Hostname: page-component-6898cfcb55-th4rj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-11T13:05:53.291Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Classic Maya Dance

Evidence from hieroglyphs and iconography

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Nikolai Grube
Nikolai Grube
Affiliation:
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Seminar für Völkerkunde, Römerstraße 164, W-5300 Bonn 1, Germany
Get accessRights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A long-known verbal glyph in Classic Maya inscriptions is reinterpreted as a glyph for dancing (ahk'ot), apparently an important ritual of the ancient Maya. The glyph is found with scenes showing one or several dancers. Glyphs after the verb can be shown to describe the objects and instruments employed in dances. This article analyzes several examples of Maya dances and the ritual and social context in which they occur. These include the dance with a staff with cloth tied down its length, a dance with a “God K” scepter, a dance with a staff with birds attached to it, a dance with a staff with a “God K” figure seated on top of it, a snake dance, dances in warrior outfit, and dances at royal visits. A variety of dances is represented on polychrome ceramics. Many polychrome ceramics can be shown to depict dancing companion spirits, while others show dances associated with historical events. A comparison with colonial and modern Maya dances shows that they share the same emphasis on dance objects, but that the underlying religious and political messages have changed almost completely.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Ancient Mesoamerica , Volume 3 , Issue 2 , Fall 1992, pp. 201 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1992

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

REFERENCES

Adams, Richard E.W. 1971 The Ceramics of Altar de Sacrificios. Papers of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Vol. 63, No. 1. Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Ara, Fray Domingo de 1986 Vocabulario de lengua tzeldal según el orden de Copanabastla. Edición de Mario Humberto Ruz. Fuentes para el Estudio de la Cultura Maya, 4. Instituto de Investigaciones Filológicas, Centro de Estudios Mayas, UNAM, Mexico.Google Scholar
Attinasi, John 1973 Lak T'an: A Grammar of Chol (Mayan). Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Barrera, Vásquez Alfredo 1980 Diccionario Maya Cordemex, Maya-Español, Español-Maya. Editores Merida, Cordemex, Yucatan, Mexico.Google Scholar
Bassie-Sweet, Karen 1991 From the Mouth of the Dark Cave: Commemorative Sculpture of the Late Classic Maya. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Baudez, Claude F. (editor) 1983 Introducción a la arqueología de Copán, Honduras. 2 vols. Proyecto Arqueológico Copán, Secretaría del Estado en el Despacho de Cultura y Turismo, Tegucigalpa.Google Scholar
Baudez, Claude F. (editor) 1989 The Snake Dance at Palenque. Paper presented at the Seventh Palenque Round Table Conference,June 11–17,Palenque, Chiapas,Mexico.Google Scholar
Bricker, Victoria R. 1973 Ritual Humor in Highland Chiapas. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Carmack, Robert M. 1981 The Quiché Mayas of Utatlán: The Evolution of a Highland Guatemala Kingdom. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Eliade, Mircea 1951 Le chamanisme et les techniques archaïques de l'extase. Editions Payot, Paris.Google Scholar
Fernández, León 1892 Lenguas indígenas de Centro América en el siglo XVIII según copia del Archivo de Indias hecha por el Licenciado don León Fernández y publicada por Ricardo Fernández Guardia y Juan Fernández Ferraz. Tipografía Nacional, San José de Costa Rica.Google Scholar
Fisher, William M. 1973 Towards the Reconstruction of Proto-Yucatec. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Linguistics, University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Gates, William 1931 A Lanquin Kekchi calendar. Maya Society Quarterly 1:29–32. Baltimore.Google Scholar
Graham, Ian 1979 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Vol. 3, Pt. 2: Yax-chilan. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Graham, Ian, and von Euw, Eric 1977 Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions, Vol. 3, Pt. I: Yax-chilan. Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai 1989 Schamanismus in der Klassischen Mayakultur. Unpublished manuscript submitted to Archiv für Völkerkunde.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai 1991a An Investigation of the Primary Standard Sequence on Classic Maya Ceramics. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 223–232. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai 1991b A New Syllabic Reading for the “Bat” Sign and the Ancient Name for Copán. Unpublished manuscript submitted to Mexicon.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai, and Nahm, Werner 1991 Signs for the syllable sa. Unpublished manuscript in the possession of the authors.Google Scholar
Grube, Nikolai, and Schele, Linda 1990 A New Interpretation of the Temple 18 Jambs. Copan Note 85, Copan Mosaics Project, Copan, Honduras.Google Scholar
Guillemin, Jorge F. 1959 Iximché. Antropologia e historia de Guatemala 11:22–64.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1984 A Quetzal Feather Dance at Bonampak, Chiapas, Mexico. Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris LXX:127–138.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1987 The Inscriptions and Monumental Art of Dos Pilas, Guatemala: A Study of Classic Maya History and Politics. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale University.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D. 1989 Maya Glyphs. Reading the Past. British Museum Publications, London.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., and Mathews, Peter 1985 The Dynastic Sequence of Dos Pilas, Guatemala. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, Monograph I. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., and Stuart, David S. 1989 The Way Glyph: Evidence for “Co-essences” among the Classic Maya. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing 30. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Houston, Stephen D., and Taube, Karl A. 1987 Name-Tagging in Classic Mayan Script: Implications for Native Classifications of Ceramics and Jade Ornament. Mexicon 9(2):38–42.Google Scholar
Jones, Christopher 1984 Deciphering Maya Hieroglyphs. 2nd edition prepared for Weekend Workshop, April 7 and 8, 1984. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Jones, Christopher, and Satterthwaite, Linton 1982 The Monuments and Inscriptions of Tikal: The Carved Monuments. Tikal Report No. 33: Part A. University Museum Mono graph 44. The University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Josserand, J. Kathryn, Schele, Linda, and Hopkins, Nicholas A. 1985 Linguistic Data on Mayan Inscriptions: The Ti Constructions. In Fourth Palenque Round Table, 1980, vol. VI, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene and Benson, Elizabeth, pp. 87–102. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Justeson, John S., and Norman, William M. 1983 A Reinterpretation of Some “Auxiliary Verb” Constructions in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing. Paper presented at the Fifth Palen que Round Table, Chiapas, Mexico.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Terrence S. 1972 El proto-tzeltal-tzotzil. Centro de Estudios Mayas, Cuaderno 5. UNAM, Mexico, DF.Google Scholar
Kaufman, Terrence S., and Norman, William M. 1984 An Outline of Proto-Cholan Phonology, Morphology and Vocabulary. In Phoneticism in Mayan Hieroglyphic Writing, edited by Justeson, John S. and Campbell, Lyle, pp. 77–166. Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, Publication No. 9. State University of New York, Albany.Google Scholar
Kerr, Barbara, and Kerr, Justin 1981 The Painters of the Pink Glyphs. Paper presented at the Fine Arts Museum of Long Island, New York.Google Scholar
Knowles, Susan Marie 1984 A Descriptive Grammar of Chonta! Maya (San Carlos Dialect). Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Laughlin, Robert M. 1975 The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, No. 19. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laughlin, Robert M. 1988 The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantán, with Grammatical Analysis and Historical Commentary. Volume I: Tzotzil-English. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, No. 31. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Looper, Matthew G. 1991a The Name of Copan and of a Dance at Yaxchilan. Copan Note 95. Copan Mosaics Project, Austin, Texas.Google Scholar
Looper, Matthew G. 1991b Observations on the Glyph for “Manikin.” Texas Notes on Precolumbian Art, Writing and Culture No. 7. Austin, TX.Google Scholar
Lothrop, Samuel K. 1929 Further Notes on Indian Ceremonies in Guatemala. Indian Notes 6(1): 1–25. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York.Google Scholar
Mace, Charles E. 1970 Two Spanish-Quiche Dance Dramas of Rabinal. Tulane Studies in Romance Languages and Literature, No. 3. Tulane University, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Macri, Martha J. 1991 Prepositions and Complementizers in the Classic Period Inscriptions. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 266–272. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Maler, Teobert 1910 Explorations in the Department of Petén Guatemala and Adjacent Regions. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Vol. 5, No. 1. Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Mathews, Peter 1988 The Sculpture of Yaxchilan. Unpublished Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale University.Google Scholar
Merwin, Raymond, and Vaillant, George 1932 The Ruins of Holmul, Guatemala. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Miller, Mary E. 1986 The Murals of Bonampak. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Morán, Fray Francisco 1695 Arte y diccionario de la lengua choltí, que quiere decir, lengua de milperos. Unpublished manuscript in the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA.Google Scholar
Nahm, Werner, and Grube, Nikolai 1991 A Complete Inventory of Representations of Animal Companion Spirits (Way) on Classic Maya Ceramics. Unpublished manuscript submitted to the Maya Vase Book, vol. IV, to be edited by Justin Kerr.Google Scholar
Palacios, Diego Garcia de 1985 Letter to the King of Spain, Being a Description of the Ancient Provinces of Guazacapan, Izalco, Cuscatlan, and Chiquimula, in the Audiencia of Guatemala, with an Account of the Languages, Customs, and Religion of their Aboriginal Inhabitants, and a Description of the Ruins of Copan. Translated and with notes by Squier, Ephraim G.. Labyrinthos, Culver City.Google Scholar
Ponce, Alonso 1932 Fray Alonso Ponce in Yucatán, 1588. Edited by Noyes, Ernest. Middle American Research Institute, Publication No. 4. Tulane University, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Quirarte, Jacinto 1982 The Holmul Dancer Theme in Maya Vase Painting: Form and Meaning. Abstract of a paper presented at the 44th International Congress of Americanists,University of Manchester,England.Google Scholar
Reents-Budet, Dorie 1985 The Late Classic Maya Holmul Style Polychrome Pottery. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Art History Department, University of Texas at Austin.Google Scholar
Reents-Budet, Dorie 1991 The “Holmul Dancer” Theme in Maya Art. In Sixth Palenque Round Table, 1986, edited by Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 217–222. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Reents-Budet, Dorie, and Bishop, Ronald L. 1989 The Ik Emblem Glyph Pottery Corpus. Paper presented at the 7th Mesa Redonda de Palenque, June 11–17, Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1982 Maya Glyphs: The Verbs. University of Texas Press, Austin.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1987 Some Ideas of the Protagonist and Dating of Stela E. Copan Note 25. Copan Mosaics Project, Copan, Honduras.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda 1988 The Xibolba Shuffle: A Dance After Death. In Maya Iconography, edited by Benson, Elizabeth and Guiffer, Gillett, pp. 294–317. Princeton University Press, Princeton.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Freidel, David 1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya. William Morrow, New York.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Mathews, Peter 1979 The Bodega of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico. Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Schele, Linda, and Miller, Mary Ellen 1986 The Blood of Kings: Dynasty and Ritual in Maya Art. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth.Google Scholar
Seler, Eduard 1902–1923 Gesammelte Abhandlungen zur Amerikanischen Sprach-und Alterthumskunde. 5 vols. A. Asher, Berlin.Google Scholar
Slocum, Marianna C., and Gerdel, Florencia L. 1971 Vocabulario Tzeltal de Bachajon, Castellano-Tzeltal, Tzeltal-Castellano. Serie de Vocabularios Indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aveces,” No. 13. Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, Mexico.Google Scholar
Smailus, Ortwin 1989 Gramática del Maya Yucateco Colonial. Wayasbah Publication No. 9. Hamburg.Google Scholar
Stross, Brian 1988 The Burden of Office: A Reading. Mexicon X(6):118–121.Google Scholar
Stross, Brian 1989 A Note on the Copan Emblem Glyph. Copan Note 54. Copan Mosaics Project, Austin.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1984 Epigraphic Evidence of Political Organization in the Usumacinta Drainage. Unpublished manuscript in the possession of the author.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1985 The Yaxha Emblem Glyph as Yax-ha. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing, 1. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1987a Ten Phonetic Syllables. Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing, 14. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1987b Nuevas interpretaciones de la historia dinastica de Copán. A paper presented at El Seminario de Arqueología Hondureña, La Ceiba, Atlántida, Honduras.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1989a Hieroglyphs on Maya Vessels. In The Maya Vase Book, vol. 1, edited by Kerr, Justin, pp. 149–160. Kerr Associates, New York.Google Scholar
Stuart, David 1989b Kinship terms in Mayan Inscriptions. A paper prepared for “The Language of Maya Hieroglyphs,” a conference held at the University of California at Santa Barbara, February.Google Scholar
Stuart, David, and Grube, Nikolai 1984 Observations on Maya Nomenclature of Stone Monuments, Architecture, and Certain Portable Objects. Manuscript in Preparation.Google Scholar
Stuart, David, and Houston, Stephen D. 1991 Classic Maya Placenames. Unpublished manuscript submitted to Dumbarton Oaks, Trustees for Harvard University, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Stuart, George 1988 A Guide to the Style and Content of the Research Reports on Ancient Maya Writing. Special Supplement to Research Report 15. Center for Maya Research, Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Tate, Carolyn 1985 Summer Solstice Ceremonies Performed by Bird Jaguar III of Yaxchilán, Chiapas, Mexico. Estudios de Cultura Maya XVI: 85–112.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl 1985 The Classic Maya Maize God: A Reappraisal. In Fifth Palenque Round Table, 1983, edited by Fields, Virginia M. and Robertson, Merle Greene, pp. 123–133. Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Taube, Karl 1989 Ritual Humor in Classic Maya Religion. In Word and Image in Maya Culture: Explorations in Language, Writing, and Representation, edited by Hanks, William F. and Rice, Don S., pp. 351–382. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.Google Scholar
Termer, Franz 1930 Los bailes de culebra entre los indios Quiches en Guatemala. In Proceedings of the 23d International Congress of Americanists, pp. 661–667. Science Printing Company, Lancaster.Google Scholar
Thompson, John Eric S. 1962 A Catalog of Maya Hieroglyphs. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.Google Scholar
Tozzer, Alfred M. 1941 Landa's Relación de las cosas de Yucatán. Papers of the Pea-body Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University, Vol. 4, No. 3. Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Ulrich, E. Matheo, and de Ulrich, Rosemary D. 1976 Diccionario Maya Mopán-Español/Español-Maya Mopán. Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, Guatemala.Google Scholar
Valenzuela, Nicolás de 1979 Conquista del Lacandón y Conquista del Choi, edited by von Houwald, Götz Freiherr. 2 vols. Bibliotheca Ibero-Americana, Band 28. Colloquium-Verlag, Berlin.Google Scholar
Villagutierre, Soto-Mayor Juan de 1983 History of the Conquest of the Province of the Itzá, first English edition, translated from the second Spanish edition by Brother Wood, Robert D., S.M. Edited and with notes by Frank E. Comparato. Labyrinthos, Culver City.Google Scholar
Wisdom, Charles 1940 The Chorti Indians of Guatemala. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.Google Scholar
Wisdom, Charles 1949 Materials on the Chorti Language. University of Chicago Microfilm Collection of Manuscripts on Cultural Anthropology, No. 28. Chicago.Google Scholar