Mayans of Guatemala

This tunnel is inside a Temple (structure 34) at El Mirador, in the northern region of Peten, Guatemala, about 20 miles from the Mexican border.  El Mirador is one of the largest early Maya cities, abandoned around 300 BC.

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This is the Maya stela "H", at the Copan ruins in Honduras, near the border with Guatemala. Copan was a Maya city of artists and sculptors that was abandoned around 900 AD.

"This magnificent stela depicts Waxaklahun-Ubah-K'awil in the role of the Maize God as he danced at Creation. In the Classic-period story of Creation, the Maize Gods are the central characters in the drama that explains the processes of death and rebirth through confrontation with the Lords of Death in Xibalba. Classic-period imagery shows the Maize Gods being reborn from a snake, growing from infancy to adulthood, and being dressed in full regalia by beautiful young women. This regalia included a net skirt, a fish monster-and-shell belt, and a huge backrack carrying one of three animals who would become the Throne Stones of the Cosmic Hearth.

Once fully dressed, the Maize Gods danced in the company of dwarves and began the activities that led to the Fourth Creation. Waxaklahun-Ubah-K'awil reenacts this dance on Stela H, and to reinforce his identity, he wears a huge zoomorphic Maize God headdress with the leaves and ear of the plant arching over his head."

Linda Schele & Peter Mathews, The Code of Kings: The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs, p. 154

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This Maya painting depicts the market in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, Central America.

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This lake is the site of Mayan rituals. The legend goes that a long time ago this lake was located elsewhere, but because the Mayans abused it, god moved it. They had to have some kind of ceremony asking god where it was. He told them and they found it here in a crater on top of a volcano. Lucky.

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Here's something few tourists ever see: An altar, inside a Mayan prayer site above Aguas Amargas, Guatemala, in Central America.

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This is one of the ancient Maya stela at Tikal, Guatemala, in Central America. Tikal had a population of 150,000 until it was abandoned around 900 AD.

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These Mayan men are the "Hombres de Valor", brave men, in Chichicastenango, Guatemala, in Central America. They perform their daring feats once each year, at the annual fair, celebrating the birthday of the patron saint of the town. Saint Tomas' birthday is around December 21st. Don't miss it!

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