Iximche, maya ruins

Iximche is a pre-columbian archaeological site between Lake Atitlan and Antigua.  basically, a Maya ruin from a long time ago.  it was the capital of the Kaqchikel Maya kingdom from 1470 until it was abandoned in 1524.  their history includes alliance with the Spanish against their neighbors to the north, the K’iche’ Maya, followed by domination by the Spanish and near destruction.

the site includes a number of pyramid-temples, palaces and a mesoamerican ballcourt.  none of it is preserved especially well (in my opinion as a renowned archeologist), but considering how old it is and that it was looted even for its building blocks, it is still a cool site.

interestingly, the majority of visitors to iximche are maya people or other Guatemalans.  it is not a heavily-visited site in general and even less so for foreign tourists.  (the big maya ruins in Guatemala are up north near mexico, at Tikal.) 

ballcourt, photo by Gerri Barr

I found two things especially interesting.  the first was the ballcourt, which brought back memories of a report I did as a kid.  the game involved a “ball” which was a large stone that could be struck only with hips and knees.  the object was to get the stone through a ring mounted at head height or higher on the sides of the court.  only royalty could watch, so it was a great honor to be chosen to play.  and here’s where it gets good:  the winner was put to death as a sacrifice.  and it was an honor.

the second was a sacred area near the back of the city.  it’s not quite a pyramid like the other temples, though it is stacked like one.  (see the picture.)  there are fire circles in front of it and small grottos up the front for memorial candles.  but it is two-sided.  like everything with the maya, there is a duality in their beliefs.  on one side people pray for good things, and on the other, bad things.  like broken legs.  and death.  for real.  while we were there, we actually saw a smoldering fire in one of the fire circles on the “bad” side.

sacred area with candles

sacred area with fire circles