In Mayan ceramic representations from the Classic period, the human figure generally served as a chamber for musical instruments such as whistles, globular flutes (ocarinas), bells and maracas. In these latest ones it was common to find representations of high-ranking women wearing their characteristic dress (wrap and blouse), in addition to elaborate hairdos or headdresses and body adornments.
These figurine-instruments were made using a molding technique and decorated with different pigments. The maraca on exhibition shows an upright woman with a bare torso, tonsured head and tall headdress finished off with three corncobs. At her feet is a smaller figure that apparently also represents a seated girl. The tonsured head and corncobs in the headdress are related to the Corn God, a sacred entity widely represented throughout Classical Mayan art.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
FLORES JIMÉNEZ, Maria de los Angeles 2000 Anthropomorphic figurines of Palenque. In Arqueologia Mexicana, Vol VIII, n° 45, pp 44-49.
PEÑA CASTILLO, Agustin and Thelma SIERRA SOSA 2004 Chronology and context in terracotta figurines from the Gulf of Mexico in Xcambo, Yucatan. In Researchers of Mayan Culture 12.. Volume I, pp 211-225. Autonomous University of Campeche (Universidad Autónoma de Campeche). Mexico.
Gonzalo Sanchez
Clay rattle which represents a middle-aged noble woman. She is richly dressed in various elements that allow her to be identified as a priestess, such as her headdress, tiered haircut and clothing. Her head, highly exaggerated due to the marked flat sloped cephalic modeling, is covered by a tall headdress in the form of a semi-circular crown that is decorated with fine ribbons and small plates that adorn the top part of the headdress.
The tiered haircut, so characteristic of Mayan regions in the eighth century, was worn by important women to distinguish them from the rest of the community. This is evident in the hairstyles of queens in scenes of matrimonial unions or when acting as priestesses, as in this case. The woman is wearing earrings and an elongated adornment that covers the upper part of the nose and forehead, exaggerating and giving the effect of greater length to the already noticeable cephalic modeling. Her eyes are sloped and almond-shaped, probably due to the exaggerated design of the deformed cranium. This, together with the slightly opened mouth revealing her teeth, produces an aloof and disconcerting expression on her face.
She is wearing a long, ample huipil which wraps around her giving it the aspect of a cape. In reality it is a dress formed by two sheets of linen sewn together at the sides with openings to introduce the hands. This apparel has been identified as belonging to priestesses; this idea is ed by the position of the woman's arms which and interlace at the front-part of the forearms, as if protecting the personage below.
Another element that identifies this women as someone with special attributes can be seen right below her arms, housed between her legs: a reclining or seated elderly character that appears to be under the woman's protection. The man has an unnatural face with protruding eyes, marked and exaggerated cheekbones emphasized by the small, circular earrings he wears. His body does not appear to be covered by anything more than a short skirt or double loincloth.
This hollow clay figure contains small clay balls which rattle when shaken, which allows one to think that its function was probably to be played in specific ceremonies or rituals in the worship of the gods or ancestors.
Ana Garcia Barrios
