The Metropolitan Museum öf Art presents: The Feathered

an entertainment for members' children in celebration of the Museum's special exhibition

BEFORE CORTES ¡Vom 800

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Galfi

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THE FEATHERED SERPENT ' ^i ft \ ' By Carella Alden

KILL HOUSE

.-, .?•'•-! ' . . ROLL TAPE:#2ÀMÔS£o. ÔP^HÉNQ&DBR :TO FIRST^P3Rl<Ìtò OF NARRATION

OPEN CURTAIN ON MUSIC. SLIDES ON 1 &; 3 ROLL TAPE #1 NARRATION BORDER LIGHTS UP (BLUE) SCREEN USED AS SCRIM

ENTER MIGRANTS THEJ ENTEE. S.R..ESOM..BEHIND SCREEN AND X TO S".L.

ARCHAEOLOGIST (AS NARRATOR) About 12,000 years ago, wandering tribes from Asia crossed the Bering Straits and traveled down KILL TAPE #1 into Middle America.'Some roamed oh into':South:America where they followed the sea-coast. Others climbed high into the Andes Mountains. But many were content, for a while at least, to stay on the highlands of Central America where, surrounded by mountains, they found the hunting good.(P3U3E IN TAPS)

SCREEN UP (Close Curtain first)

BORDERS TO AMBER

R CORN PLANTERS THEY PANTOMIME PLANTING CORI- Then, about 5000 B.C., the people on this pla­ teau made an historical discovery. They found that the kernels on tiny'cobs growing'from a wild'grass was - good to eat. They learned too, that by planting the small kernels when the cob's husks v/ere begining to dry and fall away, they could control where the grass grew instead of letting the wind scatter the kernels which were the grasses seeds. Through centuries of experimentation, they also discovered that by cross­ ing the grass with other similar grasses the cobs and kernels increased in size. EXIT CORN PLANTERS ENTER CORN CARRIERS THEY X STAGS CARRYING STALES OF CORN By 2000 B.C. the first real agriculture on the North American continent had developed,and with it came settled villages. No longer was man exclusively a -hunter. In Middle America he tended his land and thrived on tortillas made from the plant known:.as maize. Wè call it, corn.(PAUSE IN.TAPE)

KILL BORDERS EXIT CORI.' CARRIERS ENTER MAP POINTER SPOT PICK UP MAP POINTER

About 1000 B.C., the first developed civiliza­ tion in ---Middle:America began. Oddly enough it did not begin in the highlands but on the Gulf coast, pro­ bably in the present state of Vera Cruz. This civil­ ization was a tribe known as the Olmec.

KILL SPOT EXIT MAP POINTER From the Olmec has come the earliest pre-Col­ umbian art; art created long before the discovery of the New World by Columbus. Like all early civil­ izations, Olmec art was functional; objects designed for serving a'particular purpose rather than being just decorative. The were also the first to develop a religious cult. The cult was based on the big cat that roamed their jungles, the jaguar. Just why this animal was chosen remains as mysterious as the cult itself,but as the cult grew ceremonial centers rose; the largest was on the coast at in the state of Tabasco. From texcavátioná at La Ven ta--'have, come large pieces of and ocromonic.l CUCOD and urno and buried beneath a court, were found small figurines appearing like masked players in a scene of mysterious ritual. Apparently high priests ruled over this civil­ ization and demanded great tribute from the people t in order to pacify the demons of the jungle and their rain god; the all-powerful jaguar. Olmoo influence Olmec culture influenced wao enormous. For a thousand years /it dominated much many of Middle America, quid/all other tribes came to follow its system of government and religion.(SOUND: DRUM UP AND OUT) When the sun was high, the sprawling valley of Mexico sparkled from the dazzling light on its many lakes. Near these lakes was begun, about the time of early Christianity, the first great city of Mexico. We do not know who its huiliers were or the people who lived there but towering over its huge religious complex was the Pyramid of the Sun. /aid at the opposite end of a broad road, called the Avenue of the Dead, was the Pyramid of the Moon. The name of the city was Teotihaucan which means, the home of the gods. Inside a large citadel,or fortress, were a num­ ber of temples; one of them the Temple of Quetzal­ coatl. Quetzal, meaning "feather," coati meaning,"ser­ pent." , or feathered serpent, was much nicer than his name implies. He was the god of culture, of learning,and of skills, and as such, was highly res­ pected by many tribes. Since signs of warfare are not very evident on the excavated site of Teotihaucan it is supposed that its people yere fairly peaceful, choosing perhaps to follow Quetzalcoatl in the pursuit of learning and skills rather than follow- ferocious war gods into battle,

BORDERS UP (AMBER) ENTER MERCHANTS SOME FROM R. SOME FROM L. THEY X. ONE- ANOTHER, PAUSE TO EXAMINE EACH OTHERS GOODS. SOME TRADE THEIR GOODS SOME DO NOT. From this great city there went out to all parts of Middle America, merchants carrying goods that bore proof of the fine skills of the many Teotihaucan art-

ists and craftsmen. TheseAthey traded with merchants of other cities and villages. When a Teotihaucan merchant returned home, he would beAsupplied with items from many places. Perhaps suoh humorous little figurines mad o as far away as tho whose -farming villagoo on the Pacific coast, where their un­ sophisticated creators depicted the simple every day life of their people. These, and many more things the merchant wou!Uf' then trade for other goods in his local market palee. KILL BORDERS " MERCHANTS EXIT the year 750 About/ 700 A.D., hordes of barbaric invaders from the north swept down on Tedtihaucan looting, burning, killing, destroying it, As a result a similar period to that of the Middle Ages in Europe, and at approx­ imately the same time, began in the valley of Mexico. -.*. ENTER MAP POINTER SPOT PICK UP MAP POINTER Now about the time Teotihaucan was begun, there rose in Guatemala, British Honduras, and El Salvador, and along the eastern coasts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, the most brilliant civilization in all ancient America. It was the Maya. Maya art is unique in the world's history of art.

KILL SPOT EXIT MAP POINTER Like the Egyptians, the Maya believed in an after­ life so.: objects the dead might need were placed in their tombs. The remains of Maya ceremonial centers, such as the one at Tikal, are monuments to their architec­ tural genius. In sculpture, the Maya viere without equal in Middle America. Free-standing sculpture. Sculpture £or decoration. Sculpture in relief. And sculptural representation of their gods such as the Earth god KILL TAPF #1 and the Maize:god to whom they gave special worship. ROLL TAPE #2 UNDER WORSHIPER ON, S'.C SOON AS SPOT HITS ACTOR SPOT PICK UP WORSHIPER

Lord of hills and valleys, Lord of forests. I am about to do as my fathers have ever done. I am about to destroy your beauty. I am going to work your soil So that I may obtain my daily bread. Suffer no animal to attack me, Nor snake to bite me. Bid the trees that they fall not upon me And suffer not the axe or knife to cut me. When after I clear, and sow the seeds, Bring forth ifea harvest of maize.

TAPE #2-UP AND FADE OUT AND KILL ...... ;

IRIS OUT SPOT EXIT WORSHIPER ROLL TAPE #1 Throughout the Maya lands there, were ball courts. The courts varied in size, as did the numbers of play-

ers; but the object of the game was the same. Along each side of the court V/as a wall and in the center of each wall was a stone ring. The ball used in the game was made of hard rubber; a fact that makes for an historical note for it was the first use of rubber. The object was to shoot the ball through the ring, as in basket ball, but no hands were permitted. The ball could be struck by the body only between the elbows and knees. To protect theirlbodies, the players wore cotton and leather pads..-If a player put the ball through the ring he received, as his prize, the cloth­ ing and jewelry of all the spectators. However, since the spectators always appeared wearing their finery we. can assume that a player's chance of scoring was very rare. Points could be gained in other ways though and the game had rules for boundries, positions, and penal­ ties. No doubt the game ended when all fell from total exhaustion.

KILL TAPE #1

LIGHTS UP BALL GAME

ROLL TAPE #2 AT FINISH OF GAME-

KILL TAPE #2 HOLD 'FOR-APPLAUSE THEN

KILL LIGHTS MAP POINTER ON

SPOT PICK UP MAP POINTER

I \ - . 'i - - - .

ROLL TAPE #1 some of By 900/the Maya people left their cities in the south and wandered up into the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, while warring tribes of barbaric Chichimecs from the north invaded the valley and eventually con- 8

quered it. One of these tribes was the . In the 10th century, as the Maya were building their new cities in Yucatan, the moved to their new capital named Tula which stood only twenty miles from the ruined city of Teotihaucan.

KILL SPOT EXIT MAP POINTER The Toltec high priest and ruler was a man named Topiltzin and in Mexican history he is the first iden­ tified historical figure. Topiltzin had built Tula and had brought artisans from distant villages under Toltec rule to make his capital as beautiful as possible; architects to design its buildings, sculptors to decorate them,and he bronci" • pottery makers and other craftsmen to teach their arts to the Toltecs. Nov; as high priests often took the name of a god, Topiltzin chose to take the name of the ancient Teo­ tihaucan god, Quetzalcoatl, the god of culture, of learning and of skills. But this was Topiltzin's un­ doing and in time, the undoing of all Middle America.

KILL TAPE #1

LIGHTS UP TOPILTZIN D.S.L. READING A CODEX. AETER A PAUSE

ROLL TAPE ¡;2 DRUM

ENTER U.S.R. THREE PRIESTS. THEY KNEEL, BOW THEIR HEADS TO FLOOR THEN RISE.' TAPE ,'fc UNDER TOPILTZIN You enter my palace and into my presence, you extend your greeting, yet I sense anger. Why? FIRST FRIEST There is much anger in Tula. SECOND PRIEST It is because of this anger that we have come. TOPILTZIN What is the cause of the anger? • FIRST PRIEST It is you. Our High Priest and Ruler. TOPILTZIN How can this be? There is food aplenty, the peo­ ple are learning skills. I have raised up this beauti­ ful city for THIRD PRIEST And you have raised up another god over our own Toltec god,Tezcatlipoca, the god of Sun and of War;

Fi'JDE OUT TAPE ,f3 Aid) HILL

SECOND.PRIEST You have even taken-this inferior god's name. Quetzalcoatl, the ancient god of Teotihaucan. TOPILTZIN I have done so because I believe him to be a greater god then Tezcatlipoca. PRIESTS REACT. Yes, for Quetzalcoatl is a god who helps man to better himself. HOLDS OUT CODEX. To learn. 10

Man wonders about things. He asks himself ques­ tions. What makes the Mountain, Popocatepetl-, sometimes roar and shake the earth and shoot flames into the sky? Is it really because a god is angry? How does a bird fly? Why is it one man can take a handful of earth and make from it something lovely to look upon, and another man can not? OPENS CODEX. And if one man can read why can not every man? What lies beyond the great sea to the West? To the East? Not long ago our Chichimec ancestors, when they were in the land to the north, lived like animals, hunting and killing. Nov; we Toltecs live in this fine new city of Tula and rule over all the valley. FIRST PRIEST But we conquered the valley by warring and sac- fricing. Yes, it is true we have a fine new city, and we have plenty to eat, the maize grows in abundance. But at the end of each day our god, Tezcatlipoca, must fight his battle with the night so that he can return the next day to ripen the maize for harvest. To re­ new his strength he demands sacrifice! THIRD PRIEST If he is denied, he has told us he will force the ancient god of Rain, the Jaguar, to go to another land and then he, Tezcatlipoca, will burn the earth with his heat and there will be drought and starvation. TOPILTZTE But now that there is peace in the valley is it 11

not better to sacrifice less, as the Maya do, and to a milder god who I believe cares more that men learn and create than that they be sacrificed? SECOND PRIEST Noi Tezcatlipoca has spoken to us through his idols. He has told us you have done evil to elevate Quetzalcoatl over him. TOPILTZIN Then Tezcatlipoca is a jealous god. It is he who brings anger to Tula, not I. SECOND PRIEST Tezcatlipoca is. angry, and for the wrong you him have doneEnA è also demands, war. He wants more conquests and he has warned us that if we do not obey him, Tula and all its people will be destroyed by a mightier tribe than we».

ROLL TAPE #2 DRUM AND TRUMPETS UP TLBS. UNDER

TOPILTZIN • Must there always be war and the capture of prisoners? Then, the elaborate preparations of priests, nobles, and chiefs. The great courts crowded with people from near and far. The monotonous beating of the drums. Tho blaring of trumpotc and rolling of drums. The long processions mounting the steep steps to the temples atop the pyramids. 12

The altars in the temples with their idols of the gods above them. And finally, the parade of prisoners brought in one by one to be killed, their hearts torn out and placed in urns on the altars; our gifts to the gods. . All that, because men believe they owe all things to the gods. PRIESTS REACT.

FADE OUT TAPE #2 AND KILL

Yes, I wonder too. I ask myself questions. Since earliest times we, and all peoples in this land, have sacrificed human beings to one god or another. But I wonder, is it ever to be so? THIRS PRIEST Topiltzin-Quetzalcoatl, the High Priest, our Ruler, doubts the godsi SECOND PRIEST Now is the moment. Tell him. TOPILTZIN Tell me what? FIRST PRIEST All .the priests y nobles 'and: chiefs, obeyingt-Çhe command of the god "Tezcatilpoca^Ihave,sent .us:.hèrerrfco order'you';to'leave... TOPILTZIt* Leave? FIRST PRIEST Yes, You are to leave this palace, you are to 13

leave the city of Tula. TOPILTZIN And do the people wish me to .leave too?'. FIRST PRIEST The people obey the gods and we priests. TOPILTZIN And those who, in this case, may not wish to? FIRST PRIEST Will be sacrificed. TOPILTZIN I will leave on one condition. That you permit those who may wish to leave with me to do so. PRIESTS LOOK AT ONE ANOTHER, DISCUSS SITUATION A FEW SECONDS.. FIRST PRIEST

Granted. THEY START OUT. TOPILTZIN Wait, Spread word through Tula that I will leave from the Great Court tomorrow when thè sun bëgins.'.her .course-through the- sky. Say that all who wish to jour­ ney with me to-be present. PRIESTS EXIT U.S.R.

ROLL TAPE #2 .UP, FADE OUT AND KILL

KILL LIGHTS TOPILTZIN EXITS IN 3.0.

ROLL TAPS #1 Topiltzin-QuetzalcoatL, with a'small band of" follow­ ers wandered south out of the valley of Mexico. In the mountains ¿h*&t beyond, they settled at a village named 14

Cholula. They dedicated it to the god Quetzalcoatl but no human sacrifices were made. Instead, they honored him by establishing Cholula as a cultural center for all the arts. But the Toltecs, obeying the command of their war god Tezcatlipoca, set out upon conquests. Their victories were enormous and they were swift. By the year 1000 they controlled most of Middle America» including the Yucatan of the Maya. Their last conquest was tneir greatest triumph. They oonquorod tho Yucatan of the Maya. So beautiful were of •r-Ae./V<2-y•&- the cities^that the victor could only bow to the van­ quished for their achievements. The city of Uxmal was like none other they had ever seen. Because were impressed So improocod wore the Toltecs/with the talent of Maya architects, sculptors, and craftsmen, they chose to make their provincial capital at tho magnifioont oity, Chichœn Itza. However, if it was to represent the great power of the Toltecs, the city would have to express the character of the Toltecs. So Maya archi­ tects and builders, undor Toltoo cuporvioion, design­ ed and constructed, new pyramids and temples to glorify Toltec gods such as the Temple of the Warriors. And Maya sculptors created largo figures probably to re­ ceive offerings, from tho oonquoro-ga. In all Maya cities Toltec touches were added. It has been said- that centuries later, pirates, when exploring the shores of the Caribbean, got the idea for the insignia on their flags from t&s^^e bas reliefs. 15

At Chi^chè-n Itza a road< called, the Sacred Ge.aof¡~- v/ay leads from the temple complex to a^woll called, the Sacred Well. Over the centuries, the tale that beautiful young women, wearing rich jewelry, were thrown into it as sacrifice, faded into legend. Then, in this, the twentieth century, the well was dredged and low and behold jewelry of gold, precious stones,

jades;and yes, human bones were brought up from the murky bottom of the Sacred Well. Nov/ the Toltecs noted that the patron diety of Chich&n Itza was a god named Kukulcan. As such the principal Maya temple was the Temple of Kukulcan. And since the v/ordJ.kukulcan was the word, in the Quiche language of the Maya,,for "feathered serpent" it meant once again the Toltec god Tezcatlipoca had to compete with his old rival, Quetzalcoatl. The Toltecs also noted that to the Maya, this ancient god was often portrayed as having the head of a man and the wings of a bird. This gave them pause. Over the recent years of their conquests, they had kept hearing a story and everywhere they went, throughout the land,.the story was the same.

SPOT PICK UP TOP. TOPILTZIN ON C.S,

It told of a man who lived in a place called Cholula who, for twenty years, had helped the people to learn and to create beautiful things. Then after his long time there he told his people he must leave. 16

But before he left he promised that he would return within a year of a certain date which was yet many ages in the future. And when that time came he would rule over all the people. He also promised, that as the Feathered Serpent was white—faced end bearded, such would be his appearance when he returned. Then he bid them farewell and walked toward the Eastern Sea.

SPOT FOLLOW AND IRIS OUT TOPILTZIN EXITS

The people said his name was Quetzalcoatl. The only variation in the story was that some said since the god was often called, "The feathered snake that goes in the waters,'.' Quetzalcoatl, or Ku— kulcan,..had sailed out into the sea on a raft made of intertwined snakes. Others said no, that as he had wings he flew into the sky and had become the morn­ ing star. But one thing was certain, everyone was sure he would return. The Toltecs came to believe it too, And so it was that mothers and fathers told the story to their children and their children told it to-theirs on down through the years. MUGIC UP AND OUT.

BORDERS UP (AMBER) ENTER BAND OF MEXÁCA. THEY ARE RAGGED NOMADS FROM THE NORTH. ONE CARRIES A BUNDLE. THEY PANTOMIME OUT FOLLOWING STORY. New around the year 1200, a small barbaric tribe of Chichimec ancestry wandered into the valley of Mex­ ico. Filthy dirty and without possessions, except for 17 one bundle they carried wherever they went, these nomads became squatters. Calling themselves MÈxfcca, they were disliked and not wanted by any of the valley people. Then one morning, sitting on the shore of a lake, their priest unwrapped their treasured package and brought forth a wooden carving of a very ugly figure. . It was their god Huitzilopochtli; meaning "left handed humming bird." The name did not suit him for he was the most blood-thirsty god in all Mexican history. He was also considered to be very wise, and in matters of decision making his advice was always sought. This particular morning the priest asked him where they should build their city. A few minutes passed then Huitzilopochtli spoke. "Seek out an eagle that perches on a cactus and holds a snake in his beak. W