Mysteries of the God Author(s): Bryan R. Just Source: Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, Vol. 68 (2009), pp. 2-15 Published by: Princeton University Art Museum Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25747104 . Accessed: 09/02/2014 20:47

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

Princeton University Art Museum is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions i. scene. Figure Cylinder vessel depicting a mythic Maya, El Zotz or vicinity (?), Peten, . Late Classic, A.D. 650?800. cm. Ceramic with polychrome slip, h. 21.5 cm., diam. 15.0 Gift of Stephanie H. Bernheim and Leonard H. Bernheim Jr. in honor of Gillett G. Griffin (2005-127).

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Mysteries of theMaize God

Bryan R. Just

In 2005 the Princeton University Art Museum welcomed America. Among the Late Classic Maya, however, virtually the gift of an exquisite Late Classic (A.D. 600-800) Maya vase no evidence exists to indicate maize was prepared in this from Stephanie H. Bernheim and Leonard H. Bernheim Jr. form.4 Instead, the ancient Maya consumed maize primarily in honor of Gillett G. Griffin (cover, figs. 1,12,13).1 The ves as 'ul (atole), a gruel-like beverage, or as waaj (tamales),lumps sel, intended for drinking chocolate, ismasterfully painted, of dough stuffedwith meat or other fillings and drizzled with sure, fluid lines effortlessly suggesting graceful motion with sauce. Although standard dedicatory texts on cylinder and figural interaction and a keen sense of cylindrical com vessels prove chocolate (kakaw) was the most common position, with figural groups and hieroglyphic texts paced intended beverage, some vessels include texts specifying according to what can been seen from a particular view. theywere for 'ul, including an incised, lidded vessel that is a Moreover, it is in near pristine condition, with no restoration promised bequest to the Princeton University Art Museum and no significant change in original coloration. The slip from the collection of Gillett G. Griffin.5 In addition to decoration makes balanced use of multiple colors, including hieroglyphic references, food is also portrayed in a number accents. scenes on a orange tones, black-brown form outlines, and white of courtly Maya vessels. On drinking vessel from This palette and distinctive glyphic style is known from a in the collection, for example, a tripod plate heaped with number of extant vessels, all probably the work of a single sauce-glazed tamales rests beside a cup of frothy chocolate city or region; as has been proposed recently, the stylemay just beneath a seated lord (fig. 2).6 be associated with El Zotz, a medium-sized center near the great ancient metropolis of Tikal in northern Guatemala.2 The use of two distinct calligraphic styles for the dedicatory rim text and narrative captions, the masterful figural ren dering?imbuing figures with both a sense of mass and an effortless,subtle mobility?and a sophisticated narrative con sisting of three linked figural compositions and rarely attested "quotative" inscriptions, all contribute to the exceptional character of this singular work ofMaya art. Despite excellent preservation and a relatively naturalistic, uncluttered rendition, the subject of the vessel has eluded *nve interpretation.3Various aspects of the inscription resist ^ ferment, and the particular narrative presentation has no correlates in the known corpus ofMaya art. Still, it is clear from certain iconographic details of the characters that the vessel depicts a key episode in the robust mythological saga of theMaya maize god?one of the most important and prominent deities in ancient Maya art. Given the nov elty and complexity of this idiosyncratic vessel, this essay prefaces more detailed discussion of its subject matter with an introductory survey of the role of maize and the maize god inMaya art, drawing on examples from the Princeton University Art Museums superlative holdings of related material, several of which were also generously donated by Figure 2. Cylinder vase with palace scene, detail of seated lord with tamale and chocolate Peten, Guatemala. Late the Bernheim family. plate cup. Maya, Tikal, A.D. 600?800. Ceramic with h. 28.0 cm., the tortilla as the dominant form of Classic, polychrome slip, Today, reigns pre cm. diam. 14.6 Gift of Mary O'Boyle English in honor of maize and northern Central pared throughout Woodruff J. English and the Class of 1931 (y 1986-94).

3

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions More maize in ancient Mesoameri situate him at in commonly, appears Maya maize god key stages the botanical can art in personified form,whereby the plant assumes the cycle of sowing, maturation, and harvest. Additionally, at cos animacy and agency of a deity. Such representations first regularly paced intervals Maya kings donned lavish appear in Olmec art during the Early Preclassic period tumes associating themselves with themaize god and their (1200-900 B.C.).7 As demonstrated by murals recently dis ritual actions with future agricultural fecundity. A particu covered at , Guatemala, early Maya depictions larly elaborate version of maize-god costume is rendered are of the anthropomorphic maize god derived from Olmec on so-called Holmul Dancer pots, which affiliatedwith visual conventions, implementing a distinctly Olmec style scribal workshops atNaranjo and the vicinity (fig. 3). Such as of facial rendition to distinguish this character frommortals vessels present lords dressed themaize god, dancing with and other deities.8 By the Late Classic period, however, Maya immense backracks and accompanied by dwarfs.9 Presum on artists had developed not only their own conventions for ably, such vessels were produced for and used occasions depicting maize in its personified form but a rich mytho when lords performed just such ritual dances. Maya lords not logical biography for the deity as well, several moments of associated themselves with the maize god only for which enjoy frequent illustration. Most images of the agricultural ceremonies, but also to suggest that dynastic power recurred as if botanically inevitable; just as agricul ture follows a recurring cycle of life, death, and renewal, theMaya held that dynastic power flowed from interred ancestors to their progeny, as demonstrated by maize related tomb iconography, the generational recurrence of royal names, and the use of the term "sprout" (ch'ok) as a title for young princes.10 Although these themes permeate much of Maya visual culture, they find theirmost frequent and elaborate presen tation on finely painted ceramic vessels. This is no surprise, since such vessels, including cylindrical drinking cups, bowls, and tripod plates, were used in elite feasts to serve various forms of maize as well as chocolate, a comestible mythically related to maize.11 These same vessels were often placed in royal tombs, where they not only symbolically contained eternal sustenance, but also foretold the underworld travails and eventual victory over death the interredwould experi ence through progenic renewal. Both cylinder vessels for liquids and plates for tamales were involved in these varied uses and often portray themaize god. Maize-god plates, such as this fine example also fromTikal (fig. 4), most frequently present the deity in a gracefully active pose with one heal raised slightly?a conventional Maya posture indicating dance.12 The maize god is readily identifiable in such scenes by his elongated head, tonsured hairdo, and flowing feather adornments.13 The Maya believed all people were made frommaize, and their bodily aesthet ics reiterated this basic connection. Cranial modification (of still-soft infantile skulls), prosthetic nose enhancements, hairdos and headdresses, face paint and jade dental inlays all served to make Maya nobility resemble a thriving maize plant and particularly the single well-formed cob that typi near human Figure 3. Cylinder vessel with dancing maize gods and dwarfs. Maya, cally grows the top of the stalk; the elongated or Guatemala. Late A.D. 600-800. Naranjo vicinity, Peten, Classic, head mimics the ear; long, thin strands of hair frame the Ceramic with polychrome slip, h. 17.0 cm., diam. (base) 14.2 cm., diam. head as if silk surrounding the healthy cob; and jade adorn (rim) 13.5 cm. Gift of Leonard H. Bernheim Jr.,Class of 1959 (yi98i-i9). ments and iridescent blue-green quetzal plumes symbolize the verdant leaves of the growing plant.

4

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ^^B^^BM^BMiBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBIi^^ Figure 4. Plate withdancing ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^HHHIm Maize god. Maya,Tikal,Peten, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BWHw||l|w Guatemala. LateClassic, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^H|^^^^^H^^^^fl[ polychrome

On this plate, the long, flowing strokes of the figure s defining lines and the placement of feathers both on the head and at the joints enhance the sense of facile movement akin to the rustling leaves of themaize plant in the field.The innermost of the concentric framing bands on the plate consists of four patterned zones; although on many other Tikal Dancer plates these zones aremarked with jaguar pel age?presumably a general reference to the power and prestige of the owner?the decoration here more closely resembles the rows of kernels on the maize ear or possibly the faceted pattern of a turtle carapace, aMaya symbol of the earth, from which all plants emerge with the coming of the spring rains.The outermost band presents a pair of repeating glyphlike elements that frequently appear on Tikal Dancer plates. Although they do not follow standard conventions of Maya hieroglyphic writing, Erik Boot has suggested they may serve as a formalized, pseudo-glyphic reference to the or Figure 5.Tripod plate with head of maize god. Tikal name of themaize god.14 Peten, Guatemala. Late Classic, A.D. 600-800. vicinity, Some plates made in the same Tikal style depict only the cm. Ceramic with polychrome slip, diam. 34.8 Promised decapitated head of themaize god, alluding to the harvested bequest of Gillett G. Griffin (L.1991.15).

5

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Figure 6. Plate with maize scene. god resurrection Maya, Peten, Guatemala. Late Classic, A.D. 600-800.

Ceramic with polychrome cm. slip, h. 11.4 cm., diam. 37.5 Museum purchase, Fowler McCormick, Class of 1921, Fund'(1997-465).

seem a contrast to ear, and, by extension, the tamale made from it (fig. 5).The The decapitated head may marked the more head on this plate includes several diagnostic maize god youthful, energetically mobile dancing figure typical two motifs, including a tonsured hairdo, elongated cranium, and of Tikal-style plates. Yet together, theymark interlocking moments long quetzal-feather panache extending from the forehead in the life cycle of maize: vital youth (ripe maize) (as is typical, the fugitive green slip used by theMaya here and violent death (harvested maize). Both types may also contexts. appears a dull gray-brown). The once-green curling motif have been used in burial some on the back of the head also appears frequently on represen At cities, tripod plates have been found, occasionally at over tations of themaize god; it has been interpreted variously as with small "kill holes" their centers, inverted the a or a seen in heads of individuals in their portraying maize kernel tamale cross-section.15 royal tombs, presumably equat The framing band on the shallow wall of the plate presents ing the individual with harvested maize.16 With the "planting" a series of three illegible pseudo-glyphs on one half, while of the deceased individual, the life cycle is renewed botani new as the other half consists of an attenuated cross, indicated by cally; life (progeny) will spring forth just "dead" anew. the paired dark quarter-circles on each end that define the maize seeds sprout A new horizontal projections of the cross. Common on Tikal-style few plates render explicitly this process of life a maize plates, this elongated cross motif is a permutation of emerging from the dead head/body, including fine example at the logographic hieroglyph (and visual symbol) for k'an, the Princeton University Art Museum (fig. 6).The maize "yellow, precious, ripe." On tamale plates, thismotif refers god, with his tonsured hairdo and long quetzal-feather head to the contents and, in this instance, also to the head of the dress, dances atop a skull at the center of the composition. maize as corn. The skull?now a god "ripe" largely eroded?represents "decapitated,"

6

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions HFigure 7a, b. Tobacco flask in the form of God N with turtle carapace (front[a] and back [b]). Maya, Nakbe or vicinity, Peten, Guatemala. Late Classic, a.d. 650-750. Ceramic with cream and black slip; h. 8.1 cm., w. 6.0 cm. Promised bequest of Gillett G. Griffin (L. 1987.43).

Figure 8a, b.Crouching raingod wielding lightninggod axe (oblique view [a] and detail of incisions on back of head [b]). Maya, Mexico 200 or Guatemala, Late Preclassic or Early Classic, B.C.-A.D. 400. Fuchsite with traces of stucco and cinnabar, h. 13.3 cm. Museum

purchase (y 1990-74).

desiccated seed. From the skull flow curling red scrolls, rep swampy areas, such watery iconography alludes both to the resenting blood or fire, as well as undulating plant stems field and to the underworld from which the maize god as a new capped by large,white water-lily blossoms. Water lilies, emerges as plant. On the plate illustrated in figure 6, one well as thewhite heron with a freshly caught fish in itsbeak two figures flank the dancing maize god, with a snail and the red band and stacks of black rectilinear forms at the shell torso and the other with a crocodilian headdress. The as bottom of the composition, all reference stillbodies ofwater. former is an underworld deity known among scholars For the ancient Maya, whose sophisticated agricultural tech God N, an old Atlantean character associated with mountains as nology included use of artificially raised fields in low-lying, and thunder.17 In other instances, such the "codex-style"

7

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions HFigure 9a, b. Decapitated head in the form of a turtle carapace (front [a] and oblique [b] views).Maya, Highland Guatemala, Middle Preclassic (Las Charcas phase), 600-400 B.C. Ceramic with white slip and traces of red pigment, h. 9.0 cm., w. 6.0 cm. Promised

bequest of Gillett G. Griffin (L.2000.87).

tobacco flask illustrated in figure 7a, b, God N wears a turtle indicating new plant growth (fig. 8b).20Although the head carapace in lieu of a snail shell. dress-wearing character on the plate illustrated in figure 6 The character with the crocodilian headdress lacks does not wield Chahk's lightning axe, his and God N's definitive attributes of a particular deity, although Madeline gestures, pointing at the intersection of the skull-seed and Carroll has suggested he is a manifestation of Chahk, the the dancing maize god, indicate their agentive role in agri rain and lightning deity who appears with some frequency cultural renewal. in scenes with God N and the maize god.18 Alternatively, In other versions of this scene, the maize god emerges the headdress may identify this character as some aspect of from a crack in a turtle carapace, an explicit reference to the the crocodilian earth, known as in the colonial dry soil awaiting the onset of the rainy season.21 A finely Quiche document the and, in the Late Classic modeled, Middle Preclassic (ca. 600?400 B.C.) Maya ceramic period, possibly as Itsam Kab Ayiin.19 Collectively, this head at Princeton similarly references this theme (fig. 9a, b). crocodilian deity and God N may serve as primordial The expressive human face is at once youthful and dead, the progenitors and agriculturalists and allude specifically to latter indicated by the flowing blood-scrolls from his neck, the coming of spring rains; thunder and lightning are marking his decapitation. The raised ridges at the top of the thought to result from the forceful axing of the turtle head and the incised pattern on the back refer to a turtle carapace earth, thus catalyzing the emergence of planted carapace (fig. 9b; compare to fig. 7a, b).The pairing of cara crops by cracking open the parched earth and quenching pace and severed head?situating the maize within the the seeds within with rain. turtle-earth?strongly suggests the maize god was the Although it is not clear whether the character with the intended subject and effectively alludes to themoment prior crocodilian headdress on this plate isChahk, this important to his sprouting.22Notably, this carapace is not decorated in rain god is frequently credited with splitting open the earth the usual faceted design of a turtle shell, as can be seen on in order to facilitate maize growth, as exemplified by an the small tobacco-flask illustrated in figure 7b, but with an early Maya fuchsite sculpture (fig. 8a). Chahk, identifiable incised checkerboard pattern. The same patterning envelops by the swirling incisions of his eyes and his scalloped eye most of the surface of a Chochola-style Maya drinking cup brows, holds a lightning (k'awiil) axe behind his back, (fig. 10a, b) probably intended for the consumption of 'ul, cocked and ready to strike.On his scalp appears the cross which also presents the rebirth of the maize god (note his shaped k'an (ripe) logograph mentioned previously, and tonsured hair and the curl on his head) from a dry, cracked cascading down the back of the head are scroll emanations seed, here rendered as the glyph ("lord"). Karl Taube

8

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions or or Figure ioa, b. Carved vessel depicting birth of maize god (front [a] and back [b] views). Maya, Chochola vicinity, Yucatan Campeche, Mexico. traces cm. Late Classic, A.D. 600-900. Ceramic with of red pigment, h. 12.3 cm., diam. 13.0 Promised bequest of Gillett G. Griffin (L. 1974.16).

noted that this checkered pattern indicates cultivated earth collections (fig.n).This brightly polychromed cylinder ves in art at and other central Mexican sites, and sel, produced at an unknown workshop located between has suggested that itmay serve a comparable iconographic the Salinas and Candelaria rivers in eastern Mexico or function in this case.23Alternatively, the checkerboard design north-western Guatemala, depicts themaize god flanked by may represent a basket weave; baskets were used to hold all two naked women, each holding an obsidian mirror shown kinds of materials, including, as rendered on several Maya in profile view.26 Only the upper half of the maize god is vessels, the decapitated head of the maize god.24 The same shown; the broad black band below marks a dark, watery basketry techniques were implemented throughout Meso context, at the center of which?and directly beneath the america to create large packs for transporting loads of small maize god?appears another skull, the upper portion here organic substances, such as maize kernels and chocolate resembling a shell in cross section or the curled maize motif beans.The potential association of the turtle s shellwith such noted on the head of the decapitated maize god illustrated packs is discussed below. in figure 5.Although shown fully grown, the partial rendi While the plates and related objects mentioned above tion of the maize god may indicate a particularly young present themost frequently depicted episodes of themaize plant; perhaps the sexual overtones of the naked women god saga (vital youth, harvest, renewal), many other moments (rarely seen inMaya art, and consistently in sexually charged are also attested inMaya art.According to a narrative sequence contexts) refer to the period of pollination, when pollen proposed by Michel Quenon and Genevieve Le Fort, the from the tassel at the top of maize plants may be seen to maize-god cycle includes at least five episodes: Following "adorn" the silk of the nascent ears. If that is the case, the (i) harvest (death), themaize god is (2) transported into the fourth character on the vessel, identifiable by his black spots underworld via canoe, where he is (3) reborn from themouth as theHero Twin Hun Ajaw (also known as Hunahpu, which of a fish with saurian features. Quenon and La Fort argue he is called in the PopolVuh), may refer to cross-pollination, themaize god is next (4) adorned in his regalia, in anticipa as he leaves the scene with a bundle (of pollen?) and a staff tion of his (5) resurrection into the terrestrial realm though or torch. Alternatively, the Maya also likened the sowing a the cracked turtle carapace/earth.25 process (penetrating the soilwith planting stick and insem Of these additional episodes, only the "dressing" scene is inating the earth with seed) to coitus; perhaps the overt represented in the Princeton University Art Museums sexuality of the scene refers to this process. In accord with

9

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions n. Figure Cylinder vessel depicting scene of maize god dressing (rollout photograph). Maya, between Salinas and Candelaria rivers,Mexico or cm. Guatemala. Late Classic, A.D. 600-800. Ceramic with polychrome slip, h.15.7 cm., diam. 17.0 Promised bequest of Gillett G. Griffin (L. 1992.49).

this interpretation, Hun Ajaw may be seen to be leaving the powerful or important individual appears at the viewers recently planted field with seed bag and planting stick in right and is often seated, facing the rest of the scene. The hand.27 fact that all three maize-god manifestations on this vessel The presence in this scene of Hun Ajaw?a son of the look at the seated figure on the far right (see cover), even maize god?reminds us thatMaya mythology need not though in two instances the bodies are directed the other follow strict chronology; such temporal liberties and the way, indicates such a hierarchy likely directed the composi tendency to represent stories in pars pro toto fashion, with tion of this vessel. Although some aspects of the narrative one or a few moments standing for an entire saga,make it scene on this vessel are not yet fully understood, the story difficult to determine whether this "dressing" scene was seems to unfold in a right-to-left sequence. As such, the understood to have occurred after themaize god's emergence following discussion will begin with the most prominent from the earth, as postulated here, or before, as proposed by character at the viewers right. Quenon and La Fort. The first figural grouping consists of three characters Similar issues of sequence and narrative order confound (fig. 12): an aged, paunchy deity who sits on a cushioned, study of the complex drinking vessel mentioned at the jaguar-pelt throne; a diminutive character who holds two outset of this essay, towhich we will now return our atten birds?an upraised macaw or parrot and a long-tailed tion (see figs, i, 12, 13).Among the various figures on this quetzal; and themaize god, whose head turns to look over vessel appear three individuals sporting the maize god's his shoulder at the seated deity. Each of the two columns diagnostic tonsured hairdo: a diminutive figure straddling a of text placed between the characters describes speech, plate on a backpack (fig. 1, right); a youth resting calmly in beginning with a version of the verb "to say." The first,on a cloth wrapping (Spanish: reboso) on the back of a woman the viewers left,quotes the speech as stating "It is good."31 (fig. 13, left); and a full-grown man with the diagnostic The second text column specifies the identity of the seated maize curl on his head who stands, arms crossed, looking deity and confirms he is an interlocutor in the conversa over his shoulder (fig. 12, left).The sequence from left to tion, reading "He said it," followed by two logographic right of consecutively larger,more "mature" manifestations head signs that reference two well-known Maya deities, of the maize god, each of whom faces the viewers right, God N and the Principal Bird Deity.32 The pairing of these follows the standard reading order of Maya hieroglyphs, titles, as well as the presence of the Principal Bird Deity's including that of the dedication text on the vessel's rim.28 tasseled ak'ab ("dark") diadem on the clearly aged indi This sequence led Catherine Burdick to argue that the vidual, comprises an example of what Simon Martin vessel's subject is the maturation of the maize god, pre recently has termed "theosynthesis" and serves to clarify sented in a linear, chronological fashion.29 Some Maya thatwhat we see here is a particular variant of the Princi vessels, however, involve a right-to-left unfolding of narra pal Bird Deity, specifically in his anthropomorphic, aged tive time; the Princeton Vase is an excellent case in point.30 aspect.33 This old man, known as God D by scholars, is a Moreover, Maya composition is consistently driven by a preeminent Maya deity, renowned for his wisdom and hierarchical sequencing of characters, in which the most power as a sorcerer. His primary position in the

10

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Zotzor ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H Late ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H polychrome

honor ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HHHHHHflHHHH

are composition and his active gesture seem to indicate his difficult to interpret. Is God D's gesture toward the meant agency in the following events, yet the laconic inscriptions upraised parrot/macaw to indicate he has selected it over D the give no clue as to his precise role. the quetzal? If so,what does this imply? God and seem to at The identity of the diminutive character is also elusive, maize god be looking intently each other; does for the again due to the brevity of the caption glyphs. The red-and this indicate God D's interaction has implications white headband he sports isworn exclusively by the Hero maize god, or that they share some agency in the ensuing Twins, however, and thuswe may see here a youthful Hun actions?What exactly is the role of the adolescent Hun Ajaw? Ajaw, who appears fully grown at the far left of the vessel Although these questions remain unresolved, the orienta a composition.34 It is extremely rare to seeHun Ajaw as child, tion of themaize god's body, which faces away from God D, and the rationale for such a presentation is unknown. seems to suggest that action results from the encounter, lead to turn viewer to The body language of all three characters, so evocatively ing themaize god away and directing the indicated by the fluid form lines, affirms their involvement turn the vessel and continue the story along with him. scene on in discussion, yet the particular gestures and bodily attitudes As does the first, the second the vessel involves

II

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HZotzor ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HLate ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H polychrome

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Hhonor

which no clear translation is known. The follow three characters (fig. 12): a male character with a zoomor currently two to read phic (deer?) headdress seated on amonstrous head (symbolic ing glyph blocks?a-pibal (a-pi-/-ba-l(i))?seem oven."35 This curious have two simulta of stone or,more generally, the earth), who makes a gesture "your passage may neous the central role of the maize of lament with his right hand; an amply proportioned adult meanings. First, given on this the refer to the of female,who sits on the ground line; and, resting comfortably god vessel, passage may baking tamales in a oven. "oven" is also used meta in a cloth wrap, an infantilemale with the tonsured hairdo pit Additionally, to reference the in this sense, the of themaize god (the attention of the full-grown maize god phorically womb; passage indicate that the woman is with the nascent is directed away from this figural group, rendering him may pregnant maize The use of the second in the peripheral to this scene). The columns of hieroglyphs repre god. person possessive indicates that theman she faces is sent the speech of the adults; this is confirmed by the swirling phrase presumably respon sible for the it is difficult to lines, each connecting a column to the mouth of an adult. pregnancy. Although decipher theman's seems to affirm this double The woman's text lacks a standard initial quotative verb fully, speech meaning, as it can be to refer to "the maize within the seed" (perhaps because the speech-line suffices in this instance), interpreted and thus his within the woman's womb.36 opening instead with the expression ba'iiy (ba-'i-y(a)), for possibly progeny

12

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Throughout , notions of birth and death are ethnographically documented turtle that served as themaize closely related; among the Mexica (Aztec), for example, god's foster parent is consistently female. earth goddesses frequently fuse deathly symbolism and This unique scene also may explain how the turtle got his birthing postures.37 In this challenging scene, we may be shell; the burden of carrying the maize god overwhelmed seeing both processes expressed in union; themaize god is and compressed the turtle, forcing him towalk on all fours, both destroyed (cooked in an oven; mourned by themale), near (and akin to) the earth. Perhaps specifically to accentu and reborn (the infantmaize god; the allusion to thewomb, ate the weight of this load, a large stone rests atop the possibly corroborated by the notable girth of the woman). zoomorph's head. Hun Ajaw's hand rests on the stone; Moreover, numerous ethnographic sources from throughout perhaps it has been placed here by him. The stone thusmay Mesoamerica note that the maize god was conceived by a indicate some agency in the transformation to Hun Ajaw, couple out of wedlock; inmany of these stories, the new and also suggests that we are witnessing the moment of born maize god is killed (frequently by drowning) to hide earth's formation; as the turtle is compressed by his impor the parents' transgression.38 Perhaps the clear expression of tant burden, he becomes the compacted turtle-earth.42 lament by the man refers to such a sacrifice of his unborn To summarize, this vessel presents a unique version of the progeny. In several of these stories, the infantmaize god is (re)birth ofmaize, involving the interdiction or direction of rescued by a turtle "foster mother," an event that is likely the preeminent old Maya deity God D. He seems to advise represented by the third and final scene on the vessel. the actions of both themaize god and the adolescent Hun This scene includes the Hero Twin Hun Ajaw facing a Ajaw; the former is to be consummated in the belly (oven) scaly character carrying an immense pack loaded with a of a woman, presumably discarded by the parents, and sub conical walking hat, an attached gourd and necked jar, and a sequently rescued by a turtle,with the latter's load ultimately plate, upon which sits a tiny,tonsured maize god (fig. i).The becoming a turtle shell and thus the earth. This interpreta inscriptions here provide only basic labels; the single glyph tion may explain the presence of woven patterning on the near man as the head of the simply identifies him Hun Ajaw decapitated head with turtle carapace (see fig. 9a, b) and the (as do the spots on his body and his red-and-white head Chochola vessel (see fig. 10a, b), as theymay reference the band),39 while the glyphs between him and the zoomorphic turtle's pack before it became a hard shell. porter note that "his/her burden was immense" (pih yikats As with any great work of art, this vessel retainsmany a [PIH/yi-ka-/-ts(i)-(tsi)]). mystery.Who, for example, are themale and female charac The animal in this scene has been identified previously ters in the central scene? If the woman is indeed meant to as a toad.40The notably sharp point at the tip of the crea be pregnant with themaize god, who sits on her back (his ture's upper lip, however, suggests it is a turtle, as does the twin brother, perhaps)?What exactly is implied by the paired witz (mountain/earth) face on its back, since the turtle is parrot/macaw and quetzal birds held aloft by the adolescent symbolically likened to the earth's surface. Extending the Hun Ajaw? Thinking beyond the iconography, we may also was turtle designation, we may understand the pack the turtle ponder forwhom the vessel made and forwhat occa carries?its "immense burden"?to refer to a carapace. sion; what religious activities and/or political intrigues may Such an interpretation lends rationale to the tinymaize god have occurred while the vessel was being used to serve riding in a plate on the pack; he may serve as an iconic label chocolate? Alternatively, the vessel's thematic focus on life, for the contents of the pack, and by extension for themaize death, and renewal may indicate itwas made specifically for within the (turtle) earth. Although there are no known ritual interment with a recently deceased noble. If thiswere cognate ancient Maya texts or images, this presentation is the case, who commissioned the painting? These and other similar to several documented Mesoamerican maize-god mysteries of the maize god await the discovery of new, myths, wherein the discarded bastard maize-god child is related iconography and further development inMaya epig rescued on the back of a turtle.41Problematic, however, is raphy.This fine vessel certainly has much to contribute to the turtle's loincloth, which suggests he ismale, whereas the such research in the years ahead.

13

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions NOTES

Several people have proven instrumental in the development of this essay. of Cacao, ed. Cameron McNeil (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, Victoria Bricker, Donald Hales, David Hixson, Stephen Houston, Lily Just,Justin 2006), 154-83. on Kerr, and KarlTaube all provided pertinent insights the subject and construc 12. Nikolai Grube,"Classic : Evidence fromHieroglyphs and Iconog tive comments on early drafts. I thank Simon Martin for sharing his most raphy,"Ancient Mesoamerica 3 (1992): 201-18; Looper, To Be Like Gods, 114-31. on important unpublished document "The Old Man." I also thank Stephanie 13. KarlTaube has done themost thorough assessment of maize god iconogra Bernheim for her interest in this research, her enduring passion for ancient phy inMaya art, building on previous work extending back to the beginning American art, and her commitment to the Princeton University Art Museum. of the twentieth century. See, for example, Taube, "The Classic Maya Maize Any errors of fact or interpretation remain the responsibility of the author. God: A Reappraisal," in Fifth Palenque Round Table, 1983, ed.Virginia M. Fields (San Francisco: Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, 1985), i7i-8i;Taube, "MaizeTamale"; and Karl A.Taube, The Major Gods ofAncientYucatan, Studies in Pre-Columbian Art and Archaeology 32 (Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton 1. This vessel is referenced as K7727 in Justin Kerr's photographic Maya Vase Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1992), 41-50. For a review of previ Database at vvovw.mayavase.com (hereafterMaya Vase Database), andMS2085 ous literature, see Taube, "Classic Maya Maize God," 171. in the neutron activation analysis database of Dorie Reents-Budet and 14. Erik Boot, "An Annotated Overview of'Tikal Dancer Plates'" (2003), 18-19, Ronald Bishop. published online at www.mesoweb.com/features/boot/TikalDancerPlates. 2. Stephen D. Houston, Zachary Nelson, Hector L. Escobedo, Juan Carlos pdf (accessed November 24, 2009). Melendez,Ana Lucia Arroyave, Fabiola Quiroa, and Rafael Cambranes,"Levan 15. As a kernel, seeTaube, "Classic Maya Maize God"; as a tamale, see Bruce Love, tamiento Preliminar yActividades de Registro en El Zotz,Biotopo San Miguel "Yucatec Sacred Breads through Time," inWilliam F.Hanks and Don Rice, la Palotada, Peten," informe submitted to the Department of Prehispanic and eds., Word and Image inMaya Culture: Explorations in Language, Writing, and Colonial Monuments, General Direction of Cultural and Natural Patrimony, Representation (Salt Lake City: University ofUtah Press, 1989), 336?5o;Taube, Guatemala (2006), available (in Spanish) atvvovw.mesoweb.com/zotz/resources. "Maize Tamale"; Taube, "Major Gods ofAncient Yucatan," 41. html (accessed November 24, 2009). For an English translation, see Stephen D. 16. Fitzsimmons, Death and theClassic Maya Kings, 92 and Appendix 2.This prac Houston, The Epigraphy of El Zotz (2008), 3-4, available online at www. tice is best evidenced atAltar de Sacrificios, where at least forty-five burials mesoweb.com/zotz/articles/ZotzEpigraphy.pdf (accessed November 24,2009). contain bowls or plates inverted over the heads of interred individuals; Dorie Reents-Budet notes chemical similarities among the El Zotz-style ves A. Ledyard Smith, Excavations at Altar de Sacrificios:Architecture, Settlement, sels and ceramics ofUaxactun and Tikal, Guatemala (e-mail communication to Burials and Caches, Papers of the Peabody Museum ofArt and Ethnology 62, author, July 30, 2008). no. 2 (Cambridge, Mass.: Peabody Museum Press, 1972). For burials atTikal 3. For the most extensive previous discussion of the vessel, see Catherine and , seeWilliam R. Coe, Excavations in theGreat Plaza, North Terrace and Burdick, "Notes on K7727," published online at www.mayavase.com/7727/ North Acropolis ofTikal, Tikal Report 14 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsyl com7727.html (n.d.; accessed November 24, 2009). vania Press, 1990) ;T. Patrick Culbert, The Ceramics ofTikal: Vesselsfrom Burials, 4. Karl A.Taube,"The Maize Tamale in Classic Maya Diet, Epigraphy, and Art," Caches, and ProblematicalDeposits,Tikal Report 25,pt.A (Philadelphia: Univer American Antiquity 54, no. 1 (1989): 32-34. sity of Pennsylvania Press, 1993); and Gair Tourtellot III, "Burials: A Cultural 5. L. 1974.14 a-b (K5515 inMaya Vase Database). See Marc Zender to Justin Analysis," in Gordon R. Willey, ed., Excavations at Seibal, Department ofPeten, Kerr, October 5, 2001, reproduced in Marc Zender, "Commentary: Vase Guatemala, Memoirs of the Peabody Museum 17,nos. 1-4 (Cambridge, Mass.: Number K5515," available online atwww.mayavase.com/com5515.html (n.d.; Peabody Museum Press, 1990). accessed November 24, 2009). See also Nikolai Grube, "The Primary Stan 17. Taube, "Major Gods of Ancient Yucatan," 92-99. on dard Sequence Chochola Style Ceramics," in The Maya Vase Book, Vol. 2, 18.Madeline Carroll, "Cycles, Ceremony, and Sacrifice: An Interpretation of A Corpus ofRollout Photographs ofMaya Vases, ed. JustinKerr (New York: Kerr Plate Depicting Resurrection Scene, aMaya Vessel of the Classic Period," junior Associates, 1990), 320-30. thesis, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University (n.d. 6. On the affiliation of this vessel with Tikal, see Dorie Reents-Budet, Oswaldo [2008]). Gomez, Ronald L. Bishop,Juan Pedro LaPorte,Vilma Fialko, and M.James 19. Karl A. Taube, personal communication, August 28, 2009; on Itsam Kab Blackman, "La Ceramica de Mundo Perdido y Plaza de los Siete Templos: Ayiin, see David Stuart to Linda Schele, November 14,1994, available online at Actividades Rituales por la Elite de Tikal," paper presented the 22nd at http://decipherment.f1les.wordpress.com/2007/09/itzam-letter-1994.pdf; en Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueologicas Guatemala, July 21-26, 2008 and Simon Martin, "The Old Man of the Maya Universe: A Unitary (unpublished manuscript in author's possession). Dimension within Ancient ," 13-16 (unpublished manu 7. Karl A. Taube, "The Olmec Maize God: The Face of Corn in Formative script, 2007 version). no. Mesoamerica," RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics 29/30 (Spring-Autumn 20. Curiously, this complex motif also seems to incorporate a macaw's head, the 1996): 39-81. eye indicated by a dotted circle marking thewhite area lacking feathers.This 8. William A. Saturno, Karl A. Taube, and David Stuart, The Murals ofSan Bartolo, bird appears to have a skeletal lower mandible, possibly identifying the char El an Peten, Guatemala: Part i,The North Wall, Ancient America 7 (Barnardsville, acter as Early Classic variant of the bird deityVucub Caquix, known from N.C.: Center forAncient American Studies, 2005). the PopolVuh. If this reading is correct, the defeat of this important deity may 9. Dwarfs and hunchbacks were seen to have a special relationship to themaize here be linked to the creation ofmaize. were likened to the stunted and ill-formed cobs that 21. scene a god; they typically form The best-known example of this is codex-style plate in the collection lower on the stalk.As are seen to same as such, they be of the stock the per of theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston (1993.565^1892 inMaya Vase Database). fectly formed cob, i.e., the maize god. See Mary Ellen Miller and Simon 22. Another fusion ofmaize-god head and turtle carapace is attested on an Olmec Art Martin, Courtly of theAncient Maya (San Francisco: Fine Arts Museums of carved jade from Las Encrucijadas, Tabasco, Mexico; Karl A. Taube, e-mail San Francisco; New York: Thames & Hudson, 2004), 58. For an in-depth communication to author,March 10, 2009. See also Karl A.Taube, Olmec Art discussion of the of Holmul Dancer see at iconography plates, Matthew G. Dumbarton Oaks, Pre-Columbian Art at Dumbarton Oaks 2 (Washington, To Be Like Dance inAncient Looper, Gods: (Austin:Univer DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 2004), 91 and sity of Texas Press, 2009), 117-22. fig. 40a. 10. James L. Fitzsimmons, Death and theClassic Maya Kings (Austin:University of 23. Karl A.Taube, e-mail communication to author,March 10,2009; Karl A.Taube, Texas 22. Press, 2009), The Writing System ofAncient Teotihuacan, Ancient America 1 (Barnardsville, 11. On the relationship between chocolate and maize inMaya mythology, see N.C.: Center forAncient American Studies, 2000). Miller and Martin, Courtly Art of theAncient Maya, 62-63; and Simon Martin, 24. See, for example, K1183 and K8468, Maya Vase Database. "Cacao inAncient Maya Religion: First Fruit from theMaize Tree and Other 25. Michel Quenon and Genevieve Le Fort,"Rebirth and Resurrection inMaize Tales from the in Chocolate inMesoamerica: A Cultural Underworld," History God Iconography," in Barbara Kerr, ed., The Maya Vase Book, vol. 5,A Corpus

14

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions ofRollout Photographs ofMaya Vases (New York: Kerr Associates, 1997), 884-902. 33. Karen Bassie, "Maya Creator Gods," www.mesoweb.com/features/bassie/ 26. Information on the place of manufacture provided by Dorie Reents-Budet, CreatorGods/CreatorGods.pdf (2002), 29 (accessed November 29, 2009); personal communication, April 17,2008. Martin, "Old Man of theMaya Universe," ioff. 27.While the involvement of a son in the birth of his fathermay seem paradoxi 34. JustinKerr, personal communication, June 23, 2009; Karl A. Taube, personal cal, patterns of bigenerational name inheritance and the use of the same term communication, August 28, 2009. for grandparent and grandchild inMaya languages corroborate the notion 35. I thankVictoria Bricker (e-mail communication to author,January 24,2009), that progenic renewal was understood to involve the intermediary generation for her advice on this decipherment. in a crucially agentive role. Perhaps the ancient Maya thought human agricul 36. aljiiy ti nal(?) walaw [seed?] hiin (a-AL-[ji]-y(a) / ti-NAL?[Maize?]-1(a)/wa-la turalists served this agentive role in the agricultural cycle ofmaize. wa/hi-[na]). On the reading of the ajaw head-glyph as "seed," see Taube, 28. The dedicatory inscription is a standard form, beginning just above the head "Classic Maya Maize God," 178-80; and Simon Martin, "Cacao inAncient of Hun Ajaw (far left on cover rollout). It reads: "Here it is, it is raised up(?) Maya Religion," 158-59.The final expression in this phrase, hiin, recently has the surface-painted, thin-walled, drinking cup for 'tree-fresh' chocolate/'d/dy been proposed to serve as an emphatic first-person reference, possibly stress tabij yich uts'ibilnajah(?) ujaay yuk'ib ta tsih te'el kakaw (a-LAY-y(a) TAB(?)-ji ing that the child within thewomb ishis. See Kerry Hull, Michael D. Carrasco, y(a) yi-ch(i) u-ts'i-b(i)-IL(?)-NAJ-JA [u]-jaay yu-k'i-b(i) ta-TSIH te-TE'-l(e) and Robert Wald, "The First-Person Singular Independent Pronoun in KAKAW(?)). Classic Ch'olan," mexicon 31, no. 2 (April 2009): 36-43, 40 n. 5. In the other 29. Burdick, "Notes on K7727." rare appearances of this independent pronoun, however, it is foregrounded 30. The Princeton Vase (yi975-i7) presents, at the left of the composition, the (clefted) and thus appears at the beginning of a passage, not the end. old underworld seated on his throne in themidst of five distractingly 37. See, for example, Cecelia F Klein, "Post-Classic Mexican Death Imagery as beautiful young women. One of the women taps another on the heel and a Sign of Cyclic Completion," in Elizabeth P. Benson, ed., Death and theAfter turns her head, telling both her companion and the viewer to turn the vessel life inPre-Columbian America (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks Research in a counter-clockwise direction to reveal a scene inwhich the Hero Twins Library and Collections, 1975), 70-71. decapitate another underworld denizen. The folly of God L (in not realizing 38. For numerous examples, see H. E. M. Braakhuis, "The Bitter Flour: Birth the severity of the event on the other side of the vessel) is realized only when Scenes of theTonsured Maize God," inRudolf van Zantwijk, Rob de Ridder the vessel is read in this direction. and H. E. M. Braakhuis, eds., Mesoamerican Dualism/Dualismo Mesoamericano 31. This passage reads, "He said,'it is good with the lord(?)/grandfather(?), it is (Utrecht: R.U.U-I.S.O.R., 1990), 125-47. good,'" aljiiy uts itaw ajaw(?)/(?) uts (a-AL-[ji]-y(a) / u-ts(i) / i-ta-w(a) / 39. hun ajaw (HUN-AJ-w(a)). It has been noted that themain sign of this col [AJAWP/MAM?] / u-ts(i)). On the possible reading of the bird head as /mam/, location normally carries the phonetic value /pu/, leading to the alternative a termmeaning both "grandfather" and "grandson," see Simon Martin,"Car possible decipherment hunapuw (HUN[ya]-PU-w(a)) (Burdick, "Notes on acol Altar 21 Revisited: More Data on Double Bird and Tikal's Wars of the K7727"). However, this spelling ofHun Ajaw's name, strikingly similar to the Mid-Sixth Century," The PARIJournal 6, no. 1 (2005): 8;Alexandre Tokovin colonial Quiche version, Hunahpu, is otherwise unattested in the Classic ine and Vilma Fialko, "Stela 45 of Naranjo and the Early Classic Lords of period. Stephen Houston (e-mail communication to author,August 1, 2008) Sa'aal, The PARI Journal 7, no. 4 (2007): 11. suggested the /AJ/ reading for the element. 32. y-aljiiy [GOD N] itsam (ya-la-ji-[y(a)]/[GOD N]/ITSAM). On this reading, 40. Burdick, "Notes on K7727." David Stuart ("Kinship Terms inMaya Inscrip see Martin, "Old Man of theMaya Universe," 10; and Erik Boot, "At the tions," inMartha J.Macri and Anabel Ford, eds., The Language ofMaya Court of Itzam Nah Yax Kokaj Mut: Preliminary Iconographic and Epi Hieroglyphs [San Francisco, 1997], 9) more tentatively identified the character graphic Analysis of a Late Classic Vessel" (October 30, 2008), 17, published as a "reptilian creature." online at www.mayavase.com/God-D-Court-Vessel.pdf (accessed Novem 41. See Braakhuis, "Bitter Flour." ber 29, 2009). 42. Karl A.Taube, personal communication, August 28, 2009.

15

This content downloaded from 209.129.16.124 on Sun, 9 Feb 2014 20:47:18 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions