Dragon in the Art and Iconography of Mesoamerica

Dragon in the Art and Iconography of Mesoamerica Victor. Arturo. Cabello. Reyes. ''In the colonial sources about the Yucatec Maya, the dragon receives different names, according to the level of the cosmos it symbolizes: Itzamná, 'The dragon is the celestial dragon, which has an anthropomorphic appearance...'(1) In Mesoamerica the dragon is associated with the Kanhel=['Kanhel or Angel are homophone words and much more Archangel, according to Cordemex Dictionary, p.296]. It should be noted that in the stone iconography of Ek' Balam the Canhel-serpentine dragon is represented as a winged being and angel = Canhel. Angels of the air = Ik' since their winged-feathered volatility makes them sacred. They veil the ritual and "theurgic" process that the initiate goes through when he enters or "is swallowed" by the power of the jaw of the dragon ahaw. It is the spiritual and physical reason for the main staircase of the temple that a forked tongue receives the one who enters and at the same time is a stone document of Ukit Kan Le'k Tok' K'ujul Ahaw of Ek' Báalam. The centralized power of the serpent-dragon=K'uhul ajaw emerges from teachings received in the House of Scripture=Tz'ib'am and Sak Xok Naah=White House of Reading; in active function in altars, shrines and temples. The Dragon = Ahaw since the time of dictionaries and handwritten documents of the sixteenth century has been mistaken and hastily with the European definition of ''king, prince, lord or lady?'' Therefore, in Monument 19 of La Venta, you can see without a doubt, an old grandfather with a dragon-ahaw ending in three stylized bells on the tail of the dragon, and three bells on the waist of the character who carries the ''medicine bundle'' of the shaman of power. Here is the great symbolic richness and cosmic nature -conceptually polyvalent-, of the dragon-lizard and alligator Itzam Kab Aín, the main exponent in "shamanic journey" in the cosmic or primordial lagoon. Undoubtedly, it is of utmost importance to achieve an adequate approach to the correct meaning in order to understand the spiritual essence of the thought and possible perspective of such an important and fundamental millenary concept. "To better understand ancient inscriptions, epigraphers will need to work more closely with contemporary Maya storytellers, shamans, and other specialists." (2) As we can see, they are followers of the symbolic-ritual character of powerful celestial and ethereal energies of Itzamná Kinich Ahaw, the Celestial Dragon. (3) Undoubtedly, it is the power of the Wayob' sages in the daydreaming and metamorphosis of the sorcerer-shaman into an animal of power and companionship of the Way. In Chiapas in the (Stela 25), a celestial dragon-crocodile is assimilated to the world tree. They are ancestral concepts manipulated in an extraordinary way in the epigraphy and iconographic documentation of the polished white stone of the Olmec and Mayan craftsman. In 1968, Furst presented the analysis of the transformative shamanism of the Olmecs and their power through the ritualization of medicinal plants and mushrooms. (4) Power of the Ahaw-Dragon! ''Actually, nothing is known of the real people who produced Olmec arr, neither the name that they called themselves by nor from they came''. (5) So his universe is loaded with invisible and palpable "draconic forces" personified in a visual way. On the other hand, it is notable that its origin goes back to ancient forms and characteristics of the Ahaw geometric pattern manifested from the millenary and fundamental Olmec iconography with the well-known assimilation of the same ancient and living concept by the Maya; thanks to geometric shapes embodied in the skin of the dragon-Ahaw Khan of the Solar Rattle and timer. Ahaw Khan is serpent, dragon, sky and four. K'uhul Ajaw = Serpent-Dragon and Sacred Mask. The experience of the sacred is at the same time a kinetic energetic expression and a fertilizing power or vital energy; artistic model and high celestial quadripartite geometry embodied in the Canamayté skin of the Ajaw for millennia. The evidence indicates that the Ahaw is never King, Queen, much less governor-ruler, lord or lady. It's Ahaw Dragon-Serpent! and distinctive feature of the art and culture of Mesoamerica. The ahaw dragon is ''Witz monster'' = mountain and cave mouth and jaws that emanate the Itz or solar substance of the serpent of vision and great cosmic dragon. {the concept of monster is not applicable to the sacred mentality of our Native Peoples} Of utmost importance is that the Ajawo'b and K'uhul ajaw= are sacred divine rattlesnakes. The greatest example is: Which of you who can observe a rattle crawling Ahaw dares to say; there goes a King, Queen, Prince, lord or lady? In a way, Ahaw is made up of its solar and calendrical symbolic components, since Ahaw = "the one with the powerful voice" or "voice of command" alluded to by Nicolai Grube, is the serpent that speaks with a forked tongue, observed throughout Mesoamerica similar to the paradigmatic model of expression of "another reality" hidden and architectural wisdom of the Dragon-Ahaw Bálaam. However, it is an Ahaw serpentine ancestral lineage of rich origin and exclusive 'Olmec' heritage gestated (1150-400 B.C.) in the area of the ''Olman'', centuries before, to be assimilated by ancient spiritual masters. The old and wise 'naguales = way; ''sacred' herberos or ''shamans''. In addition, within this rich cultural environment is that the figure of the dragon-serpent Ahaw characteristic of Monument No. 19, La Venta, where the Ahaw = rattlesnake that ends in three bells on the tail undoubtedly already appears. (6) Michael Coe mentions the 'dragon-like' snake. In short, it is a reptilian Dragon, a vital principle that generates and symbolizes the primordial waters, genesis of the Heart of Heaven. (7) The reliefs of Cerro Chalcatzingo and murals of Juxtlahuac and Oxtotitlán Guerrero are worthy examples. (Pool, 2007, 233) Archaeological studies in the region of La Venta are documented from 2350-2100 and the carving of sophisticated and monumental art by stone masters evidenced from before the Early Preclassic. 'Like other Mesoamerican peoples, the Maya adopted Olmec innovations in symbolic imagery and social institutions'. (#8) There are a number of astronomical bands depicting the planets and other astronomical bodies whose motifs are purely draconic [zoological and ceremonial]. (9) For Maudslay, some of these altars = (Copán or Quiriguá), are associated with the turtle or the ''Two-headed Dragon group''=(Palenque and Piedras Negras and in Copán Templo 22). ''The phase of the Two-headed Dragon shown in this figure is well established''. (Spinden, p.56) However, according to Spinden it is constant is a motif in Seibal (Stella 9 and 10), and stela 7 of the Naranjo and as an astronomical symbol in Palenque. The two-headed dragon is a motif of diverse and constant forms in Mayan art thanks to the epigraphic expression of the master scribe and carver of the stone ''the one of writing''= the scribe = aj tz'ihb' who records in the painting or stone the cosmic event. Lightning power, lightning and the fertility of the Heart of Heaven. It is not a ''monster'', since that concept is totally removed from the iconographic interpretations of 'cosmic monstrosities' merge with elements of an emblematic being that "swallows and vomites" and "swallows" the initiate. When swallowed, the initiate exemplifies the primordial cosmogonic myth in representation and duality, difference between the profane and sacred world. ''... the great Itzam Cab Aín rose, the sky collapsed, the earth was turned upside down and the world was flooded". (Page 74 Codex of Dresden the celestial dragon Itzamná) It is very likely that the dragon is identified by the scholar Mercedes de la Garza, as dragon-Itzamná and Gucumatz. (10) On the other hand, this dragon is often associated with the "canhel" or supernatural beings of a draconic nature or serpentine features of the vital principle of the cosmos. ''... since Canhel means ''Serpent, dragon,...'' (11) For its part, Itzam Na is a symbol of celestial and primordial water, the dragon that produces the Itz or vital principle; breath of life and K'uhul = the sacred. "Among the sacred spaces we can also highlight the dragon-temples that were built in various sites in the Mayan area, such as Hochob, Chicanna and Ek' Bala; Its façade represents a fantastic face, whose mouth is the entrance, a prodigious animal with predominant serpentine features, but with characteristics of other animals, such as crocodiles, lizards and birds, that is to say a dragon". (12) Frequently, the entrance to the mouth of the dragon is an initiatory concept that, when ''swallowed by a dragon'', is the way to acquire sacred and initiatory powers = K'ulelk; two-headed dragon and snake-Quetzal and dragon. "He is called the Two-headed Dragon, as he often appears with two heads, which showed his aspect of energy without beginning or end..." (13) However, sometimes the serpentine animal acquires and assumes the millenary characteristics of the Two-headed Dragon or "title of the Ahaw". The ajaw is the ''serpent that speaks''=''he who speaks''. In turn, the ajaw = Royal rattlesnake, is the one that gives 'rank', power, status and hierarchy to the priesthood. It regulates functions and attributes. ''The title appears to date from the time when Common Mayan was spoken, centuries if not millenia before the beginning of the common era''. (14) Let us remember the iconographic influence of the Monument or Sculpture 184 of the Tajín, where two dragon-serpents spew "flames of fire" from their mouths. (15) In Izapa, Chiapas, the motif of the dragon-serpent is related to water and zoomorphic characters of serpentine nature from the ideological manifestation of recurrent sacred energies. Dragon and serpent bird. ''In the art of Izapa of the Preclassic period we find the oldest representations of the dragon...'' (16) That dragon is identified with both the Milky Way and the White Road and at the same time with the destructive principle of the cosmos. ''Chaac is another anthropomorphic divinity derived from the dragon'' As we have seen, the cosmic Dragon, symbol of primordial water, shows a pattern of sequence and recurrence of 'repetitive flood' of celestial astronomical-astrological actions in total cyclical regularity. Dragon-earth-crocodile and generating vital principle = Itzam Cab Ain. Therefore, this dragon is assimilated and related to the Sun, water and semen. In addition, in the Aztec tradition, the two-headed dragon serpent is observed in turquoise mosaics and on pectorals. (17) Based on all of the above, the same representation is found in Cacaxtla, Tlaxcala where the jaguar priest travels to his destination in the body of a feathered dragon-serpent. (18) "I recognize that this is highly conjectural reasoning, but I believe that the inscriptions contain material beyond mere stories of kings, and that if we turn our attention to these as-yet-unencrypted phrases we might discover in the texts an unexplored wealth of information about Maya society." (19) The astral seed (male and female) contains the spermatic form of the dragon I'tz associated with the birth and opening of new cyclic energy based on planetary transit, especially in Bolon Yokteil. We must then listen within us to the "sound of the rattle or maraca", for when the rattle is waved it warns of the cosmic manifestation of the Tsab; called cosmic astronomical bells of the Ahau... Tzab. Ahaw are the various manifestations and personifications of epigraphic zoolatry of the cosmic dragon or serpent. The great saurian that has taken so long to "approach it correctly" in its complex encoded astro-alchemical symbology, epitome and epilogue of terrestrial cosmic change. That great draconian serpent Ahau has in its body rich and significant astronomical motifs and celestial substance = I'tz Cosmic sent from the mouth of the cosmic dragon communing in wisdom in its particular glyphic celestial band. Indicating that the change comes from heaven, and that it is all a divine act of the power of the Sovereign Cosmic Mother of the Ahaw. Therefore, in ancient iconography the two points of intersection of the ecliptic and the lunar orbit are called Dragon points or lunar knots and in the Dresden Codex= (p.74), under the aforementioned glyphs we observe properly lunar eclipse and solar eclipse. The head of the dragon Ajau plays an extraordinary role - little studied -, in the calendrical confection, as well as its tail or bells. These were used to calculate the chronology of eclipses and macro-cosmic changes. This is what we see in the Dresden Codex. The ahaw dragon-temple swallows the initiate as it enters its schematized serpentine maw or 'ahaw-dragon's mouth'. Then, the initiate-priest nagual and shaman returns in the transfiguration and solarization produced by the sacred energy of the celestial dragon, sacred energy of the universe. (20) The Dragon in the Art and Iconography of Mesoamerica Victor. Arturo. Cabello. Reyes: Former Professor of American History, archaeo-explorer and researcher on various general topics. Professor Cabello is a specialist in Mayan and Olmec Iconography of the Ahaw in representations and art in general. Founding Member of the Board of Directors of A.R.C.O.M.I. (Association for the Rescue and Preservation of Indigenous Monuments of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean) He was considered by the wise Mayan of Yucatan Don José Díaz Bolio, his outstanding disciple. He lived in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico under the tutelage of Don José Díaz Bolio, studying with him everything related to the cult of the Ahaw Kan (rattle) and its connotations in Mayan art and iconography. He has published several books in Mayan Culture (The Sacred Patron Mayan Canamayté and The Purple Rose and the Mayan Canamayte), among other books, and hundreds of articles in specialized magazines. For many decades he maintained spiritual relations and fraternal friendship with the Mayan Elders and Priests of Yucatan. Archaeo-explorer of the Center of the Central Cordillera and Sierra de Cayey, Puerto Rico, (5 decades) discovers dozens of settlements and ball games. He was part of the Masonic High Bodies of the U.S. and is a Founding Member of the Eternal Spring Lodge of the Valleys of Cidra, Puerto Rico. P.M. Lodge Fénix Valles de Cayey, P.R. and member of the High Chamber of Freemasons of Puerto Rico. He is currently retired. Bibliography: 1.Mercedez de La Garza, Rostros de lo Sagrado en El Mundo Maya, p. p.92-93,105. 2. Michael D. Coe, The Decipherment of the Mayan Glyphs, p.292. 3. Codex Madrid, pp. 75-76. 4. Christopher A. Pool, Olmec Archeology and Early Mesoamerica, p.58, 120. 5. Michael D. Coe, Mexico, p.62. 6. Jacques Soustelle, The Olmecs, Fig.10. 7. Michael Coe, The Deciphering of the Maya Glyphs, p.p.272-273-274 and Christopher A. Pool, Olmec Archeology and Early Mesoamerica, p.58. 8. Linda Schelle and Peter Mathews, The Code of Kings, p.17. 9. Herbert. J. Spinden, A Study of Maya Art, 1913, Vol.VI. Memoirs of the Peabody Museum of American Archeology and Ethnology, Harvard, p.p.33-34. 10. Revista Arqueología Mexicana, Vol. X. No. 56.p.41. 11. Studies of Mayan Culture, Volume XVI, p.169. 12. Mercedes de La Garza and Martha Ilia Nájera Coronado, Religión Maya, p.79. 13. Morales, A. The Supreme God of the Ancient Maya, UNAM. 14. Takeshi Inomata and Stephen D. Houston, Royal Court of the Ancient Maya, p.59. 15. Tajín, Roman Piña Chan and Patricia Castillo Peña, p.p.65-69 and 78. 16. Mercedez De La Garza, Faces of the Sacred in the Mayan World, p.p.92,95. 17. Mary Miller and Karl Taube, An Illustrated Dictionary of The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the Maya, p.p.149-151 and see: Pectoral in the form of a two-headed serpent-Aztec-Mexica-Mixtec, Late Postclassic (Trustees of the British Museum, London. 18. Revista Arqueología Mexicana, Vol.IX-No.53. p.34. 19. Tatiana Proskuriakoff, Mayan History, p.45. 20. Mercedez de La Garza, Faces of the Sacred in the Mayan World, p. p.92-