Relief Panels (Door Reveals)
Relief Panels (Door Reveals), Maya Culture, Northern Lowlands, Campeche Mexico. Limestone, 45 x 45 in., Photo: Mark Woods
Relief Panels (Door Reveals), Maya Culture, Northern Lowlands, Campeche Mexico. Limestone, 45 x 45 in., Photo: Mark Woods
"Mayan Invocation"
In the beginning, the sound of the conch shell and the heartbeat of the drum evoke the four-year bearers toward the cardinal directions. While at the same time, the birds converse with each other to signify the connections with the ancestors, song and sculpture. This invocation reverences the ancestors and honors the sculpture.
"Mayan Invocation" music and accompanying text created by UCLA Ethnomusicology doctoral candidate and artist Juan Francisco Cristobal
These Are the Ones Who Were There
In the Maya Puuc area, warrior lords and dwarfs like the figures on this sculpture were guardians of doorways on wood or stone carved lintels or columns that were ritually painted. In the Late Classic period, these were sacred, elite artworks that only a few would have had access to viewing. The power and resonance of these artworks was so much so that this sculpture was intentionally damaged on the figures eyes, nose and mouth and put to sleep.
Diego Isaías Hernández Méndez, Tz’utuhil Maya, San Juan la Laguna, b. 1970. El Sueño de Isaías / The Dream of Isaías. Oil on canvas, 2016, 22" × 30". Arte Maya Collection
Pedro Rafaél González Chavajay, Tz’utujil Maya, San Pedro la Laguna, b. 1956. Qab'aniikiil Our Identity (Three Towns). Oil on canvas, 2013, 36" × 60". Arte Maya Collection
They Remembered
These paintings by Tz’utuhil Maya artists show the ways in which Maya spirituality and culture have survived over 1,000 years since the production of Relief Panels (Door Reveals) . These vibrant, complex paintings represent many ideas including memory, identity, hope and pride in the greater Maya Diaspora that is over 6 million people and 28 languages strong."Farewell Dance"
Juan improvises on a rendition of the "Saca la tuya" or, in Maya Q'anjob'al, "Kanal tx'amb'al" (Handkerchief Dance) marimba tune that traditionally accompanies the social dance.The latter marimba music might not pertain to the time epoch of the sculpture, but the essence of its function for ritual, festive and dance sentimental accompanies the moment. This marimba tune derives from the infamous colonial musical style, the zarabanda, that would later evolve and sustain among the highland Maya people in Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas.
"Farewell Dance" music and accompanying text created by UCLA Ethnomusicology doctoral candidate and artist Juan Francisco Cristobal