Chichen Itza, Mexico
Within the jungles of Mexico and Guatemala and extending into the limestone shelf of the Yucatan peninsula lie the mysterious temples and pyramids of the Maya. While Europe was still fumbling around in the Dark Ages, these incredible people had mapped the heavens, evolved the only true writing system native to the Americas and had mastered mathematics.
The Mayans are also noted for their elaborate and highly decorated ceremonial architecture.
Today, the structures of the Maya towering above the jungle-covered terrain hold the same fascination for tourists as they did for the conquistadores more than 400 years ago.
Chichen Itza is an ancient Mayan ruin and probably the best known of all such archeological sites. It’s the location of the stunning pyramid so often seen in photos. Called El Castillo de Kukulkan, the name means the Castle of Kukulkan. This odd name, Kukulkan, (pronounced something like: COO-COOL-CAN) is the feathered serpent god whose image is found throughout Chichen Itza.
Due to the extreme steepness, the pyramid is much harder to climb than it looks. I only made it up about 15 steps before I decided it was just too arduous for me. My biggest concern was the return trip down. I saw several people descending very, very slowly on their rear ends and holding on for dear life. That was enough to convince me.
Back on solid ground, I joined a small group preparing to go inside the center of the pyramid. This current pyramid was built on top of an older and smaller temple. There’s a doorway leading into an inner chamber where you can see the older temple and continue on to a small room with two altars. The inner room was muggy and seemed to be filled with stagnant air. We didn’t stay there long, just long enough to say we did. In truth, there’s not much to see.
Besides the obvious significance of such a gigantic structure, the pyramid is famous around the world for another reason. At the spring and fall equinox, around March 21 and Sept. 21, light and shadow strike the balustrade in such a way as to form a shadow picture representing Kukulkan undulating out of his temple. He wriggles down the pyramid to bless the earth and then the show’s over.
The engineering skill that went into this amazing project boggles the mind. As you might guess, hordes of people, sometimes upwards of 40,000, gather to watch this spectacular twice-yearly event. The solar phenomenon has attracted many in the New Age movement.
At Chichen Itza you can go inside nearly all of the ruins. The moldy smell of the past still lingers after more than 1,000 years. Dark portals await those who dare to walk through along with quite a few fast-moving iguanas. Despite the reconstruction and the bus loads of tourists, you can still feel as if you’re an intrepid discoverer stumbling upon hidden treasure.
The Mayans were great sportsmen, building massive ballcourts to play their games. The Great Ballcourt at Chichen Itza is 545 feet long and 225 feet wide overall and open to the sky. This court is similar to those found at other ancient centers in Mexico, but larger.
The game played was on the order of our modern day soccer. No hands were used. It was believed to be a team sport and the object was to put a hard rubber ball into a stone hoop.
To the Mayans and their neighbors, ballgames apparently had religious significance. A carving at the court shows what appears to be a player being sacrificed by decapitation, blood spurting from his severed neck to fertilize the earth. That’s some stiff penalty for losing … or was that the reward for winning?
Other sacrifices took place at the Sacred Well, a cenote, (or deep, water-filled sinkhole) about a half mile from the main ceremonial area. The life-sustaining power of water was all-important to the Mayas, and was considered a gift from the gods. But sometimes it was necessary to placate those gods.
Rumor had it, virgins were hurled into these waters to appease the rain gods, but diving archaeologists have since discovered skeletons belonging to individuals of all ages. Artifacts of gold and jade, which were highly prized by the Mayans, were also uncovered. Another separate cenote provided water for cooking and drinking.
Exactly why this civilization collapsed remains a mystery, but Chichen Itza was abandoned for the last time around the year 1194.
You can’t help but feel a bit like Indiana Jones when exploring this place, once lost in thick vegetation. We’re all fortunate it’s been rescued from the jungle.
