Quirigua, Guatemala
Sky Xul sits impassively observing the slow count of katuns. Sixty of these twenty-year periods have passed since this symbolic throne was set up. You or I might feel a tad less self-assured sitting within the maw of a colossal serpent, but for Maya kings, no position could be more exalted. For it was from just such a serpent that the faces of gods and ancestors emerged in the writhing smoke of sacrificial offering.
Sky Xul was fortunate to inherit a kingdom from his extraordinarily successful father, who wrested regional control from the much larger city of Copan. He did this by capturing Copan’s king and chopping off his head! We know about this history because it is recorded in the glyphs that cover monuments of Quirigua and Copan.
Reading the glyphs, we understand that “Copan” is a modern name; the ancient Maya called it “Shook-pi”, Place-of-the-Birds” or maybe “Shook- oop”, “Mot-mot Place.” Quirigua seems to have outdone Copan once again, for we heard mot-mots croaking all around its ruins. Nearly all of us saw these birds. With bright turquoise wings and eyebrows, and a pendulum-tipped tail, they are the kind of bird that is liked even by people who don’t like birds!
Leaving Quirigua, we made our way to a lake, boarded boats, and rode through a limestone canyon to the sea.
Having seen towering trees, brightly-colored birds, huge stone monuments and grand topography, most agreed that today was a sweet taste of the Maya world.
Sky Xul sits impassively observing the slow count of katuns. Sixty of these twenty-year periods have passed since this symbolic throne was set up. You or I might feel a tad less self-assured sitting within the maw of a colossal serpent, but for Maya kings, no position could be more exalted. For it was from just such a serpent that the faces of gods and ancestors emerged in the writhing smoke of sacrificial offering.
Sky Xul was fortunate to inherit a kingdom from his extraordinarily successful father, who wrested regional control from the much larger city of Copan. He did this by capturing Copan’s king and chopping off his head! We know about this history because it is recorded in the glyphs that cover monuments of Quirigua and Copan.
Reading the glyphs, we understand that “Copan” is a modern name; the ancient Maya called it “Shook-pi”, Place-of-the-Birds” or maybe “Shook- oop”, “Mot-mot Place.” Quirigua seems to have outdone Copan once again, for we heard mot-mots croaking all around its ruins. Nearly all of us saw these birds. With bright turquoise wings and eyebrows, and a pendulum-tipped tail, they are the kind of bird that is liked even by people who don’t like birds!
Leaving Quirigua, we made our way to a lake, boarded boats, and rode through a limestone canyon to the sea.
Having seen towering trees, brightly-colored birds, huge stone monuments and grand topography, most agreed that today was a sweet taste of the Maya world.
