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Classic Maya Dance

Nikolai Grube

Ancient Mesoamerica / Volume 3 / Issue 02 / September 1992, pp 201 - 218

DOI: 10.1017/S095653610000064X, Published online: 10 October 2008

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Nikolai Grube (1992). Classic Maya Dance. Ancient Mesoamerica, 3, pp 201-218 doi:10.1017/S095653610000064X

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Ancient Mesoamerica, 3 (1992), 201-218
Copyright © 1992 Cambridge University Press. Printed in the U.S.A.

CLASSIC MAYA DANCE

Evidence from hieroglyphs and iconography

Nikolai Grube
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universitat, Seminar fur Volkerkunde, Romerstrafte 164, W-53OO Bonn 1, Germany

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.

More than any other ritual category in modern Maya societies, the discovery in 1946 of the mural paintings of Bonampak. The
dances are a public expression of religious beliefs, cultural iden- paintings in Rooms 1 and 3 show elaborately dressed figures
tity, and historical experiences. Being the medium rather than performing dances, which, as we know today, are part of the
the message, dances often were able to survive the Spanish con- heir-designation ceremony for a future Bonampak ruler (Miller
quest and Christianization, even though the original messages 1986). In more recent discussions of Maya iconography, all fig-
and situations in which they were performed had changed. Yet, ures shown in an animate position with their heels raised are de-
dance often is the main event of modern Maya religious cele- scribed as dancers (Bassie-Sweet 1991:220; Schele 1988). Some
bration; and costume, musical instruments, and the material of the most well-executed relief carvings from the Classic Maya
components employed often go back to at least Early Colonial seem to represent dancers (Figure 1).
roots. While it is obvious that the themes of many dances have The dance theme has also been identified on polychrome ce-
been introduced by Europeans, dance as a medium and public ramics. In his 1910-1912 excavations at the site of Holmul, Gua-
performance certainly goes back to Prehispanic times. temala, Raymond Merwin found ceramic plates and" vases
The most colorful and best-documented dances preserved are displaying the same iconographic program, which includes one
performed among highland Maya groups. Many of these dances or more male figures in a dancing pose, with out-stretched arms
obviously are of European origin although there are still dances and bent knees (Merwin and Vaillant 1932). The male figure
that have preserved their ancient names and part of their orig- wears an elaborate costume that includes a large backrack whose
inal iconography. Dances from the southern Maya Lowlands elements describe the Maya cosmogram (Reents-Budet 1985:81-
are lesser known and, generally speaking, have survived Chris- 95). A dwarf in animated pose usually accompanies each
tianization less intact. However, there are various sixteenth-cen- dancer, suggesting that the dwarves are dancing as well. Follow-
tury eyewitness accounts of dances that clearly show that dances ing the publication of the Holmul ceramics, the "Holmul
were a vital element in public ritual among those Maya groups dancer" theme has been identified both on numerous ceramics
that can be regarded as the direct descendants of the Classic and on other media (Quirarte 1982; Houston 1984; Reents-
population. In contrast to Early Colonial and modern dance, Budet 1985, 1991; Taube 1985) (Figure 2), suggesting that the
Prehispanic Maya dance has received scant attention. "Holmul dancer" theme was not restricted to Holmul-style pot-
Various scholars have mentioned sporadically that dancing tery, but occurs throughout Classic Maya Lowlands.
is an event represented in Maya iconography. In his comments It is clear from these examples that dancing played an impor-
on Motul de San Jose Stela 2, Teobert Maler noted that the two tant role in Classic Maya ceremonial activities. Yet, so far, all
protagonists wear extraordinarily elaborate costumes and stand evidence for Classic dances has been limited to iconography; it
on tiptoes (Maler 1910:134-135). He identified this position has not yet been identified as a subject covered in hieroglyphic
as dancing without, however, discussing the implications of texts. The absence in hieroglyphs is puzzling, not only because
this observation. The importance of dancing as a significant dance is so important among present-day Maya, but also be-
theme in Classic Maya iconography became obvious following cause there are numerous early Colonial eyewitness accounts of

201
 202 Grube

Maya dances. 1 Furthermore, recent research shows that many

aspects of shamanism were present in Classic Maya culture
(Grube 1989; Houston and Stuart 1989; Schele and Freidel
1990). Dancing is an important element of shamanistic rites all
over the world (Eliade 1951) and should therefore play a simi-
lar role in ceremonies that culminate in vision quests among the
Classic Maya.

THE GLYPH FOR "DANCING": PREVIOUS

INTERPRETATIONS

In this article I will present evidence that the dance theme is also
represented in hieroglyphic writing and that one of the most
widely distributed verbs in Maya texts can be interpreted as a
glyph for "dance."
Previous to this decipherment, several scholars have made
important contributions in elucidating the syntax of phrases that
include the verb under discussion. This verb is represented by
the sign T516 2 (Figure 3a).
Peter Mathews was the first to show that the T516 verb al-
most invariably is followed by the ti (T59) construction (Fig-
ure 4) (personal communication to Stephen Houston 1983, cited
in Houston 1984:132). Furthermore, he showed that the T516
verb usually accompanies scenic representations of rulers hold-
ing objects. The glyphs that follow the verbs and which are pre-
ceded by a ti preposition, have a one-to-one correspondence

'Landa (Tozzer 1941:94, 128, 147, 155-156), Ponce (1932:327),

Herrera (in Tozzer 1941:219), Villagutierre (1983:169, 200, 303), Pala-
cios (1985:39), and Valenzuela (1979:315) are relevant sources. One of
the most impressive documents of Maya dance dramas, the Rabinal Achi
written in Quiche, was recorded in the last century by Charles Etienne
Brasseur de Bourbourg. This dance drama is still performed, but
Ladinos have gotten involved, so that it is clearly not the same as it used
to be. The dance deals with the capture and subsequent sacrifice of a
royal captive, a theme that certainly goes back to Prehispanic roots.
t h r o u g h o u t this article, glyphs are transcribed according to
Thompson's (1962) catalog of Maya hieroglyphs. Otherwise, conven-
Figure 1 . K'an Xul of Palenque dancing as Chac-Xib-Chac (Schele and tions of hieroglyphic transliteration follow the standard of the Research
Miller 1986:Figure VII.3). Reports on Ancient Maya Writing (G. Stuart 1988).

Figure 2 . Rollout photograph of a "Holmul dancer" vase (rollout photograph by Justin Kerr 1977).
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 203

Figure 3. Canonical forms of the dance verb: (a)

T516 in the Thompson catalog (Thompson
1962:118); (b) Dos Pilas Hieroglyphic Stairway 4,
Step 1,12 (drawing by Stephen Houston, courtesy
of the Petexbatun Archaeological Project);
(c) Polychrome vase, Scheie and Miller 1986:
Plate 71a; (d) Yaxchilan Stela 9, A 2 (drawing by
Nikolai Grube); (e) Yaxchilan Lintel 7, B2 (draw-
ing by Nikolai Grube); (f) Yaxchilan Lintel 2, Gl
(Graham and von Euw 1977:15); (g) Copan Tem-
ple 18, northwest jamb, C3 (drawing by Nikolai
Grube); (h) Yaxchilan Lintel 5 4 , A 2 (Graham
1979:117); (i) Dos Pilas Stela 14, Fla (Houston
1989:Figure27).

with the object being held by the ruler. From this Mathews con- Linda Scheie (1982), and Kathryn Josserand, Linda Scheie,
cluded that the ti construction is either a verb referring to the and Nicholas A. Hopkins (1985) characterized these expressions
action in which the specific object is manipulated, or, alterna- with the T516 verb as "auxiliary verb" constructions. They in-
tively, to the name of the object itself. terpret T516 as a "general" or "auxiliary" verb of the same type

u bah ti ahk'ot(-ta) hV ti dance object actor

Figure 4 . The morphosyntactic context of the dance verb: (a) Yaxchilan Lintel 2, F1-J3 (Graham and von Euw 1977:15); (b) Bonampak
Room 1, Caption 42 (Houston 1984:Figure 4); (c) Yaxchilan Lintel 5 4 , A2-C1 (Graham 1979:117); (d) Alabaster vase, Kerr Photo
3 2 9 6 ; (e) Dos Pilas Stela 14 Fl - G l (Houston 1989:Figure 27); (f) La Entrada Alabaster Pot, K-O (drawing by Linda Scheie); (g) Co-
pan Altar to Stela E, Cp2 (Scheie 1987:Figure 2).
204 Grube

as the T1.757 u bah expression (Josserand, Schele, and Hopkins This infixation stresses the initial vowel of the intended verb by
1987:97). They also noted that both the T1.757 and the T516 means of phonetic complementation. These signs constitute the
verb usually precede ti constructions. According to Josserand, core of the verbal root, to which grammatical suffixes and pre-
Schele, and Hopkins, the preposition ti also occurs as an ele- fixes, like the ti prefix (Figure 3c, f) and the ha suffixes (Fig-
ment of verbal phrases in Cholan languages. For example, when ure 3b, d, e, g, h) could be added. Given these parameters, the
auxiliary verbs are employed in modern Choi, the main verb is reading for the verbal root can only be a... t. The word for
often nominalized and connected to the auxiliary verb by the "dance" in Greater Lowland Mayan is ahk'ot3 (Table 1).
particle ti. The authors therefore concluded that T1.757 and the In any case, the root ahk'ot is a verbal noun, while ahk'otah
T516 verb are both auxiliary verbs followed by ti constructions is defined as an intransitive verb. This distinction nicely explains
representing nominalized verbs. Josserand, Schele, and Hopkins why we generally find a ta suffix under the T516 sign. Further-
also observed cases where T1.757 is paired with T516. In these more, it suggests that the final vowel of the phonetic spelling
instances, the T516 verb itself has a prepositional prefix, yet also was pronounced.
precedes another ti construction next to it. Without the TI .757 The reading of the glyph does not necessarily imply that
auxiliary verb, T516 does not show a ti prefix but rather displays T516, the main sign, is a logogram for ahk'ot. David Stuart
verbal suffixes that indicate regular verbal inflection. Though (personal communication 1990) pointed out that, on the tablets
the authors found many close structural parallels to Cholan aux- of the Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, an inflected form
iliary constructions, they did not suggest a reading for the T516 of the verbal root ak'"lo give" is written ya-k'a-wa (T126.669:
verb. 130) or ya-T516-wa. The context is the same in both examples,
In a paper delivered at the 5th Palenque Mesa Redonda, suggesting that the verbs are the same, too. If ya-T516-wa is an
John Justeson and William Norman (1983) attempted to read alternative spelling of the inflected ak' verbal root, T516 should
the glyph, phonetically. Concerning the general interpretation of have a phonetic value k'a, k'o, or ak'. In this context, T516 can-
the T516 verb, Justeson and Norman agreed with Josserand, not represent the ahk'ot "dance" verb. However, the absence of
Schele, and Hopkins (1985) in that the hieroglyph is a verb with a prefixes and ta or ti suffixes in examples where the glyph ac-
a general meaning. Their attempt to decipher the glyph is based companies dance scenes (Figure 3b, g-i) is evidence that T516
on the optional presence in initial position of signs with the syl- at some time was used as a logogram for the word ahk'ot. Pos-
labic value a, and the fact that signs with the syllabic reading sibly, the sign was first used as a syllabic sign, with one of the
ta always constitute the last part of the sign. With these obser- values suggested above, before it became used as a logogram for
vations in mind, they have adduced dktd, "to place, to release" dance.
in various Cholan languages, as a reading for the sign. In their The dance glyph is distributed throughout the southern Maya
interpretation, dktd refers to the placing of various items that Lowlands. Though dancers show up very early in Maya iconog-
are shown in the accompanying scenes and which are mentioned raphy, the glyph for dance appears first in Copan, on a monu-
in the following prepositional glyphs. Although their suggestion ment erected by Butz' Chan. Before 9.12.0.0.0 the glyph is
accorded well with the phonetic evidence, it failed to explain the found on looted monuments from a site whose location is still
accompanying scenes, especially in those cases where the object controversial and therefore has been given the name "Site Q."
named is worn as part of the costume rather than held in the The glyph shows up at the same period in Palenque. At about
hand. An example for the object being part of the garment is 9.12.12.11.2 it occurs for the first time at Dos Pilas, and at
the Quetzal feather-dance scenes from Bonampak Room 1. The 9.14.0.0.0 at Piedras Negras. All examples of this glyph on
text accompanying the dancers contains the T516 glyph, fol- monuments erected before 9.14.10.0.0 make use of the "torch"
lowed by a ti construction that refers to the quetzal feather dress sign for the tah portion of the ahk'otah expression (Figure 3b).
of the dancer (Houston 1984), and obviously not to a hand-held In general, during the Late Classic period the dance verb is
object. found in greatest concentration on monuments from the Usu-
macinta and Petexbatun regions, especially from the sites of
Yaxchilan, Piedras Negras, and Dos Pilas.
PHONETIC EVIDENCE FOR THE AK'OT READING
A close inspection of the scenes described by the T516 verb
shows that it frequently associates with richly dressed figures MORPHOLOGY OF THE DANCE VERB
with raised heels, namely, the position traditionally identified
in Maya iconography as "dancing." Thus, T516 could conceiv- As many scholars have observed previously, the verb occurs in
ably represent a verb for this action rather than an auxiliary con- two morphosyntactic environments: (a) with the prefixed aux-
struction. This interpretation fits nicely with the phonetic iliary verb u bah, followed by a ti preposition (Figure 4a, b), and
interpretation advanced by Justeson and Norman (1983). The
main sign of the verb is always T516 (Figure 3b-i). The glyph 3
usually has a suffix, a syllabic sign for ta, or less often, ti, sug- In their Proto-Cholan reconstruction, Kaufman and Norman
(1984:115) give the etymon without indication of a glottalized k, which
gesting that the final consonant of the verb root was -/. To these is clearly a printing mistake. Some of the colonial dictionaries gener-
required elements the Maya scribes often added prefixed sylla- ally do not distinguish glottalization (Ara 1986; Moran 1695). Moreover,
bles of the value a (Figure 3c, d). The fact that these signs are Wisdom's Chorti dictionary is phonologically unreliable. In interviews
optional suggests that they served as phonetic complements for with Chorti speakers in Camotan, Mareike Sattler confirmed that the
corresponding Chorti words for dance and dancing have a glottalized
a verbal root beginning in a-, and that they are not used as the
k'. The Yucatecan words are based on the same etymon but have shifted
male agentive prefix ah. Sometimes the scribes infixed the T516 from initial a- to o-. Thus, ahk'ot is almost certainly a greater Lowland
main sign into the head variant for a (Figure 3f, g) (Stuart 1985). Maya stem.
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 205

Table 1 . Linguistic evidence for ahk'-ot "dance"

Language Mayan term Translation (source)

Proto-Cholan *ahk-ot "sv dance" (Kaufman and Norman 1984:115)

Chontal ?dk'ot "N3a dance" (Knowles 1984:398)
?dk'ot-in "tv to dance s.t." (Knowles 1984:398)
Choi 'ak' titi "bailar" (Fernandez 1892)
Cholti acut "baile" (Moran 1695:89)
ahacut "dansante" (Moran 1695:106)
Chorti akut "ceremonial dance" (Wisdom 1949:448)
ah akut "dancer" (Wisdom 1949:448)
aktah "dance" (Wisdom 1949:448)
aktaar "dancing, a dance" (Wisdom 1949:448)
Proto-Tzeltal-Tzotzil ?ahk'ot "dance" (Kaufman 1972:93)
Colonial Tzeltal acotaghon "bailar" (Ara 1986:241)
acotan "traer algo en el baile" (Ara 1986:241)
acot "baile" (Ara 1986:241)
Tzeltal ahc'ot "el baile" (Slocum and Gerdel 1971:116)
ahc'otaj "bailo" (Slocum and Gerdel 1971:116)
Colonial Tzotzil 'ak'ot "n5. dance" (Laughlin 1988:134)
'ak'otaj "iv. dance" (Laughlin 1988:134)
Tzotzil ?ak'ot "n5, dance" (Laughlin 1975:42)
?ak'otah "iv. dance, charge" (Laughlin 1975:42)
Colonial Yucatec ok'ot "bailar" (Barrera Vasquez 1980:603)
ok'otah "bailar, danzar" (Barrera Vasquez 1980:603)
ah ok'ot "bailador, danzante" (Barrera Vasquez 1980:603)
ok'otba "rogar, interceder y abogar por alguno" (Barrera Vasquez 1980:603)
Itza ?ok'ot "verb, dance" (Fisher 1973:Cognate Set 498)
Lacandon ok'ot "dance" (Fisher 1973:Cognate Set 498)
Mopan ok'ot "baile, bailar, danzar" (Ulrich and Ulrich 1976:146)

(b) with a hV suffix (usually the T181 ha), marking the verbal tive aspect; the final -h may not have been spelled out by some
ending ahk'ot-(a)-h (Figure 4c, d). scribes.
The u bah auxiliary verb seems to represent the durative of It seems that the Classic Maya had a special paradigm for
the incompletive aspect. In Tzeltal and Tzotzil bah is glossed as verbal noun roots, which was *u bah ti ROOT for the incom-
"go," an equivalent of the Choi verb mahlel, which functions pletive and *ROOT-a/i for the completive. Interestingly, this
as a general auxiliary verb that may be translated roughly as "he paradigm deviates strongly from the standard split-ergative pat-
is doing" (Barbara MacLeod, personal communication 1989). tern. Totally uninflected forms of ahk'ot are rare. The few ex-
Most auxiliary verbs in the Cholan languages are based on verbs amples that exist are preceded by other verbs. In these instances
for "go." The main verb is uninflected and connected to the aux- the glyph refers to ahk'ot as a noun rather than a verb. There
iliary verb by the preposition ti. This inflection of verbal nouns is also one example of the ahk'ot glyph with a prefixed ~ya sign.
in glyphs usually occurs with pictorial scenes. Here, the u bah The ya prefix spells the prevocalic possessive pronoun y- and
ti verbal root constructions refer to the action being performed provides the initial a- of the noun root, thus reading "his dance"
at that moment by figures shown on the monument. (Figure 4g).
An alternative interpretation of the u bah glyph is favored
by Stephen Houston and David Stuart (Stephen Houston, per-
PREPOSITIONS AND RITUAL OBJECTS
sonal communication 1991). They think that what is commonly
regarded as an auxiliary verb is really based on the suffix from In every example the ahk'ot verb is followed by a glyph intro-
which reflexive pronouns are formed. This suffix has been re- duced by a preposition. As was shown before, the prepositional
constructed as *b'a in Proto-Cholan (Kaufman and Norman phrase refers to the object manipulated by the actors shown in
1984:138) and is added to ergative pronouns. Thus, the correct the accompanying scene. Peter Mathews (as cited in Houston
reading may have been something like "he himself" or, more 1984:132) demonstrated that the correspondence of object to
loosely, "he is." phrase is highly consistent and that the number of these ritual
The second inflectional form of the ahk'ot verb carries a ver- objects is limited, particularly at the site of Yaxchilan. In a
bal suffix. The ha (T181) or hi (T88, T136) signs are added in discussion of royal dancers at Bonampak, Stephen Houston
order to spell final -h. Barbara MacLeod (personal communi- elaborated upon Mathews's findings by showing that the prep-
cation 1990) suggested that this form represents the completive ositional phrase can also denote items of dress (Houston 1984).
aspect of the verb. In a few cases, the ahk'ot verb occurs with- Yet neither Mathews nor Houston could read the ahk'ot glyph.
out a prefixed u bah auxiliary and without a suffix (Figure 4e, By identifying the verb, we may now interpret the prepositional
f). It is very likely that these forms also represent the comple- phrase as referring to particular types of dances. In Classic
206 Grube

Maya ritual the dances were apparently named for the objects objects and costumes used in them. Indeed, the material com-
held by dancers, or for the costume worn, a custom still found ponents of the dances were so essential that dances were named
among various highland Maya groups (Bricker 1973:167-178). specifically after the staffs, scepters, rattles, banners, and
In Classic Maya descriptions of dances, the glyph for the ob- dresses associated with them. Similar practices are still found
ject or costume is introduced by a ti or ta preposition. In most among modern Maya, who frequently name dances after instru-
Mayan languages the grammatical functions of cognates of ments and costumes (Bricker 1973:167-191). Among contem-
proto-Mayan *tyi/ta include the introduction of an indirect ob- porary Maya, the material components of the dances are
ject. Smailus (1989:149-150) called this function the "instrumen- regarded as sacred and often are kept in churches and sanctu-
tal function of the preposition" and gives several examples from aries, where they are guarded by members of cofradi'as (Wisdom
Colonial Yucatec texts where ti should be translated as "with." 1940:380).
Macri (1991) showed that the preposition ti is used with the same
function in Cholan, especially in sixteenth-century Chontal.
Thus, the whole phrase should read u bah ti ahk'otah ti object The Flapstaff Dance
"he is dancing with the object." The following discussion is an One of the most widely recorded Classic Maya dances is the
overview over the objects and the glyphs associated with them. dance of the "flapstaff," an almost human-high, presumably
wooden staff with a cloth tied along its length. The cloth is dec-
orated with woven designs and flapped openings, usually cut in
A CLASSIFICATION AND INTERPRETATION
shape of an IK, or "wind" sign. Dances with such flapstaffs are
OF CLASSIC MAYA DANCES
often displayed in Yaxchilan (Figures 5, 6, and 7), but similar
The omnipresent prepositional phrase following the dance verb objects also occur on three tablets from Palenque (Figure 8a,
suggests that the objects employed in dances played a crucial b). Carolyn Tate has shown that, in Yaxchilan, the flapstaff
role. Clearly, the Classic Maya had to specify the dances in some dance is clearly associated with summer solstice dates (Tate
way, and different dances were accordingly distinguished by the 1985). In addition, the name of the flapstaff of Yaxchilan is al-

T<1

Figure 5 . The dance with the hasaw chart "flapstaff": (a) Bird Jaguar and Chak Kimi on Yaxchilan Lintel 9 (Graham and von Euw
1977:29); (b) Bird Jaguar on Yaxchilan Lintel 33 (Graham 1979:75); (c) the glyph for the flapstaff, hasaw chan, Yaxchilan Lintel 9,
B1-B2; (d) the glyph for the flapstaff, hasaw chan, Yaxchilan Stela 11, K2 (drawing by Nikolai Grube); (e) the glyph hasaw chan as part
of the name of a Tikal ruler, Tikal Stela 16, B3-B4 (drawing by William R. Coe, in Jones and Satterthwhite 1982:Figure 22).
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 207

Figure 6. A depiction of Shield Jaguar II dancing with a flapstaff on Yax-

chilan Stela 16 (drawing by Linda Schele).

ways spelled ha-sa-wa CHAN (T181.630:130.561:23). The trans-

lation of this spelling is still unknown. Additionally, hasaw chart
can also be part of nominal phrases of Maya kings, such as
Ruler A of Tikal (Figure 5e). 4
At Yaxchilan the flapstaff dance was first danced by Shield
Jaguar II at 9.15.4.6.11 (June 27, 736). Stela 16 (Figure 6) shows
Shield Jaguar holding the flapstaff and wearing the costume as-
sociated with this dance: a quetzal-feather backrack, a shield,
and several trophy heads. The costume of the dance strongly
suggests a close linkage with war events or with celebrations of
victorious battles. Yaxchilan Stela 11 (Figure 7), erected by Bird
Jaguar IV at 9.15.15.0.0 (June 4, 746) to honor his father post-
humously, displays the ruler and his father with two flapstaffs.
The actors on this stela are not shown in the posture tradition-
ally identified with dance in Maya iconography. However, since
the sequence of movements associated with particular dances is
not known, this relatively static scene may still form part of the
dance. The flapstaff event on Stela 11 takes place at 9.15.9.17.16
(June 26, 741), only four days before the Period Ending date

4
The name of Ruler A of Tikal is popularly known as "Ah Kakaw"
(Jones 1984). However, this decipherment cannot be supported by pho-
netic evidence. Unfortunately, the incorrect decipherment of his name
is already well established in the literature as an example for the pho-
netic spelling of a royal name. I believe that, in the future, only his cor- Figure 7. A flapstaff dance before the accession of Bird Jaguar III, Yaxchilan
rect name, hasaw chart k'awil, should be employed. Stela 11 (drawing by Linda Schele).
208 Grube

Figure 8 . Subordinate Palenque lords holding banners similar to flapstaffs. Palenque Bodega Nos. 197 and 112 (drawing by Linda
Schele, in Schele and Mathews 1979:141, 142).

9.15.10.0.0 (June 30, 746). By that time Shield Jaguar was still Villagutierre de Soto Mayor observed that battle standards
alive, but well into his 80s. The small hieroglyphic caption near were employed as key symbols in dances among seventeenth-
Shield Jaguar's feet labels him as the main protagonist of the century Itza Maya:
dance. It is probably no coincidence that Bird Jaguar IV erected
Stela 11 in front of Temple 40, a building situated on the same They had two other idols which they adored as gods of bat-
hill summit as Temple 41, where Shield Jaguar had placed his tle: one they called pakoc, and the other, hexunchan. They
earlier depiction of the flapstaff ritual. carried them when they went to fight the Chinamitas, their
mortal frontier enemies, and when they were going into bat-
Other flapstaff dances are represented on Lintels 9, 33, and
tle they burned copal, and when they performed some val-
50 of Yaxchilan. On Lintel 9 Bird Jaguar IV dances with Chak iant action their idols, whom they consulted, gave them
Kimi, his brother-in-law, apparently as part of a political cam- answers, and in the mitotes or dances they spoke to them and
paign to gain support at Yaxchilan (Schele and Freidel danced with them. (Villagutierre 1983:303)
1990:303). The composition of the dance scene on Lintel 9
clearly parallels the iconography on Stela 11. The use of flapstaffs as battle standards is paralleled in six-
As mentioned earlier, the costume worn by the protagonists teenth century Aztec sources. David Stuart (personal commu-
of the flapstaff dance emphasizes the role of the king as a war- nication 1990) first pointed out that an almost exact counterpart
rior. David Freidel (personal communication 1990) found sup- to the flapstaff is found in the Lienzo de Tlaxcala, where it is
portive evidence of this association in the mural paintings from called a tlauhquecholpamitl, a "red flamingo feather banner"
the Upper Temple of the Jaguar in Chichen Itza. The painting (Figure 9a). This banner is part of the war dress of the Mexi-
shows one of the most detailed and realistic depictions of Maya can god Xipe Totec, and was also used as part of the warrior
warfare. On the bottom of the scene a group of prisoners, each costume of Aztec kings (Seler 1902-1923:594).
expressing grief, sits in front of small huts. There are battle stan-
dards between prisoners and the huts that were obviously taken
from the captives. Among these battle standards are staffs re- The Dance with the K'awil (God K) Scepter
sembling the flapstaff, though they do not have the flapped
openings in the shape of the Ik-sign (Figure 9b). Another dance Another dance recorded on many monuments in the southern
instrument, the &'aw//-basket-staff (see below), is also found in Lowlands employs a k'awil scepter (Figure 10). Again, most rep-
this context. This suggests that at least some of the battle stan- resentations of this particular dance are found at Yaxchilan, but
dards were used in dances, which may have served as prepara- k'awil scepter dances also occur at Dos Pilas, Xultun, Naranjo,
tions for the attack. and Aguateca. The k'awil scepter is among the most powerful
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 209
A B CD E F G

Figure 9. The flapstaff in Central Mexican documents and in Chichen Itza:

(a) Warrior from Tlaxcala and the young Ixtlilxochitl, Lienzo de Tlaxcala,
pages 4 0 and 41 (Seler 1902-1923:11:570); (b) Chichen Itza Temple of the Figure 10. The dance with the k'awil scepter. Dos Pilas Stela 14 (Hous-
Jaguar, painting on West Wall (Seler 19O2-I923:V:333). ton 1989:Figure27).

symbols of royal authority wielded by Maya lords, for it appears raphy is that one of his legs terminates in the body and head of
to represent the symbol of kingship per se. The bestowal of the a snake. This attribute confirms k'awil's link to visionary rites.
k'awil scepter from the dead prior ruler to his successor is one In contrast to the dance objects mentioned before, the k'awil
of the most dramatic events in royal succession. The scepter is scepter has several different glyphic spellings (Figure 11). The
a figure of God K, identified by David Stuart (1987a: 15-16) as name most often found with the k'awil scepter consists of the
the god k'awil known from sixteenth-century Yucatec docu- NAL logograph T86 (Stuart 1989b) over an undeciphered sign
ments. K'awil is closely associated with royal lineages and with representing a pair of legs and, sometimes, a loincloth (T700).
the visionary recall of deified ancestors and animal companion Often, the loincloth is missing and the glyph seems to depict legs
spirits of lineages (Grube 1989; Schele and Freidel 1990:414). and an anus. The association of this glyph with the k'awil scep-
One of the characteristic attributes of k'awil in Maya iconog- ter was first pointed out by Peter Mathews (personal commu-
210 Grube

Figure 1 1 . Extended name phrases for

the k'awil scepter: (a) Yaxchilan Lintel 1,
B2-D1 (Graham and von Euw 1977:13);
(b) Yaxchilan Lintel 3, C2-D3 (Graham
and von Euw 1977:17); (c) Yaxchilan
Lintel 53, B2-C1 (Graham 1979:115);
(d) Dos Pilas Stela 2 6 , E5-E6 (drawing
by Stephen Houston, courtesy of the
Petexbatun Archaeological Project); (e)
Dos Pilas Hieroglyphic Stairway 4, Step I,
I2-K2 (drawing by Stephen Houston,
courtesy of the Petexbatun Archaeolog-
ical Project); (f) Dos Pilas Stela 14, Fl -E2
(drawing by Stephen Houston, cour-
tesy of the Petexbatun Archaeological
Project); (g) Aguateca Stela 5, D3-E2
(drawing by Ian Graham, in Houston
and Mathews 1985:Figure 19).

nication 1982, to Linda Schele). Matthew Looper observed that toponym, in this case perhaps the name of a mythological
the same glyph does not only occur with k'awil scepters but also place (na chan "first sky") rather than a "real" location. On the
with a jaguar manikin (as on Xultun Stela 25). His conclusion newly discovered Hieroglyphic Stairway 4 (Figure 1 le) Dos Pilas
is that the glyph refers to manikin scepters in general (Looper Ruler 1 is dancing in order to celebrate the third katun anniver-
1991b). Usually, other glyphs that form part of the object name sary of his birth at 9.12.12.11.2 (December 4, 684). The naMegs
appear before or after the «a/-legs. I propose that these glyphs glyph for the scepter is preceded by three glyphs, of which the
spell personal names of regalia, referring to certain character- third is the "impinged bone" locative expression that conven-
istics and features of the scepters, much like the personal names tionally follows toponyms (Stuart and Houston 1991:9-10). On
of houses and other material objects that have recently been Aguateca Stela 5 (Figure llg) two glyphs are written between
identified (Houston 1987; Stuart and Grube 1984). the rial-legs and the dance verb. Unfortunately, the second glyph
Dances with k'awil scepters are often represented at Dos block is completely effaced. The first glyph reads hotob (TV:
Pilas and Aguateca. On Dos Pilas Stelae 11, 25, 26, and Hiero- 44:501). Although this expression escapes translation, the struc-
glyphic Stairway 4, and on Aguateca Stela 5, the names for the ture of the scepter's names in the Pasion region suggests strongly
k'awil scepters end with the «a/-legs glyph. One or more glyphs that this was also a toponymic expression. Several speculations
that define special attributes of the scepters intervene between can be raised as to the significance of toponyms in the names
the ahk'otah verb and the na/-legs (Figure 11 d-g). Interestingly, of the scepters. Since k'awil is the god who presides over the way
the attributes of the scepters in Dos Pilas all contain toponymic ("companion spirits"), which in turn are associated with local-
expressions. On Stela 25 (Figure 1 If) the scepter is somehow re- ized lineages (Grube 1989), could distinct manifestations of
lated to the "yax Tikal" compound that Stuart and Houston k'awil correlate with different places?
(1991:37) identified as the Tikal toponym. On Stela 26 (Fig- In the inscriptions of Yaxchilan the glyph for the k'awil scep-
ure 1 Id), the name of the scepter contains what may be another ter often employs the xi skull (T1048) over other, possibly syllabic
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 211

signs, including ma (T74, T142) as the final syllable (Figure 1 la). while the arms of the cross are adorned with flowers. On Lin-
A reading for this collocation has not yet been found. tels 5 and 2 the name for the instrument is given as xu-ku-pi
Three lintels at Yaxchilan mention another glyph before the (Figure 12).5 In Choi, xukpi corresponds to the name for a cer-
ahk'ot verb and the glyph for the k'awil scepter. On Lintels 1, tain species of bird (xuk-pi "bird" <es), Attinasi 1973:338), pre-
3 and 42 a glyph commonly referred to as "Ahau-in-hand" glyph sumably the bird attached to the end of the staff. The first
(T533:670) is inserted between the u bah introductory glyph (dis- bird-staff dance takes place at 9.16.1.2.0 (June 12, 752), forty
cussed earlier) and the ahk'ot glyph. The ti preposition that is days after Bird Jaguar IV acceded to the throne (Figure 12b).
usually prefixed to the ahk'ot glyph when it occurs in these ex- On Lintel 5 Bird Jaguar IV is dancing with the xukpi staff, while
amples after the u bah construction is prefixed to the "Ahau- Lady Wak Chan Ahau of Motul de San Jose, one of Bird Jag-
in-hand" glyph. Various scholars have demonstrated the close uar IV's wives, is holding the ikatz bundle (Stross 1988). Yax-
relationship between the "Ahau-in-hand" glyph and the action chilan Lintel 2 (Figure 12a) shows Bird Jaguar IV and his son
of holding a k'awil scepter (Josserand, Schele and Hopkins Chelte Chan dancing the bird-staff dance on 9.16.6.0.0 (April
1985:92-93). In some instances the hand sign of the "Ahau-in- 7, 757) in celebration of the hotun anniversary of Bird Jaguar
hand" glyph occurs with the phonetic complements T93 ch'a IV's accession.
(Piedras Negras Lintel 2, HI) and T142 ma (e.g., Palenque
Temple 14, Tablet B2). This could be evidence that in certain The Dance with the Basket Staff
contexts the hand itself is to be read as a logogram for CH'AM
"take, receive." On the basis of this tentative decipherment one Another dance staff used in Yaxchilan carries a kind of inverted,
could speculate that the dances on Yaxchilan Lintels 1, 3 and woven basket (Figure 13). On top of this basket sits a small
42 revolve around the bestowal of k'awil scepters. Lintel 1 com- k'awil figure. The name for this k'awil basket staff is written
memorates the day of Bird Jaguar IV's accession on 9.16.1.0.0 with two logographic signs, CHAK K'AT (T109:552). The glyph
(May 3, 752), and Lintel 42 is dated forty days later. It is very
possible that dances accompanied by the bestowal of k'awil 5
Although the reading of the final two signs of the glyph does not
scepters were part of accession ceremonies in which one of the present any problems, the reading for the bat-head main sign has been
principal icons of royal power was "received" by the new ruler. in dispute for some time. Recently, convincing arguments have been
made that strongly suggest a syllabic value xu for the bat head (Grube
1991b). The name for the bird-flower staff is also the main part of the
The Dance with the Bird Staff Copan emblem glyph (Stross 1989). The ancient name for Copan was
perhaps xukpi "bird (place)," although there are spellings of the Copan
Two lintels at Yaxchilan show Bird Jaguar IV dancing with a toponym with the "inverted sky" sign that probably has apu instead of
cross-shaped staff with a bird attached to it (Figure 12). The a pi value. The implications of this reading of the Copan toponym have
lower end of the staff consists of a bundle of feathers or cloth, been discussed by Matthew Looper (1991a).

A B C D E

Figure 12. The dance with the xukpi bird staff: (a) Chelte Chan and Bird Jaguar on Yaxchilan Lintel 1 (Graham and von Euw 1977:13);
(b) Bird Jaguar and Lady Wak Chaan from Motul de San Jose on Yaxchilan Lintel 5 (Graham and von Euw 1977:21); (c) the glyph for
the bird staff, xukpi, Yaxchilan Lintel 2, HI (Graham and von Euw 1977:15).
212 Grube

Figure 13. The dance with the chak k'at basket staff: (a) Bird jaguar and "Captor of Kot A h a w " on Yaxchilan Lintel 6 (Graham and
von Euw 1977:23); (b) Bird Jaguar and Lady Hix Wits on Yaxchilan Lintel 43 (Graham 1979:95); (c) the glyph for the chak k'at staff,
Yaxchilan Lintel 4 3 , A2 (Graham 1979:95); (d) the same glyph on Yaxchilan Lintel 6, B3 (Graham and von Euw 1977:23).

is the same as the glyph for the month Zip, which is recorded A Classic Maya Snake Dance
as chaccat in a list of Choi month names (Gates 1931). The re-
lation between the glyph and the basket staff is not obvious. A very unusual dance is displayed on a lintel of unknown pro-
Lintels 6 and 43 (Figures 13a, b) in Yaxchilan display Bird Jag- venience, which, according to its glyphic text and style, origi-
uar IV dancing with the k'awil basket staff. The date on both nated in the vicinity of Yaxchilan (Figure 15). The lintel shows
lintels is 9.16.1.8.6 (October 16, 752), 166 days after Bird Jag- Bird Jaguar IV dancing with a male figure that is identified as
uar IV's accession to the throne. The rationale for choosing one of his underlords. The glyphic caption calls him one of Bird
this particular date for a public dance is not obvious. Possibly Jaguar IV's sahals, a subsidiary title first identified by Stuart
a very close encounter of the moon and sun — at least as seen by (1984) and phonetically deciphered by Grube and Nahm (1991).
naked-eye astronomy—provided the reason for this dance. Only Both men wear elaborate headdresses containing personified
three days before this date moon and sun became so close that wings, mat and reed decorations, and quetzal feathers behind
the Maya might have feared an eclipse. This too may explain the them. More to the point, they dance with snakes, a fact also re-
star signs (celestial emblems) attached to the jaguar headdress corded in the glyphic caption between the protagonists. The text
of Bird Jaguar IV. A similar, though much more sinister cos- begins with the date 9.16.16.12.2 11 Ik 15 Mac(October 14,767)
tume is worn by Ruler B of Tikal, who, according to Lintel 3 and continues with a description of the scene: ahk'otah ti chart
of Temple 4, dances during a total eclipse of the sun. Appar- chart (T516:103.181-T59.561:23-T764:23) "he dances with
ently, then, astronomical events could also provide the motive the sky snake," or, since plurality may not have been marked,
for dance events. However, the astronomical background for "they dance with the sky snake." Bird Jaguar IV's names and
the dances on the two Yaxchilan lintels with the k'awil basket titles close the short text.
staff is by no means certain. As already mentioned, the mural Depictions of snake dances are not uncommon in the art of
paintings from the Upper Temple of the Jaguar in Chichen Itza the Classic period. The piers of House D in the Palace at Palen-
show battle standards in the form of the basket staff (Figure 14), que present a ritual sequence that includes a male person, prob-
although without the k'awil figure sitting on top. The k'awil bas- ably Pacal, dancing with an ax in one hand and an obviously
ket staff, much like the flapstaff, was probably used both as a live serpent in the other (Baudez 1989). As on the Yaxchilan-
dance instrument and as a battle standard. style lintel, a secondary person is involved in the dance. Although
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 213

In this respect he is clearly distinguished from other snake

dancers.
Karl Taube compared the Dumbarton Oaks Tablet from the
Palenque area, which shows K'an Xul, the king of Palenque,
dancing with an ax, the shaft of which terminates in the body
of a snake (Figure 1), to representations of snake dances on two
stone monuments from northern Yucatan (Taube 1989:371). He
pointed out that the dancer on the Dumbarton Oaks Tablet is
an impersonation of the god Chac, who, in sixteenth-century
Yucatec sources is identified as the Maya rain god. In the high-
lands of Guatemala snake dances are still performed as petitions
for rain (Mace 1970; Termer 1930). Taube drew parallels be-
tween the stone sculptures of snake dances from Yucatan and
the Quichean snake dance called Patzaj. Two of the figures on
Telantunich Monument 3 have their hands on their enlarged pe-
nises. This sexual connotation is also present in the Patzaj
dance, which sometimes ends in a simulated copulation (Taube
Figure 14. The basket staff in the iconography of Chichen Itza. Chechen
1989:371).
Itza Temple of the Jaguar, wall painting on the West Wall (Seler
19O2-1923:V:332). Lothrop (1929) compared the Quichean snake dances to con-
temporary snake dances in the American Southwest, and to the
swallowing of snakes during the Aztec festival of Atamalcu-
aliztli. All these snake dances are probable petitions for rain.
the snake dance is recorded glyphically on the Yaxchilan-style Yet, in the absence of glyphs explaining the function of the
lintel, the House D piers refer to the dance only in iconography. snake dances, we cannot be sure about this rain association of
Another snake dance without the dance verb is painted on the the dance shown on the lintel from the vicinity of Yaxchiian. In
famous "Altar Vase" (Adams 1971:Figure 92). On this vase sev- any case, snake dances can be shown to have a long tradition
eral way, or animal companion spirits are shown in dancing po- and wide distribution throughout Mesoamerica.
sition. One of the way figures is probably called buchte chan,
or "sitting snake" (Nahm and Grube 1991). He wears pants with
characteristic snake-skin markings and swings a live snake in an Dances in Warrior Outfit
arc over his head. The closed eyes of this snake dancer may The four jambs of Copan Temple 18 (Figure 16) represent ret-
mark him as either dead or in an altered state of consciousness. rospective depictions of a ritual held on the occasion of the ded-
ication of Temple 11 by Yax Pac, the sixteenth king in the
succession of Yax K'uk Mo' (Grube and Schele 1990). All four
jambs of the structure show the king himself as the main fig-
ure in the dances. Throughout, Yax Pac dresses as a warrior.
On the two inner jambs and the east outer jamb he is dancing
with a shield and a stabbing spear. On the northwest jamb Yax
Pac holds a rattle with a k'awil head in one hand and a skull
hung with knots in the other. Only on this jamb are the glyphs
that name the dance preserved: T59.25:520, TI ka-cha. Kauf-
man and Norman reconstructed *kdch as the Proto-Cholan
word for "tie" (1984:122). This expression is appropriate both
for the many knots adorning the costume of Yax Pac as well as
for the skull hung with knots. As mentioned, the dances on the
Temple 18 jambs accompanied the dedication of Temple 11. The
war dress worn by Yax Pac indicates that war formed part of
these events, probably to obtain captives that could later be sac-
rificed as part of the dedication ritual.

Dances at Royal Visits

Piedras Negras Lintel 3 records the arrival at Piedras Negras of

an important member of the royal lineage of Yaxchilan, prob-
ably to participate in the heir designation of Ruler 4. He arrived
in Piedras Negras at 9.15.18.3.13 (July 31, 749), the first katun
anniversary of the accession of Ruler 4 (Figure 17). Two days
after his arrival, a festival took place. The main event is re-
corded as ahk'otah ti ?? mo'(T516:103.181-59:?.?:744), "he
danced with the It-mo." Ruler 4 himself is the protagonist of
Figure 15. A snake dance on a lintel from the Yaxchilan area (drawing by this dance. The glyph that follows his name places the next event
the author after a photograph kindly provided by Justin Kerr). in the evening or night. This event cannot yet be understood
214 Grube

Figure 16. The war dances of Yax Pac on the four jambs of Copan Temple 18 (drawing by Anne S. Dowd, in Baudez 1983:Fig-
uresMlO, M12, M14, M16).

with certainty, but it includes a variant of the "Wing Quincunx," The text in the center of the altar begins with another Calender
a glyph that describes the type of vessel on which a text is writ- Round date, 9 Chuen 14 Zee, 9.11.0.11.11 (June 2, 653). The
ten (Grube 1991a:229-230; Houston and Taube 1987:40; Stu- first glyph after the date is badly preserved and not yet deci-
art 1989a). The ni suffix, however, never occurs when the Wing phered. The next glyph, however, is the ahk'otah verb, followed
Quincunx glyph is intended to mean "vase." Here it more likely by the name of the dance object T59.?:177, TI ?-pi, "with a -pi"
transforms the glyph into an inchoative verb, which perhaps Unfortunately, the name of the object cannot be read. The cen-
translates as "he drank" or "he got drunk." The following glyphs tral design of the altar shows a seated lord, probably the ruler
specify the kind of beverage served at the ceremony: // kal of Quirigua whose names and titles are mentioned in the last
kakaw "with kal cacao." While the glyph kakaw certainly refers three glyphs of the central text. Though there is no dance dis-
to the cacao drink that is so often mentioned as the content of played, it is very likely that dance was part of a series of con-
Classic Maya ceramics, the translation of the word kal is prob- secutive events accompanying the arrival of Smoke Imix God
lematical. It is possibly related to the Chorti word kahr, which, K at Quirigua and the katun celebrations witnessed by him.
among other meanings, is a noun for "mouthful" (Wisdom
1949:488). The main text of Piedras Negras Lintel 3 thus gives
a detailed description of a royal visit and the accompanying fes- Dance Scenes on Polychrome Ceramic Vessels

tivities. Furthermore, it suggests strongly that dance and drink- As mentioned before, depictions of dancers and the ahk'ot
ing were part of the same rituals. glyph are not confined to monumental inscriptions, but appear
A similar dance event is recorded on Quirigua Altar L, ded- also on polychrome ceramics. One of the most widely distrib-
icated to commemorate the katun ending 9.11.0.0.0 (October uted themes in Maya vase painting is the dance of the way, each
14, 652). The rim text on the altar refers to the arrival of Smoke associated with lords of certain locations (Houston and Stuart
Imix God K, the twelfth ruler of Copan, at Quirigua (Stuart 1989; Schele 1988). The figures on the famed vase from Altar
1987b). The text contains the glyph Hah, "he witnessed it" (Stu- de Sacrificios (Adams 1971:Figure 91) are perhaps the best-
art 1987a:27). The ceremony witnessed at Quirigua by the Co- known examples of dancing animal-companion spirits. Since the
pan ruler probably was the completion of the eleventh katun. discovery of the Altar de Sacrificios vase, dozens of other poly-

Figure 1 7 . A dance and drinking ritual in Piedras Negras. Piedras Negras Lintel 3 (drawing by Linda Schele).
Evidence of Classic Maya dance 215

chrome ceramics showing cavorting animal companions have cique, who, according to the hieroglyphic text, is the main ac-
come to light. These animal companions combine anthropomor- tor of the dance and yet sits on a prancing jaguar. The first
phic and zoomorphic features. Though it is possible to decipher glyph after the dance verb cannot be read, but the second glyph
many of the names of the companion spirits (Nahm and Grube is the logograph BALAM "jaguar." Most likely, these glyphs re-
1991) and to relate them to specific locations, the overall inter- fer to the prancing jaguar as the main material component of
pretation of these dance scenes is still problematical. the dance. This particular dance may also be related to human
A whole group of ceramics from a site (possibly Motul de sacrifice, since the small, lifeless body of a child is floating in
San Jose and other centers in the vicinity) features ceremonies front of the red scarf worn by the figure in jaguar costume to
involving various kinds of dances. The pots not only share the the right of the Fat Cacique.
same iconography, but the same style. They are painted on a Another vase, possibly from the same style group (Reents-
white ground, display a black rim and basal bands, and a red Budet and Bishop 1989), records the accession of the Fat Ca-
hieroglyphic band under the rim (Figure 18). On most vases, the cique. Unfortunately, the Calendar Round date on this vase is
main actors wear costumes and "x-ray"-style masks that repre- highly eroded. All that is left is 7 (unknown day sign) 13 (un-
sent animal supernaturals or companion spirits. The main pro- known month sign). Dorie Reents-Budet and Ronald Bishop
tagonists on the five vessels in this group have been identified (1989:3) suggested that the date is the same as on the vases with
by Barbara and Justin Kerr (1981:4) as the "Fat Cacique." His the dance scenes. If the vases all record the same date, then they
name glyph, as recorded in the rim texts, is "captor of Ek' Bui" would provide a detailed view of ceremonies accompanying ac-
(Tl.561:2-95.21:568). The event on all the vases consists glyph- cession rituals among the Classic Maya.
ically of the auxiliary verb u bah and the ti ahk'ot glyph, read-
ing "he is dancing." The glyphs that follow seem to refer to the
material components of the dances; the name of the Fat Cacique CONCLUSIONS
usually closes the texts. Dorie Reents-Budet has noted that not The decipherment of a glyph for "dance" provides new insights
only the event, but the date, is the same on all vases of this into a hitherto completely underestimated aspect of Classic
group: that is, 7 (unknown day sign) 13 Xul or Muan. Appar- Maya life. A large iconographic complex can now be identified
ently, the five vessels in this group display consecutive scenes for the first time. At the same time, it turns out that dance
and various aspects of the same dance event. On most vessels scenes are among the most common motifs in Classic Maya ico-
it is clear that the dances are accompanied by blood sacrifice, nography. This all indicates that dance played an important role
as there are attendants who are holding bowls containing blood- in the life of the royal court, and that dance was a vibrant me-
splattered paper strips, and some of the dancers have blood dium for communication with humans as well as with supernat-
markings on their loincloths. urals.
A very unusual dance is depicted on a polychrome vase in the The decipherment of a glyph for dance has also archaeolog-
November Collection (Figure 18). This vase shows the Fat Ca- ical implications. Many monuments with dance representations

Figure 18. A vase with the dancing "Fat Cacique" (rollout photography by Justin Kerr 1982).
216 Grube

are located in plazas or in front of low platforms fronting struc- variety of dances that may have existed in the Classic period.
tures. The association of "dance monuments" with plazas is In addition to the dances recorded on monuments, there were
found in particular at Dos Pilas (Stelae 11, 14, 15 on Terrace certainly other dances performed by the non-elite that have left
3 in front of Structure P5-7), Aguateca (Stela 5 on main Plaza no trace in the elite art of the Maya. This may account for the
in front of Structure 6), Xultun (Stela 25 in front of Structure scant representation of comic dances in the art of the Classic,
A-23), Naranjo (Stela 13 in front of Structure B-19 and Stela although they are so popular and widely distributed among con-
30 on terrace at the foot of Structure C-9) and Piedras Negras temporary Maya. Furthermore, colonial sources inform us that
(Stela 8, on terrace facing the West Group Plaza, and Stela 39, most of the dances involved groups of people. They make no
between the ballcourt and Structure K-5). The stelae and lintels mention of dances with only one or two actors, as is common
that show dance scenes in Yaxchilan are in structures with front- in the art of the Classic. Most dance scenes carved on stone
ing platforms. The association of "dance monuments" with low monuments represent a political message commissioned by the
terraces or plazas suggests strongly that these served as "dance ruler and his court. Therefore, all dance scenes show the ruler
floors," much like the open areas in Native American commu- as the main actor. When the ruler is dancing with partners, they
nities. Other dances took place on wide terraces like those shown always carry titles which identify them as sublords or close rel-
in the Bonampak murals. Carmack (1981:286-287) and Guille- atives.
min (1959) interpreted various large platforms in Utatlan and Except for a few material components (such as the snake in
Iximche as dance platforms, which in turn were associated with the snake dance), Maya dances of the Classic do not seem to
certain lineages. Landa described two such platforms at Chichen share many features with present-day dances. Those dances that
Itza where "farces were represented and comedies for the plea- had a shamanistic aspect, or in which blood was offered, were
sure of the public" (Tozzer 1941:158). These platforms and ter- eradicated in the process of Christianization. In the place of the
races may have served as stages where dances were publicly ancient "pagan" dances other dances were substituted. The em-
performed. All dances recorded on monuments are part of of- phasis on dance objects, however, is shared by Prehispanic, co-
ficial "court reports" and represent only a selection of the large lonial, and modern Maya dances.

RESUMEN
Desde los tiempos finiseculares ha sido bien conocido que las represen- y de sus aliados una identification del "glifo del baile" no nos permite
taciones de danzantes juegan un importante papel dentro del arte de la interpretaciones acerca de los bailes de la poblacion que no pertenecia
epoca clasica de los mayas. Hasta el presente no hemos podido compro- a la nobleza. Este hecho indica que las escenas de baile del clasico no
bar la existencia del tema "baile" dentro de los textos jeroglificos. Por pueden ser comparadas con los bailes descritos en las fuentes etno-
medio de la reinterpretacion de un glifo—hasta ahora interpretado como historicas y coloniales.
verbo auxiliar — fue sin embargo posible comprobar que el "baile" es un Habia una gran variedad de ocasiones en las cuales los reinantes
tema muy importante en cuanto a la escritura en glifos y que el baile bailaban. Se encuentran escenas de bailes relacionadas con entroniza-
pertenecia a una de las mas importantes actividades de los gobernantes ciones, con visitas reales, con fiestas de cumpleanos pero tambien tanto
mayas. El glifo T516 aparece muy frecuentamente en textos relacionados relacionadas con las preparaciones para una guerra como para las fi-
con escenas que habian sido interpretadas como escenas de bailes por estas de una victoria. Escenas de bailes sobre todo con naguales dan-
autores anteriores. Este glifo aparece con los complementos foneticos zantes estan representadas especialmente en ceramicas policromas. Otras
opcionales a- y -ta. Este hecho indica que la lectura del glifo era ahk'ot, ceramicas en cambio muestran bailes relacionados con ceremonias de
una palabra que en todas las lenguas occidentales mayas significa sacrificios.
"bailar." El desciframiento del verbo del baile tiene implicaciones arqueolog-
El verbo que significa "bailar" esta seguido por secuencias de glifos icas. Existen muchas representaciones de danzantes sobre escrituras en
que nombran el objecto con el cual el danzante representado esta monumentos ubicados antes plataformas o plazas planas. Es posible que
bailando. Los distintos objetos del baile —como varas, cetros, banderas estas plataformas o plazas antiguamente fueron lugares especiales para
y otros mas —nos permiten clasificar los bailes de la epoca clasica y los bailes, tales como se conocen de los grupos indigenas del suroeste
ademas intentar una correlation con ciertos eventos. Debido a que los americano.
glifos del clasico representan unicamente los bailes de los gobernantes

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This manuscript has been greatly improved by discussions with Linda plied many of the linguistic data. Justin Kerr let me use his photographic
Schele, Stephen Houston, Werner Nahm, Karl Taube, and David Stuart. archive and provided the rollouts used in this article. Furthermore, I
Barbara MacLeod helped to elucidate the morphosyntactic pattern of thank Gordon Whittaker and Mary Ellen Gutierrez for many valuable
the dance verb. Mareike Sattler and an anonymous reviewer kindly sup- suggestions concerning the style and outline of the manuscript.

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