[Aztlan] Plaster & Echoes

[David Lubman]

Sam:

Some words responsive to your earlier post.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sam Edgerton" <Samuel.Y.Edgerton at williams.edu>
To: <@williams.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 9:02 AM
Subject: [Aztlan] Plaster & Echoes


Sam Edgerton wrote:

> ... However, given the possibility that some structure
> somewhere in the Mayab did just happen to produce such an echo by accident
> (and indeed it would have aroused quite a sensation!), it is also possible
> that by careful molding of plaster surfaces over the stonework, the
> mystical  sound might not only have been enhanced but the same 
> acoustically
> receptive sculpted shapes repeated in other structures.

Wow! Mystical sounds! Sensational and intended acoustical effects! Sounds 
replicated in other buildings!

Looks like we're now on the same team, Sam!

Many listeners at the temple of Kukulkan are endlessly amazed at the chirped 
echo, though I've yet to find one able to articulate why. Notably, a few 
even report what seem like numinous experiences.

Why so many unusual and strong reactions to a mere echo? My take:

This is not a normal echo. Normal echoes are replicas of their stimuli.

Experientially, it would appear as if the temple is talking to them, rather 
than simply echoing back the sounds they make. That is a very unusual 
auditory experience on the level of perception. It is consistent with the 
reported Maya belief that their temples were living things. Listeners may 
lack the vocabulary to describe that experience.

For ancient Maya familiar with the cloud forest, that particular sound would 
be intelligible and seasonably appropriate. And since that sound has special 
meaning in the Maya religion, it is reasonable to expect cognitive impacts 
as well.

The serpent shadow itself is only a part of the light show at the spring 
equinox. An impressive and spooky extra feature is that the shadow descends 
at a time of day when shadows normally rise. That must have really impressed 
the Maya with the power of their gods and leaders. Is it another incredible 
coincidence or an incredibly ingenious design?

At that very time (spring) in the ancestral highlands, male quetzals dive 
spectacularly from great heights in prenuptual flights said to be so 
rapterous that witnessing them is an unforgettable experience.

The quetzal range is limited to the cloud forests, many hundreds of miles 
from Chichen Itza. It would not have been found there. The temple of 
Kukulkan seems to pay homage to a perceived cloud forest ancestry hundreds 
of miles distant.

Could inventive Maya have created a theater of the senses here with sound 
and light? Or are these simply marvelous coincidences?

Best regards,

David Lubman
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