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Souls of the Ancestors: Postclassic Maya Architecture, Incensarios, and Mana

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Souls of the Ancestors: Postclassic Maya Architecture, Incensarios, and Mana Ancient Mesoamerica, 29 (2018), 157–170 Copyright © Cambridge University Press, 2018 doi:10.1017/S0956536117000232 SOULS OF THE ANCESTORS: POSTCLASSIC MAYA ARCHITECTURE, INCENSARIOS, AND MANA Leslie G. Cecila and Timothy W. Pughb aDepartment of Anthropology, Geography, and Sociology, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962 bDepartment of Anthropology, Queens College, Flushing, New York 11367 Abstract In this article, we consider how the Postclassic Kowoj Maya of the central Peten lakes region of El Petén, Guatemala utilized mana in conjunction with their ritual objects and spolia to mediate between the natural and supernatural worlds. In many cultures worldwide and throughout time, mana (magical or spiritual powers that provide people and objects with a living force) transforms the ordinary into the spiritually powerful. The Kowojs imbued incense burners and buildings with mana, thus facilitating a connection with their ancestors. We examine the manufacturing recipe of a group of incense burners and the civic-ceremonial buildings at Zacpeten to argue that the Kowoj used these objects to mediate among the living, the dead, and the supernatural realms. Ultimately, by empowering these objects with mana, the Kowoj constructed a universe where they regularly communicated with their ancestors and built structures that ensouled their historical consciousness. INTRODUCTION between the natural and supernatural worlds. Mana is transmitted to an object by such specialists and operated by gods and spirits, Many world cultures maintain contact with their ancestors through making that object powerful and awesome with regard to admira- material objects employed in rituals such as dances, venerations, tion, respect, and fear (Keesing 1984:149–151; Marett 1909:13; and magical acts, as well as through the architectural settings of Mauss 1972:134–135; Walker 1995; Walker and Schiffer 2006). such activities. Objects do not exist in a vacuum; they are part of Some objects may possess more animating spirit than others, and multifaceted social, political, and religious networks in which in some cases, it can be so potent that the object is believed to exer- their social power and quotidian utility may be manipulated to cise agency: accommodate collective needs. Material culture from the past, which may be animated with supernatural forces and thus spiritually connected to ancestors or even gods, stimulates memory and iden- [S]ome objects are experienced as having intentions, awareness, ’ tity, and its efficacy can be heightened by non-material means. and the power to influence people s lives. Whether these abilities The Postclassic (a.d. 900–1525) Kowoj Maya of the Peten lakes dwell in the objects themselves or are bestowed upon them by other invisible forces (including people’s minds), object anima- region of northern Guatemala (Figure 1) illustrate the use of tion allows entities from the (mythic or historic) past—gods, spirit-infused ancient objects to stay connected to their ancestors. ancestors, or ghosts—to continue participating in current social Two examples are discussed here: use of spolia, repurposed build- practice (Nielsen 2008:209). ing components or monuments, and the manufacture of pottery incense burners (incensarios, censers) with attached anthropomor- “ ” phic effigies. Many things seem to be possessed or to have agency because objects can “outlive” their owners (Miller 2001:107). The older the object, the more likely it is to possess active power that can affect ANIMISM, MANA, AND RITUAL change (Zedeño 2008:368). Like objects given as gifts (Mauss 1966), old things may be inalienably bound to their original Animism is the belief that animals and objects possess an inherent owners. Heirlooms, for example, are special as they are linked to force or spirit (Tylor 1871). Many cultures, including the ancient ancestors and group memories (Lillios 1999:243). Their seeming and current Maya, believe that objects defined by Western standards permanence can contribute to the notion that they embody spiritual as inanimate (buildings, pottery vessels), are actually animate and power and are associated with origins, “outside beings,” and, conse- powerful, with a life history or cultural biography (Brown and quently, liminality (Helms 1998:165–173). As objects from another Emery 2008; Brown and Walker 2008; Gosden and Marshall time or “out of time,” they could be considered both dangerous and 1999; Lucero 2008). This invisible animating spirit or power is powerful (Hamann 2008:808). Although an object may be created to mana: a magical or religious essence that can be possessed by fulfill one need at one time and place, how it is used may change someone, such as a ritual specialist or shaman, who can mediate during the object’s life span, thus creating its life history. To fully understand an object’s place in society, one cannot assume that its E-mail correspondence to: [email protected] final use yields all possible information about it. 157 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Athens, on 04 Oct 2021 at 04:23:31, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536117000232 158 Cecil and Pugh Figure 1. Map of the Postclassic archaeological sites in Peten, Guatemala. Many cultures hold the belief that objects used in rituals, ch’ulel (inner soul), such as stelae, in the new construction or man- whether it be contacting ancient ancestors or ensouling a structure, ufacture of others in order to transmit the ancestral power that are active agents mediating between the living and the dead. This “enlivened and sacralized them” from one object to another. mediation brings inanimate objects to life, thus (re)creating the con- In addition to transferring mana or ch’ulel, humans can instill nections between the natural and supernatural worlds (Gosden animating essences in objects through ritual consecration, manufac- 2005; Zedeño 2008). The past becomes the present and the ture, or use, accompanied by chants and invocations. These mech- present the past. This juxtaposition allows for collective memories anisms vary cross-culturally. During rituals, the ritual specialist that establish mind and body connections to cultural objects brings the spirits into the present realm and directs the property of (Neilsen 2008), making inanimate objects animate social agents mana into animate or inanimate objects. Found things discarded associated with “remembering, memorializing, and forgetting” by past people can also gain a new life. In some cases, they may (Walker 2008:14). For example, current Maya in Santiago Atitlán, be connected with malevolent forces and avoided (Villa Rojas Guatemala, who perform a deer and jaguar dance, believe that 1945:104). In others, they can be associated with ancestral power. they are embodying the saints and deities of the mythical past, That a person was “chosen” to find the object might add to the that their ancestors continue to live in their blood (Christenson power of a ritual practitioner or signal a divine calling (Brown 2016:153, 164), and that the spirits of the ancestors continue to 2000:328–328). Although the receiving object may look ordinary, influence Maya social and political realms through empowering it is now “mana: it works by virtue of its potentiation by spirit ancestral memory (Stuart 1988:193). beings, complementary to human skill and knowledge” (Keesing Maya ancestral memory also is reflected in the concept of ch’ulel 1984:148). Something with mana, be it a person or an object, has that is part of modern Maya belief systems (Blaffer 1972; Pitarch a force and quality that has been transformed and can be transforma- Ramon 1993; Vogt 1965, among others) as well as ancient Maya tive. As a transformative object, it possesses magical qualities society (Houston and Stuart 1996:292; O’Neil 2009). Ch’ulel is because it has been “mana-ized” by the ancestors and deities an everlasting and recyclable spirit or essence that is extra-somatic, (Keesing 1984:138,149) and can be instructed by humans to but resides in the heart, and energizes people as well as ritual objects affect their lives and activities (e.g., ancestor worship; Walker (Blaffer 1972:101; Pitarch Ramon 1993:45). This spirit/essence, 1995; Zedeño 2008). Many magical acts that transfer mana from like mana, has power and agency and can inhabit people and inan- the supernatural to the natural realm involve objects of material imate objects connecting the natural and supernatural realms. culture. “The objects manipulated are chosen analogically on the According to the Tzeltal Maya, ch’ulel has to be “implanted or basis of similarity and difference to convey meaning. From the per- fixed” to a person or thing through a ritual specialist and is essential formative perspective, the action [the transfer of mana] consists of for life (sickness results when parts of the ch’ulel are missing), an operation done on an object-symbol to make an imperative and emotion, and memory (Pitarch Ramon 1993:58–61). Maya archae- realistic transfer of its properties to the recipient” (Tambiah 1973: ologists also believe that the ancient Maya’s concept of ch’ulel 222). The resulting symbol acts as a potent magical symbol encompassed an indispensable force/power/essence that existed (Gravel 1995:66) that functions in conjunction with humans with in ritual objects (such as spolia and incensarios), connecting their mana. ancestors to the present. For example, O’Neil (2009:122; 132) The ritual specialist, as a result of having and being able to evoke describes that the Late Classic Maya used various objects with a and direct mana, is thereby legitimized, thus deepening the belief in Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. University of Athens, on 04 Oct 2021 at 04:23:31, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0956536117000232 Souls of the Ancestors 159 magic and its powers, as many rituals of this nature are part of the (Figure 1).
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