Iximche'

We stopped by the Mayan ruins of Iximche' today on our way from Antigua to Panajachel. 

Short history lesson (or cramming hundreds of years of history into a single paragraph):

Iximche' was populated during the post classical period of the Mayan empire. The Spanish entered Guatemala and made contact with the Mayan people living here. The Mayans at Iximche' helped the Spanish to locate the other groups of Mayan people throughout the region (it is easy to see why anyone would need help with all the lush vegetation!). Iximche' served as the first capital of Central America. Once the Spanish conquered these groups, they began to demand more of the people at Iximche'. The people of Iximche' revolted. That was the end of Iximche'. The Mayan people were scattered or enslaved and the Spanish moved the capital a couple of times until they settled in Antigua (after 2 huge earthquakes the capital was later moved to Guatemala City). 

Our guides were two Mayan young men probably in their early 20s. They were humble about their English, but it was excellent. They were fluent in Spanish as well as two of the 26 current Mayan  dialects.  It was neat to hear quiche' (one of the dialects). It reminded me of hearing Navajo. 

Looking into Plaza A. There are 5 plazas that were occupied by 4 royal families. As  Alex, our guide said, the richest governor had the most money, the biggest house, the most wives and the most problems. The other 3 guys had smaller houses, less money, less wives and fewer problems. :)

The Mayan ball court. Rules varied from group to group but at Iximche' it was two on two played with a rubber like ball using only feet, knees and hips.  No human sacrifices of winners or losers. At Iximche' only the royals played so no one died (at least not with the ball game). 

Temple of the moon god. 

Various sacrificial alters (yes, humans included):

With that happy note here's proof we did not sacrifice anyone on this outing!

In all seriousness, the 5th of the 5 plazas is still a religious site for modern Maya people. We were allowed to quietly walk around the area as a family was there. No photos allowed. Human and animal sacrifice is no longer offered ( in case you were wondering). Instead the people offer/burn sugar, corn, honey, alcohol, playing cards, etc.. They believe this pleases their gods and they ask for favor in return. In some ways it reminds me of the Mexican tradition of altars on El Dia de Los Muetros.

It was an extraordinary look back into the depths of history and then fast forwarded to modern day.