The Mayan temple ruins of Lamanai, contd.

Having seen  the Jaguar Temple which is one of the three main temples, we head towards the High Temple and Mask Temple.


High temple N10-43:
As the name says this is a 33 meter/ 108 feet temple and is the tallest structure in Lamanai till now.

panoramic view of temple

front of the temple

this is how the temple must have looked when it was constructed

Construction of temple began in 100 B.C. over what looks like a residential place as fire pits and things related to households have been found at its base. But why was this place chosen to build a temple? We do not know.

High Temple in 600-700 A.D.

For almost 700 years very minor changes were made to the temple. Last addition to it is said to be made in 700 A.D.

Around 900 A.D., the temple was abandoned. But probably around 13th century, some offering seems to have been made as some shells, obsidian, a small piece of jade has been found.

only the center part partially remains

I looked up to the steep steps and for a moment panicked, how am I going to gather that much courage to climb to the top? Climbing these steps seemed to be a very daunting task. Earlier there was a rope in the center. Visitors climbed the temple holding onto the rope. To preserve them from being eroded, there is a stairway on the side of monument now.

stairs leading to top of temple

The stairs reach a landing and from there another series of steep though short stretch of steps lead you to the ceremonial platform. I was not brave enough to climb up. If you suffer from vertigo or have fear of heights like me then the climb might not be easy.

enjoying the view from top

view of  New River lagoon

The temple was dedicated to Chaac, the rain god and also served as an observatory.

I always wondered why Maya built temples so high and if I am finding it so difficult to climb these steps, how did they do it? I got my answer while reading panels at the museum.

I am writing what is written in the panel at the museum.
"People often remark that the steps that lead to the top of Maya temples are incredibly high when one considers the fact that the Maya were relatively short people. In truth, their steps are high but one must understand that their temple were not made for anyone and everyone to climb. These places were sacred; they were only used for important rituals, and were only accessed by elite ruler, priests and their assistants.  Their height also influenced they way these people climbed them. In other words rulers, priests, etc., would have to climb them with much dignity and reverence, possibly on hands and feet in a sign of respect to the deities they were about to worship."

Howling sounds could be heard from the trees nearby and you felt you were in midst of a Jurassic movie :) They are the howler monkeys

Mask temple N9-56:
Passing through cobbled path lined with cohune palm on both sides, we reach the Mask Temple.

Though the smallest of the three main temples, I found this west facing temple fascinating. It reminded me of temple run :)

The Mask Temple is 20 meter high and has two faces/mask which are 13 feet on its either side. They probably represent a Maya King.

this temple from 200 B.C.- 450A.D.

It was built around 200 B.C. The structure seems to have undergone five alterations. The last modification was made around 800 A.D. The additions or modifications were mainly made to the front side and adding of platforms.

            mask on left side of temple                                        mask on right side of temple

The masks as seen now are cut from blocks of limestone and mortared together. They were then covered by a thin stucco coating by adding wood ash to give a blue-grey color.

The left side mask shows signs of damage specially to its nose.

The mask on the left side of temple from where a stairway goes to top, is much better and clear. It has a crocodile head dress, strengthening the importance of crocodiles at that time and the name of site, Lamanai.

mask on right side

left side mask

Remains of a man and woman were found under the temple. They had jade jewelry and were buried with cloth, mats.  It looked like a ceremonial burial. They could be rulers, brother or sister or husband and wife.  In the absence of any evidence, it is impossibe to ascertain their relationship.

On way back, I see a palm with spines and was told "give and take palm", Chrysophila argentea.
The trunk of the palm has sharp downward pointing spines and careless handling can be very painful.

I wondered why this palm tree should be called "escoba", but found that the word in Spanish means to sweep up or in other words a broom.

the spines

But why should it be named 'give and take' ? The large palm fronds make excellent material for making brooms and while taking them off the palm tree you can get hurt badly by the thorns. The thorns form painful blister. The thorn needs to be carefully taken and a poultice made from the bark of the same palm tree acts as an antidote. Probably that is why it is named as give and take: you take the palm frond off the plant and also get thorns!

With this, we finished our tour of temples and are now tired and hungry, we head to the dining area.

We were served a hearty lunch of rice and beans, chicken stew, coleslaw, fried plantains, water melon and ofcourse not to miss the Belizian hot relish of onions and habanero peppers.

 

lunch plate

 everyone enjoying lunch

souvenir shop

Museum:

Museum is an interesting place with much information on temples and life of people in Lamanai.

 artifacts

 a typical Mayan house

Before concluding my post, I have to thank Ian who was ready to answer any question and supplied us with so much knowledge.

Ian

After one hour journey back to the hotel, we were dead tired and could just think of a good shower and a cup of coffee!

The Mayan temple ruins of Lamanai

Unlike many Mayan places which survived only for a short time, Lamanai settlement existed for a very long time from round 1000 B.C. to as late as 1640 A.D. when the Spanish built churches and tried to convert Mayans to Christianity, bringing revolt and later ending their existence in Lamanai.

New River Lagoon has a depth of 152 meters so Lamanai was situated very strategically at a place where trade was very easy. Across the river on the other side is flat land where corn and other produce was grown.

The original name of the settlement was "Lamanayan" or " Lamanay" which actually meant "submerged crocodile" maybe because of plenty of crocodiles in the river. This was also reflected in their excavated pottery, figures, the headgear-- specially in the mask temple. The name got distorted to "Lamanai" which means submerged insect! But the name Lamanai is mostly accepted now.

Lamanai has eight major plazas but we focussed mainly on the three big temples, ball court and Stela Temple. Unlike Altun Ha, where structures are built around the two plazas, here in Lamanai, some temples stand alone.

sign greeting visitors

Jaguar temple, N10-9:

In plaza P2, the dominating structure is the Jaguar Temple. It was constructed in 500 A.D. and is 19 meters/ 65 feet high. It gets its name from two jaguar like faces in the lowermost tier. Mayans always liked symmetry so there are figures on either side of the center.

Dedicated to Sun god, the temple has nine tiers and a stair which runs in the center. Mayans believed that when the sun comes down, he becomes a jaguar and undertakes the journey to underworld. He always faces west, whereas Sun god faces east.

 jaguar head on left side of temple

 jaguar head in right side of temple which is a better one

The jaguar mask or head clearly shows two eyes, eyebrows, mouth with three teeth, nose, ears at the sides. Ritual practices used to be udertaken only at the base of temple.

residential ruins in background

residential area

Archaeologists believe that a significant portion of this temple still lies underneath and when fully revealed will be higher than the existing High Temple which is 37 meter high. Some modifications were made to it in the 13th century and last extension to this temple was made around 1400 A.D. when the temple was raised higher.

Around 600-700 A.D., the masks were covered but the central steps remained.

Facing the temple on right side is a huge tree with big fruits on it.

On asking our guide about the name and purpose of the tree, I was told that it was called "horseball tree"! Rather an odd name for a tree. It is is derived from the shape of the fruit which looks like, horseballs. With a whimsical smile I noted the name of it on my paper.

The tree called Stemmadenia donnell-smithii , Cojone de Caballo in Spanish is supposed to be a medicinal plant. It is Chaac'le' Kin in probably Maya as this was the name written under its tree. I was told that it exudes a resin and probably the Mayans used it as a sort of glue.

Ball court N10-40:
Very close to the High Temple and Stela temple is the ball court. It is said to be built around 900 A.D. Ball game known as "Pok-a-tok" was played here. Around 6-8 lbs of solid rubber ball was used for the game.
The purpose of the game was to bounce the ball which was hit by both teams using only elbows, hips and knees. No hands were permitted.

The walls on the sides slope inwards and there is a circular stone in the center called marker which signified the center of court. Lamanai is till now said to have the biggest marker. Under this marker huge amount of liquid mercury, probably from Honduras, and pieces of jade were discovered.

The players wore protective gear on knees and chest and often suffered severe injuries.
The game also had religious significance when the head of the losing team or the whole team was sacrificed to the gods. The same principle applied to enemies who were captured. Sometimes, a gory practice was followed where the captive king or captain of the losing team was either tied to the ball or even used in place of ball and later thrown down the stairs.
The winner of the game obviously became the hero.

Around the ball court there are plenty of mounds which probably have temples under them. Much excavation work still needs to be done.

Stela Temple N10-27:
A stela was found at the base of this temple, hence named the Stela Temple. Stela is an upright stone with inscriptions or carving on it.

Stela in front of the temple

stela in front of temple

original stela in the museum

Since I could not see the features, I added shadows to it

This is the only stela in Lamanai excavated till now. It was found in two pieces, the upper portion had broken from the main stone and was found beneath the earth. Archaeologists believe that a fire  broke the stela.

The inscriptions on it states two dates: one is 608 A.D. and the other 625 A.D. (our calendar). According the Maya epigraphers the stela is that of Lord Smoking Shell who probably ruled for 17 years, betweem 608 - 625 or an event which took place in 608 like the death of the person on stela. The latter year could possibly be another important event associated with some other person.

The text is incomplete so it is just a probable assumption.

Under the stela were found remains of five small children. There were no signs of violent death. Also the remains have not been found related to a monument, so they might be children of Lord Smoking Shell.

In front of this temple is a Copal tree. The resin from this tree was used as an incense by Mayans. It was also used in ritual ceremonies. Go near the trunk and smell the bark.

We now move ahead to the most awaited temples: the High Temple and the Mask Temple which I am going to share in the next post.