The Mayan Legacy of Mexico

As a photographer almost everything related to culture and art seems to inspire me. I believe that fashion is one of the most visually stimulating industries; capable of incorporating all manners of inspiration, refined within the borders of an unapologetically constructed set. 

 

 

My recent visit to the Mayan Mexican ruins is a perfect example of being inspired outside of the fashion industry, into the depths of culture and history. A topic which, in many ways, is so far from contemporary fashion but could so beautifully be incorporated into a shoot. 
 

As I'm sure many of you are aware, Mayan legacy has caused quite a stir over the last couple of months, with their calendar reaching an abrupt halt in December 2012 during the winter 'doomsday' solstice. 

The truth about the Mayan calendar is that it is fixed in an everlasting cycle; each calender lasting 52 years- each marking a fresh beginning of new life. The concept of new life within each cycle was symbolised by building a new layer over shrines and pyramids. 

During our visit to Coba we hired a guide to talk through the site and the Mayan way of life. This was a fantastic experience, fascinating speaking to a direct ancestor of the Mayan era. One fact that I found particularly interesting (and slightly shocking to have not previously known) was that original pyramids were built with 3 slanted sides and one flat, vertical side at the back. When the Toltec's later came and invaded sites they often made their mark by building a new layer on top with 4 sides, thus reforming Mayan architecture. Even 'Chichen Itza' was adapted through a Toltec reform, heightening my personal appreciation of visiting Coba, an original unaltered site.

The Mayan period was defined by power, with large religious buildings at the forefront of this. Land in the Mexican providence of Yucatan is extremely flat, further emphasising the grandeur of the pyramid structures, their height symbolic to being close to the gods. 

The projection of power and status was so fundamental, a common procedure of the elite upper class was to place babies (newborns up to the age of one) into a vice like mechanism, gradually flattening the top of their skull to form a flattened forehead. This procedure was to appear more 'godlike'. 

...I wonder what child protection laws would say about that now?!

The initial images which sprung to mind of Mayan structures (before I visited Mexico) are those from the Mel Gibson Hollywood adaptation 'Apocolypto'; of high status leaders at the top of the pyramid gruesomely sacrificing neighboring communities. Our guide at Coba assured us this only took place during and after the Toltec invasion, with previous emphasis on self sacrifice through piercings and scarring tattoos alone. 

It is inevitable that we will never be fully enlightened on Mayan civilisation. Communication was largely engraved on limestone, a stone compound both weak and highly erosive over time. 

The final aspect (and ritual) of late Mayan culture which I found particularly interesting lie in the serenity of the cenotes; naturally formed sinkholes found exclusively in the Yucatan peninsula. It was here where they made sacrifices in pursuit of pleasing the ran god Chaac. Offerings of gold, jade, obsidian, shell, wood and cloth (recently found at the largest cenote in the grounds of Chichen Itza) in addition to skeletons of children and men; children as they were deemed as 'pure' sacrifices.

Mayan civilization is one of the the most mysteriously compelling pre-classic establishments in history. They were knowledgeable astronomists and dedicated spiritual followers- devoting their lives to their beliefs.

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