Ek Balam Part 7 of 7: The spectacular tomb of Ek Balam's greatest ruler

Two "Warrior Angels" adorn the facade of the ruler's tomb. The tomb of Ukit Kan Lek Tok' is on the fourth level of the Acropolis. It wasn't discovered until the beginning of the 21st century because it had been deliberately covered over by the ancient Maya. In fact, serious archeological excavations at Ek Balam itself didn't begin until the mid-1990s. The tomb's facade contains several other statues, some intact and some beheaded, but all were carved with equal artistry. Along with the statues are numerous hieroglyphs and other decorations. The tomb's interior contained thousands of artifacts.

In this final part of my Ek Balam series, I will focus on the tomb, its exquisite stucco statues, and the meaning behind some of its decorations. Ukit Kan Lek Tok' was described as a "foreigner" on glyphs found at Ek Balam. He probably came from southern Yucatan, bringing with him the Rio Bec and Chenes styles of art and architecture. He founded the Talol dynasty in 770 AD and probably died around 802 AD. His dynasty lasted 100 years, until 870 AD. During Ukit Kan Lek Tok's rule, he built Ek Balam's Acropolis and also constructed many of the other important structures within the city. 

The entrance of Tomb is through the mouth of the Witz Monster

The tomb is located on the west side of the Central Staircase on the fourth level. A hieroglyph painted on the capstone just inside the door names the tomb Sak Xok Naah (translated as "White House of Respect" or "White House of Reading"). Large panels of hieroglyphs decorated the walls on either side of the main door. The terrace in front of the main door has fangs, making it look like the lower jaw of a monster. More fangs line both sides of the door and the area above it. The base of the terrace is lined with stylized fish and lillies, an important symbolic link to water. There are two staircases, one on either side. 

The city of Ek Balam contains a mix of archeological styles from various regions of the Maya world. These include Petén (northern Guatemala), Puuc (northwestern Yucatan), and Rio Bec (southern Yucatan Peninsula). The monster fangs and ornate hieroglyphic designs are features of the Chenes style. This style flourished in the central lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula from 600 AD-800 AD and geographically overlaps the Rio Bec style. The fact that the Chenes style was used on Ukit Kan Lok Tek's tomb strongly suggests he may have been from that area. 

View of the tomb's fangs and hieroglyphic panels. The Warrior Angels can be seen in the upper right corner. To the right of the main door is another, smaller one. A similar door can be seen to the left of the main door in the previous photo. The area around the main door was constructed to resemble the face of a monster, with two eyes, a nose, and a lower jaw with jutting teeth. The open door is the gaping mouth. All this wasn't just whimsey, but represents the face of an important mythical figure that the Maya called the Witz Monster. 

The Witz Monster, also known as the Earth Monster, was the personification of mountains, caves with water, and the world of the dead (Xibalba). The Witz Monster was also connected with maiz and was sometimes portrayed with an ear of maiz sprouting from its head. Caves were often important water sources, creating another link to the Witz Monster. Finally, caves were believed to be entrances to Xibalba. The face of a Chenes-style Witz Monster would therefore have been an appropriate facade for the tomb of a king from the Chenes region. 

The room on the right side of the tomb was built to resemble a Maya hut, called a nah. Many rural Maya still live in huts shaped like this. A traditional nah is constructed with upright sticks covered with mud, with a thatched roof. The style is called wattle-and-daub. Images of a Maya nah are displayed in a variety of elite Maya structures. An example of this can be found at the Nun's Quadrangle at Uxmal. I remain puzzled as to why an imitation of a commoner's hut would appear next to the royal tomb of Ek Balam's High King, or as a decoration on the wall of an elite palace at Uxmal. 

The stucco roof of the imitation nah contains another monster face. The projection in the middle is the nose, with a row of teeth below. The eyes are in the upper corners of the rectangular structure from which the nose projects. Although it is all quite abstract, if you look closely you can make it out. The purpose of this room is not clear, but it may have been constructed to contain the remains of the ruler's relatives. Another possibility is that priests used it to store clothing and other items used in religious ceremonies, similar to a sacristy in a Catholic church.  

The left side of the temple has a similar nah-shaped room. In addition to its front entrance, there is another on the side. The decorative roof seen on the right-side structure is absent from this one. It may have been destroyed during a partial collapse of the upper levels of the Acropolis. The tomb and its two adjacent rooms were deliberately filled with rubble and buried by the Maya some time after the ruler was placed inside. During the following century, the rooms were re-opened and inscriptions were added. Then the tomb complex was re-buried. This process of burial, re-opening, and re-burial was repeated several times.

Glyphs on left side of the tomb's main door. A similar large panel can be found on the right side of the door. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any information about their meaning. The symbols on the two panels are almost identical. However, their arrangement on the two panels are reverse mirror images of each other. Notice the monster face on the right center of the photo. There is a matching face on the right side of the main door. There has been some debate over what mythical figures these faces represent.

A monstrous face decorates the left hieroglyphic panel next to the tomb's door. Some sources say this represent the Witz Monster. Other sources claim that it is the Maiz God. Both of these mythical figures are associated with maiz. My vote, for what it is worth, is for the Witz Monster. The face above has glaring eyes, an open mouth, and large teeth, all typical of the Witz Monster. It also has an ear of corn growing out of the top of its head, another typical aspect. 

The Maiz God images that I have seen show him as a handsome young man with a smooth, attractive face. He is sometimes portrayed carrying maiz ears in his hands or in a pouch on his back, but never growing out of his head. Given that this is a tomb, representing the entrance to the underworld, I believe that the two faces bracketing the tomb's entrance must represent smaller versions of the Witz Monster. 

The tomb's exquisite statues

One of the Warrior Angels stands on the upper right corner of the facade. The two life-sized statues were given this name because of the supposed "wings" sprouting out of their backs. However, I doubt that these actually represent wings. It is more likely that they are feathered cloaks. There is nothing that I could find in Maya mythology about supernatural winged figures in human shape. The concept of angels was not introduced until the Spanish arrived, 700 years after these statues were carved.

The youthful male figure above represents a member of Ek Balam's top nobility. In life, elaborate head dress would have been made of a combination of feathers and paper. The figure wears expensive jade jewelry, including a pendant, ear spools, bracelets, and anklets. His clothing includes an embroidered loincloth and a wide belt that resembles a ball player's protective gear, called a yoke. On the yoke are a series of Xs, symbolizing the divine source of a ruler's power. Hanging over the groin is a pouch that reminds me of the sporran worn with a kilt in Scotland. The pouch is decorated with a grinning human face.

A second Warrior Angel stands a short distance to the left. This statue has an interesting haircut that might actually be a close-fitting cap. Note the statue's elongated skull. Noble parents deliberately shaped the skulls of their infant children in this way in order to mark them as aristocrats. The figure wears a necklace and bracelets of jade. The garment around the hips has dots that may represent the markings on a jaguar's pelt.  Around the waist is another ballplayer' yoke, also decorated with Xs. The figure gazes off to the right, in a posture that suggests a readiness to spring into action. 

Aside from the beautifully-preserved artistry of these statues, I was fascinated with them because they capture a moment in  time. They show, in considerable detail, how the local people (or at least the nobility) saw themselves. It is almost like having a time machine capable of bringing these ancient, long-forgotten people to life. The statues and other images of pre-hispanic people all too often feel stylized and over-decorated. The figures here appear ready to come to life before my eyes.

A headless statue of Ukit Kan Lok Tek' sits directly above the Witz Monster's mouth. The Kalo'mte (High King) occupies a throne above the main door of the tomb. Feathered "wings" spread out on either side. The statue's head and left arm are missing, probably due to the collapse of the wall above. The wide belt resembles a ball player's protective gear and the spherical object near the left foot may be a ball. This suggests that Ukit Kan Lok Tek' was a participant in ball games himself, as well as a sponsor. The face attached to the belt may represent the severed head of a defeated ball game opponent.

When the tomb was opened, archeologists found the ruler's remains, along with more than 7,000 grave goods. These included 21 ceramic and alabaster vessels, as well as a gold frog, jewels of jade and pearl, and shells carved into skulls. Other grave goods were made of flint, bone, and pyrite. In the ruler's hand was a human femur bone. Hieroglyphs on it identified the bone as belonging to Ukit Ahkan, a priest who was the ruler's father. The femur had been carved to a point on one end and may have been used for auto-sacrifice (ritual blood letting). It was not unusual for the Maya to use of the bones of relatives in this way. 

A graceful figure sits casually in the corner of the Witz Monster's left eye. The naturalism in this sculpture is striking. Although Maya sculptors sometimes stylized their depictions of human forms, they are also renowned for their naturalism. The young man above sits with his hand resting on his knee. The other hand extends across his chest, with the fingers casually wrapped around his upper arm. The eyes of his turned head appear to be watching a game being played in the Ball Court below. A modern viewer can instantly relate to this very recognizable human figure.

Within the tomb is another painted capstone. On it, Ukit Kan Lek Tok' is portrayed as the Maiz God, deity of the plant that made pre-hispanic civilizations possible. The interesting thing about this painting is that it shows the High King with a deformed upper lip. This is very unusual, both because he was the ruler and because the Maiz God is normally portrayed as a beautiful young man. In fact, when the ruler's skull was examined, scientists discovered that he had suffered from a disease of the maxillary area. The ancient artist chose--or was allowed--to show him as he was in real life, not as an idealized version.

The corner of the Witz Monster's right eye contains another very natural figure. The headless statue of a young Maya noble sits erect and cross-legged. The clothing, particularly the yoke/belt, suggests yet another ball player. A pendant containing a small face hangs from his neck. Notice the fine details of his hands and feet. I can even make out what appears to be a toenail on the left foot. This statue was apparently another victim of a long-forgotten structural collapse. 

The gold frog found in Ukit Kan Lek Tok's tomb presents an interesting question: where did the gold come from? There were virtually no sources of gold in the Maya area. The nearest sources were in what is now Panama and Costa Rica, or in Central Mexico. The presence of gold in northern Yucatan illustrates the importance of Mesoamerica's long-distance trade networks. Jade was valued even more than gold. Most jade was imported from the Valle Rio Motagua in southern Guatemala, also a long way from Ek Balam. One heavily used trade route was by seagoing canoe along the Caribbean coast from South and Central America.

This statue stands at the far left of the tomb's facade. The head, left forearm, and the entire right arm are all missing. Dangling from the neck is a jade necklace. Around the waist is a ball player's yoke containing Xs. Around the hips is a dotted jaguar pelt. The belt that holds up the pelt appears to be made from large pieces of jade. Dangling in front of the groin is another "sporran" pouch. The upper chest and shoulders are covered by a light, fringed garment. 

Most of the statues on the tomb's facade have certain things in common. All, except for the High King, are slim, athletic-looking young men. All--including the High King--wear a ballplayer's yoke and seem to be associated with the Ball Game. Several of the yokes contain the Xs that represent the divine power of the ruler. The jaguar-pelt hip coverings would only have been allowed for those belonging to the nobility. 

A ruler sits cross-legged on his throne, with his lap covered by an embroidered cloth. The identity of this figure is unknown, but he is clearly royalty. While the statue is located on the same level as the tomb, it sits several meters to the east. In this case, the lack of a head may be deliberate rather than accidental. When an ancient Maya city was conquered, it was standard practice to not only sacrifice the defeated ruler, but also to decapitate or otherwise deface statues and other images of him. 

The figure above wears a jade necklace with a wide collar under it. Around the waist is another wide belt. However, this one does not resemble a ballplayer's yoke and the stone is too worn to tell if there are any Xs. The right hand clutches an object which may be a symbol of power. My best guess is that this is a statue of one of Ukit Kan Lek Tok's dynastic successors.

This completes Part 7 of my Ek Balam series and the series itself. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim