CHAPTER XVII.
Uxmal. — Extent of ground occupied by the Ruins. — Teocallis. — Burial places at the foot of the Pyramid of the Dwarf. — Evening Service at the chapel of the hacienda. — Casa del Gobemador. — Sacrificial customs. — Preservation of the wooden lintels. — The Nunnery or Casa de las Monjas. — Religious customs of the Indians. — Emblem of the Serpent. — Sculptures. — Conjectures respecting the possibility of Moorish, Spanish, or Oriental influence upon architectural design. — Methods of construction. — Note upon a fall of rain supposed to be caused by the fires of the Indians.
It is considered that the ruins of Uxmal are, in extent and construction, the most important in Yucatan, and therefore, excepting in certain particulars, those at Palenque, the most remarkable in Central America and Mexico.
The ground occupied by them is in length about six hundred yards. The width is slightly more than five hundred yards. Consequently the area within which Uxmal is contained, may be approximately estimated as being sixty acres. It therefore exceeds by twenty acres the space covered by the mounds of Palenque. The buildings are irregularly placed. The Casa del Gobernador (House of the Governor) with its adjacent pyramids form the principal group towards the south. The Casa de las Monjas (House of the Nuns) is situated towards the north. These are the two great structures upon which the other temples and mounds seem chiefly to depend. There are two smaller edifices called respectively, the Casa de las Palomas (House of the Pigeons) and the Casa de las Tortugas (House of the Turtles). There is also a detached pyramid with a ruined temple upon its summit, which has been given the name of the House of the Old Woman. Looking at these ruins as a group, they appear to have consisted of quadrangular residences with pyramidal mounds attached to them, raised for the purpose of obtaining lofty sites for the altars of the Indian gods.
One of the most important of these is that known as the Pyramid of the Dwarf. I examined it with particular attention for the purpose of studying the character of a series of small stone vaults or cells placed round its base, which were similar in size and design to those that I had seen on the lower slopes of the Kue near the coast above Campeachy. Many of these cells were sufficiently perfect to enable their dimensions and shape to be verified. It seemed evident that they must have been made for sepulchral purposes. If this conclusion is correct it is probable that they were the burial places for the ashes of the caciques who ruled over this part of Yucatan.
Upon an investigation of the outer parts of the pyramid, it is to be observed that it was not only carefully constructed, but its plan must have been accurately drawn and the relative mathematical measurements calculated with reference to the space that was required for the temple. The magnitude of the base could not be determined, on account of the quantities of fallen stones and other débris. In 1841, Mr. Stephens considered that it was two hundred and thirty-five feet long by one hundred and fifty-five feet wide. The perpendicular height to the platform was estimated to be eighty-eight feet.
The steps leading up to the summit are broad, and must have formed an imposing approach, but in consequence of the angle of the slope they are necessarily steep, and are placed so close together that there is barely sufficient width for the foot to rest. At the base of the pyramid there is an open court, which I observed to be similar in shape to one adjoining the base of an altar built by the Quichés at Utatlan, but it was larger in extent. The court leads to the entrance of the Casa de las Monjas.
This building may be considered to be the result of the greatest powers of sculpture and ornamentation that the Indians possessed, and judging from the condition of many of its chambers, it is probably one of the latest of their works. It is nearly quadrangular, and encloses an area of over six thousand square yards.
My first day at Uxmal was employed in making a rough survey of the land occupied by the ruins.
Upon my return to the hacienda, I found that an evening service, called “el Rosario,” was being held in the chapel. A large number of Indians were assembled. These Yucatecos had attached to the fingers of the church images, many of their own small idols, made of metal. It was consequently impossible to know (as the priests in the Cordilleras said of their Indian parishioners), whether they were worshipping the saints, or following in secret their ancient idolatries.
The next morning I established myself in the “House of the Governor,” and selected for our occupation the largest of the outer series of apartments, opening upon the eastern courts. The size of these was necessarily regulated by the angle of the converging slopes of the walls, for the builders were limited in their plans in consequence of their incomplete acquaintance with the formation of arches. In one of the rooms there were some cross poles made of zapote wood, to which Anastasio fastened my hammock. The architectural proportions of the exterior are unusual. The length is about three hundred and twenty-two feet, but the breadth is only thirty-nine feet, and the low, narrow structure, is only twenty-five feet high. The effect, however, of the long and elaborately carved façade, is particularly pleasing both to the eye and the mind. In all respects, the Casa del Gobernador is rightly given the distinction of being the grandest of the stone structures that were built by Indians. The platform upon which this great edifice stands, is forty feet above the level of the ground. Sixteen feet below this is a large open court, which is about one hundred and eighty yards long, and over eighty-two yards wide, containing a level surface of nearly fifteen thousand square yards—or more than three acres. There is a third outer terrace, raised a few feet above the plain.
The Casa de las Monjas is also placed upon three terraces, but they are of smaller dimensions, and the height of the base of the building above the natural ground, is not more than seventeen feet. The terraces were surrounded by strongly built walls. Wide stone steps gave access to each platform. When looking at these flat spaces, pyramids and temples, it is practicable to form reasonable conjectures regarding the nature of the religious ceremonies that may have taken place within, or before them.
Bishop Landa, in his work on Yucatan, which he wrote in that country soon after the conquest, gives an account of the feasts and sacrifices performed in the temples. His description was based upon information which he received from the descendants of caciques, who had governed a powerful tribe dwelling east of Uxmal. After mentioning the nature of the offerings made to the idols during certain festivals, he observes that, besides sacrificing animals, the priests would sometimes on occasions of tribulation or public necessity, command that human victims should be sacrificed. There is this statement given of what then happened.
“Every one took their part in offering contributions, in order that slaves should be bought, and some of the more devotional would offer their little children. Great care was taken of them that they should not run away or commit any fault, and whilst they were conducted from village to village with dancing, the priests fasted. Upon the arrival of the day, they all came into the patio (court) of the temple, and if the victim had to be sacrificed by wounds from arrows he was stripped naked, his body was anointed with blue, and a cap like a mitre was placed on his head.” He was then, after certain dances made by the people in honour of the god, killed by flights of arrows.
It will be remembered that a similar custom was followed by the Pawnees in North America who, upon certain occasions, chiefly in connection with offering a propitiation to the Manito who had power over the harvest, also killed the victim by a flight of arrows.[89] The coincidence of this practice is very strange.
Landa, after relating the manner in which these Indians in Yucatan conducted the ceremony of inflicting death by arrows, proceeds to state what was done if the priests, for some special reasons, directed that the victim should be offered to the gods in accordance with their more appalling rites. “If it had been decided to take out the heart, he was taken to the patio with much pomp, and was accompanied by many people, and after being daubed over with blue, and his mitre placed on his head, he was carried to the round step which was the place where these sacrifices were made, and after the priest (sacerdote) and his officials had anointed this stone with blue colour, and had cast out the devil by purifying the temple; the unfortunate man that was to be sacrificed was then seized, thrown suddenly backwards upon the stone, and held there by the legs and arms kept apart from the middle. Then came the sacrificer with a stone razor, and struck with much dexterity and cruelty, a gash between the ribs of the left side below the teat; he then thrust in his hand and took hold of the heart like a furious tiger and snatched it out still palpitating, and put it upon a dish which he gave to the priest, who took it quickly and anointed the faces of the idols with the fresh blood.”[90]
This statement of the sacrificial customs in Yucatan is in accordance with the Report made by Palacio[91] concerning the sacrifices of the captives taken in war by the Pipiles, a tribe who were believed to be of Mexican origin and were then dwelling near the Pacific coast of Guatemala. It may also be surmised that the ceremonies performed by the priests of the Quichés upon the altars at Utatlan were of a similar nature. It thus seems evident that the barbarous practices that are supposed to have been introduced by the Aztecs into Mexico, during some period subsequent to the twelfth century, were becoming prevalent in Central America.
It is possible that the custom of offering human sacrifices, together with subsequent acts of cannibalism, may have become grafted upon the religious observances of an earlier and less cruel race. It is, however, to be noticed that the plan of the pyramid of the Dwarf with its altar, and the open court at the foot of the steps leading down from the temple, conform with the particular purposes of the ceremonies connected with the sacrifices to the idols. Bernal Diaz, when describing the manner in which the Spanish captives were sacrificed and eaten during the siege of Mexico, mentions facts which agree with the statements made by the caciques in Yucatan, concerning the events that occasionally happened in their sacred places.
“Sometimes,” observes Landa, “the sacrifice took place on the stone upon the highest step of the temple, and then the body was thrown down the steps and rolled below. The officials then seized it and flayed off the skin excepting the feet and hands, and the priest, having taken off his garments until he was naked, covered himself with it, and danced with the others. This was considered to be a matter of much solemnity. It was the custom to bury those who were sacrificed in the court of the temple, or, if not, they were eaten by the chiefs and those who were able to obtain portions; the hands, feet and head were for the priest and officials. Those who were thus sacrificed were held as saints (tenian por santos). If they were slaves captured in war their owner took the bones and kept them to show them in the dances as emblems of victory.”
The aboriginal inhabitants of Yucatan were, like those dwelling in the neighbouring land of Guatemala, devoted to the worship of idols, and travelled great distances to take part in the ceremonies which were performed at the shrines of their principal gods. The Island of Cozumel was one of the sacred sites which was held in great veneration when the fleet of Grijalva arrived there in 1518. It was observed by the Spaniards that there and elsewhere, the pyramidal structures or altars were maintained in good order, and had regular priests attached to them for the purpose of executing the various duties connected with the superstitious usages. It was afterwards ascertained that several of the larger sacred temples in the interior had at that time been abandoned, although many of them looked as if they had not been long built. With respect to Uxmal, it was considered that the ruins were comparatively modern and belonged to a period but little anterior to the Spanish conquest.
The well preserved state of portions of the buildings is, at the present time, nearly four centuries after the arrival of the Spaniards, especially noticeable. I observed that the wooden lintel over the door of my room in the Casa del Gobernador was in perfect condition. The edges or corners were still sharp and unworn. It was also evident that, although the great weight of the masonry above must have exerted a heavy pressure upon the centre of the lintel, there were no signs of the slightest deflection. The strength of the wood seemed to be unimpaired. The preservation of many of the lintels over the doorways of the rooms in the Casa de las Monjas was, in several instances, equally sound. Many of the stone carvings on the exterior were also apparently uninjured by their exposure to the weather. But, before proceeding with this subject, it is expedient to take into consideration some of the characteristics of this building.
It is not known why it was called the Casa de las Monjas (House of the Nuns). Possibly the Spaniards may have been surprised by its similarity in plan with their own nunneries, but it is also not improbable that there may have been some tradition received from the Indians which caused the adoption of this name. It has been stated by Clavigero, and other historians, that there were certain especial customs attending the worship of the god Quetzalcoatl. Women served for terms of years within his temples. They were dedicated to the performance of religious service from an early age, lodged in a convent and instructed in religion. They were also educated and employed in a manner suitable to their station and sex. It was said that certain vows were made and various religious duties were performed.
The main entrance to the nunnery is through a gateway placed in the centre of the southern part of the quadrangle. Upon each side of this entrance there are four chambers, and it is to be noticed, as an evidence of the conventual character of the building, that these are the only rooms that have direct access to the outer world. All the others are within and look into the court. They had a blank wall at the back, which excluded all communication with the exterior. The principal front looks towards the pyramids adjoining the Casa del Gobernador. The architectural proportions of the archway are symmetrical. The height and span, like all other parts of these Indian structures, are practically determined by the angle of inclination of the converging sides. In this case the arch is about seventeen feet high and nearly eleven feet wide. After passing through it, a wide court is entered. It is surrounded on four sides by long ranges of low stone buildings. The base, or lower part of them, is built of plain square slabs of masonry. The upper parts are covered with fanciful designs, sculptured with great skill.
The whole of these buildings are exclusively arranged for the purpose of providing the greatest possible number of chambers or monastic cells. I did not count them, but it has been stated that there are altogether eighty-eight. It is perhaps important to note, with reference to this unusual number of rooms, that they are too numerous to admit of the theory that they were intended for the accommodation of the priests serving the adjacent temples, for according to the statements of Clavigero, the number of priests always corresponded with the number of the Teocallis. It is therefore presumable that these cells had some other purpose. The priests may have been lodged in the Casa del Gobernador. That building contains twenty-four chambers, the majority of which are of the same size and plan as these in the Casa de las Monjas. It is useless to attempt to conjecture the precise purposes of these buildings, for there has been no exact information obtained upon the subject, but everything points to the conclusion that the whole of the structures at Uxmal were connected with the worship of the gods, and had no relation to the ordinary lives of the Indians.
It is probable that places like Uxmal and Palenque with their temples and monasteries, were set apart for religious purposes, and the Indians assembled there from the adjacent country with the object of being present at the ceremonies, in the same manner as they are now accustomed to perform their pilgrimages when the patron saints of the churches have their festivals. When taking into consideration the question of the period when it may be conjectured that the temples at Uxmal were abandoned, it is necessary to direct attention to the design or emblem which is placed upon one of the walls of the interior of the Casa de las Monjas.
Upon an examination of the accompanying illustration, it will be observed that the figure represented is that of a huge serpent or rattlesnake. A serpent was also the emblem or Totem of one of the tribes of the Mound Builders in Ohio, and there appear to be singular resemblances between the reptile carved in stone at Uxmal and that which is rudely made of earth and stones, and placed on high ground overlooking a valley in North America. Both reptiles have peculiarly large mouths, opened wide, ready to devour and swallow their prey or their enemies. It is perhaps not unreasonable to infer that the tribe who migrated from the north, conquered the unwarlike natives of Yucatan, raised the great pyramids, and built the temples in that region, were subsequently conquered by a more powerful tribe of the same race, also migrating from higher latitudes. The former tribe were forced to desert their buildings, and avoided slavery or extermination by escaping into the interior. The serpent stands out in bold relief. The whole of the façades of the nunnery are elaborately sculptured, and the mechanical abilities of the builders are well brought into notice.
As all investigations or theories respecting these architects and their works, depend greatly upon the conclusions that may be drawn from the evidence regarding the period when Uxmal was built, I directed my attention to certain points bearing upon this subject. Conjectures upon the origin and civilisation of the Indians must be influenced by what can be ascertained with respect to the probable dates when these religious buildings were constructed.
It is to be seen in the Casa de las Monjas that there was a lavish use of ornamentation in stone. There is, throughout, a wealth of sculpture which is astonishing when it is remembered that the sculptors, as far as we know, had no proper implements to work with. Stone chisels and obsidian scrapers appear to be inadequate for the purpose.
It can be understood that if the Indian masons and stone cutters had wished to show their ability, they might have adorned their buildings with barbarous figures or rude idols, such as were carved by the natives of Easter Island out of soft volcanic stone. But at Uxmal they revelled in their powers. The walls of the Nunnery and the Casa del Gobernador are covered with designs deeply cut and perfectly joined. Thus it is proved that the sculptors had not only much capacity as workmen, but they must have been able to chisel hard limestone with ease and facility of execution. In the interior of the Nunnery many of the designs are most artistic. Nothing can be more graceful than the block of buildings on the eastern side of the quadrangle. The lattice work, in its appearance and general effect, seems to have an indefinable accordance with the wood and stone carvings that are to be seen in the ancient quarters of Cairo, and the interior of the earliest Arabian mosques. Upon the opposite side of the quadrangle, the ornamentation upon the walls is of a different character and in some respects resembles the designs of Hindoo or Buddhist architecture. This confusion of styles is puzzling to the eye and embarrassing to the judgment.
At Palenque the long corridors, the courts, and the use of coloured stucco ornamentation appeared to have some vague relation to a mixed style of Moorish and Spanish architecture. If a corsair, with a crew of Moors and a cargo of Spanish captives, had been driven by the trade wind across the Atlantic, and the strangers, after landing upon the new continent, had married the daughters of the caciques; it would be intelligible that the descendants of the mixed races might have constructed monasteries, temples and pyramids of this strange and complex design. Such was my impression when pacing the corridors at Palenque.
At Uxmal there were no coloured stuccoes and no corridors. The bold and fantastic style of the sculptures had a character more Eastern, and it might be permissible to imagine that wandering fakirs from Hindostan, or Buddhist pilgrims from Java, Burmah or Cambodia, had reached the Pacific coasts, and had implanted their incomplete acquaintance with the forms of Hindoo or Buddhist temples upon the barbaric ideas of the Indians, and that in this manner were produced the fanciful types of construction or symbolism that are present at Uxmal.
These are only conjectures, but it cannot be supposed that this knowledge of architecture and of sculpture arose as suddenly as it disappeared, and sprang into existence as the outcome of the natural capacity of the Indian mind. The problem is interesting and attractive. It is one that is exceedingly difficult to solve.
There are certain differences in the methods of construction of Palenque and Uxmal which have to be analyzed. The walls at Palenque are composed of compact masses of stones and mortar covered with thick layers of cement. At Uxmal no coatings of cement are used and the walls are faced with well-worked masonry. At Palenque there are great numbers of human figures either formed of thick stucco, or graven upon slabs of stone. At Uxmal there are no human figures, no delineations of caciques, priests, or captive victims. The principle of ornamentation is different.
Judging from the condition and appearance of the buildings it is clear that Uxmal must be more modern than Palenque, and this is particularly noticeable upon an examination of the Casa del Gobernador and the Casa de las Monjas. The influences of the tropical climate (Uxmal is half a degree south of the twenty-first parallel) are such as would be expected to act injuriously upon exposed limestone sculptures, for between May and November the rains are heavy and continuous. But the façades of these structures seem to have been very little affected by the weather.
In forming opinions respecting the antiquity of ruins, it is perhaps injudicious to give much weight to considerations based upon appearance or state of dilapidation, but in the instance of Uxmal there are circumstances which make it impossible to admit that it belongs to a period more than very few centuries earlier than the arrival of the Spaniards. Thus the preservation of the wooden lintels over the doorways in the Casa de las Monjas must be taken into consideration, when any attempts are made to estimate the age of that building. They have had to bear considerable pressure, for there are heavy masses of concrete and masonry to be supported.
With regard to this subject, it is necessary to draw attention to the size and construction of one of the principal rooms which I measured, and it will be understood how the architects were limited or restricted in their actions, and to what extent the employment of wood was found to be requisite.
It was a narrow chamber twenty feet four inches long, twelve feet wide, and about twenty-three feet high. The height of the entrance was eight feet, the width six feet seven inches. The interior walls were perpendicular up to nine feet three inches from the ground, and then curved inwards until they approached within one foot of each other. They were capped by broad flat stone slabs. The curvature of the walls was correctly formed, and a considerable gain in space was thereby obtained. It was evident that the Indians were advancing towards a knowledge of the round arch and keystone. This form of rounding the inner roof was not however adopted in all the rooms of the nunnery. Many of them still retained the straight lines of converging walls, as at Palenque. The manner in which the advance in construction had been reached was simple and yet ingenious.
I measured a room in another part of the quadrangle which had different dimensions, and was more in accordance with the earlier system of building. It was twenty-two feet long and ten feet five inches wide. The height of the perpendicular portion of the walls was eight feet three inches, and the length of the upper slope to the cap-stone was eight feet nine inches. The total height of the room about sixteen feet. The doorway was a little over seven feet high and the width was five feet eight inches. The dimensions of the chambers round the quadrangle varied, but the instances I have given represent their average sizes. There were two lintels over each doorway, for the width of each piece of timber was not sufficient to occupy the full depth of the wall. In the first-mentioned chamber they were each nine feet five inches long, one foot wide and eight inches deep, and had a bearing upon each wall of one foot five inches. In this and other openings the inner lintel rested in its place a little lower than the outer one. The object of this singular method of placing these supports was not apparent. The lintels were externally in perfect condition, and were without any signs of decay.
The main mass of the Uxmal walls is composed of rubble limestones, made into a strong compact substance, by the plentiful use of good binding mortar. Each facing stone was made into a triangular shape, and the point or apex seems to have been pushed or fitted into its place, and there firmly secured by mortar. This method of applying the masonry was adopted not only with the plain smooth blocks of square stone used for facing the lower portions of the buildings, but also with all the sculptured portions of the walls. The blocks fit closely together in their places so accurately and with such careful finish that the joints or edges can scarcely be distinguished. It is thus made evident that the stone-masons who built Uxmal must have been men capable of performing their work with skill. The architect must have possessed a competent knowledge of the preparation of a plan or design, and the masons, in separately executing their part of the sculpture, must have been able to follow the design with an exactness that is almost mathematical.
There have been many theories respecting the methods that may have been practised by the Indians in executing their carvings upon stone, but no knowledge has been obtained which throws sufficient light upon the subject.[92] No attention has however been directed to the artisan qualities of the workmen who shaped and fitted the lintels, which however prove that the workers in wood were as skilful as the masons. The lintels were made of wood harder than mahogany. I examined many of them with the utmost care, and could not detect the slightest mark or dent. It is doubtful whether a good carpenters plane could have given them a smoother surface. The zapote trees out of which they were formed, must have been fashioned into broad baulks of timber, and afterwards squared and divided into the required lengths. The face of the timber was levelled and smoothed, and the corners or angles were sharply defined. All this work had to be done, as far as is known, with stone implements.
Upon taking a final glance at these ruins it seems reasonable to form the conclusion that Uxmal was built exclusively for the purposes of religion. The pyramids and their teocallis or temples were devoted as shrines for the gods, and monasteries were attached to them. The human sacrifices and the ceremonies that were customary in time of war took place in the open courts attached to the high altars of the chief idols.
• • • • •
Upon the last day of my stay at Uxmal, the morning was fine and the sky was clear. In the forenoon I observed that there were dense volumes of light-coloured smoke covering the fields towards the east. As the day advanced the air became hot and oppressive, and the sky was obscured. Upon inquiring the cause of this smoke I was told that the Indians were burning their weeds and stalks in accordance with their custom at that time of the year.
In the afternoon, whilst I was engaged in sketching the south-east angle of the Casa del Gobernador, heavy drops of rain began suddenly to fall. As it was the dry season, this change of weather was unexpected. The rain drops soon ceased, but after an interval there were some slight showers which continued for about two hours. At the farmhouse I was told that such weather was unusual, and that the rain must have been caused by the smoke and heat rising from the fires. If this opinion was correct the change may have been caused by the heated air rising into a cooler region above, and thus producing an atmospherical disturbance.
This fact of rain being produced or caused by human agency supports the opinion that the efforts of the rain-makers amongst the North American Indians were in accordance with some vague knowledge, and were not altogether absurd, and that the action of the Californian rain-maker, whose attempts to obtain rain were successful, was based upon an experience which was practical.