Leonide Martin's Blog: Lennie's Blog, page 6

Palenque’s Portal to the Gods

When the Portal to the Gods Collapsed

Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque
Chiapas, Mexico

A disastrous event happened to Palenque (Lakam Ha) on the Long Count Calendar date 9.8.17.15.14, 4 Ix 7 Uo (April 4,611 CE). The city was invaded by forces of Kalakmul and Bonampak in a surprise attack. Although these same forces had staged a raid in 599 CE and possibly another skirmish in 603 CE, Palenque was able to repel these raids. Something was different in 611, for the enemies penetrated into the heart of Palenque and destroyed its most sacred shrine. Many other buildings were defaced and damaged, pillars and wall panels torn down, and monuments to the Gods and rulers shattered.

The most devastating blow to Palenque was the desecration of the Sak Nuk Nah – White Skin House, their most sacred shrine. This structure had been used for generations as a portal to commune with Gods and ancestors. Palenque rulers since the beginning of the dynasty performed rituals of blood-letting and gift bundles in the shrine. Here they dripped their holy blood as K’uhul B’aakal Ahau onto bark paper, which was set afire in bowls with copal incense. From the smoke that coiled up, a Vision Serpent arose and from its mouth an ancestor or God/Goddess emerged to communicate with the ruler. Information was provided about crops and weather in the coming Katun (20 tun period, about 19 years). Advice was given for relations with other cities and leaders, or decisions facing the ruler. Prophesy was proffered for a period of abundance, stability

Vision Serpent
Head of Ancestor Emerging from Jaws

or difficulty so the ruler and elite nobles could prepare the people. Through rituals in the Sak Nuk Nah, rulers kept their covenant with the Gods and mediated to benefit their people.

In 611 CE, Palenque lost its portal to the Gods. Using powerful dark shamanic magic, Kalakmul destroyed the portal by causing it to collapse. The plaintive words recorded on a panel in the Temple of the Inscriptions, burial pyramid of Janaab Pakal, eloquently express this devastation:

“On the back of the ninth katun, God was lost; Ahau was lost. She could not adorn the Gods of the First Sky; she could not give offerings . . . On the back of the 3 Ahau Katun, Ix Muwaan Mat could not give their offerings.” – Temple of the Inscriptions Panel, circa 684 CE

Janaab Pakal became the greatest ruler of Palenque, bringing a renaissance of creativity in arts and architecture that produced the most beautiful of ancient Mayan cities. He was just a boy of eight years when the portal was destroyed, and it certainly affected him deeply. In hieroglyphic inscriptions he later placed in the Palace and royal temples, the attack was recorded as chak’ah Lakam Ha, the “chopping down of the city center.” The Mayan word chak’ah or chak’aj is also read as “axing” indicating attackers use a battle axe to chop, destroy and damage. Pakal’s primary mission from childhood was to restore the portal, to rebuild the sacred connection to Gods and ancestors so he and later rulers could fulfill their obligations properly.

Face of Janaab Pakal
Sculpture of carved limestone, Palenque

This profound historical event that molded young Pakal is the central focus of my second Mayan queens book. Pakal’s mother was Sak K’uk, the controversial second woman ruler of Lakam Ha. Controversy still reigns among Mayanists, who disagree about her actual rulership status. Some contend she never acceded to the throne, and the ruler was Muwaan Mat who might have been a man or a woman. Others say Sak K’uk and Muwaan Mat are the same person. The most elegant interpretation comes from Gerardo Aldana, who concludes that when the portal was in collapse no mortal could do proper homage to the Gods, so the Primordial Mother Goddess Muwaan Mat was designated to fulfill those obligations in the Upperworld. Aldana does not think Sak K’uk was formally a ruler, although she may have acted as the Goddess’ intermediary in the Middleworld of earth. My book takes this viewpoint, going a bit farther by portraying Sak K’uk as the stand-in ruler who embodied the Goddess.  She ruled for three years until Pakal reached age 12 and could be designated as ruler. Beyond doubt she continued to act as regent for some years, and to consult with her son during much of his reign.

The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K’uk of Palenque now ranks in the Amazon Kindle eBook Top 100. It reached #1 in Free Historical Fiction and Free Romance/Historical Fiction/Ancient Worlds.  Discover how mother and son teamed up to restore their city, forging a special bond  in the process that proved both a blessing and a curse.
Order book here.

Resources for this Post:

Gerardo Aldana: The Apotheosis of Janaab’Pakal, University Press of Colorado, 2007.

David Stuart & George Stuart: Palenque: Eternal City of the Maya, Thames & Hudson, Ltd., London, 2008.

 

Maya Elder Visits U.S.

Itza Maya Elder, Shaman and Daykeeper Hunbatz Men

Hunbatz Men, Itza Maya Elder, Shaman and Daykeeper teaches about ancient Mayan civilization and calendars

Member of the Council of Priests and Elders in Yucatan, Mexico, Hunbatz Men is an authority on the history, cosmology, sacred geometry, calendars and language of Mayan civilization.  He founded the Maya Cultural Center at Lol Be near Chichen Itza, and serves as spiritual guide for several Maya Mystery Schools in the U.S., Europe, Japan, South Africa and Australia.  Elder Hunbatz is among the first indigenous Maya leaders to teach their esoteric knowledge to the public.  He has conducted conferences and pilgrimages to sacred Maya sites for over 35 years, and travels internationally giving classes.  He presented the Mayas’ request for peace and nature stewardship before the United Nations in 2010 with other elders.  Author of numerous booklets and papers, Elder Hunbatz wrote two seminal books on Maya sciences, religion and calendars, and developed a system of Maya Yok’hah (yoga practices of ancient Mayas).

Programs in Portland, OR on July 24 and 26, 2014

Hunbatz Men is teaching two programs at New Renaissance Bookstore in Portland OR:

Mayan glyphs and codes in the Dresden Codex

Mystic Codes in Mayan Language, Friday July 25, 7:00-8:30pm – $15      Mayan language contains mystic codes. The vibratory sounds of Mayan words have the power to activate energy and manifest, like Sanskrit bija sounds. These sounds come from nature and natural laws; the sounds of the cosmos. Sacred sounds, hand gestures and postures are part of Mayan language. Experience their power to transform consciousness and uncover hidden Maya wisdom.

Hidden Messages in Codes of Mayan Glyphs, Saturday July 26, 1:00-5:00pm – $50     Mayan glyphs, carved on stone monuments and painted on ceramics and in codices, contain hidden messages encoding cosmologic laws. To understand these messages, you must attune to Mayan consciousness.  In this workshop Hunbatz Men uses a real Maya Codex to reveal mystic codes that can take you into higher dimensions of Maya wisdom. You will explore the meanings and symbols in this mysterious Maya Codex, gain insight into use of rituals to expand consciousness, and learn how Mayan language and glyphs are used for transformation.

Unique opportunity to study with internationally known
indigenous Maya Elder-Shaman-Daykeeper at his first Portland event!

 

Hunbatz Men discussing ancient Maya codex

 My Connections with Hunbatz Men

Elder Hunbatz Men and Leonide (Lennie) Martin, Maya Ceremonial Center at Lol Be, Yucatan, MX

I met Elder Hunbatz in 2001 when on a pilgrimage at Chichen Itza led by leaders of indigenous groups from many countries. After reading his first book, Secrets of Mayan Science/Religion, I realized he was the Maya teacher I’d been seeking.   When I moved to Merida, capitol city of Yucatan in 2005, I started my study and apprenticeship with him. Through him I became a Maya Solar Initiate, and later took training as a Maya Fire Woman. During my 5 years living in Merida, I assisted Hunbatz in many programs and pilgrimages, and helped develop and write the workbook for Yok’hah Maya. Through studying the Maya calendars with him, I began to understand their incredibly advanced and complex approach to time and cycles. The integrated and holistic world view of the Mayas, and their message about living in harmony with cycles of nature and the cosmos, have continued to inspire and instruct me.

The Maya way of thinking and seeing the world is very different than western materialism. Its mystical understanding of reality as spanning multiple dimensions is similar to principles of quantum physics.  Many times it was difficult for me to truly grasp

Leonide (Lennie) Martin and Hunbatz Men do ceremony at Lol Be

Hunbatz’ teachings, but when understanding dawned it left me quite astonished. There is such depth in this ancient wisdom, so much intelligence in the unfolding of cosmic patterns that the Mayas knew were reflected on Earth. It has been a great honor and privilege to learn from and work with Elder Hunbatz.  I invite everyone to dip into this vast pool of knowledge that expands consciousness and leads to transformation.

In Lak’ech (I am another you),

Lennie 

 

Lennie with Maya elders at Chichen Itza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K’uk of Palenque

Sak K’uk presents drum major headdress of rulership to Janaab Pakal

In 611 CE, Palenque (Lakam Ha) suffered a devastating defeat by Kalakmul (Kan).

The two cities were enemies for years and had skirmished frequently. In the 611 attack, Kalakmul destroyed the Sak Nuk Nah (White Bone House) , the most sacred shrine of Palenque and left the city in chaos. The current ruler, Aj Ne Ohl Mat was captured and killed. What happened next in Palenque succession is surrounded by mystery and controversy.

In the “king list” put together by Simon Martin & Nicolai Grube, Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens (2000) the next ruler is Muwaan Mat. This ancestral deity and progenitor of Palenque’s three supernatural patrons ruled for 3 years, and was unable to perform full rituals at the end of the 9th Katun. They suggest that the god’s name was a pseudonym for a new queen called Sak K’uk, mother of K’inich Janaab Pakal who ascended in 615.

 

Leading Palencophiles David & George Stuart took a different stance in Palenque: Eternal City of the Mayas (2008).

Sak K’uk Name Glyph

They think Muwaan Mat was male, both as a deity from creation mythology and as a short-time ruler. He took the god’s name because of Palenque’s troubled times, to create a parallel situation of creating a new political order (akin to the creation of the current era). Previously, scholars such as Linda Schele and David Freidel had thought Muwaan Mat was an alternative name for Sak K’uk.

Muwaan Mat Name Glyph

The most incisive view comes from Gerardo Aldana in The Apotheosis of Janaab Pakal (2007). He analyzes the argument of Schele and Freidel and dismisses their inference that Sak K’uk became the next ruler. Aldana did his own readings of glyphs in the Temple of the Inscriptions, concluding that Muwaan Mat as the primordial female deity did take “charge of the city’s ceremonial needs while no suitable mortal ruler was available.” The glyphs say:

 On the back of the ninth katun, god was lost; ahau (lord) was lost.

She could not adorn the Lords of the First Sky; she could not give offerings. . .

Muwaan Mat could not give their offerings. Muwaan Mat gives the bundle of her god.

Perhaps she could not perform full rituals due to her lack of mortality, or because the portal to the gods collapsed when the sacred shrine was destroyed. Sak K’uk was an ahau but not a human ruler in the same sense as her predecessors. In my story of Sak K’uk, she invokes the goddess Muwaan Mat to co-rule with her until Pakal can assume the throne. His mission is to restore the collapsed portal so Palenque can again “adorn the gods” and give proper gifts.

Mayan Calendar – The Longest Count

Stela 1 at Coba, Quintana Roo, Mexico

The ancient Mayans had the world’s most accurate calendar.

Many dates carved at Mayan ruins reveal how Mayan civilization used calendars. This calendar called the “Count of Baktuns” keeps a continuous count of days from the beginning of the last Great Cycle, when the Mayas say our current human race was created. Archeologists call this the “Long Count.” Although the Long Count Calendar seems a linear recording of days, actually it is a cycle, in keeping with the many other cycles that shaped Mayan culture. The Long Count is a large cycle of 5125 years or 5200 tuns. The tun is a 360-day count that is referred to as a Maya year. The ancient Mayans knew the solar year was slightly longer. By their calculations it was 365.2422 days, closer to the sun’s actual annual movements than the Gregorian calendar’s 365.2425 days that we now use.

The genius of the Long Count is its ability to record time into the fathomless past and the infinite future. The levels of counting used by the Mayas acted logarithmically, so progressively higher counts become huge very quickly. Theirs is a base-20 or vigesimal system (we use a base-10 system). There are carved stelae in plazas and panels in Mayan pyramids that record dates going 28 octillion years into the past and over four thousand years into the future. These huge cycles appear multiple times in the Dresden Codex and inscriptions of Palenque, Copan, Quirigua, Tikal, Yaxchilan and Coba.

Let’s try to get some idea of how huge these Long Counts are.

Stela 1 at Coba is totally amazing. It begins with the last creation date, established by archeologists as August 13, 3114 BCE. The Mayas inscribe that date as Baktun 13, Katun 0, Tun 0, Uinal 0, Kin 0 and the accepted archeological shorthand is written 13.0.0.0.0. Using two other calendars, the Tzolk’in sacred numeric count and the Haab solar month/day count, the Mayas assigned a specific name

Drawing of Coba Stela 1 showing Long Count to left of carved figure

to that creation day of 4 Ahau 8 Kumk’u. Other glyphs on the stela record the lunation phase of the moon and the assigned God of the Night. Then starts a progression of 13′s in the higher order count that each signify completion of a Great Cycle. There are 20 of these 13′s above the creation date. If you do the math, going up by a magnitude of 20 at each step, the date becomes 28 octillion years in the past! That’s a count that goes eight levels above a billion years – the number is mindboggling and far beyond the age that scientists calculate for our universe.

Other immense past dates appear in the Dresden Codex that records a count of 13 consecutive 13′s, and Temple 33 at Yaxchilan that has a panel with 10 of these 13′s above a contemporary date.

 

 

 

 

Positions of the Long Count Calendar with Day and Year Counts




Name


Count


Days/Kins per Time Period


Solar Years


Tuns

 


Baktun
0-19
144,000 Kin = 20 Katun = 1 Baktun
394.25
400
 


Katun
0-19
   7,200 Kin = 20 Tun = 1 Katun
19.71
20
 


Tun
0-19
       300 Kin = 18 Uinal = 1 Tun
   0.985
   1
 


Uinal
0-17
         20 Kin = 1 Uinal
     –
–
 


Kin
0-19
           1 Kin = 1 Kin
     –
–
 

What do all these 13′s mean? Archeologists disagree about exactly how the Maya counted Baktuns. There is clear evidence that the Baktun cycle runs in counts of 20, like all the other positions (except Uinals that end in 18). But many instances of dates use a string of 13′s in the count above the Baktun. One explanation is the Mayas used 13 to signify completion of an era, or creation. There are definite cycles in the Mayan calendar with set numbers of days (Katun, Tun, Uinal, Kin). An era signifies something different and may not have an exact number of years. For instance, the western world uses “era” for such

Coba Stela 1 with 20 levels of 13 above Creation Date

things as the Iron Age, the Renaissance, and the Industrial Age which do not have clearly demarcated time lengths.

It’s possible the Mayas were doing something similar with their string of 13′s. The last “era” or creation began when the calendar rolled over from 12.19.19.17.19 (August 12, 3114 BCE) to 13.0.0.0.0 (August 13, 3114 BCE). They also used counts that topped out at 13 Baktuns for divination, since the divinatory days only go to number 13.

The Count of Baktuns or Long Count gives a timeline that goes through all of Maya history, and into mythological time both past and future. The earliest known Long Count dates were carved in 31 BCE at the Olmec site of Tres Zapotes, and in 36 CE at the Maya site of Chiapa de Corzo in the Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The last date was carved in 909 CE at Tonina in Chiapas.

Curious about the “end of the Mayan calendar” on December 21, 2012? This was the completion of a Great Cycle of 5125 years that began on August 13, 3114 BCE. The Mayan calendar did not end, it just rolled over into the next cycle and a new era began. What about all the “end of the world” commotion around that cycle ending? The short answer is the Mayas never predicted an end of the world, just the completion of one large cycle and starting another. Read more at my Facebook post: “Why the World Didn’t End on December 21, 2012″

 

Amazon Best Seller

Top 100 Best Seller

The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque is now an Amazon Kindle eBook Best Seller!

On April 17, 2014 the book attained the Top 100 list for Amazon Kindle Free eBooks, and is still in this rating today.

For 3 days it has ranked #1 Kindle Free eBook in both Historical Fiction and Historical Fiction Romance – Ancient World.  

It is truly amazing that so many people are interested in reading fiction about the ancient Mayas.  As of yesterday, over 20,000 copies of the book have been downloaded.  Hopefully many of these folks will read it!  For those who don’t have a copy, you can take advantage of the free promotion for only 3 more days (ends on 4/22/14).

Happy that my book is an Amazon Best Seller

Needless to say, I’m very happy about this.  Still a bit awestruck, actually.  Feeling so deeply appreciative to all the people who contributed to this success, from my publisher Bryan Heathman at AudioInk Publishing, to my many friends who got the book and wrote reviews, to the savvy web promotion groups whose services I used.

Hugs to everyone!

As Bryan said in his press release:

Leonide’s approach was to take readers on a journey into the mists of time, drawing them in with a fascinating story, engaging characters, historical and archeological accuracy, and a tangible experience of the intriguing and complex ancient Mayan culture.  . you can almost smell incense and hear drums and conches played.

Enter the world of Yohl Ik’nal, first woman to rule Lakam Ha (Palenque)                                                                                                         

Lakam Ha (Palenque) in the 7th Century CE

Free Amazon Kindle ebook

Special Amazon KDP Promotion
My new novel The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque is free for 5 days (April 17-22, 2014)

Here’s your opportunity to get my new book FREE.  If you like historical fiction with romance, suspense and intriguing portrayals of actual historic people, this book is for you.

Compelling historical fiction about one of the most powerful women in the Americas. Yohl Ik’nal was the first Mayan woman ruler, her visionary powers destined to guide her people through social turmoil and enemy attack as she preserved her dynastic lineage and left her mark on history. Facing betrayal and revenge, her love for her father steeled her will as he trained her for rulership. Dedicating her life to her dynasty and people, she feared no romantic love would ever be hers, but found a surprising and sustaining relationship.

She foresaw times of turmoil coming to her city. Succession to the throne was far from certain, and she vowed to maintain her dynasty. Could she prepare her headstrong daughter for rulership, or help her weak son become a charismatic leader? Her choices would lead to ruin or bring her city to greatness.

Centuries later Francesca, part-Maya archeologist, helps her team at Palenque excavate the royal burial of a crimson skeleton, possibly the first Mayan queen’s tomb ever discovered. She never anticipated how it would impact her life and unravel a web of ancient bonds.

Extensively researched, accurate archeology, historic and fictional characters and an engaging, suspenseful plot.

 

Book Trailer Visionary Mayan Queen

Queens in America – Mayan Women Rulers

Mayan Women Rulers receiving homage and tribute

 The Most Powerful Women in the Americas

Did you know that the American Continents had queens? This may be a startling idea, but the Mayan civilization had a number of women rulers. Powerful women who shaped history hold special fascination for me. In the era of patriarchy, how did they attain and apply leadership? During the Classic Maya period (250-900 CE), we have records of several women who either ruled in their own right, or managed the throne until their sons came of age. Royal succession was not strictly patrilineal, though descent through the male line was preferred. Most important was the purity of lineage, tracing back to the founder of each dynasty. At times this meant a ruler’s daughter was the choice for succession, as happened in Europe when England’s Queen Elizabeth II inherited the throne, ascending after her father King George VI died with no male heirs.

Queen Elizabeth II of England

Mayan Queens

At Palenque, a famous Maya site in Chiapas, Mexico, the first women ruler was Yohl Ik’nal, the only surviving child of prior ruler Kan Bahlam I. She ruled for 20 years, from 583-604 CE. Her daughter Sak K’uk ascended after the death of an older brother. She ruled only for 3 years, from 612-615 CE, after which her son succeeded. Controversy surrounded both these accessions, because they changed the patrilineal pattern. Some argue that when daughters succeed, the lineage shifts to the queen’s husband. But this

Mayan Queen of Classic Period

depends on how the continuing dynasty is titled. In England’s case, the Windsor dynasty of King George was continued through Elizabeth. In Palenque, Yohl Ik’nal continued the Bahlam dynasty through her daughter, Sak K’uk who passed the dynasty down through her son K’inich Janaab Pakal I. If the husband of a royal daughter who is heir assumes the throne, then the dynasty shifts to his family. In the cases of Elizabeth and the two Mayan queens, their husbands were royal consorts, not kings assuming the throne.

 

Records carved on monuments give evidence of other women rulers: Lady of Tikal, Lady Six Sky of Naranjo, and Lady Ik’ Skull of Yaxchilan. The tomb of a great Maya warrior queen was uncovered in Guatemala in 2012. Lady K’abel (Lady Snake Lord) ruled El Peru-Waka for her family, the empire-building Kan (Snake) dynasty of Kalakmul, from 672-692CE.

Queen Kabel carved image on panel at Waka-El Peru

 

Mayan women rulers are the focus of my historical fiction series, Mists of Palenque. The first in this 4-ebook series is The Visionary Mayan Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque. The story based in Palenque (ancient Lakam Ha) takes you into the living world of this fascinating high culture.

Mayan Calendar – Timekeeper of Life

Mayan Calendar – The 20 Day Signs and Yearbearer

The Mayan calendar shaped ancient Mayan culture.  Mayas thought of time as divine and eternally flowing without beginning or end.  Time and space were two aspects of the same divinity.  The Underworld of watery deities and Death Lords, the Middleworld of human, plant and animal life, and the Upperworld of sky deities and Star Lords were the spaces for actions, both human and divine.  Space became the platform on which the handiwork of the gods played out.  All deities acting in a space were the changing faces of time.  Time was life and the origin of all things; therefore to study and measure time was the supreme concern of calendar priests, called Ah K’inob.  To understand and follow the cycles of time was paramount to ancient Mayan civilization.

Observatory at Chichen Itza

The ancient Mayans discovered cycles of time and invented ways to measure them, both immense and small.  They developed calendars to track cycles of the days, moon, sun, Venus, Mars, Pleiades, Orion, and other stellar bodies.  They followed the cycles of precession of the equinoxes and movements of the Milky Way, which they called the Celestial Caiman.  These cycles with their intrinsic order ruled what happened in the universe.  Patterns in the stars were repeated on earth, and ruled the cycles of life and creation.  Making observations of stellar patterns and doing computations that predicted recurrent cycles enabled the Mayas to foresee the actions of the gods.  These time cycles were turned into formulas for ritual and worship.

Ceremonies to honor important time periods were held with mathematical rigor, and inscriptions carved to commemorate these moments when actions of the gods left their imprint on the world.  The calendar priests calculated tables for lunar and solar eclipses, Venus as morning and evening star, Mars return cycles, the Pleiades and sun at zenith, and the equinoxes and solstices.  In effect, these tables allowed the Mayas to dialogue with the gods, scheduling rituals at the ordained times because they already knew the divine sequence of the universe.  They fulfilled their contract with the gods to keep their days and honor their names.

Central Square at Mayapan – Quadripartite Pattern

The entire life of the Mayas was governed by time.  Their architecture, ceremonies, mythology and religion all reflected the theme of time.  The main plaza of cities had buildings oriented to the four directions to express the quadripartite universe shaped by movements of the sun and stars.  Art and symbols are replete with expressions of time, and numerous deities were Lords of Time.  The sciences of Mayan astronomy and astrology are tied to the extraordinary precision of their calendars.  They created a 13-constellation zodiac and tracked the Precession of the Equinoxes that has a 25,000 year cycle.

Ancient Maya Priest Calculating Venus Rising as Eveningstar

Time was their worldview.  Nothing could exist without time.  The Mayan calendars codified time to determine all great and small actions of every day.

 

Experience how the Mayans related to time in my historical novel:  The Visionary Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque.

Yohl Ik’nal – The Visionary Mayan Queen

Just published Kindle ebook

Records of Mayan civilization and history show that Yohl Ik’nal was one of a very small number of Mayan women who carried a full royal title and ruled in her own right.  She acceded to the throne of Palenque (Lakam Ha) in 583 CE and reigned for a full term of twenty-one years.  Archeologists believe that she was probably the daughter of the previous ruler Kan Bahlam I, who died without leaving a male heir.  The Maya were initially thought to prefer patrilineal descent, but later research showed that their rulership system is complex with regional variations.  For example, at Tonina rulership was not hereditary and rulers were elected from within elite nobles of the city.  Mayan kings often had long lives and produced several children, whose descendants were of royal blood and frequently contended for rulership.  There is clear evidence that women passed the right to rule to their husbands and sons at several sites, including Palenque, Tikal and Naranjo.

My novel The Visionary Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque is based on extensive research of Mayan history and culture.  I was inspired to portray her as a visionary Mayan queen by Gerardo Aldana’s comment in his book The Apotheosis of Janaab’ Pakal:  “Her rule must have been impressive, for it withstood attacks from two Usumacinta-region neighbors .  . allowing her to remain in power for longer than her contemporaries in the region.”  She certainly was a remarkable woman, the first Mayan queen ruling in her own right a full term, preserving the Bahlam dynasty of her father.  This image of Yohl Ik’nal was carved on the sarcophagus lid of Janaab Pakal in the Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque.

View book trailer on YouTube – click on picture.

How might she have attained the throne, withstood two attacks, retained her power and continued the dynasty?  In my story, she does this through her exceptional visionary abilities.  She developed visionary powers in early childhood, including shamanic journeying and prophecies, and strengthened these throughout her life.  Mayan rituals are well documented, and we know from numerous inscriptions that rulers went into altered states of consciousness to invoke the “Vision Serpent.”  They used self-inflicted blood letting and hallucinatory substances to enter trance states, in which they envisioned deities and ancestors emerging from the Vision Serpent’s mouth.  The picture below depicts a Mayan queen, Lady Xoc of Yaxchilan, having a vision of an ancestor emerging from the serpent’s mouth to bring her a prophetic message.

Few Mayan books propel readers into the living world of the ancient Mayans.  This historically based novel brings Yohl Ik’nal and her people authentically to life in extravagant court ceremonies, exotic rituals in Mayan temples, political maneuvering, battles and revenge, and intimate personal relationships.  Enter this world and discover how the Visionary Mayan Queen fulfilled her destiny.

Yohl Ik’nal – The Visionary Mayan Queen

Just published Kindle ebook

Records of Mayan civilization and history show that Yohl Ik’nal was one of a very small number of Mayan women who carried a full royal title and ruled in her own right.  She acceded to the throne of Palenque (Lakam Ha) in 583 CE and reigned for a full term of twenty-one years.  Archeologists believe that she was probably the daughter of the previous ruler Kan Bahlam I, who died without leaving a male heir.  The Maya were initially thought to prefer patrilineal descent, but later research showed that their rulership system is complex with regional variations.  For example, at Tonina rulership was not hereditary and rulers were elected from within elite nobles of the city.  Mayan kings often had long lives and produced several children, whose descendants were of royal blood and frequently contended for rulership.  There is clear evidence that women passed the right to rule to their husbands and sons at several sites, including Palenque, Tikal and Naranjo.

My novel The Visionary Queen: Yohl Ik’nal of Palenque is based on extensive research of Mayan history and culture.  I was inspired to portray her as a visionary Mayan queen by Gerardo Aldana’s comment in his book The Apotheosis of Janaab’ Pakal:  “Her rule must have been impressive, for it withstood attacks from two Usumacinta-region neighbors .  . allowing her to remain in power for longer than her contemporaries in the region.”  She certainly was a remarkable woman, the first Mayan queen ruling in her own right a full term, preserving the Bahlam dynasty of her father.  This image of Yohl Ik’nal was carved on the sarcophagus lid of Janaab Pakal in the Temple of the Inscriptions, Palenque.

 

View book trailer on YouTube – click on picture.

 

How might she have attained the throne, withstood two attacks, retained her power and continued the dynasty?  In my story, she does this through her exceptional visionary abilities.  She developed visionary powers in early childhood, including shamanic journeying and prophecies, and strengthened these throughout her life.  Mayan rituals are well documented, and we know from numerous inscriptions that rulers went into altered states of consciousness to invoke the “Vision Serpent.”  They used self-inflicted blood letting and hallucinatory substances to enter trance states, in which they envisioned deities and ancestors emerging from the Vision Serpent’s mouth.  The picture below depicts a Mayan queen, Lady Xoc of Yaxchilan, having a vision of an ancestor emerging from the serpent’s mouth to bring her a prophetic message.

Few Mayan books propel readers into the living world of the ancient Mayans.  This historically based novel brings Yohl Ik’nal and her people authentically to life in extravagant court ceremonies, exotic rituals in Mayan temples, political maneuvering, battles and revenge, and intimate personal relationships.  Enter this world and discover how the Visionary Mayan Queen fulfilled her destiny.