Show tf a CITY a r S 2 Y ai a te a. a a i S 4 f SN i f rM X t r r darr w i S n r L K y A iw r W F D a rr p b i r Ka p ill F f Y ti y a A t aNa a Y tv SS p S x Ar j i- i s P M QA y S s r's 1 3 r N u Ay w S S r S i r r. r r y eN v F rj r rY 7 y 2 Lk r A r e l 9 ir y h A Vw M i n r a i Y o i 4 lr y R a e t j l Kf t 3 i nr 5 45 r f 2 t qt k JY a am f da tf e 4 q q Z ir t au rp j ir t ro y hN r r r e i ir j f t f q t v S 'S t v v r v k S R bt c 1 kA T t F v r S C y ii y l r x 51 f Gi i nr o e r r a t r f i s uy 4 y c r. r yr n f b w. w 1 y v n e w 7 f r r if kr 1 f t s 's OF TN Y v o I t t ti i lJ ST FACADE or PA s HE second city In point of size and nd e importance In n ancient Yuca Yucatan n a was J. J Uxmal the capital of the or Xiu family who ruled there almost down to the time of the i Spanish conquest st This city Is located lo la sated In the midst of a aJ low tango range of hills which crosses the state of Yucatan from east to west and Is about miles from rom Chichen Chich en Itza writes Sylvanus G G. G Morley In Pan American Union The derivation of the name Uxmal or as some acme of the early historians wrote It e eis r c- ris is rather obscure Ox Is the Maya word for Por three and Vial Mal In the same langu language ge means to top p ss to pass thrice therefore would seem to tobe tobe tobe be the the meaning o of the ie word thou though 1 why the Xiu iu shou should i have a e applied this thi name ame to their capital Is unknown Concerning the lie foundation n of Uxmal the following fol fol- r lowing tradition Is related by Diego de Landa Lando the fhe second bishop p pot of ot Yucatan who wrote In the first generation after the conquest and arid who aho claims to have havo gathered his information from natives na M dyes tives well versed in the form former r history of of- their of-their their country After the discovery and oc occupation of Chichen Itza liza which seems to to have been the first place of any b be bo settled d in Yucatan Y cities sprang up ev everywhere and there followed r an era of of great prosperity How low long these dif f ferent cities lived at peace with on on- on another we weare weare weare are not told but in time lime dissensions arose arose and F q quarrels b became came so so frequent that th the the different lords of aP the country country f it ne necessary essar to t to t take ke some concerted action In n order to suppress suppress vio vio lence lance and to restore order a and peace peace It was r then decided to to build build a joint capital where all ll fi those in int authority should reside and arid from which 7 each one agreed to admin administer ster the affairs of ottis Ms is isO ov n O lD particular domain Without loss ot o of time tim these plans plan were carried out A joint capital was built in in a new and unoccupied regi region n and was called caned meaning the standard of the Mayas Thither all the lords assembled J and as the final step in the formation of the new confederacy racy an overlord one Cocom was elected and duly Installed in the new capital as the supreme ruler These l laid id the foundation for an ei era era a of prosperity which endured for Por many marry s years Later after an interval not specified by Landa Lando in in h his history there entered the country from the south south people under the leaders leadership leader leader- s ship lIp of their chi chief f Xi Xiu The newcomers mers previous pre lous to to their arrival had wandered for 40 40 y vears arfin in the wilderness without water oth other r than that Uial which had fan fallen n from the e skies sIdes This coIncidence co co- incidence Incidence of a 40 40 years wandering in to the wilder nesS Mess is sufficiently striking to arouse the suspicion suspicion cion that the worthy bishop in this p part part rt of his narrative has been been at some pains to to force a p pious coincidence with a similar episode in the Old Testament Immediately after their al arrival g the wanderers began building in the mountains not 30 miles distant from rom the capital a new new home for themselves which they called Uxmal Far f from being angered angered- however ever by this appropriation tion lion of ot his territory so near at hand ham Cocom the ruler Iuler of the welcomed and his Ills his people aI and d entered into an an n alliance with them Landa Lando thus describes the event The people of n formed a great friendship friend friend- nd- nd r ship with the Xiu rejoicing to see that they cultivated the land like themselves In Inthis Inthis this manner the Xiu became subject to the laws of at and allied themselves with the older inh inhabitants o of the country and their b. b lord was highly esteemed esteemed liy by y all all- Judging from Its size and magnificence ira ins i Xiu c capital Pital must have Gave played a very important roler role r In the history of Yucatan before the Spanish con coni i qu quest st st. Indeed L Landa Lunde says as as' much After al time we are told the supreme power held by the the- theCo Co Cocom family to have havo tur turned d their hea heads ls Tl They e became successively more and more oppressive each striving to outdo his predecessors cossets in acts of tyranny and violence However However How How- r ever ever there came came a a day day at last the other chiefs of the confederacy could no no endure this despotic rule and a conspiracy cy was hatched r to overthrow the oppressor With one one ne accord cc rd the conspirators tors turned to the then lord of Uxmal Ux Ux- y o mal a of the original Xiu who had founded the city as the natural leader in this movement for or liberty In spite of the fact that he be was was of foreign descent He is described as having been a true friend friend of the public weal a asci as ci his ancestors before him all of oP whom had held Geld J r J ri r aloof from the tyrannies of the Cocom fa family nily On an appointed day the conspirators led lell by the lord of Uxmal met at and andy of Cocom slew him and all y Ing int the palace his progeny save one son only who happened to to tobe be absent from the city at the time on a a mission mission mis mis- sion slon to a a distant province After this sanguinary i y ary ary r reprisal which avenged at one blow the oppressions op op- n of many years the property of th the dead ruler was seized and divided among bl his murderers murder t ei et 3 ers and the capital was destroyed Whereupon hereupon e each ch chief departed into his own country once once r more more and the confederacy was dissolved After Arter the t the ie destruction of the Xiu abandoned soon aban Uxmal and founded a new new capt capital 1 some SU 30 m. m mlles miles distant w which ich they called Maul meaning In Maya it is passe passed emphasizing by this name namu Nos The These vents events oc oc- that the old order was over oJ r rab middle of the fifteenth century i I r. r 41 rr r w. w r Fn ny 1 i v in N tv 9 r a a la y i ii ft b ts G tj r e fK eNt n sr I d aai k i. i A if n i Ar w r x f M t a s a 4 PO PORT ON T OH Or OFf rACA OF THC tY C ST SIOE oo o oa a r rg g z T s l Y w 9 f r yi fo f- f r o w. w 1 i i mb rY b 4 a sAt t y Y t h ra i c i j F y C p py aa r f S GT OF TH 00 1 r s or some 70 years before the Spanish first landed in Yucatan but even after the conquest the X us ushi in iii their new home continued to exercise considerable consid considerable consid- consid erable arable authority over the natives and their friendly attitude toward the Spanish greatly facilitated facilitated facilitated fa fa- the final p pacification of the country country The ruins of Uxmal l are best reached today by stage stag from the little town of Muna the nearest railroad station A ten ten mile mile drive from the the latter pl place pla-ce ce brings one to the h hacienda of Uxmal from which the ruins ruins- are about a mile mlle and arid a half distant The first view of the ancient city city is is' to tobe tobe tobe be had from the top of a hill Just behind the plantation house Across Across' the plain a dozen lozen or ot more Imposing structures of white limestone maybe may maybe be seen rising above the dense vegetation which here enshrouds the countryside Beyond in the distance distan e a ragged chain of rot low mountains cuts across the horizon each succeeding ridge a deeper blue But one does not dwell long on an the beauties of nature at Uxmal lal the habitations ofa of ofa ofa a bygone race claim the attention Descending the hill again one one onet takes t takes ke the road which leads through the bush The distant temples and palaces palaces pal pal- palaces aces sink below the tree tops and for aught that ono ono sees ees of them they might as well be on the rho theother theother other other- side of ot the world After a half hours hour's walk walls during which h the ruins never once reappear the road suddenly makes makE's a sharp turn to the right and just in front of one apparently blocking the way there rises a lofty pyramid the highest structure ure In tn th the city The The splendid temple surmounting this gro grotesquely grotesquely gro- gro grotesquely called the House of the Dwarf or Magician Ma Ma- probably was the chief sanctuary of Uxmal Ux Ux- mal The pyramid on which it Jt stands is over 80 feet high and covers nearly an acre of ground The summit is reached by a steep stairway on its east cast and apparently back side The temple however faces in the opposite direction or toward toward to ward ard the Monjas Monja's quadrangle an adjacent group of structures with which as we wo presently shall see it was closely connected Clear down into Spanish times long after ater Uxmal had been so abandoned abandoned aban aban- n by her tier native rulers this temple was held in particular v veneration by the Indians Indiana Abo About t a century after the conquest Father Cogolludo provincial of Yucatan visited Uxmal al and climbed to the summit o of this pyramid He fC found nd there he says in one of of th the apartments apartments- offerings of bt cacao cacao and the remains of oP copal burned but a short time before This he thought indicated that some same superstition or Idolatry had b D committed committed committed com com- here Decently by the Indians of the local local- ity And again slightly again slightly later in a 1673 petition addressed to the king icing of Spain says That the Indians in those places Uxmal are are worshiping the devil in the ancient l which are there having in them their idols to which they burp burn copal eopal- and perform other r d de detestable testable sacrifices Long after the conquest no doubt the natives continued to practice in secret their ancient rites and ceremonies par particularly at at those places which formerly had been sacred or ar holy boly to them It was was to some such survivals o of the ancient ceremonial and ritual that the above citations probably refer The Monjas quadrangle mentioned above bove as as being adjacent to the the- theno Souse House no s of f the Dwarf is Is i in to fact separated from Irom it only by a small court The four low massive buildings of which it is com coin composed posed are built around the sides of a square and with the ex exception of or the b house bouse s on the south v k J t i. sh side e all stand on low platforms platforms plat plat- forms or terraces reached by broad stairways ex extending extending tending across c 1 ss s the their I r fronts The rooms of this group of which there are upward of of are en t red for forthe the m most st part by doorways opening onto the terraces which surround surround surround sur sur- round the court A A. few however in the South house open exteriorly with reference to the group This same side of the quadrangle is further differentiated from theother the theother theother other three by the presence pres ence once of an arcade passing through the middle which leads leads from the court to the outside This passageway passageway passage passage- way doubtless daub was the main entrance to the group In ancient times and arid establishes the direction direction tion ifon from which It was was approached The four houses of the Monjas quadrangle quadrangle differ very greatly In their theix chaJa character ter and probably in their function as well from the House of the the Dwarf near by The buildings of the former stand upon low platforms and have many rooms The latter on the theother theother theother other hand hanK surmounts a lofty pyramid and only first has three rooms The because of the greater number and accessibility of its its chambers is better fitted for foi use as a dwelling dwelling dwell dwell- dwelling ing place for a body of oP priests than the second The second because of Its commanding elevation and fewer c chambers ambers is bett better r adapted for use as 4 a place of worship than the first The close connection ti 0 n between the two types so different and yet so complementary strongly Indicates that the pr priests i ts who officiated m. m of In the service 0 of f the god to w whom 0 the House d lived in the rooms of the Dwarf was consecrated t e The two groups the the Monjas quadrangle ht lofty pyramid temple an and the e low d combi combi- monastery together form a w well balanced nation naon Passing out through the arcade of the he S South th house and leaving the Monjas qua quadrangle ra be behind l d one descends by three terraces par partly l artificial and and- partly natural to the level of ot the plain A Afew be two wo large few paces paces' to the south may seen parallel wa walls ls 70 feet apart each feet WI wide 30 feet thick and about 20 feet high These Thesle two constructions are the sides of the Uxmal ball a ah 11 the court ends being open In the center of each h at ends directly opposite there had been fastened origl originally a great stone ring four feet in diameter Both of these however are now broken and lie in fragments at the bases of their respective walls Beyond the ball court is a high terrace or platform covering over three acres of ground and rising 23 feet above the plain This supports a second and smaller terrace 19 feet high from which rises rises the so- so called so-called governors governor's palace the palace the most mast magnificent t example of ancient American architecture extant today the governors governor's palace and nd on the tower of its twos terraces is the so called so-called called House of the Turtles es Another v very ry important building at Uxmal is the House of of the Pigeons so BO named because of 01 the fancied resemblance of its roof crest to a a dovecot The structures described above shone are by no means all that that remains of this ancient city Truth Truth- Is that that that th the t Jungle on every side for tor- tor some Borne little distance hides the wrecks of once Imposing build ings their presence now only to be detected by clumps of rising slightly hi higher her than the general geneia level of the plain These These buildings and their have been literally torn asunder b by trees which have driven their roots roots' into nto them and nd pried apart the masonry Creep ers ors vines rand tand b bushes ha have e so overgrown their sides that ih they hey y look like wooded hillocks Only on close examination examination does their real character character character-ap- ap pear and it h remains for the imagination to ro re construct t heir e r former glory But nut all ancient life this gr great eat city once onte teeming with Its tOiling tolling thousands is gone Palaces and temples glisten in the sunlight with never the tread of sandaled foot echoing through their empty courts nor chant of white white robed ro priests sacrificing to offended gods Perchance a bird may y flutter through some ruined d doorway chirping for for- Its mate or buzzard circling circling cir clr cling high high soar above prospective prey Save Sa these all else is silent dead the ancient pomp and glory forever departed and gods and men alike |