ON THE TRAIL OF QUETZALCOATL/KUKULCAN TRACING MYTHIC INTERACTION ROUTES AND NETWORKS IN THE MAYA LOWLANDS

• Published in: Ancient Mesoamerica Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 293 - 318
• Main Authors: Folan, William J., Bolles, David D., Ek, Jerald D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 01.10.2016
• Subjects: Ideology; Material culture; Mayan civilization; Rites & ceremonies
• ISSN: 0956-5361; 1469-1787
• DOI: 10.1017/S0956536115000346

This paper examines ethnohistoric accounts and oral histories accumulated during the last 50 years concerning the movements of the mythical personage of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan (Kukul Can) and the role of these narratives in political ideologies between the Epiclassic and Postclassic periods. These narratives outline the movements of Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan by way of terrestrial, celestial, and subterranean routes that connected pilgrimage centers across the Maya lowlands in the peninsula of Yucatan. Ethnographic and ethnohistoric data presented in this paper describe linkages between important political, economic, and ritual centers that had roots in pan-Mesoamerican social dynamics originating as early as the Terminal Classic or Epiclassic period. Links between cities included not just the physical intersite connections evidenced by causeways that are so prominent in the archaeological record but also intangible, mythical, and symbolic connections embodied in mythical histories of subterranean passageways and celestial umbilical cords. These accounts and oral histories highlight the importance of migration and founding events in the establishment of new cities during the major political, economic, and social reorganizations that took place after the end of the Late Classic period. As a whole, these linkages comprised a political infrastructure connecting a network of cities within the highly integrated and international Postclassic Mesoamerican world. The indigenous histories outlined in this paper complement archaeological data, reflecting an increase in internationalism, economic integration, and the spread of new religious movements beginning in the Terminal or Epiclassic periods across Mesoamerica. Este trabajo examina los mitos etnohistóricos e históricos orales acumulados durante los últimos 50 años en referencia a los movimientos del personaje mítico de Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan sobre rutas terrestiales, celestiales y subterráneos a través de las tierras bajas de los mayas después de su llegada a la península de Yucatán. Los datos etnográficos y etnohistóricos incluyen una gran cantidad de información pertinente a conexiones entre importantes centros políticos y económicos, además de centros rituales entre el clásico terminal y posclásico para continuar después de la llegada de los españoles. Estos mitos e historias orales completan los datos arqueológicos reflejando así un aumento en el internacionalismo, integración económica y la posible extensión de movimientos religiosos durante el clásico terminal o epiclásico a través de Mesoamérica.