll motifs, these symbols are painted on the

exterior necks and bodies of water vessels in probable reference to water-related

concepts (Andrews 1965; Smith 1971a: 59, 61; 1971b: 76, 78, Figures 52-h, 53-19).

As described earlier, ollas of this type were used to collect zuhuy ha from dripping

cave formations or from pools of standing water for rain rituals dedicated to Chaak

(the principal Maya deity of rain, lightning, and agricultural fertility). This idea is

reiterated by Thompson (Mercer ibid.: xli) specifically for large polychrome water-

jars discovered at the Gruta de Chac. Interestingly, among Pueblo peoples in the

American Southwest, this same stepped symbol equates to clouds and rain, while in

Mesoamerican cosmology rain-clouds form in and issue from sacred mountain caves

(Gutieras Holmes 1961: 287; Holland 1963: 93; Vogt 1993; Monaghan 1995, Taube

1999). The fact that the Copan vase features depictions of speleothems and is

painted a light blue-green (suggesting water) may indicate that the vessel actually

held zuhuy ha for major rain ceremonies and other important rites requiring virgin

water. Moreover, the burial context of the vessel reinforces this same idea,

particularly given the fact that the vase was recovered from a grave located inside

a structure replete with rain-related iconography. The exterior façade of the temple

containing the burial and vase is covered with stone-sculptured stepped symbols

representing clouds and mountains, including images of tlalloque or Central

Mexican rain gods who frame the doorway and adorn the upper register of the

building.

Speleothems, Effigy Censers, and Stone Beads

In addition to the use of stalactites and stalagmites in rain rituals and other

agricultural rites, the presence of burned speleothems found mixed with ash and

censer fragments adjacent to shrine altar-bases at Tumben-Naranjal, reveal a

different but related religious purpose of speleothems, one apparently dependent

on the ritual use of effigy censers. It appears that speleothems were placed inside

censers along with hot coals and copal incense. In fact, a number of speleothems

appear burned, gray in color and spalled along their length, or powdery in

consistency and lighter in weight when compared to other examples. A burned,

tubular limestone-like bead was found in association with speleothems and censer

fragments as well (see description of Structure 21 excavation), indicating the bead

was likely placed in a censer as suggested for speleothems. In fact, the appearance

of the bead is consistent with the characteristics of burned speleothems, suggesting

that it may have actually been fashioned from a speleothem or other cave

formation. As with the burning of limestone to make powdered lime for construction

plaster, a common practice in ancient and modern Maya culture, speleothems

would have also been altered in this manner (i.e., spalled) if exposed to a

sufficiently hot, sustained fire. Though not yet replicated experimentally, in this

context it is believed that the crystalline structure of speleothems would be

converted to a calcium carbonate composition (James Brady, personal

communication 1999), possibly explaining the lightweight and powder-like feel of

smaller specimens. We know that crude pottery tempered with coarse-ground

calcite frequently fails when fired because calcite contains large amounts of water

that rapidly expand when in contact with high heat, causing the vessel to burst. If

stalactites were placed in censers, some would have undoubtedly fractured and/or

exploded due to their high calcite content. Moreover, if this indeed occurred,

breaking speleothems likely produced a loud splitting noise, possibly equated to the

sound of thunder by the ancient Maya.

This sound would be particularly desirable for the conjuring of rain. Evidence

from Chichen Itza and Copan suggests the intentional spalling of jades for ritual

purposes. At Chichen Itza, thousands of burned jade fragments were recovered

from the Cenote of Sacrifice, implying that jade beads, plaques, discs, and other

carved forms were heated in fires or censers and tossed into the Cenote to explode

on contact with cold well-water (Proskouriakoff 1974: 4). As Proskouriakoff (ibid.)

notes, a small furnace-like structure (1D1) was reported by Ruppert (1952: 6)

adjacent to the Sacred Cenote, which likely served as the location for the ritual

heating of jades before being thrown into water. At Copan, jades were placed in

fires suggesting a similar intent to explode them ritually (Friedel et al.: 240-246).

Though the significance of this act is not known, the intentional spalling and

fracturing of jade (referred to as “popcorn” jade) may relate to the ritual practice of

spalling speleothems in Late Postclassic effigy censers during rain rites, possibly to

replicate the sound of thunder. Likewise, the act of spalling speleothem and jades

may have also reenacted the ancient Maya creation-myth of corn where Chaak

splits open maize-mountain or “stone of sustenance” with his lightning axe,

releasing agricultural abundance and fertility to humanity (Taube 1993; Bassie-

Sweet 1996: 151).

Given the consistency of religious belief during the Late Postclassic, the use

of censers together with speleothems was likely widespread throughout the

northern Maya lowlands. One of the few indications of this practice outside Tumben-

Naranjal surfaced in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard

University. During an examination of effigy censers excavated by the Carnegie

Institution at Cancun, Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, Tancah, and Tulum, I noticed a 12-cm

long speleothem included in the excavation lot but not published with the

associated incense burner fragments (Lothrop ibid.: Plate 9, 10, Figures 29-31).

Additionally, several artifacts of greenstone and an elongated polished stone of fine

basalt or diorite (approximately 30-cm long and reminiscent of a speleothem) were

recovered in context with these censer pieces as well.

As a demonstration of continuity in Late Postclassic Maya religious practice,

contemporary Lacandon Maya small stones (some possibly speleothems) in

conjunction with censers (Tozzer 1907: 80-93; Soustelle 1966: 22-24,61-84; Bruce

1975: 80; Davis 1978: 72-84; McGee 1990: 49-52; Boremanse 1998: 28). When a

new lakil k’uh or “sacred god pot” is made, a ritually significant stone is placed

inside the vessel as a representation of the spirit or soul of an ancestral deity

portrayed in effigy on the surface of the censer. These special stones were called u

k’anche’ k’uh or “the holy seat of the god,” believed by the Lacandon to be the

place where the soul of the deity sits among burning incense and fire in the midst of

the censer (Bruce 1975: 80). As noted by Taube (1998: 449, Note 13), an effigy

censer recovered from Zaculeu was found to contain a large jade stone (Woodbury

and Trik 1953: 218, Figure 178a-b). Similarly, a jade cobble was excavated at Tikal

as part of a dedicatory cache (Coe 1990: 355), thought by Taube (ibid.) to represent

the jade hearth and by extension, a censer. Additional research by Taube (1998:

448-449) documents this same concept for Classic-period censers as well, not only

identifying jade censer stones as “seats” of venerated deities but effigy vessels

themselves as representative of miniature shrines or god houses. In Lacandon

ceremonial speech, these stones are also referred to as nah k’uh or “god’s house”

(Davis ibid.: 74), reflecting the same general significance noted by Bruce as the

seat, throne, or resident place of power for a particular god. Davis (ibid.: 73) further

describes these stones at tunich nah or “stones from the god house” in reference to

their place of origin, for before a deity portrayed in effigy may be conjured a

pilgrimage must be made to the place inhabited by the desired god, so that a small

stone may be removed and placed inside the censer (Tozzer ibid.: 87-89; Bruce

ibid.: 80; Davis ibid.: 72-84; McGee ibid.: 49-52).

This practice in light of burned speleothems recovered in context with effigy

censers fragments at Structure 21, may relate to the proposed systematic removal

of speleothems from caves as reported by Rissolo (1997, 1999; Fedick et al. 2000)

in the Tumben-Naranjal region during the Late Postclassic. If the Late Postclassic

Maya held similar beliefs regarding the symbolism of small stones and their

placement inside censers, as it appears they did, then the selection of a speleothem

would be the most logical choice for rainmaking rituals and water god

representation; particularly, when one considers that speleothems reference not

only the dwelling place of rain deities (in wet caves) but petrified sources of sacred

water as well. Given that speleothems come from a place envisioned as a portal to

the underworld, the lair of underworld deities, the place of human origin and

emergence, the resting place of ancestors, and the paramount source of fertility,

sacred water, winds, mist, and clouds, one can easily see why the ancient Maya

might readily use speleothems as representations of rain and deities related to

agricultural fertility.

Tozzer (1907: 87-89) also records among the Lacandon the use of jade

pebbles and other small stones mixed with copal incense, burned in censers. These

small jades of which some feature carved faces were believed by Tozzer (ibid.) to be

miniature depictions of God C, a deity associated generally with holiness and sacred

space (Taube 1992: 27-31). A petroglyph of God C incised on the face of a large

boulder-platform in cave Actun Pak Chen, reported by Rissolo and Heidelberg

(1998), faces (pointing toward) a short passage leading to a pool of cave water. The

walkway to the pool had obviously been cleared and maintained regularly in times

past, evidenced by the piling of stone and debris along the sides of the path

(Dominique Rissolo, personal communication 1999). One wall of the cave, fronting a

descending stairway, is replete with rain- and fertility-related imagery. This wall is

featured as an ordered petroglyphic panel presenting a series of images in

succession as one descends the stairway, approaching the pool of cave water. In

the center of this panel is a depiction of Chaak facing the image of God C, separated

by the descending stairway. A flat-stone altar was placed in front of the incised rain

deity with depictions of cloud scrolls, stylized vulvas, and possible representations

of yumtzilob (caves are believed to be their home). Undoubtedly, cave Actun Pak

Chen was extensively used during the Late Postclassic for rain, fertility, and

agricultural rites that necessitated offerings of zuhuy ha (Lorenzen 1999: 101-102).

See Rissolo (1997, 1999; Fedick et al. 2000) for a full description of cave Actun Pak

Chen.

This practice closely parallels the use of jade pebbles, jade beads, and shell

beads set in the middle of copal balls within censer bowls recovered from the

Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza (Coggins 1984, 1992). As Tozzer (ibid.: 139, Figure

46) points out, this practice is referenced in the Madrid codex as well, where a dark

copal ball placed inside a ceramic vessel features a depiction of God C in its center.

This correlation is significant not only for demonstrating the continuity of Maya

religious practice but also for showing the similar use of copal, censers, and ritually

important stones as ceremonial offerings in rites associated with rain, agriculture,

and fertility. It is well known that the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza served as a

regional pilgrimage site and depository for ritual offerings, particularly those related

to rain rites in times of widespread drought (Tozzer 1941: 54, 116, 154, 180-181,

223). The practice of cenote sacrifice reflected at Chichen Itza was part of a much

larger cenote cult, widespread throughout the Yucatan peninsula during and

following the Late Postclassic. This cult was dedicated to the production of rain

through the veneration of chaakob and other deities related to water, animal, and

agricultural fertility (Scholes and Roys 1938: 604-617; Tozzer ibid.; Redfield and

Villa Rojas ibid.; Villa Rojas ibid.).

Apart from speleothems and effigy censer fragments, several stone beads of

varying colors were also discovered in front of Structure 21 at Tumben-Naranjal –

one each of green jadeite, red serpentine, and carved white travertine. Each bead

was paired with a different set of censer fragments, indicating the use of a

particular bead with a specific incense burner. Given the color symbolism of the

ancient Maya, these different color beads may reflect a connection to the cardinal

earth directions (Marcus 1970; Berlin and Kelley 1961, 1970). In Maya color-

directionalism, white is associated with North, red with East, yellow with South, and

black or blue with West (ibid.). The fact that these white, red, and dark green (i.e.,

black) beads from Structure 21 at Tumben-Naranjal were each associated with a

particular effigy censer, may indicate that these incense burners were directional

censers connected with the cardinal orientations North, East, and West. Landa

(Tozzer 1941: 134-147, 166) tells us that during the Wayeb rites held during the

five-day liminal transition between the previous and coming year, effigy censers

were fashioned for each of the cardinal directions, associated with a different color.

See note 29 for a discussion of Wayeb rites. Though these beads may refer to the

soul and/or “seat” of the effigy, Davis (ibid.: 77) suggests a different but related use

for small stones, specifically stone beads. Ancient stone beads are used during

incense-burner renewal rites as talismans or charms by the Lacandon, referred to as

ahsah in wasabeh or “beads with which I awaken.” These beads are of various

colors and are thought to have come from necklaces, made by the gods themselves

called u yuh k’uh, and given to the Lacandon as gifts. To call forth the deity

portrayed on the censer, the god pot is struck repeatedly with an awakening bead

during a ritual chant, inviting the spirit to possess the vessel. Once the effigy censer

is activated, the deity is physically present - prepared to receive ritual offerings,

veneration, and petitions. Thus, beads recovered from Structure 21 at Tumben-

Naranjal (given their association with censers and the likelihood that they were

looted from an Early Classic cache or burial based on material, form, and quality of

manufacture), may have similarly been thought of as “gifts” from the gods, reused

as heirlooms in rites to “awaken” effigy censers during the Late Postclassic.

Speleothem-Core Stucco Idols

Among the various ritual uses of speleothems in cave and aboveground

contexts, most frequently reported ethnographically are speleothem idols (Brady et

al. ibid.). Not surprising in light of earlier references, speleothem deity

representations are inextricably connected to rain gods, water rites, and

rainmaking. Important Maya gods were sculpted in plaster over speleothem

foundations; worshipped in caves, shrines, and small temples during the Late

Postclassic. Though few intact examples exist due to their fragile state and rapid

rate of decomposition, several managed to survive exposure, time, and the

activities of looters. Lothrop (ibid.: 132, Figures 131-132) documented a small pre-

Hispanic cave shrine at Tancah still in use at the time it was recorded. The cave

features a modified floor of masonry that fronts a speleothem column adjacent to a

pool of cave water, inscribed with a series of pictographs. A flat stone altar sits at

the base of the column and nearby, a plastered stepped-altar once supported an

idol taken by Mexican troops in 1910. Miller (ibid.: 30, Figures 47-48) reports a

stucco idol with a large stalactite core in a miniature shrine on top of Structure 10 at

Tancah. On the border of Chiapas and Guatemala at Quen Santo, Seler (1901: 146-

185) discovered a cave housing three small stuccoed-shrines, replete with jaguar,

amphibian, and Tlaloc-styled censers. Moreover, four stone idols were also found at

Quen Santo, of which at least two appear to have been carved from speleothems,

one erected in the center of an open chamber adjacent to a stone altar and the

other against the back wall of an interior shrine (ibid.: Figures 237 and 241, Plates

32 and 34).

Several stone idols very similar to those from Quen Santo were also reported

by Seler (1901: 59-82, Figures 78 and 80-84, Plates 8-9) at Chaculá, possibly

representing additional effigies carved from large cave formations. A number of

other stucco idols feature non-speleothem cores: Lothrop (1924: 155, Figures 161,

165) reports a stuccoed stone-idol in Structure 4 at Cancun, almost identical to one

noted by Peissel (1963: 148, 297) at Muyil, as well as a stone-column idol at

Cozumel of a life-size stuccoed and painted representation of the Maya moon

goddess, Ix Chel. Apparently, the Muyil idol was found in the architectural collapse

of a large Late Postclassic shrine, located at the terminus of a long sakbe radiating

from the site center. Just as with Sakbe 1 and Structure 21 at Tumben-Naranjal, the

Muyil sakbe extends from the most prominent structure at the site, ending at a Late

Postclassic shrine on the edge of a seasonally inundated wetland-lagoon (Witschey

1992: 29). Andrews and Andrews (ibid.: 65-68) describe a complete stucco idol

found inside Structure P-I at Xcaret and the remains of two partial idols recovered

from separate cave shrines. Interestingly, one of the two partial figures was found

seated on a stucco throne set on a raised platform, believed by Andrews and

Andrews (1975: 65) to be the spirit-guardian (alux or yumtzil) of the cave.

Additional stone-core idols have been reported near Tulum and at Yalku, El Cenote,

and Cozumel (Gann 1927: 130-132; Escalona Ramos 1946: 545, 559-560, 602, 621;

Andrews and Andrews ibid.: 98-99). Moreover, similar idols of wood were reported

by Stromsvick (1956), Gage (1958: 278-291), and Holland (1964).

Given the long known ritual importance of caves, the use of speleothems as

objects of veneration dates to at least the Classic and probably much earlier. For

instance, Graham (1997: 31) recently reported a Protoclassic, life-size depiction of

Chaak fashioned in stucco around a large section of flowstone connected to a solid

speleothem column from a previously unknown cave in the Peten region of

Guatemala (Figure 11). Late Postclassic speleothem-core stucco idols possibly

evolved from the use of stalactites and stalagmites as plaza monuments, erected

and inscribed in the same manner as stelae during the Classic (Brady et al. ibid.).

Apart from sporadic discoveries of speleothem-core stucco idols found in

ruined shrines and caves, a significant number of similar examples may exist as

plaster images in the niches of building facades. Though photographs make the

identification of stone material difficult, several do appear speleothem-like. Lothrop

(ibid.: 46-52) describes high-relief stucco sculptures seated in recessed panels in

the upper register of temples and houses at Tulum, Tancah, and Cancun. As with

stucco idols, these sculptures are fashioned around a stone core set into the

structure wall. Moreover, these stuccoed figures are depicted in the same manner

and are roughly the same size as idols and effigy censers: shown in a seated

position with bent arms and legs, wearing similar clothing, featuring near-identical

headdresses and decoration, and portraying like deities (Figure 11). ADD MAYAPAN

EXAMPLE (Proskouriakoff 1962:346).

The practice of shaping deities of stucco and venerating them in caves,

shrines, and temples is quite similar to the use of effigy censers among Late

Postclassic and contemporary Maya. Late Postclassic incense burners (as well as

modern Lacandon examples) exhibit thick layers of white stucco that cover vessel

effigies, applied after the ceramic censer is fired. The vessel is then painted a

variety of bright colors to enhance modeled headdress elements and other

decoration (Tozzer 1907: 109; Thompson 1957; Robles-Castellanos ibid.: 224, 242).

Considering similarities in deity representation, ritual function, and manufacturing

materials between effigy censers and stucco idols, speleothem cores in idols were

likely perceived as the seat or throne of personified gods, just as smaller

speleothems and other ritually significant stones were for effigy censers of clay.

If undiscovered stucco idols exist, any recognizable image is most likely but

gone, reduced to its constituent speleothem core. For instance, a relatively large

stalactite measuring 35 cm x 20 cm x 10 cm was recorded in the architectural

collapse of a Late Postclassic shrine at Structure 2 during the 1993 Tumben-

Naranjal field season, linked directly to Structure 21 and the outlying wetland

(Lorenzen 1995: 60-62, 70). Based on a suggestion by Anthony Andrews (personal

communication 1994), the stalactite was thought to have been placed in the

collapsed shrine by contemporary Maya or in the recent ethnographic past as part

of a hunting ceremony (Lorenzen ibid.: 60); however, given the size, shape, context,

and what we now know regarding the ritual significance of speleothems, it more

likely served as the solid core for a stucco idol or other plaster sculpture, now

dissolved. Scores of similar speleothems have been unknowingly encountered by

archaeologists in ruined shrines but remain unrecognized and unreported because

their stucco representations are no longer visible.

Misc. Water Control Info.

Several major causeways and ceremonial plazas at Tikal feature drain

systems that channel water runoff into large reservoirs set amid monumental

architectural groups (Fialko 1999). The precise placing of these architectural

features create the impression of mountain (pyramid) islands set in a type of

(primordial) sea, reminiscent of the last Maya creation cycle. Moreover, smaller

sakbeob connect several of these reservoirs to shrines and plaza groups. One such

example is a northeast oriented sakbe (the intercardinal direction most associated

with rain deities and the throne-place of the supreme Maya rain god), which links

the Temple Reservoir to the Mundo Perdido. If one starts in the Plaza de los Siete

Templos (Mundo Perdido) at the main radial pyramid (Structure 5C-54-5A) and

moves in a northeasterly direction, a small platform temple (Structure 5D-77-1) is

met first along with a small shrine (Structure 5D-82-1) off to the East side of the

Plaza (Laporte 1995). Continuing in a northeasterly direction, the beginning of the

sakbe (off the corner of the plaza) is encountered, running directly to and

terminating at the Temple Reservoir. This configuration is striking similar to the

radial pyramid (Castillo) and temple platform (Venus) plaza group at Chichen Itza,

connected to the Cenote of Sacrifice via a ceremonial causeway oriented in the

same Northeast direction with a terminal shrine at the edge of the cenote. This

pattern on radial structures and midway platforms in plaza groups that are linked to

prominent water sources and terminal shrines are remarkably consistent

throughout the Maya area (Lorenzen 2000).