[Aztlan] Chichen Cenote

[Karen Bassie]

In the colonial testimonies regarding idolatry, numerous Maya witnesses 
stated that they had the custom of throwing children and adults of both 
sexes into a cenote to deliver messages to the gods. In some cases, the 
messengers survived the fall, and were later extricated from the cenote 
with a response from the gods. Other testimonies indicate that people of 
both sexes had their hearts removed and offered to the gods. The heart 
and body were subsequently thrown into a cenote as an offering. Of the 
168 sacrificial victims named during the idolatry trials, 80% were male 
and 20% were female. E. H. Thompson removed the skeletal remains of both 
adults and children from the Chichen cenote. Landa's made three 
statements about the Chichen Itza well:

1. We will tell about the well into which they threw living men in 
sacrifice, as well as other beautiful things.

2. They have had, and then had, the custom of throwing men in alive as a 
sacrifice to the gods, in times of drought, and they believed that they 
did not die though they never saw them again. They also threw into it a 
great many other things, like precious stones and things which they prized.

3. Besides sacrificing in their towns they had those two wicked 
sanctuaries of Chichen Itza and Cozumel, where they sent an infinite 
number of poor wretches for sacrifice - in one place by throwing down a 
precipice and the other by taking out their hearts.

4. ...brought them slaves of both sexes to throw them into the well of 
Chichen Itza.

5. Sometimes they threw living victims into the well of Chichen Itza, 
believing that they would come out on the third day, although they never 
appeared again.

The Relación Valladolid refers to women who were thrown into the Chichen 
Itza cenote to deliver messages to the gods at dawn. If they survived 
until noon, they were removed, but it was a bad omen if the woman didn't 
survive. The Franciscan Tomas Lopez Medel wrote in A.D. 1612 that the 
Maya priest used to tie up a virgin woman on a rope and lowered her into 
the well with instructions to deliver a message to the gods to send 
rain. Lopez Medel states that they continually dunked her in the water 
until she drown.