Classic Maya mirror conjurors of Waka', Guatemala

The Classic period lowland Maya used iron-ore mosaic mirrors and deposited mirrors in the burials of rulers and other people. Depictions of mirrors suggest that they were used for scrying, as were mirrors in Mesoamerica at the time of the Spanish arrival. Maya mirror users of this kind were conjurors, who used a variety of other divining and conjuring instruments and materials, including plates and shallow bowls. Three rulers at El Peru-Waka', now called Waka' by researchers at the site, an ancient city in northwestern Peten, Guatemala, were buried with mirrors and associated divining and conjuring materials. Following a brief introduction to the city and its temples, we describe the arrangement of mirrors and associated materials in three royal tombs. We suggest that the mirrors in these tombs were used in conjuring supernatural beings into existence, particularly Akan, a death god and wahy spirit who was a patron of the Waka' realm. We propose that the rulers and mirror conjurors of Waka' were oracles and that Waka' was known for prophecy. References to Sihyaj K'ahk' in text and iconography at Waka', and his association with oracular paraphernalia such as mirrors, lead us to propose a prophetic aspect of the visit of Sihyaj K'ahk' to the site eight days prior to his famous arrival at Tikal in a.d. 378. We suggest that the three rulers we discuss were mirror oracles sustained by the prestige of the prophecy of Sihyaj K'ahk'. Los mayas de las tierras bajas del periodo clasico utilizaron espejos de mosaicos de hierro y los depositaron en los entierros de gobernantes y otras personas de alta importancia. Las representaciones de los espejos sugieren que fueron utilizados para la adivinacion, tal como fueron utilizados otros espejos a traves de Mesoamerica en el tiempo de contacto con los espanoles. Los que utilizaron tales espejos eran prestidigitadores quienes usaron ademas una variedad de instrumentos para adivinar y conjurar, como platos, cuencos hondos, fichas, palillos, y otros materiales. En lo siguiente, discutimos el arreglo de espejos y materiales asociados en tres tumbas reales a traves de la ciudad antigua de El Peru-Waka' en el noroeste de Peten, Guatemala. Sugerimos que los espejos en estas tumbas fueron utilizados para conjurar entidades sobrenaturales. Ademas, sugerimos que Waka' fue el lugar de un oraculo basado en textos historicos que narran de eventos importantes en la historia de la ciudad, y que los tres gobernantes discutidos aqui fueron adivinadores.

Automated summary

During the Classic period, the lowland Maya used iron-ore mosaic mirrors and buried them in the tombs of rulers and other important individuals. These mirrors were used for divination and summoning supernatural beings. The presence of mirrors and other divination materials suggests that the rulers of Waka' were oracles known for their prophecy. The visit of Sihyaj K'ahk' to the site prior to his arrival at Tikal in AD 378 further supports the prophetic aspect of Waka'.