390 THE "CARA GIGANTESCA" OF YZAMAL IN YUCATAN. 



posited accompanied by the prayers of the devotees. Mr. Stephens 

 also held this opinion not only on the strength of certain popular tra- 

 ditions, but by virtue of some direct historical accounts of the Mayas. 

 The blackened and charred marks on the three stone plates below seem 

 to corroborate this assertion. Whether the image was once intended 

 to represent a deity or demigod cannot now be proved to a certainty, 

 but its nature can reasonably be guessed at, so that it may properly be 

 taken as a representation of Ytzamatul himself, who was the semi-divine 

 founder and legislator of the ancient realm of Ytzmal, now Yzamal. In 

 order to enable the reader to judge for himself, an extract from the 

 early history of the Maya confederation in Yucatan may be acceptable. 



After the fall of the lirst Maya empire during the eighth century of 

 our era, w^hen Chicheu Itza, the then center of civilization, lost her 

 prestige as the principal city, Ytzmal became the foremost place in the 

 country. Here ruled Ytzamatul, the son of the true, living God, as he 

 was believed to have been. None ever knew whence he had come, for 

 whenever asked as to his origin he invariably answered: ^^Ytzen caan, 

 Ytzen muyal,'^ whiiih means, '-'' I am the dew of heaven^ the substance of 

 the clouds,''^ It is, perhaps, also not improbable that this king's name 

 was more a title than a real name, for in the Maya idiom it em- 

 bodies a whole sentence within a single word, the meaning of which 

 is, "i/e icho receives and possesses the graceP Be this as it may, 

 this name makes it obvious that its royal bearer must have been con- 

 sidered by his peo])le as a semi-divine mediator between heaven and 

 earth, an idea by no means novel in the history of human civilization. 

 The real existence of such a personage is, in a strictly historical sense, of 

 little importance, but is noteworthy for the ethnographer, that the tradi- 

 tional divine or semi-divine nature of the rulers and founders of empires 

 is such a constant occurrence in semi-historical ages, as to be invariably 

 found m some form at the commencement of the history of every nation. 



Ytzamatul, with his superior nature, according to jMaya traditions, 

 did not fail to enjoy the unbounded lo^'e and equally profound respect 

 of the nation over wliose destinies he presided. His wisdom as a states- 

 man and legislator, as well as his never failing justice as dispenser of 

 the laws, gained for him so much the admiration of every one of his sub- 

 jects, that after his death the honor of an apotheosis was accorded to 

 him ; and in order to do full justice to his memory, and to give tangible 

 proof of the general veneration for the departed chief, his royal body 

 was divided into various portions, over each of which a sejxilchral tem- 

 l)le was erected. These sanctuaries soon became converted into so many 

 places of worship, where the pious could offer their prayers and suppli- 

 cations. The names of some of these temples, each crowning at that 

 time an artificial mound called " kues," have been preserved by several 

 of the Spanish historians. Among them one appears which was called 

 " Kinich Kakmo,''^ that is, " iSim unth the face ;" another, " Kahul^'''' which 

 means, " The icorldmj (creating) hand.'''' 



Tradition has it that iu both these temples sacred fires and sepulchral 

 lamps were burning day and night. Oracles were also pronounced there, 

 and the faithful brought thither their sick and dead, which in many in- 

 stances became restored to health and life again by the miraculous in- 

 tercession of Y^tzamatul's sacred meuior3\ These places were said to 

 have become thus famous and renowned, not only throughout the whole 

 of the peninsula, but also far beyond its limits, whence a contiutious 

 pilgrimage was kept up. Hundreds and thousands joined iu pious pro- 

 cessions from Cuba, Hayti, and Jamaica, as well as from the interior of 

 Guatemala, Tabasco, and Chiai)as. In order to facilitate such religious 



