Leonide 마틴 기준

유카탄은 화려한 유적과 매력적인 자연의 작품으로 위장된 미묘한 보물의 장소입니다. 사바나와 열대 건조 삼림을 지원 석회암 고원이 지하 수로와 인터 레이스됩니다. 어떤 하천 표면에 실행하지 않았지만, 아래 동굴과 물이 튜브 큰 스위스 치즈처럼입니다. 일부 cenotes는 지상에 가까운 반면 수로의 표면이 얇은 착용하면, 그것이 (원형 구멍이 깨끗한 바다를 밝히.) cenotes을 형성 축소 수도, 더 20~50피트의 깊이에있다. 나무 뿌리는 덩굴이 바위 처마 아래 가장자리와 제비의 보금자리를 통해 정상적으로 싸다 동안 아래 물속에 생계를 찾고, 아래로 내던 지.

여성 요소, 물, 하드 karst 형성을 permeates. 단지 모난 돌은 고대 마야 도시의 선형 피라미드의 표면 아래 숭배를 번역해줍니다. Pachamama, 지구의 중심 : Mayalands는 원주민에 의해 여성 간주됩니다.

제가 2 년 동안 유카탄에 살았 후, 친구와 누나 영적인가 찾아 왔어요. 그녀는 다소 거칠고 energetically하고 열정적인 climatically 그것을 찾는, 멕시코의이 지역에 먼저 갔다. 여신의 신자로서, 우리는 여행을 곳마다 그녀의 존재를 경험에 대한 관심을 공유했습니다. 유카탄 반도는 내 친구에게, 주로 남성 보였다. 플랫 평원, 바위 필드, 숨겨진 바다, 그리고 급격히 각도 유적 남성 심각도를 예상. 나는 유카탄에있는 성스러운 여인에 대한 검색에 그녀를 초대했다.

Uxmal

Puuc의 언덕 유카탄 평야의 서쪽 가장자리에 부드럽게 상승. 그들의 곡선은 부드럽고, 둥근 무성한 나뭇잎으로 덮여있다. 당신은 어머니 지구의 한복판을 차지하고 싸여 느낍니다. Uxmal이 올라 도로​​의 잔해가 (sacbe 함) 기타 인근 도시에 링크와 함께 Puuc의 지배적인 마야 사이트입니다. 600 CE에 대해 설립된 Uxmal는 800-1000 CE 년에 정점에 도달하고 크게 세기 이후 버려진되었다. 그것은 마야 세상에서 가장 뛰어난 벽화의 가장 정교하게 장식된 건물의 일부를 가지고 있습니다.

당신 Uxmal에서 얻을 overarching 감각이 조화를 이루고있다. 그것은 계층 플랫폼에 따라 설정 우뚝 솟은 건물 사이의 열린 공간으로, 아마도 사이트에서 가장 시각적으로 만족입니다. 몇몇 나무들이 시야를 방해하고, 잔디 한 번 흰색 플라자가 햇빛을 반사 푸른 peacefulness을 제공합니다. 가장 눈에 띄는 그러나, 전체 사이트는 은혜와 균형을 exudes 방법을 건물의 조화로운 배치입니다. 장로 Uxmal는 여성과 남성 에너지의 완벽한 균형을 가지고 말한다. 마야 신성한 기하학에서는 Uxmal 구조는 태양, 달, 금성의 재현으로 정렬됩니다.

우리가 밝아 오는데 Uxmal에 첫 방문에서, 나는 내 마음에 떨림을 느꼈다. 여기 내 오랜 전에 연결을 감지, 직감 사이트 priestesses 및 여신 IxCheel의 신관을위한 교육 센터 역할을한다고 말했다. 몇 년 후, 마야 엘더 Hunbatz의 남자들은이 곳이 특히 신성한 성적 관심의 예술에서 여성 교육을하는 대학이 얼마나 우리의 그룹으로 설명했다. 수녀원의 사각형의 계단에 앉아, 그 각각의 추기경 방향 벽화의 기본 상징을 지적 : 남쪽 건물은 작은 오두막과 땅과 가족을 위해 곡물을 가지고, 동쪽 건물에 아홉 함께 하늘 그리드의 지혜의 올빼미 있었 이중성의 두 개 달린 뱀을, 서쪽 건물은 꽃 패널 (외음부의 상징)과 kundalini의 독사를 고리로 연결되었다는으며, 북쪽 건물 Chak의 얼굴을 스택 (비의 신과 생명을주는 유체)와 남성의 남근 상징했다.

마스터 마야 교사 미구엘 앤젤 벌가라는 Uxmal "달의 친절의 도시"호출하고 priestess의 initiations위한 우주 여자의 대학 였다고 말합니다. IxCheel는 문, 치료자, 약초와 산파의 얼굴, 여인 무지개와 어머니 대지로서의 여러 측면에서 수상했습니다.

East of the quadrangle stands the towering Pyramid of the Magician. Visitors entering the ruins are regaled with the sight of this 117-foot high structure, and it takes your breath away. Unlike nearly all Mayan pyramids, which are square and four-sided, this pyramid is oval-shaped. Steep stairs ascend the east and west sides. Facing west, a huge monster mask provides access to the interior through its gaping jaws. Perched atop the mask is a small square temple. The bulging pyramid sides suggest pregnancy, and the oval shape hints of feminine curves. In stark contrast, the straight lines of the stairs are decidedly masculine. During nights of the full moon, priestesses of Uxmal performed their rituals on the heights of the pyramid, merging the creative forces of the universe, honoring fertility and abundance.

Due south of the pyramid, a vast three-tiered terrace rises to support the imposing Governor's Palace, which is actually a temple of the sun. In front are two remarkable small structures. The double-headed jaguar throne sits on a low square platform, one head on each end facing out. With various friends, I've experiences the different energies of the two jaguar heads. One person stands facing each jaguar, hands held palm open toward the jaguar. The smaller head draws energy gently toward itself, as though receiving. The larger head blasts energy out, its power almost overwhelming for some people. Archeologists say the Uxmal ruler used this throne for ceremony. I think it brought his feminine and masculine sides into balance.

Between the jaguar throne and middle steps of the Governor's Palace stands an elongated stone about eight feet tall. Now tilted about 45 degrees but originally upright, this stone phallus symbolizes the fertilization of earth. Possibly it was empowered to draw down masculine creative forces and focus them in the person of the leader who manifested creative cycles for the people.

Southeast of this broad platform, now surrounded by brushy overgrowth, is the House of the Old Woman. The structure is crumbling, with vines and bushes growing between stones. Few tourists visit here. The old woman is IxMucane, goddess of the center of the earth, the convergence point of planetary energies and place of transformation. Called the Grandmother, she is the legendary sorceress who hatched her dwarf son from an egg, and magically aided him in his contest to overcome the Uxmal ruler. During this process, the dwarf created the imposing Temple of the Magician in one night.

Determined to do ceremony for IxMucane, a friend and I braved the narrow thorny path and found a small clearing in front of the House of the Old Woman. We spread our altar cloth on the ground in typical indigenous manner, and placed objects for earth, water, fire and air at the four corners. Making offerings of copal (resin of the copal tree) and ground maize (corn), we offered prayers and salutations quietly. In our meditation there, we caught glimpses of Uxmal when it functioned as a center where Maya women received both human and cosmic knowledge, learned the ceremonies of the elements and directions, and celebrated the power of creation in song and dance.

My friend was deeply moved and felt the Feminine Divine presence strongly. We agreed that Uxmal offered an amazing balance: sky-earth, sun-moon, masculine-feminine.

Xcambo

An hour from Yucatan's capital city, Merida, lies hidden the small coastal site Xcambo. My friend and I drove past palm-stippled beaches lining the calm Gulf of Mexico to Telchac Puerto, a sleepy fishing village. A short sandy road took us into the Xcambo ruins, a collection of modest structures. The tallest building, composed of five levels, rises 50 feet. On top, a large flat platform gives unobstructed 360-degree views of the surrounding marshes and the nearby gulf. Palmettos dot the marsh and water birds abound. Around the central plaza are four structures, the southern one presenting masks in deteriorated condition. The architecture is simple, mostly without adornment.

Xcambo은 정적과 바람의 노래 가득합니다. 그것은 바다의 광대, 물, 대지의 회의와 연락을 제공합니다. 높은 플랫폼에서 명상, 우리는 쉽게 바다의 여신, IxYumHa 함께 나누었. 그녀는 왕관이 물고기를 잡고 바닷 새에 elongating, seawaters의 삶을 구체화. 쉘 그녀의 손목과 발목에 덜컥 덜컥 소리 내다, 그리고 해초 그녀의 머리를 형성하고 있습니다. 그녀의 특별한 새가 펠리칸이고, 그녀는 조류와 물고기를 모두 보호합니다.

우리는 Xcambo의 부드러운 여성적인 에너지 reveled. 별로요 것은 의문의 사이트에 잘 알려진, 그리고 몇몇 관광객이 방문하고 있습니다. 봄에는 지역의 마야 주민들은 높은 플랫폼에서 제사와 과달루페 성모를 칭송하기 위해 참배 산책합니다. 작은 오픈 양면 가톨릭 교회는 오래 전에 구조에 추가되었습니다. 우리에게, IxYumHa와 과달루페의 에너지들은 의심할 여지없이 지역 마야에 대한 깊은 수준에서처럼, 합병.

마야 여신 IxCheel의 많은 유명한 사이트가 카리브 섬 Cozamel와 이슬라 Mujeres의에 있지만, 우리는 유카탄의 강력한 성스러운 여인의 존재를 발견했다. Just as the underground channels hide abundant water, the land and sites here conceal the Goddess; but gladly reveal her energies to those who really look.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leonide Martin lives in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico where she gives classes and excursions focused on ancient Maya teachings, goddesses and calendars. She received training as a Maya Solar Initiate and Fire Woman, and is an ordained Priestess of Isis. Her book “Dreaming the Maya Fifth Sun: A Novel of Maya Wisdom and the 2012 Shift in Consciousness” reveals how indigenous wisdom supports global transformations. Experiences of the Sacred Feminine through the Maya goddess tradition are offered with Trudy Woodcock at Iluminado Tours: www.iluminado-tours.com

By Merridith Allen

Thousands of ancient footsteps pound on the stones which lead all the way up the Temple of the Sun. Taught bronze bodies glisten in the afternoon light; their breathing comes in low rumbling gasps as they ascend higher, where the air is thin and the stairs below become increasingly steep. Once at the top, their eyes reach across the land to watch over their sacred home; the lush green fields, the Temple of the Sun and of the Moon, and the ceremonial platforms connected like freckles by a stretch of road called 'The Avenue of the Dead.' And then comes the whistling of their handmade instruments; carried over the site by a crisp wind. This is the feeling of Teotihuacan.

I find it no small wonder that Teotihuacan is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico. Located approximately twenty five miles northeast of Mexico City, it is easily accessible by bus from Mexico City and also most regions in central Mexico, including Monterrey, San Miguel de Allende and Leon. Personally, I traveled three and a half hours from San Miguel de Allende by bus, which is a pleasant, flat ride through vast desert land peppered with the largest Aloe and Cacti plants I have ever seen.

On the ride to Teotihuacan, my tour guide told me a bit about the site, starting with the mysterious nature of its former inhabitants.

“It has been agreed,” He said, “that Teotihuacan contained many different ethnic peoples. The Totonec, the Zapotec and then the Maya, and then lastly, the Aztecs.”

This was actually news to me, since I always thought of Teotihuacan as an Aztec site. Indeed they were the last inhabitants before Hernan Cortez traveled to Mexico in the hopes of expanding the Spanish Empire, and ended their entire civilization in 1521. My tour guide went on to say a few things about the Aztecs, including what is most widely known about them; the act of human sacrifice. When Cortez first landed in Mexico, the Aztecs mistook him for a God and so decided to perform their ritual sacrifices to make him happy. This included decapitation, bludgeoning and most famously, cutting out a still-beating heart. Cortez was appalled by this display, but at the time it was common practice for the Aztecs in honor of their Rain God and Feathered Serpent God.

Nowadays the Rain God and Feathered Serpent God are honored in such practices as carving shot glasses in their image, which can be found at the resident Teotihuacan tourist trap on the way into the site. It is the first place you will enter and it is filled with many cozy shops offering crystal pyramid paper weights, mock sacrificial knives and other obsidian trinkets, reminiscent of Aztec tools.

In place of these stands, in the time of the ancient civilizations, there stood a great market. I found that the modern market contains the resonance of the previous one; the look of ancient times coupled with modern merchandise. In fact I venture to say that the entire journey through Teotihuacan felt like a journey back and forth through time; a place where two eras exist simultaneously in the same space. The native peoples have been replaced by khaki-sporting tourists and locals and the indigenous music is now played by craftsmen selling their work on the sides of the Avenue of the Dead. I walked on this road with my sneakers when in the 1500s only bare feet and simple shoes touched the ground. I looked to the temples as I was told their story, when so many years ago they were living it. And finally, huffing and puffing, I reached the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, and looked out to the altars, the Avenue of the Dead and the green paradise around me with the same adoration I know the ancient peoples did.

As it began to rain, I followed my group into the Museum of Teotihuacan. Inside, a string of exhibits and short scripts line the walls, telling stories of the Aztecs' inconceivable advances in astronomy, medicine and mathematics. (Interesting to note that the meticulous grid of Teotihuacan is aligned to precisely 15.5 degrees northeast) I learned that Teotihuacan translates to 'birthplace of the Gods.' During the first millennium CE, Teotihuacan was one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas. The influence of Teotihuacan was wide-reaching, as evidenced by the similar architecture found in other areas of Mexico which is believed to be modeled after the great site.

Obsidian was used to make tools and all sorts of other artifacts; some of which are now poised proudly behind glass cases. I was struck by the artistic precision of these artifacts including the pottery and masks. Every contour has a purpose; no line out of place. Anyone who took pottery in high school will know first-hand the difficulty of spinning a simple bowl, let alone such perfectly constructed items as these. Finally I read about the fall of Teotihuacan; the environmental issues and malnutrition, and my tour guide told me about how, later on, Cortez was able to conquer the Aztec civilization in three months.

When I finished reading up on the archeological and anthropological facts about Teotihuacan, I thought about the almost absurd placement of this museum. I have never been to one which is placed directly in the center of the actual site it was created for. I have stood in the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, my hands hovering inches away from an altar, trying to feel the energy of those who used it. I have looked up at a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex in the Museum of Natural History, wondering how fast it could run and how I would feel if I suddenly stumbled into Jurassic Park. And I have frequented the Hayden Planetarium, gazing up at the dark silky imitation sky, my arms spread out like a bird thinking about zero-gravity and what would be the most out-of-this-world view ever. In this way the museum of Teotihuacan is no different than those experiences; it pales in comparison to the real thing.

I found that once I stepped outside of the museum's doors I was teleported back into the past and no modern educational exhibit could possibly duplicate the sense of what surrounded me. No hovering hands necessary to feel the energy here. Once again I traveled down the Avenue of the Dead, past the altars and fields, all the while looking up to the tops of the pyramids and listening to the music of a time long since past. This is what I will remember most about my Teotihuacan experience; the resonance of the native people in the stones, the wind, the rain and the sky. It is the feeling that these voices will always echo beyond the boundaries of time.

Merridith Allen is a writer living in New York City. She is currently enrolled in the Low-Residency Creative Writing Program at the University of New Orleans, which brought her to Mexico in the summer of 2008 to write, learn and explore the Mexican landscape. Merridith.Allen83@gmail.com