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FAMSI © 2002: Karen Bassie |
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The Jolja’ Cave Project The Paintings The majority of the Jolja’ paintings can be dated to the Early Classic Period based on style and calendar notations. Different scribes appear to have produced each group. Although most of the dates can not be securely assigned to Long Count positions, it is clear that the paintings represent events at the cave that occurred over a range of time. During the 2002 field season we will be conducting multispectral imaging of these paintings, which will greatly add to our understanding of the chronology. An in-depth report on the content of the Jolja’ hieroglyphic texts is in preparation, but some preliminary observations about these remarkable works can be made. Group 1 consists of a glyph-like painting that is encrusted in calcite deposit. It is at the mouth of the cave on the western wall. Its nature can not be ascertained until multispectral imaging has been conducted. Group 2 is composed of three paintings (Painting 1, Painting 2 and Painting 3) (Figure 7). These images are painted one above the other but on separate rock surfaces. Physical access to Paintings 1 and 2 is difficult because of their location high on the wall above a rock shelf. There inaccessible location appears to have partially protected them from vandalism. The lower painting (Painting 3) is beneath the rock shelf, and has not been as fortunate. A comparison of its present condition with the Blom photographs reveals that the lower right corner has been chiseled off. The damage happened prior to 1986 because the corner is also missing in the 1986 photograph published by Alejos (1994:95).
The surface of the rock wall is uneven, and the paintings become significantly distorted when viewed from anywhere but immediately in front. A large percentage of the wall surface around the paintings is covered in green algae growth which is a result of the moisture in the rock and the sunlight that strikes the wall. Black residue is also evident and may be the result of smoke from torches or copal. Painting 1 is a glyph-like painting that did not appear in the Blom photographs because it is covered in algae growth. Infrared photographs reveal an Ahau sign in Early Classic style (Figure 8). The remainder of the painting requires further enhancing in order to decipher its meaning.
Painting 2 is 90 cm wide and just over a meter tall. It illustrates two figures flanking a 9 Ahau day sign with a wedge shape above it. The figures and day sign are executed in Early Classic style similar to that found on the earliest of Maya monuments (Proskouriakoff 1950; Stone 1995). Parts of the right figure are obscured by algae growth but infrared photography has revealed portions of the face, upper body and left arm (Figure 9, shown above). The right figure holds a donut-shaped object in his left hand and a torch in his right. The left figure stands with his hands at his sides. He wears a feather headdress, and his face is decorated with white paint on the nose, under his eye and on the crown of his head (Figure 10, shown below).
The hands on both figures are formed using a black outline while their bodies are solid black. Rather than being simple representations of human figures, this treatment suggests that the bodies of these ritual participants were painted black (Stone 1989:330). The use of black body paint is well known. For example, Landa (Tozzer 1941:89, 152, 161) noted that in Post-classic Yucatán, ritual participants painted their bodies black when they fasted for a ceremony. The Chol of Alta Verapaz also blackened their bodies. Mace (1970:20, 108-109) noted that both the pre-Columbian and contemporary highland Maya painted their bodies black during rain rituals. In the Maya calendar, the Long Count calculations were divided into units of 360 days called tuns. All tun ending events occurred on days that were named Ahau. Although the Maya performed important rituals on the fifth, tenth, thirteenth and fifteenth tun endings, the major Period Ending ceremonies were performed at the end of every katun (20 tuns). Between the Painting 2 figures is a 9 Ahau day sign with a wedge shape above it. Stone (1995:87-88) has argued that this motif represents an altar that is similar to Ahau altars found at other sites. Such altars commemorated Period Ending events and Stone has concluded that the Jolja’ scene represents such an event. I concur with her conclusion. As noted, Painting 2 is executed in an Early Classic style. Although tun ending dates that occurred on 9 Ahau happened approximately every 13 years, important Period Endings only occurred on 9 Ahau dates four times during the first part of the Early Classic Period: 8.13.0.0.0 9 Ahau 3 Zac (Dec 14, A.D. 297) If the 9 Ahau of Painting 2 is a katun date, it must refer to 8.13.0.0.0. Although this date is consistent with the early style, the Ahau altars found at other sites such as Toniná are also used to commemorate fifth, tenth and fifteenth tuns. So it is impossible to unequivocally date this painting at the present time except to say that it was created at the beginning of the Early Classic Period. One of the primary activities associated with Period Ending ceremonies is the performance of prognostications for the forthcoming time period. There is widespread documentation that both the ancient and contemporary Maya performed divinations within caves. It is, therefore, quite likely that at least one of the gentlemen illustrated in Painting 2 performed a divination in Jolja’ Cave. The placement of the Group 2 paintings immediately over the entrance to Chamber 1 suggests that the Classic Maya may have utilized this space for their Period Ending rituals. As noted above, the right figure in the scene holds a torch. During daylight hours, a torch is not needed in this section of the cave because of the diffused sunlight coming from the cave mouth. The artificial light is, however, needed in Chamber 1. Furthermore, the base line of Painting 2 follows the downward slope of the rock shelf below it, which gives the impression that the figures are standing on a slope. This position is just how ritual participants stand in Chamber 1. This circumstantial evidence suggests that the Painting 2 scene illustrates a Period Ending ceremony that was performed in Chamber 1. The contemporary Maya believe that wind originates from caves, and this belief is based on the fact that cool winds frequently blow from the mouth of caves. A related phenomenon occurs in Chamber 1. The bottom of the chamber is a small space, and most of the Day of Cross participants perch on the tiny ledges of the chamber walls. Although the heat from the bodies, incense and candles should make the chamber atmosphere oppressive, the bottom of the chamber has a strong, cool breeze rising out of the lower crevices. During the Day of the Cross ceremony, the shaman placed offerings in the largest of these wind crevices because this is where Don Juan is said to manifest himself. This air movement may have been one of the reasons why the ancient Maya chose this location for their rituals. Painting 3 portrays a head with a split on top (Figure 11). There are numerous examples of ritual participants standing on place name motifs that indicate the location of the ritual (Stuart and Houston 1994). The position of the Jolja’ Group 2 head below the ritual scene indicates that it functions in a similar manner, that is, it is one of the ancient names for Jolja’. In order to discuss this name, a digression to review Maya world view is necessary. The primary purpose of world view is to give a sense of order and control to life. At its most basic level, world view explains the creation of life, and provides a means for maintaining and renewing it. The Maya were corn farmers living in a tropical environment with a distinct wet and dry season that dictated the timing of the corn cycle, and shaped their world view. The myths concerning the creation of the earth and the first human beings focus on the establishment of the rain and corn cycle, and on the creator deities who brought about these cycles. Mountains and caves played an important role in these stories.
The creation stories indicate that in the beginning there was a great sea that housed the creator grandparents. Below the sea was an underworld full of death gods. Above the sea was the dark sky of the storm and lightning bolt gods. The gods of the sea and sky made the surface of the earth come forth from the sea. In addition to the valleys and mountains of the world, there were four great mythological mountains on the earth’s surface, one for each direction. After covering the earth’s surface with vegetation, the creator deities and their offspring prepared it for human habitation and the cultivation of corn. They accomplished this by creating the celestial cycles and weather patterns, and by creating a quadrilateral space on its surface. Where the solstice sun rises and sets defined the corners of the quadrilateral world, and the four great directional mountains demarcated its sides. Humans could safely live within the quadrilateral world if they made the proper offerings to the gods. Each of the four mythological mountains had a cave opening through which the destructive forces and essential elements entered the world of humans. For example, it was thought that all the water of the world originated in the great sea on which the world floated, and that it came to the surface of the earth through these caves as well as those locations in the local landscape that represented those caves. Clouds and wind were also thought to originate from these caves. In Maya mythology, the gods created the first successful human beings from corn that was found hidden within the great eastern mountain. These corn seeds were the buried remains of the Corn God’s wife who represented the corn ear and its seed (Bassie-Sweet 1998, 1999). The contemporary Maya still refer to corn seed as bone and as being female. In order to access the buried corn seeds, a lightning god split open the stone with a bolt of lightning in the form of an axe. The creator grandmother ground some of this corn seed into dough which was then used to form the first humans. The Corn God also used some of these corn seeds to plant the first corn on the surface of the newly created earth. In the Popol Vuh creation story, the corn mountain is called Paxil. In Quiché, pax means "break into pieces" and in Mam it means "split". The name Paxil is a reference to the breaking open of the corn stone by lightning (Edmonson 1965:87, 1971:146). There is a large mountain called Paxil in northeastern Guatemala. In the contemporary Mam stories concerning the discovery of corn by humans, corn is said to have been first discovered in a cave on this mountain (Wagley 1941:20; Oakes 1951:244, 74; Miles 1981). The cave is also said to have a spring that is used for divinations related to the success of the corn cycle, and it is also the place where rain ceremonies and petitions for the welfare of the corn are performed. Other areas have their own version of the corn mountain which indicates that many communities had a replication of this mythological location in their landscape. In addition to being the source of corn, east is the direction of the prevailing winds in the lowlands and the first heavy rains of the season that are critical for the success of the corn cycle originate from there. Classic period imagery and myths indicate that pools of water and dripwater formations within the eastern cave were thought to be the source of this rain. For example, in some of the myths a lightning bolt deity fills his jug with water from the cave, and as he flies across the sky, he empties the jug causing the rain to fall. The symbols used in Classic period imagery to represent mountains and caves incorporate references to the eastern corn mountain. One of these symbols was nicknamed a cauac monster because it is decorated with elements found on the T528 sign that represents the day name Cauac. The Cauac sign is a side view of a cave enclosure shape with a stalactite formation in the form of a grape cluster hanging from the roof (Bassie-Sweet 1991:109-119, 1996:68-69). Below the stalactite element is a hooked element. This element is also found on illustrations of corn ears, and it represents the corn bud located on the upper stalk of the corn plant. It is from this corn bud that the ear of corn will eventually grow. In the context of the Cauac sign, it represents the corn hidden within the immovable rock of the cave, in other words, a stalagmite. Humans and gods are frequently enclosed by the cauac monster which led to the conclusion that it likely represented a cave (Coe 1978; Taylor 1978). The hieroglyphs that represent the word mountain have been identified, and the cauac monster illustrated on the Palenque Tablet of the Foliated Cross is labeled using one of these signs (Stuart 1987). Cauac monsters are, thus, also mountain symbols. The head of the Tablet of the Foliated Cross cauac monster is split open creating a cave mouth. The split takes the form of a partial quatrefoil shape, which is frequently used to represent the mouth of the cave (Coe 1978; Taylor 1978; Bassie-Sweet 1991). The quatrefoil cave opening can be shown as a full frontal view or a partial side view with figures emerging from it or enclosed by it. On the Palenque Tablet of the Foliated Cross, corn foliage emerges from the quatrefoil split. This symbol represents the mountain in which corn was found. The central icon on the Tablet of the Foliated Cross is an effigy corn plant. It can be surmised that it is a young, green corn plant because the Maya break and bend over the stalks of mature corn plants. The two young, green ears of corn on this plant are represented by young males, in contrast to the general belief that corn ears are female. These young male ears of corn are parallel to the green corn planted by the hero twins in the Popol Vuh. In this story, the green corn represents the fate of the hero twins. The cauac monster illustrated on the base of Bonampak Stela 1 is another representation of the corn mountain. In this example, the effigy corn plant has been conflated with the cauac monster, and the heads of the two young corn ears appear in the corn foliage on the sides. In the hieroglyphic texts, other logographic signs that represent the word mountain also incorporate the cauac and split elements. These mountain signs are paired with other words to specify particular mountains whether they be natural mountains or man-made pyramids (Stuart 1987; Stuart and Houston 1994). Another aspect of the great eastern cave is that it was located adjacent to a white cliff. In the Popol Vuh, the entrance to the eastern cave is described as being adjacent to a cliff. Paxil Mt. also has white cliffs, and its non-indigenous name is White Rock. In many areas, white cliffs are viewed as sacred locations specifically associated with lightning gods and rain (Tozzer 1907:81; La Farge and Byers 1931:131, 135; Wilson 1995:51; Mace 1970:140). In some contemporary stories concerning the first discovery of corn by humans, the corn is hidden in a cliff crevice. Cliff openings and the rock falls that are frequently found at the base of cliffs were likely seen by the Maya as evidence of the cliff being fractured by a lightning bolt. The intimate relationship between caves and cliffs is reflected in the Tzotzil word ch’en, which refers to both caves and cliffs (Laughlin 1975:132). In summary, the vital qualities of the eastern cave are that it was the source of the corn used to create humans, it was on or near a white cliff, it contained dripwater formations and it was a primary source of water, clouds, wind and lightning. Jolja’ has all the elements of the eastern corn cave, and the contemporary Ch’ol Maya still value these qualities. During the wet season, the Ixtelja River rushes out of the cave and dramatically falls over the edge of the cave mouth. In addition, water from springs located higher on the mountain pours down the cliff face. Although water still comes out of the cave during the dry season, it is at a significantly diminished volume. It begins to abundantly flow again with the first rains of the season. From a scientific perspective, the river water increases in volume because of the rain falling at higher elevations on the mountain. But, from the world view of the Ch’ol Maya, the river water increases because they petition Don Juan to release the water, and by extension, the rain. The Ch’ol Maya also associate Don Juan with corn. In a story collected in 1981, Don Juan is said to have provided petitioners with corn seed and rain during a drought (Ausencio Cruz Guzmán cited in Spero 1987). In a prayer by Tumbalá tatuche Miguel Arcos Méndez it is stated that the Jolja’ Cave contains the spirit of corn (Arcos Méndez 2001). The Ch’ol also believe that there are lightning bolt spirits who live in the cave and who assist Don Juan in his tasks (Domingo Pérez Moreno, personal communication 2001). The Jolja’ Group 2 head has the partial quatrefoil split found on cauac monsters. The side curls are marked with a line of dots found on the corn bud curls of the Bonampak cauac monster. In the center of the Jolja’ head are three u-shapes where the eyes and nose would appear on a cauac monster. While these elements suggest that the Jolja’ head represents a cauac monster, there is a bar and four dots representing the number 9 (b’alunn) on the right side of the Jolja’ head, an eroded element on the left side and four large circles positioned over the split. The number nine is reminiscent of a place name that occurs in many contexts in Maya art. It is composed of the number nine, a central element with either a quatrefoil or u-shaped opening in its top, and a pair of footprints (Kubler 1977). The number nine and the footprints can appear in front, on top or behind the central element. Although we must await multispectral imaging of the eroded element on the Group 2 head to ascertain its nature, it has the general shape of the footprints sign, and it is highly likely that the Group 2 head is an Early Classic variant of the "nine footprint" place name. The "nine footprint" place name appears in the art of Palenque. The Palenque Cross Group texts discuss the triad of gods known by the nicknames GI, GII and GIII. In this narrative, there is an event which occurred on 9.12.18.5.16 2 Cib 14 Mol (23 July, 690 A.D). In the months preceding and following this date, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn appeared in the same area of the night sky, and their paths interwove as they came in and out of conjunction. Because of these alignments, it has been argued that these heavenly bodies were manifestations of the Palenque triad of gods. In addition to their planetary associations, the Palenque Triad have traits that indicate they are directly parallel to the Popol Vuh lightning bolt gods known as Juraqan Lightning Bolt, Ch’ipi Lightning Bolt and Raxa Lighting Bolt (Bassie-Sweet 2001). The Cross Group consists of three temples facing a quadrilateral plaza. Each temple contains an small inner sanctuary that replicates a sweatbath/cave, and the hieroglyphic texts within each temple refer to the birth of the triad deity who was thought to have been born from that particular cave. The Temple of the Cross is situated on the north side, and relates the birth of GI, the western Temple of the Sun relates the birth of GIII while the eastern Temple of the Foliated Cross relates that of GII. On the Tablet of the Cross, the young Kan B’ahlam stands on the "nine footprint" place name while performing a pre-accession event at a sweatbath cave associated with the birth of GI. In Maya art, the "nine footprint" place name is most often paired with a second place name composed of a number seven, a black sign and k’an "yellow or precious" sign (Kubler 1977). On the Tablet of the Sun, these place names flank the central icon. The focus of the Tablet of the Sun is the deity GIII who was a fire and meteor god. On Tikal Stela 31, the "seven black k’an" place is followed by a compound sign composed of a k’ahk’ "fire" glyph coming out of a split mountain sign, and confirms the association of these place names with mountains. The Palenque Cross Group indicates that the "nine footprint" place and "seven black k’an" place are specifically associated with the sweatbath caves of GI and GIII. As discussed above, the Temple of the Foliated Cross replicates the eastern corn mountain. Based on these parallels, I suggest that Jolja’ replicates the same mythological locations as the sweatbath caves of the Palenque Cross Group. Furthermore, the three caves of Jolja’ are reminiscent of the three sweatbath caves of the Cross Group. Another common feature between Jolja’ and the Cross Group is that both sites are located near the headwaters of an all-season river. The Cross Group is situated at the base of a hill called Mirador, and the Otolum River (which runs past the Cross Group) originates from a spring coming out of Mirador. The spring source of the Otolum is located about 200 m due south of the Cross Group just behind Temple 19. Like Ixtelja, the Otolum continues to flow even during significant dry periods. Furthermore, Merle Greene Robertson (1991:6) has noted that the Cross Group is situated in a pocket that traps mist. This mist can occur even when the sun is shining on other parts of Palenque, and gives the impression that the Cross Group is a source of this precious moisture. Mist also frequently lingers around the cliff face of Jolja’ even when other parts of the mountain are clear (personal observation). Another parallel between the Cross Group and Jolja’ is found in the name of the Otolum spring, which is called lakam ha’ "great water" and the chan ch’een "sky cave", and the cave of the deity or deities called B’aluun Chac "nine or many lightning bolts" (Stuart 2000). The split in the Group 2 head indicates the presence of lighting bolt gods and as noted above, the contemporary Ch’ol still believe Jolja’ is inhabited by lightning bolt gods. A final parallel between the Cross Group and Jolja’ is found in the place name Descending Quetzal Mountain that occurs in the texts of Cross Group. It has been suggested that this is the ancient name for the Mirador hill (Stuart 2000). Quetzal birds only live on mountains with elevation in excess of 1200 m, and Misopa’ Mountain which contain Jolja’ Cave is such a mountain. In fact, the indigenous name of Tumbalá which is located at the south end of Misopa’ Mountain is K’uk’ Witz, Quetzal Mountain. It is not my intention to suggest that Kan B’ahlam traveled to Jolja’ on the occasion of his pre-accession ceremony and accession. I am suggesting that the Maya had both natural and man-made ritual sites that replicated the same mythological locations. The Cross Group and Jolja’ are just such sites. Jolja’ Group 3 is located in the back section of the cave, and it is the first inscription encountered after the constricted passageway opens up. It is painted in black and consists solely of the calendar round date of 7 Cauac 5 Ceh. Unfortunately, Cauac and a month position of 5 can not occur together in the Maya calendar system. Group 3 has been significantly smeared since Aulie and Blom’s visit. To complicate the issue more, the negative on file in the Blom archives is a copy negative. Group 4 is composed of seven paintings located just south of Group 3 (Figure 12). Six short inscriptions outlined in thick red paint are located on the west wall of the cave (Paintings 1-6). In front of these texts is a slab of stone lying on the cave floor. It is evident from the fracture marks on the wall that it was chiseled from the area immediately below the wall paintings. Blom’s photographs show that the stone was painted with 32 glyphs in four columns (Painting 7). Like the upper texts, a thick red line encased the glyphs. Blom’s photographs indicate that the looting occurred prior to her visit because she has several views of Painting 7, and it is already on the floor. The large and heavy size of the stone likely prevented its removal from the cave.
Today virtually none of the Painting 7 glyphs are visible and only portions of the red outline remain. Some of this degradation has occurred because of the moist condition of the cave floor but visitors to the cave also sit on this stone because it makes a convenient seat. The upper paintings of Group 4 have also suffered vandalism. Since Blom’s time, small chunks of the surface have been chipped off. In addition, Painting 6 is missing its lower edge which was apparently destroyed when Painting 7 was chiseled off. The six upper paintings of Group 4 all appear to be personal names (Figure 13). Painting 1 is composed of four glyphs which can be read in part as "this is the image of Leley Hix K’ahk’ Witz" (Zender 2000). Our present understanding of this phrase is that it should accompany an image of someone. As noted, there was an altar in the vicinity of Group 3 so it is possible that the Painting 1 text refers to an idol that was on this altar. A more likely alternative is that it refers to a painting of someone or something that was originally located between the upper texts and Painting 7. This scenario is a viable option because the lower edges of the wall do not match the upper edges of the Painting 7 slab. Furthermore, Aulie mentions in his correspondence with Thompson and Blom that a stone in this vicinity had an eroded painting on it (Fabiola Sánchez, personal communication 2001). Future investigation of the stone fragments under Group 4 may shed more light on this issue.
Painting 2 of Group 4 consists of four glyphs and includes the word kele’em "youth". Paintings 3, 4 and 5 are each composed of two glyphs, but only the outlines of these glyphs are now visible. The three glyphs in Painting 6 are clearer than the others, and this text begins with a compound sign that reads u ts’ihb "his writing" (Stone 1995:90). U ts’ihb phrases are used in other contexts to introduce the name of a scribe (Stuart 1987), and Painting 6 may be the earliest known example of this kind of phrase.
Group 5 is the next text encountered on the west wall (Figure 14, shown above). It is composed of at least 18 glyphs arranged in two columns (Figure 15, shown below). A thick red band of semi-transparent pigment is painted over the center of the two columns overlapping the black inscription. This convention is also found on Early Classic pottery such as K5618. This vase was excavated from the Mundo Perdido Complex at Tikal, and has been given a date of manufacture ranging from A.D. 357 - A.D. 495 (Reents-Budet 1994:327).
The painting style of Group 5 is more refined than Group 4. The first nine glyphs of Group 5 are exceptionally clear, but the remaining ones are faded to the point that they are mere outlines. Blom’s original negative is missing, but reprints of the copy negative show that these faded glyphs were much more pronounced in 1961. Glyph A4 and Glyph B4 have both suffered some vandalism since Blom’s time. The prefix on Glyph A4 has been smeared, and the hand in Glyph B4 has been scratched. A number of small crosses executed in charcoal are found adjacent to the Group 5 text and also appear in the Blom photograph. These Christian symbols suggest that this text was a focus of ritual activity at some point for the contemporary Ch’ol Maya. The Group 5 text refers to the dates 8.19.19.7.7 3 Manik seating of Uo and the 9.0.0.0.0 Period Ending ceremony in A.D. 435. The sign used to represent the Period Ending verb is composed of a hand grasping a rod-like object (A3). Similar signs in this style are found on an Early Classic celt (Schele and Miller 1986:plate 22c) and Early Classic Tikal Stela 39. The Period Ending is followed by the so-called "impinged bone" glyph that has been interpreted to pictographically represent a cave (Bassie-Sweet 1996:64, 95-103) and to represent the word ch’een "cave" (Stuart 1999). As noted, the corn seeds used to create the first human beings were the bone remains of the Corn Goddess. The Maya frequently deposited the bones of their ancestors within caves, in effect, returning them to their place of origin. The bone in this sign may, therefore, represent both the bones of the Corn Goddess and the remains of the ancestors. Another well known Early Classic sign is found at A4. This is the head of an old, bald god with a hank of hair in front of his face. It occurs in a number of Early Classic monuments such as Tikal Stela 31 and El Zapote Stela 1. It has been interpreted by Stuart (1999) to represent the word mam and to have the meaning of grandfather or ancestor. When used in kinship, the word mam means grandfather or older male relative but as a title is used in many contemporary Maya communities to refer to elders who are held in the highest esteem. A second portrait glyph is found at A5. This zoomorphic deity has some of the characteristics of the Early Classic Chac portraits including the shell earring.
Group 6 is located to the south of Group 5, and is composed of 16 glyphs in 2 columns with a red band again painted down the center (Figure 16, shown above). Although both Group 5 and Group 6 share the red band feature, they were produced by different scribes. Of interest in the Group 6 text is the unusual placement of the calendar round date (Figure 17, shown below). The Tzolkin day name of 9 Akbal appears at A1 while the month position of 11 Kankin is at B2 (9.2.1.12.3 A.D. 477) (Zender 2000). The statement between these glyphs is a phrase that reads hul-i t-u-ch’een "arrived at the cave" (David Stuart, personal communication 1999). Stuart also noted that a place name found in this text occurs at the cave site of Yaleltsemen.
Group 7 is a glyph-like painting encrusted in calcite deposit. It is located adjacent to the smallest of the dripwater columns at the rear of the cave. We hope that multispectral imaging will provide more information about its nature. |
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