Uxmal – Mayan Ruins

At the entrance to the Uxmal Mayan ruins, the Magician's Pyramid rises towards the sky.

Late morning finds us, Kathy, her friend Pat, Maureen and I, standing in front of the Magician’s pyramid at Uxmal.  So far, this is the most impressive of Mayan ruins that we have yet seen.  Our guide, seen in this photo, led us on an  hour and a half tour that somehow stretched out to almost three hours.  I guess it helps when your small party of tourists are avid to know as much as you can pass on.

The Magician’s Pyramid was built in three different time periods from about 500 to 1000 AD.  The first part was a simple temple, almost at ground level. You can see an opening doorway to that temple in the bottom left hand side of the pyramid on the western side of the pyramid.  The first pyramid was built in a traditional stepped style up to the top of the first level.  On the second level of the pyramid, three additional temples were built.  It was necessary to expand the base of the pyramid in order to accomplish the building of the fifth and final temple which sits at the top of the pyramid.  Did they have live sacrifices here?  Most say no, but there are stories of live human sacrifices taking place in the top fifth temple with the body then cast down the steps towards a courtyard on the north side of the pyramid.  As explained to us, the temple was dedicated to Chaac, the rain god.  Why is it then called the Magician’s Pyramid?  It was explained that in fulfilment of a prophecy, a human male that wasn’t born of a woman would become the greatest spiritual and temporal leader of the Mayans of Uxmal.  A dwarf claimed to be this human.  His task as set by the leader of that time was to construct the pyramid overnight.  With the task accomplished, the dwarf became the leader of the Uxmal city and temple.  Stories are interesting.

Of course, it wasn’t all about listening to stories and myths of the past.  Our guide showed us a number of trees that have had a significant impact on the lives of Mayan people, trees such as this one.  He had us feel the texture of the leaves.  We noted their roughness.  He then told us that these leaves were the scouring pads used by Mayan women to clean their pots, pans and dishes.

A series of four buildings surround an open area to the north of the Magician’s pyramid.  The buildings were used for the work of city administrators, scientists and the priesthood.  It got the name of Nun’s Square from the Spanish who arrived at the site in the 17th Century.

At the base of the steps of the building pictured above, the newest of the four buildings was a throne for the Governor of the city, a man who was also the head priest.  You’ll notice that the current queen sitting on the throne looks suspiciously like Maureen.

A second pyramid, the Grand Pyramid was closed to access as the chief archeologist working the site had just discovered a new temple within the pyramid.

South of the Grand Pyramid, high on an artificial hill, was the Governor’s palace.  As our guide explained to us how the building was constructed using all the knowledge of the time based on science, astronomy and religion, we saw all of the beliefs of a society embedded in the panorama found on the face of the wall.  We saw all the aspects of the Mayan calendar, the magical beliefs of the sacred numbers nine (levels of the underworld) and thirteen (levels of heaven) and how they combined to create a place of perfect symmetry and harmony.  It’s beyond belief that such ancients as the Mayans were able to accomplish this while we of modern times can hardly make our structures last one lifetime.