Society for American Archaeology

Symbolic Sweatbaths of the Maya: Architectural Meaning in the Cross Group at Palenque,
Mexico
Author(s): Stephen D. Houston
Source: Latin American Antiquity, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Jun., 1996), pp. 132-151
Published by: Society for American Archaeology
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/971614 .
Accessed: 08/06/2014 20:41

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Society for American Archaeology is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Latin
American Antiquity.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA:ARC:illl ECTURAL
MEANINGIN THE CROSSGROUPATPALENQUE,MEXICO

Stephen
D. Houston

Thefunction of elite Maya architecture should not always be interpretedliterally,for it may also reflect metaphorical and
semantic extensions best studied through iconography, hieroglyphic texts, ethnohistory, and ethnography. This holistic
approach is employed to help resolve puzzlingfeatures of the Cross Groupsanctuaries at Palenque, Mexico. The Cross Group
likely served as the setting for symbolic sweatbaths, probably involving effigies of supernaturals under the care of Kan
Balam, the Palenque ruler who commissioned these structures. This and other argumentssituate such informationwithin an
understandingof metaphor in Maya architecture.

A pesar de interpretaciones literales con respecto a la funcion y significado de la arquitecturamaya en contextos de e'lite,
este ensayo sugiere un enfoque distinto, dando e'nfasisa los datos iconogra'ficos,epigra'ficos,etnohistoricos, y etnogra'ficos
para elucidar patrones de meta'forasarquitectonicas. En particular, se refiere a unos rasgos enigma'ticosdel "Grupode la
Cruz" en la ciudad maya de Palenque, Chiapas, Me'xico.Tales rasgos demuestranuna explicacion puramente simbolica de
este conjunto, el cual funcionaba como el centro de los "banos de vapor" utilizados por ima'genesde los dioses dina'sticos
del sitio, a buen recaudo del gobernante Kan Balam, su guardian titular.Alfin, este ensayo subraya la importanciade sim-
bolismo y las meta'forasen la interpretacionde arquitecturaMaya.

A centralconcernto Mayanistsis the inte-
grationof archaeologyand epigraphy,a
task made more pressing by recent
advancesin the deciphermentof Maya script.
Thispaperprovidesan exampleof suchintegra-
tionby focusingon the site of Palenque,Mexico,
thelocationof muchepigraphicresearchoverthe
past two decades(e.g., Schele 1992), and on a
place withinthis ClassicMayacity the Cross
Group, a cluster of buildings and platforms
renownedfor both its hieroglyphictexts and
iconography andtheeleganceandcarefulpropor-
tion of its architecture.The Cross Group is
equallynoteworthyfor anotherreason:it further
documentsa complex repertoireof symbolic
manipulations (some "conflated," others
metaphoric)that are broadlydiffusedin depic-
tions of Classic Maya architectureand in the
buildingsthemselves(MillerandHouston1987).
Close attentionto art and writingin the Cross
Groupshows thatone such manipulation, com-
bining a purely symbolic function with some, but
not all, of the formal propertiesand terminology
of a sweatbath,can be understoodby surveyinga
wide variety of information, ranging from
iconography and hieroglyphs of the Classic
period to ethnographic data on the medicinal
qualities of the Native Americansweatbath.
This paper focuses first on a puzzle: why did
the Maya apply hieroglyphic terms for "ovens"
and "sweatbaths"to structuresthat scholarshave
labeled "sanctuaries"?It then shows, through a
close study of thematically linked features of
sweatbaths in modern, colonial, and ancient
sources, that Mesoamericansweatbathspossess a
polythetic "package"of attributes,some concep-
tual and some material. The sanctuaries at
Palenquehave enough of these featuresto under-
line their close linkage with sweatbathsbut a suf-
ficient number of formal differences to indicate
their symbolic quality.There is no evidence that
such structureswere ever used to generateor con-

Stephen D. Houston * Departmentof Anthropology,BrighamYoung University,Provo, UT 84602

Latin American Antiquity,7(2), 1996, pp. 132-151 .

Copyright (C)by the Society for AmericanArchaeology

132

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Ilouston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 133

Figure 1. Map of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico (after Robertson 1983:Map 3).

tain heat or steam. The paper concludes by
addressing the ways in which ancient Maya
invoked varied meanings and metaphorsin their
architecture.
A Puzzle
The temples of the Cross Grouphave a geograph-
ically prominent location within the site of
Palenque, appearingon the lower slope of a hill
that may have been called YemalK'uk' Lakam
Wits (Descending Quetzal-BannerHill), perhaps
a referenceto the "Mirador"hill thatrises majes-
tically behind the Cross platform (Figure 1).' As
Stuart points out (Stuart and Houston
1994:3s31), the door jambs of Temple 18 at
Palenque suggest that this area was subsumed
toponymicallywithin anotherlocation, translated
as LakamHa' (BannerWater).This was probably
a more generallabel for the site core of Palenque,
although combined here with LakamWitsin an
example of poetic coupleting "thebannerwater
or lake, and the banner hill." A study of place
names in Maya inscriptions,in which terms for
lake, water,or hill figure importantly,leads to the
conclusion thatthe site core of Palenqueprobably
took its name from the Otolum River, which
bisects the core and cascades by the North Group
(Stuartand Houston 1994:31).
What interests us here, though, is not the
toponymy or place names of the Classic period
but the internal layout of the Cross Group tem-
ples. Robertson writes that each contains an
"innersanctuary,a small structureindependentof
the outer core of the building" (Robertson

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
134 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996

SanctuaryTablet Sanctuary

o 5m

Figure 2. Arrangement of sanctuary in the Temple of the Sun, Cross Group, Palenque (after Robertson 1991.Figures
73-75; and Schele and Freidel l990:Figure 6, 11).

1991:9); in her words, "therewas never anything
like [the Cross Group]before, and nothing like it
was ever designed again" (Robertson1991:10). I
propose that the layout of the temples occurs at
other sites and that it can be understoodin far
broader terms. The sanctuaries are not entirely
unique in layout and meaning, since examples of
analogous structuresoccur in the corpus of Maya
architecture.
To understandthis point we must look at the
sanctuaries themselves (Figure 2). They are
small, stuccoed structureswith shallow corbeled
vaults. In all three cases The Temples of the
Cross, the Sun, and the Foliated Cross the inte-
rior dimensions are approximatelythe same: 3 m
wide, slightly less than 2 m deep, and about 2 m
from the raisedfloor to the springlineof the vault,
with just under a meter to the capstone. The
Sanctuaryof the Foliated Cross is distinguished
by having two holes in this capstoneover the cen-
ter of the sanctuaryvault (Robertsonl991:Figure
149). Each sanctuarysits within a larger,corbeled
chamberthatcommunicatesthroughan axial pas-
sageway to a front room; three doors lead from
each room to the exterior.
The iconography of the sculpturalensembles
in the Cross Group is quite complex (see
Robertson 1991 for full illustration). The west
entablatureof the Temple of the Cross shows a
clear depiction of a caiman, with cross-bandsfor
orbs, and a distinctive, oval medallion with three
dots that is often associated with this reptile,
almostcertainlytermedayin in the Classic period.
Taube (1989:9) makes an excellent case that the
caimanrepresentsa "primordialbeast from which
the earth is both destroyed and fashioned," and
that it is "closely identiEledwith an aged god of
creation and sustenance."Regrettably,the entab-
latures of the Temple of the Sun are less clear,
although one appears to depict a seated ruler,
probably the great ruler Kan Balam, as he has
come to be called, with kneeling attendantsto
either side.2 Nothing at all remains of the front
entablatureof the Temple of the Foliated Cross.
The iconographyof the sanctuariesis no less
complex, although hieroglyphic evidence does
provide labels for these structures.Figure 3 dis-
plays a comparisonbetween the probablenames
of the sanctuariesand iconographicelements on
theirexteriors(Schele and Freidel 1990:239-252;

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

136 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
are the following: (1) 9.12.18.5.16, the 2 Cib 14
Mol date that Lounsbury (1989:248) has dis-
cussed in its astrological implications, which
involved the "impressive gathering of . . . three
celestial figures";(2) 9.12.18.5.17, the dedication
of the K'inich K'uk'Na, perhapsreferringto sub-
structuresor platforms in the Cross Group; (3)
9.12.19.14.12, connected,possibly, with the sanc-
tuaries themselves, which we know from struc-
tural evidence to be slightly later than the
construction of the chambers that contain them;
and, finally, (4) a Period Ending of 9.13.0.0.0.3
These dates range from A.D. 690 to 692.
The Period Ending, the completion of an
importantcalendricalcycle, is unambiguous.The
event associated with the structureknown as the
K'inich K'uk' Na, probably relates to "dedica-
tion," although the expression is not completely
deciphered,nor is the house (the Na in this name)
securely identified. More relevant in this context
are the probable dedications of the sanctuaries
andthe actions recordedin connection with the 2
Cib 14 Mol date. The events mentioned on the
alfardasare situatedtextuallyin terms of the birth
of the supernaturalconnected with that particular
temple(Figure 4). We have discussed previously
the names of the sanctuaries that follow the
"house"events; at the end of the texts occur the
name of the Palenque ruler Kan Balam and, in
twocertain cases, the names of his parentsand a
referenceto the placement or "forming"of the
sanctuaryin the site core of Palenque (Stuart
1994). What comes between is quite intriguing.
At G2 on the alfarda texts appears a group of
signsthat can only read u-pi-bi-na-li, transliter-
atedas u-pibna-il. Stuart (1987:38-39) (Figure
A b
B .D
"house event" Date
Figure
6. Comparisonof texts fromthe doorjamb and east alfardaof the Templeof the Cross.
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
-
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
A B C D
Figure 5. Building terms in Cross Group texts. (A) u
pEbna-ilspelling from door jamb of sanctuary, Temple of
the Cross, A6b (after Schele and Mathews 1979:Plate
273). (B) u kun-ilspelling from the west jamb, the Temple
of Cross, C1 (after Robertson 1991:Plate 33). (C) u wayb-
il spelling from the Temple of the Sun Tablet, 05 (after
Robertson 1991:Plate 95). (D) u chitin-il spelling from
Temple of the Cross Tablet, 06 (after Robertson
1991:Plate 9).
SA) proposed that this combinationof signs rep-
resented the name of a building, possibly an
expression for a general class of structure,much
like the wayibbuildings identified by Houston
and Stuart (1989) that have been interpretedby
Freidel, Grube, and Schele (Freidel et al.
1993:188-190, 441) as possible lineage shrines.
A perusal of Yucatec sources points to an intrigu-
ing gloss: pib, which the Spanish-Mayaportion
of the Motul dictionary describes as a "very hot
bath for women," particularlythose who have
recentlygivenbirth(BarreraVasquezl980:651).
Tojudge from other sources, the general sense is
that of a subterraneanoven used for steaming
food and, apparently, people that is, it is a
sweatbath.4The na in pibna-il is patently the
wordfor house, and the final consonantis a com-
mon suffix attached to nouns inflected for pos-
session. After the pibna comes a term that has
been variously interpretedas "divine-thing"or
"holiness,"but that all concur must read u k'u-il
oru ch'u-il(Ringle 1988).
Sanctuary name u k'aba
ahis name"
(A) Excerptfromdoor
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 137

I believe prior interpretationsof this expres- were in conjunction" (Schele and Freidel
sion are incorrect.The glyphs indicate simply that 1990:Figures6-15), that is, "two gods, perhaps
the pibnabelonged to the God of Kan Balam- correspondingto stars or planets, were in con-
another possessed entity. The clearest evidence junction."This is not what the glyphs say. Rather,
for this comes from a comparisonof two texts, the they read pu-lu-yi u-chi-ti-ni-il, or pul-uy u
sanctuarydoor jamb and the east alfardaof the chitin-il.Stuart (personal communication 1991)
Temple of the Cross (Figure 6). Part of the door shows, from dictionarysources and phonetic sub-
jamb text probably records: i-OCH-naX5EB 5 stitutions at Dos Pilas and Piedras Negras, that
K'ANASV6 KAAN-na-?/u-K'ABA/u-pi-bi-na- pul signifies "burn."Less clear is the meaningof
1U1 ?ye-NAL"Gl"/u-HUN-*TANMAK-*WAY- chitin.From a substitutionin a parallelphrasein
la, i och-naS eb S k'anasi6 kaan?,u k'aba,u the Temple of the Sun (O5), which contains way-
pibna-il,I .9yenal,"Gl", u huntanbak*elwayal, bil (FigureSC) in place of chitin,it seems reason-
or, in loose paraphrase,"then,on the date 5 Eb 6 able to assume that chitinis a kind of structure
*Kayab, is entered the 6 Sky? building, which is (Figure SD). Again, the rich Yucatecsources pro-
the name of the sweatbathof the god G1, who is vide a cognate form: kitim or kitin (Silvarez
the guarded thing of bakelwayal[title used by 1984: 198; Beltran de Santa Rosa Maria
Palenquekings]."5The alfardacontains much the 1859:236), which BarreraVasquez lists as a syn-
same information,although phrasedin a slightly onym for pib, "subterraneanoven" (1980:651).
different way: OCH-na/6 KAAN-na-?/u-pi-bi- Accordingly, the 2 Cib 14 Mol event should be
na-li/u-K'U-lilK'INICH KAN BALAM/BAK- understoodas, "theoven or sweatbathof the Triad
WAY-la, och-na 6 kaan?, u pibna-il, u k'u-il is burning."That is, the PalenqueTriadprepared
k'inichkanbalambak*elwayal,or, in paraphrase the bath by creating the necessary heat. As we
"is entered the 6 Sky? building, the sweatbathof shall see, there may be a reason why the event
the god of Kan Balam, who holds the bakelwayal would take place before the probablededication
title."In otherwords, one text explicitly identifies of the sanctuaries;at the least, we know that this
the sweatbathas the propertyof G1, a god in the was a key event afterthe accession of Kan Balam
Palenque Triad, and the other states that this (Lounsbury1980). Finally, it is worthmentioning
sweatbathbelongs to thegod of Kan Balam. The that there is another expression attested for the
alternativephrasings show that Kan Balam pos- sanctuaryof the Templeof the Cross. On the front
sessed a special relationship with this god and panel, the sanctuary is given its proper name,
that k'u records "god" ratherthan "holiness" or which is then described as "the name of the ku-
some relatednotion. nu-il (or kun-il),"probably of GI (Figure SB;
What aboutthe 2 Cib 14 Mol event mentioned Freidel et al. 1993:466). This phrase has been
before? Lounsbury ( 1989) demonstrates its interpreted to mean "platform"(David Stuart,
unusual astronomical properties, yet the event personal communication 1989), a reasonable
should not be translatedloosely as "GII and GIII idea, but there is anotherpossibility. The Vienna

f;rj.A:2, 1
' - -

!&>!

%<
S
)

u pAbna-il God's name or epithet u hun tan bak(elJwayal

"hissweatbath" "hisprotectedthing"

jamb (after Schele and Mathews 1979:273). (B) Excerpt from east alfarda (after Schele and Mathews 1979:272).

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
138
and Motul dictionaries, also in Yucatec
Maya,
record that kun (also kuun)means an "oven in
which ink is made from smoke,"
presumably
from carbon scraped off the walls
(Barrera
Vasquez 1980:352). Thus, there are two kinds of
glyphic reference to the sanctuaries as places
where intense heat is generated, and smoke
or
steam is produced, and another reference to
a temazcalli, a "hose like an oven where people
similar location that may be distinct from the
sanctuaries.
This, then, is our puzzle: Why would the
Classic Maya apply such terminology to build-
ings that are certain never to have been used
as
ovens or sweatbaths,as these are
conventionally
identified?The wide doorways of the sanctuaries
arenot appropriatefor this function, nor do
the
buildingsdisplay any sign of intenseheat or burn-
ing.The correctemphasis should be on the
word
"conventional." Evidently, the terminology
employedby the Maya was not a literal nomen-
clature of structuresbut one thatcarriedsymbolic
connotations,a hypothesis that receives support
fromethnographicand archaeological data.
The
ethnography deserves attentionfirst. Just as it is
imprudent to place exaggeratedstress on cultural
continuities from the remote past, so is it an error
to
go to the opposite extreme.Broadly
distributed
traitsin the Maya region are likely to be
of
ancientorigin, particularlywhen the possibility of
Spanish colonial influence can be reliably dis-
counted. The sweatbath is one such package of
ancient features, a considerationof which helps
explain why the Maya used "sweatbath"and
"oven" to describe structures associated with
divine
birth.
The Ethnography of the Sweatbath
Today,the sweatbathis not used as widely as it
oncewas. It is found exclusively in colder zones,
despitethe abundantevidence of its prior exis-
tence
in the ratherhotterlowlands (Alcina Franch
et
al. 1982:102; cf. Blake and Blake
1988:41).6
For
complex reasons having to do with changing
attitudestoward costumbre (indigenous tradi-
tions)
and views of sweatbathsas places of possi-
ble
contagion, the medicinal functions of the
sweathouse have become increasingly restricted
and
its religious significance attenuated (Katz
1990:2;Virkki 1962:81-84; Wauchope
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
1938:136). Nonetheless, the bathis still an impor-
tant feature in many Native American
communi-
ties. In the GuatemalanHighlands, it goes
by a
numberof terms, of which Quiche tuj is perhaps
the best-known (Edmonson 1965:127;
Orellana
1987:5800). Scholars, though, are more likely to
refer to them as temazeal, from the Nahuatl
term
bathe themselves" (Karttunen 1992:222) or
a
"[l]ittle house like a stove, where they bathe and
sweat" (Campbell 1985:306). There is great, for-
malvarietyin modernor recentMaya
sweatbaths,
which may (1) be circular,square,or
rectangular
in plan; (2) supportroofs of wooden boards
and
tiles, or plaster or mud domes (often covered
by
flimsythatch protection);or (3) contain walls
of
stone,mud, wattle, or even living rock, as in
a
cavitycarved into volcanic stone at San
Antonio
Palopo(Virkki 1962:75). In Chamula, Chiapas,
Mexico,some caves are referredto as symbolic
"steambaths" (Bricker 1973: 114; Taube
1988:295-296).
As Satterthwaite(1952:14) pointed out
years
ago,the sweatbaths also share many
features.
Mostsweatbaths are low, small, and
tightly
sealed, with entrancesthatare quite narrow.A few
aresemisubterranean,the better to conserve
heat
(AlcinaFranch et al. 1982:113-114; Virkki
1962:75).Length averages about 2 m, width is
about1.8 m, and height is about 1.3
m
(Satterthwaite 1952:15). Many have drains to
remove water splashed over stones to produce
steam or over the body to invigorate the skin.
Various flues, including "exit holes" throughthe
roof,
help regulateheat and steam. Low benches
provideseating, and enclosing the buildings
offers
privacy for undressingor consumption of
medicinaland restorative drinks (Cresson
1938:
101; Giron Mendez 1985:95; Satterthwaite
1952:11-17). Finally, a common pattern,both in
the
Maya region and in Mexico, is for there to
have
been two distinct parts to the sweatbath:a
steamchamber, where the actual bathing takes
place,
and a fire hearthor furnace, where stones
are
heated and sprinkled with water to produce
steam
(Alcina Franchet al. 1982:110). In depic-
tions
of late Postclassic and early Colonial temaz-
cales
in Mexico, these structures may be
separatedfrom one another, although the more
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 139

(Cosminsky 1977:311; Lewis 1951:363). It is

importantto rememberthat these treatmentsare
F.t oN ".,1.t^ intended not only to heal the woman who has
given birth or is about to give birthbut also as a
means of protectingthe community.Both in the
Maya region and elsewhere in Mesoamerica,
{ pregnantwoman are widely regardedas danger-
ous entities, because their "directgaze can cause
F E babies and young plants to sicken and die" (Paul
1974:294). Similarly, the world poses many
threatsto pregnantwomen and their unbornchil-
dren eclipses especially are thought to cause
Figure 7. A sweatbath from the Codex Mendoza (after deformities (Cosminsky 1977:312). Along with
Berdan and Anawalt 1992:3:50). other ministrations,sweatbathingneutralizesper-
nicious influences by at once protectingand iso-
usual pattern is to have the fire hearth in an lating an individual in grave, bodily
adjoining structure,which conducts the steam to disequilibrium.They are placed apart for their
the bath chamber through a narrow aperture own good and for the good of the community.
(Krickeberg 1935:308-309; Satterthwaite The child's relationshipto the natal sweatbath
1952:Figures 2, 3, and 5). Colonial depictions does not cease with birth.According to Wagley:
also show clear evidence of exit flues that issue The afterbirth should be buried in the floor of the
smoke (Figure 7) (Berdan and Anawalt sweathouse, which is attachedto the family dwelling.
1992:3:50;Piho 1989:214). There is a belief that the afterbirthcontinues to be
part of the individual .... Each individual should
The Maya sweatbath does more than refresh therefore know where his afterbirth was buried.
the body. Ethnographicsources place a consistent Later, one may be sick and the soothsayer's divina-
emphasis on the curative and therapeuticproper- tions may indicate that the treatmentcalls for prayers
ties of the bath, particularlyas these relate to to be offered in front of the sweathouse in which one
notions of "hot"and "cold"and relative states of was "firstbathed"and in which the "afterbirth"lives.
Thus, when a birth occurs away from home on a
corporeal equilibrium (Foster and Anderson trading trip or at a coffee plantation the afterbirth
1978:59-60; Logan 1977; Neuenswander and should be cooked in a clay vessel until it is dry. In this
Souder 1977:98-103; Orellana 1987:35-42). The form, it may be carriedback to the village and buried
bathrestores"heat"and eliminates fevers, which, in the family sweathouse. "The sweathouse will be
along with other illnesses, can be "sweated out" happy again," said Diego Martin, "when the family
returnswith a new child and when there are fires in it
(de Fuentes y Guzman 1972, 3:91; Katz 1990:2;
again." Even after a person is adult, he should return
Orellana 1987:59). Often, sweatbaths are taken to this same sweat bath from time to time to burn a
by several people at a time, who may strike each candle and to pray.According to several of my infor-
other with maize leaves, corn husks, shrubs, or mants, most people forget to observe this ritual until
twigs to open the pores of the skin (Carrasco a crisis forces them to remember"[Wagley 1949:23;
for comparable data see Virkki 1962:79; Alcina
1946:738; Piho 1989:216; Virkki 1962:78).
Franchet al. 1982:126; Gir6n Mendez 1985:66].
The most intensive medicinal use of the bath
occurs before, during,and, especially, afterchild- Informationgatheredby Ichon (1973:151) and
birth, in treatmentspresided over by a midwife others shows that the coupling of the umbilicus
who is usually beyond child-bearing age and afterbirthwith a sense of "home"and "root-
(Cosminsky 1972:307;Wagley 1949:22). In some edness" is widespreadin Mesoamerica.More to
communities,birthstraditionallytake place in the the point, ethnographicdata on sweatbathsshow
sweathouse (Cosminsky 1972:180; Orellana a variety of features, especially an association
1987:58;Virkki1962:79), to be followed by baths with birthing and subsequent obstetrical treat-
at fixed intervals, when the woman's stomach is ments, as well as long-termconnections between
massaged and special foods are preparedfor her childrenand their natal sweatbath.

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
140
LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996

Figure8. A sweatbathfrom the CodexMagliabechiano(afterNuttall 1903:65).

Sweatbaths in the Colonial Period
Many of these features connections with
birthing,midwifery,and healing-can be attested
indocumentaryand archaeologicalsources of the
earlyColonial period (Lee 1979; Lee and Bryant
1988:12,Figure 7). The de Coto dictionary (ca.
1650)of CakchiquelMaya, for example, refers to
thesweatbathas a place where the sick are bathed
byputting them in "ovens or baths,"noting also
thecustom of regular sweatbathingby pregnant
women (de Coto 1983:61; see also Gage
1958:221).Duran, Sahagun,Clavigero, and other
authorsall refer to the relevance of such baths to
birthing (Moedano 1977:11). The Codex
Magliabechianofurnishes an image of sweat
chamber with flue holes, water channel, and fire-
wood, apparently being tended by an elderly
woman,doubtless a curer or midwife (Figure 8).
Abovethe doorway is the head of Tlazolteotl, the
patronessof recently delivered women and of
purificationand curing. Her mouth is smeared
withthe filth of sins consumedby her duringcon-
fessions;unspun cotton-a key part of her cos-
tume-garlandsher head. According to Sahagun,
thegoddesses with dominion over the sweatbaths
were the related progenetrix figures, Yoalticitl
andToci, the mother of the gods (Corona 1960;
Moedano1977:6-7; Miller and Taube 1993:160).
In addition, the Magliabechiano describes the
elaboraterituals necessary for entering the bath,
includingthe burningof incense and the daubing
ofblack paint over the body in honor of the god
Tezcatlipoca(Nuttall 1903:65). Analogous ritu-
als,including the venerationof the "spiritof the
steambath" usually addressed as "mother"or
"grandmother" and possessing both positive and
negativequalities are still performed through-
outcentralMesoamerica(Hollenbach 1977; Katz
1990:8;Moedano 1977:12-15).
The sweatbathwas often the setting of prac-
ticesthathorrifiedor disgustedthe Spaniards.For
instance,the Magliabechianoalso shows a sacri-
ficeto Tezcatlipocain which a body was thrown
intoa building, to be cooked and steamed on
charcoal or heated rocks; whetherthis was a real
sweatbathor a simulation of one scarcely mat-
teredto the sacrificial victim. Regrettably,we
understand little of the ritualcontext of this cere-
mony.A more widespread offense to the
Spaniardswas mixed bathing. Writing of late
ColonialGuatemala,Cortez y Larrazmentions a

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 141

sweatbath "in which promiscuously and at all

hours entermen, women, boys, and girls" (Cortez
y Larraz1958:158). Similarexpressions of disap-
proval appear in the writings of Diego Duran,
who, in describingthe Aztec, notes that "mingled
and naked as they are, therecannotfail to be great
affronts and offense to our lord" (Duran
1971:271-272; see Nuttall 1903:65 for similar
remarks).He also comments that a woman would
accompanya man so as to fan him, and that "with
that fanning they blew away illness, strengthened
the flesh, and gave healthand strengthto the sick"
(Duran 1971:270-271; Piho 1989:216). Other
references to sexual misbehavior in sweatbaths A
occur among the Mixtec (Parsons 1936:Note 40),
and the Mam of Guatemala,where until recently
sweatbathsserved as discrete locations for illicit
sex (Wagley 1949:35). This association is still to
be found in Santiago Atitlan, where the Tzutuhil
Maximonfigure is thought to live in an under-
ground sweatbath with a harem of highly
amorous women (Tarnand Prechtel 1981; Taube
1988: 288). We can summarize,then, by saying
that curing for the ill and pregnant, as well as
other activities, possibly of a sexual nature,were
integralto the early Colonial use of the sweatbath.
Hints of Precolumbianbeliefs include linkages to
B
particulargods and goddesses but especially to a
progenetrix associated with purification, curing,
and birth. Figure 9. Precolumbiansweatbathsfrom Mexico. (A)
Mixtec sweatbath (after Nuttall 1975:Plate 81). (B)
Sweatbath from the Codex Borgia (after Seler
The Precolumbian Sweatbath 1963:3:13).
We now come full circle, and closer to Palenque,
by returningto the Precolumbianperiod. This is conical structure, probably a domed oven.
not an appropriateplace to review all of the Variousevents take place within such structures,
archaeological and artistic evidence from this including the assassinationof the half-brotherof
time, a task handledcapablyby Satterthwaiteand 88 Deer (Figure9A; Jansen 1982:389-390). The
by Alcina Franch and his colleagues (Alcina Codex Borgia (Figure 9B) shows one certain
Franchet al. 1982; Satterthwaite1952; Taladoire sweatbath(theremay be some others),containing
1981). But we can review a few pieces of infor- a recliningfigure, and a streamof waterflows out
mation, beginning with actual depictions of the side (Seler 1963:3, 12-13).
Prehispanic sweatbaths. Of these, some of the Although rare, other imagery reveals some of
clearest examples appear in the Mixtec codices the more durableaspects of sweatbathsymbolism
(Figure 9A), in a form suggesting the physical in Mesoamerica (AtTeola 1936). For example,
separation of furnace and sweat chamber (e.g., Furst has emphasized the relationship between
Caso 1960:11, 13; Nuttall 1975:16, 81). The sweatbathsand the aged progenetrix 91 Eagle in
sweatbathhas a doorway facing the viewer, and the obverse of the Vienna Codex, a preconquest
the heaped and smoking rocks occur in a separate screenfold manuscript (Furst 1978:159, 172,

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
142 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY lVol. 7, No. 2, 1996

Figure 10. Map showing location of well-attested Precolumbian sweatbaths in the Maya region.

Figure 87). K. A. Taube(personalcommunication connected with sweatbathing in the Codex

1993) has compiled persuasive evidence that Magliabechiano;see above) and at the same time
newborns, depicted consistently on their backs, vlewlng ms maKeupm a mlrror. lne lntenaea
* * 1 - 1 * * 11 * s s

sometimes wrappedin swaddling clothes or with location is doubtless a supematural sweatbath,

umbilici intact, occur frequentlyin sweatbaths,as
in the South Ballcourt at E1Tajin.There are also
a very few images of sweatbathsof Late Classic
date. One comes from a well-known cylindrical
vessel showing a set of four God Ns with their
consorts (Coe 1978:Plate 11). It takes little imag-
ination to see in this iconography an episode of
debaucheryand lascivious pleasure.Females fon-
dle males, enema pots abound, there is musical
accompaniment,and, but for thin loincloths, two
of the God Ns are naked.A god to the right seems
to be daubinghimself with black paint (a pigment
since two of the gods have stripped,and one is
being fanned by a woman, much like the custom
described by Duran (1971). Moreover, the god
Chac is seated within what is clearly a hill, a set
of stacked"hill signs of the sort much like those
on the sanctuary in the Temple of the Sun
(Robertson l991:Figure 91). I have alluded
before to the linkage of caves and sweatbaths,a
logical connection given the subterraneanlayout
of many of them, and to the association of licen-
tious activity with sweatbaths.
Such scenes are extremely rare. The actual

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 143

Table 1. Metric Dimensions of Steam and Firebox ChamberInteriorsin EasternMesoamerica.

Steam Chamber Firebox Chamber

Classic period
Ceren, Str.9a 2.60 x 2.60 x .80 in diam.
PiedrasNegras, Str. N-1 4.80 x 3.25 x 2.00 1.15 x .85 x >.86
PiedrasNegras, Str. S-19b x2.8 x2.5 x x.90

PiedrasNegras, Str.J-17 4.00 x 2.90 x 2.3 x x 1. 10

PiedrasNegras, Str. 0-4 4.50 x 2.80 x 2.6 x x 1.00

PiedrasNegras, Str. S-2 4.50 x 3.00 x 2.5 x x 1.10

PiedrasNegras, Str. S4h 4.50 x 3.20 x 2.6 x x 1.10

PiedrasNegras, Str. R-13 4.60 x 2.50 x 2.70 x x.90

PiedrasNegras, Str. P-7 3.30 x 2.20 x 2.70 .95 x .35 x >.70

SQuirigua,Str. 2c .75 ft x 2.30 x .75
SQuirigua,Str. 3d .SSx3.04.x 1.00
San AntonioC 3.00 x 10.00 x 1.60
Tikal, near Str. 5E-23.28r 2.00 x 2.00 x
TerminalClassic/EarlyPostclassic periods
Agua Tibiag 2.25 x 4.5 x
Chichen Itza, Str. 3ClSh 5.00 x 2.75 x >2.00 l.SOx l.SOx>l.OO

Chichen Itza, Str. 3E3h 5.50 x 3.00 x 1.97 .44 x .88 x .55
E1Paraiso(circular) 5.50 in diam. x >2.00 .80 in diam. x ca. .60

Late Postclassic period

Los Cimientos-Chustumr 1.40 x 6.30 x ca. 1.00 x 1.00 x

Nte: The first figure representsmetic width, the second represents"depth"or length to the back of chamberfrom the entrance;
the thirdrecordsapproximatedistancefrom the floor to the highest point in chamber.Many measurementsfrom PiedrasNegras
are rough approximations.
a McKee (l990:Figure 2).
b Satterthwaite(1952:79, Figures 31-36).
c Morley (1935:135-136, Figure 30).
d Morley ( 1935:141-142, Figure 38a; Satterthwaite1952:25), providesdimensionsfor the chamberin Str.3 but disputesMorley's
. . .
ldentlficatlon.
cAgrinier(1966:29-30).
r Ichon (1977:203-205, Figure 3).

gAlcina Franchet al. ( 1982:Figures1-3).

h Ruppert(1935:Figure349, 1952:56, 82-83, Figures 50-51).

i Kidderand Shook (l959:Figure 3).

archaeologicalevidence of Precolumbiansweat- black, thus resembling a kun; Ruppert

baths is far stronger(Agrinier 1966). Many may
have been provisional, perishable affairs of the
sort found in Central Mexico (Katz 1990; John
Monaghan,personalcommunication1993). More
formal sweatbathswith solid masonry construc-
tion have been found at several sites in the Maya
region (Figure 10): a Formative example at
Dzibilchaltun (Andrews and Andrews 1980:30),
and other,alleged bathsat Tikal (Ichon 1977:201)
and Uaxactun (Smith 1950: 20, 30), as well as
secure examples from Ceren (McKee 1990;
Sheets 1992), Piedras Negras (Satterthwaite
1952), El Paraiso (Kidder and Shook 1959),
ChichenItza (note that Structure3E3 was painted
1935:Figure349, 1952:56, 82-83, Figures 50 and
51), Agua Tibia (Alcina Franchet al. 1982), and
Los Cimientos-Chustum(Ichon 1977). Of these,
the sweatbathfrom Ceren, dating to about A.D.
600, is exceptionalfor the preservationof its plas-
ter dome (about2 meters high) and thatchedroof
screen. Regardless of their date, virtually all
sweatbathsand fire boxes have roughly the same
dimensions (Table 1). Size varied slightly, pre-
sumablyaccordingto the numberof bathersto be
accommodated,the ability of the masonryto con-
serve heat, and probablythe intensityof the fire.
Of all Late Classic sweatbathsthe best docu-
mented by far are those excavated by Cresson,

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
144 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY [Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996

Figure 11. View of sweatbath, Piedras Negras Structure P 7 1st-A (after Satterthwaite 1952:Figure 47).

Mason, and Satterthwaiteat the Classic Maya city
of Piedras Negras (Figure 11) (Mason 1935;
Satterthwaite 1936:62-63). Most appear to be
Late Classic in date (Satterthwaite 1936:73),
althoughSatterthwaite(1952:56) detected several
phases of constructionand a high degree of vari-
ability that might refleet a "considerable"time
range. Wagley's (1949) informationmay provide
an explanationfor both the monumentalconstruc-
tion and relatively large numberof sweatbathsat
the site. The Mam of Santiago Chimaltenango
possess natal sweatbaths,which are the locations
of theirfirst bathand "warming"of theirblood, as
well as the places where the afterbirth was
interred.Conceivably, this accounts for the pat-
tern at Late Classic Piedras Negras. The sweat-
bathsmay correspondto each of the laterrulersof
the site or possibly to the immediatemembersof
their family, who would returnperiodicallyto the
sweatbathsfor rites of purificationat moments of
life crisis-certainly the number of such baths
roughlymatchesthe numberof Late Classic rulers
at the site. Moreover,the outer rooms defined by
the enclosing structuremay have been used for
dressing or dining and other festivities, perhaps
like those depicted on the "sweatbath"vase (Coe
1978:Plate 11). It would be useful to determine
whether the vessels recovered in Satterthwaite's
excavationscorrespondat all to the "enemaollas"
in Classic iconography,includingthe "sweatbath"
vase (Coe and Furst 1977; de Smet 1985).
Palenque itself also has Late Classic sweat-
baths. During his excavations of the Palace,
Alberto Ruz discovered features that may well
have been sweatbaths "narrowsectioned rooms
. . . along the southernside of the Tower Court"
(Robertson 1985:79-80), of which one had two
holes for the passage of steam from a subter-
ranean firebox to the sweat chamber (Ruz
1952:56, Figure 3, Plate 13). Unfortunately,pre-
sent documentationof these features is limited.
More recently, archaeologists with the Mexican
governmenthave excavated a sweatbathwell to
the north of the Cross Group, but details are not
yet forthcoming.
The Sanctuaries as Symbolic Sweatbaths
We can now returnto the problem posed at the
beginning of this paper: Why did the ancient
Maya of Palenque attachthe terms "steambath"
or "oven"to the sanctuariesof the Cross Group?
I propose that the sanctuary"sweatbaths"cannot
be understoodliterally as such. Rather,the pibna
in the Cross Group were symbolic versions of
buildingscommon in Mesoamerica,past and pre-
sent.A comparisonwith known sweatbathsdating

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA
from the Preclassicto the Late Postclassic periods
(Table 1) shows a number of similarities; for
example, the dimensions of the sanctuariesfall
within the range of variationfor sweat chambers.
Yet the differencesare far greaterand more strik-
ing. The Cross Grouppibna are a little smaller
thanmost and with doorwaysabouttwice as wide
and high as the norm (cf. Satterthwaite1952:15),
suggesting that the conservationof heat was not
an importantconsideration.Moreover,there is a
complete absence of evidence for fire or fire-
boxes, or for the conduct of waterfor bathingand
the generationof steam. These features stand in
utter contrast to all other ethnographic and
archaeologicalexamples.
In reviewing the events mentioned before,
there is still the enigma of the 2 Cib 14 Mol date,
which precedes the "forming"of the sanctuaries
by a period of over a year.There are two possible
explanations:that this was an earlier sweatbath
being "heated,"or that this event referredto the
initial stoking of the oven that generated the
"heat." The astronomical symbolism of this
action is as yet unclear,althoughit may relate to
the extraordinarystarloreuncovered recently by
Freidel and Schele (Freidel et al. 1993:59-122).
Finally, the symbolic sweatbathsdo not, strictly
speaking, belong to the ruler Kan Balam but to
each of his respective "gods." The discussion
above of paralleltexts in the Temple of the Cross
makes this particularlyclear.
Wagley's (1949) ethnographicdatahave some-
thing to tell us here. The sanctuarieswould appear
to represent the "natal" sweatbaths of the
PalenqueTriad,to which they repairfor moments
of purification.The continual emphasis on refer-
ences to supernaturalbirth lend weight to this
suggestion. The role of Kan Balam was to refur-
bish and maintainthe sweatbaths,which, on occa-
sion, presumably contained portable images of
the gods. The existence of such images, to be
moved from one location to another,is more than
a speculative idea. In the first place, the dressing
or adornmentof such effigies is mentionedin the
immense tablets of the Templeof the Inscriptions
at Palenque (Lounsbury1991:81S817). Second,
the transportationin ritual circuits of effigies-
usually of "saints" is well-attestedin traditional
Maya communities, although, of course, such
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
145
processions meld syncretistically with Catholic
practices (e.g., Hill 1992:92-93). This custom
perhaps enjoyed considerable time depth, since
the effigies mentioned in the Temple of the
Inscriptionsmay have been occasionally taken to
the Cross Group for ritual purification. Third,
similar effigies have been recovered from royal
burials at Tikal, Guatemala(e.g., Coe 1967:57).
More broadly,the "heat"being generatedin the
Palenque"sweatbaths"was of an entirely figura-
tive sort.7Nonetheless, the complex iconography
of the Cross Groupis by no meansfully explained
by this interpretation,although it does provide a
useful frameworkfor analysis.
Nor, contrary to statements by Robertson
(1991:10), are such structuresunique. Andrews
(1989:Figures121, 1141, 1145)documents"sanc-
tuary"layouts in temples, some in triadicpattern,
at the Tabasquenosite of Comalcalco. Of later
date thanthe examples from Palenque,these tem-
ples most likely derive from the innovations in
the Cross Group; it is probably no coincidence
that an apparentPalenqueEmblem Glyph was in
local use at Comalcalco (Andrews 1989:Figure
115a). Similarly,a reference to the building of a
pibna, "sweatbath," occurs on Tortuguero
Monument6, a T-shapedslab just under 2 m in
height (Riese 1980). Not surprisingly,the local
dynasty also employed the Palenque Emblem
Glyph. Sites with close dynasticties (as cadet lin-
eages?) to Palenquemay have been more inclined
to use these architecturalforms and the glyphic
expressions for them.
Along with Lothrop (cited in Satterthwaite
1952:5, 24-25), although for very different rea-
sons, Taube and I also identify some of the
Postclassic shrineson the east coast of Yucatanas
symbolic sweatbaths. The best example is the
temple of San Miguel on Cozumel Island,a place
known to be closely linked to Ix Chel, the aged
goddess of birth,creation,anddestruction(Figure
12; Roys et al. 1940:5; Freidel and Sabloff
1984:45). The temple has an internal chamber
measuring 1.5 x 2.14 x 1.83 m relatively close
to the measurementsof the Palenque sanctuar-
ies and, even more important, contains the
carved image on a frontal column of an aged
woman in the birthingposition, her belly corru-
gated with the stretchmarksof manypregnancies,
 .

LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
146 lVol. 7, No. 2, 1996

stairways clearly not the best location for

ballplay, since the ball would carom uncontrol-
lably off the jagged angles of steps. lwhe
conflated
imagery vibrates with related or consecutive
events, of ballgames, human sacrifice, or the rit-
ual display of captives, regardless of
whether
ballplayingactuallytook place on stairways.
Other evidence underlines the complexity of
meaningin Maya architecture.Metaphorsabound
in Classic buildings. The Maya observed
concep-
tual similarities between stairways and the
suc-
cession of kings (Houston 1994) and linked

A
b .^ structuresto hills and doorwaysin stone buildings
to the entrances of caves (Schele and

havebeen noted by Africanists,particularly

Freidel
1990:7() 73)*Some of these generalpatternsalso
Blier,
whoreportson vernaculararchitectureamong
the
Batammaliba in Benin and Togo (Blier
',
1987:3S37). Blier shows that buildings embody
symbolswith "the ability . . . to carry multiple
, l, ,
meaningssimultaneously"(Blier 1987: 218), and
W
,

,/
* * .
I that,throughmetaphor,Batammalibaarchitecture
.

notonly exists in the present,to be used and

O 5m acti-
I . vatedby ritual, but recalls acts of creation
. . . I
and
"thehighly abstract and remote realm of
B the
larger cosmos" (Blier 1987:57, 175). Buildings
Figure12. Oblique view and plan of a
possible symbolic
sweatbathat San Miguel, Cozumel, Yucatan
may evoke like things and convey differentlevels
(after ofmeaning;the configurationof the human
Lothrop1924:Figure 166).
body
canform a templatefor understandingthe house,
levelsof a building may correspondto levels of
herhands grasping breasts, perhaps in allusion
to the
cosmos, the act of constructionreplicatespri-
theonset of lactation (Lothrop
1924:Figures 165 mordial creation. The building itself becomes a
and166; this is the same figure Holmes
described means of establishingand reinforcingorder,espe-
as"an ape-visaged figure" [1895:65]).
Similar cially
when its shape and function couple events
statues
"of tall women" may have been seen at Isla
andbeings of the distantpast with actions carried
Mujeres by Bernal Diaz del Castillo (see Freidel
outin the present. Some of these
andSabloff 1984:45). Again, the aim was not to multiple
metaphors may have been known to all; elite
build
a literal sweatbath, as Lothrop supposed,
but architecturesimply preserved evidence of them
todeviseone that operated symbolically.
better
than the perishable constructionsof non-
elite
membersof society. But perhapsthe esoter-
Discussion
ica
of architecturalmetaphor resulted equally
The
Cross Group buildings at Palenque sweat-
froma need to maintain a sense of mystery or
baths
that function symbolically-raise
intriguing epistemologicalprivilege, in which, as Griaule
questions about Maya architecture. Elsewhere,
sawfor the Dogon in Mali, deeper knowledge
Millerand I have described "conflationary" pat-
remained the preserve of a "tight-knitgroup of
terns
in depictions of Maya buildings (Miller
and eldersand priests" (Blier 1987:219; Griaule
Houston 1987). Sculptors combined or "con-
1965),
ratherlike the "languageof zuyua"distin-
flated"
ballgame imagery with depictions of stair-
guishingnoble from non-noble in Late
ways;on occasion, the imagery itself occurs
on Postclassic
Yucatan(Roys 1967).8

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA
My contention is that the Cross Group sweat-
baths need to be understoodwithin a framework
of metaphor and ritual praxis. They are like
sweatbathsbut do not generate perceptible heat;
they exist in relationto the distantpast, when the
gods were born near or in their natal sweatbaths,
yet were patentlyconstructedby the Late Classic
Maya. ln some respects,to describethem as sym-
bolic or metaphoric sweatbaths (being at once
like, and unlike, the real structures) skirts the
essential identity between things in a metaphoric
relationship.Ritual ensures that actual and sym-
bolic sweatbaths discharge similar functions,
although with very different participants both
structures may purify and restore equilibrium.
Likewise, buildings in Classic Maya cities may
both imitate mythological structures,such as a
primeval"houseof water,"and, at the same time,
be those structures,a nonpareil, mythic original
being duplicated in many separate locations
(Schele 1994). In this, Maya buildings resemble
the Aztec Templo Mayor,at once a pyramidcon-
taining many different stages of construction,
commissioned by distinct Aztec rulers, and at
least two mythological locations (Matos
Moctezuma 1987:199).
But such issues will not be resolved here.What
we can address is a point raised a century and a
half ago by John Lloyd Stephens: "Thereis rea-
son to believe . . . thatthe enclosed innerchamber
was an adoratorio,or oratory,or altar.What the
rites and ceremonies of worship may have been,
no one can undertaketo say" (Stephens 1841:2,
347). Here we have undertakenStephen'scharge,
and arguedthatthe sanctuariesin the Cross Group
exist in both tangible and symbolic dimensions,
as places linked to divine birth and purification
within the architecturalsetting of a sweatbath.
That such subtleties are now within reach points
to the contributionMaya epigraphycan make to
archaeology and to the necessity of recognizing
the richness of semantic play in Classic Maya
architecture.
Acknowledgments.This paper is for my teachers,Michael D.
Coe and Floyd G. Lounsbury.I acknowledge with gratitude
the advice of John Clark, Michael Coe, Beth Conklin, Paula
Covington, Pat Culbert, Don Forsyth, John Hawkins, Kevin
Johnston, Mark King, Mary Miller, John Monaghan, John
Pohl, Linda Schele, Payson Sheets, and three anonymous
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
147
reviewers. These colleagues have helped me sharpen the
paper, although perhaps not always to their satisfaction;this
remains very much an essay structuredin my own idiosyn-
cratic way. Karl Taube was especially helpful with ideas and
sources and with providing stimulating insights into the
iconographyof birthin Mesoamerica;as always, David Stuart
assistedby sharinghis unmatchedknowledgeof Mayanscript.
Patient audiences at the University of Arizona and Brigham
Young University listened to a preliminaryversion of this
paper, and their comments contributed to its revision.
Financialsupportand otherassistancecame from the Peabody
Museum and Departmentof Anthropology,Yale University,
and from a grant bestowed on David Stuart and me by the
National Endowment for the Humanities, Collaborative
ResearchProgram;the views presentedhere do not necessar-
ily represent the opinions of this munificent organization.
Linda Schele invited me to present the first formulationof
these ideas at a symposium in honor of Merle Greene
Robertsonand Floyd Lounsbury.To Floyd I owe a great deal
for both his example and many kindnesses. This paper (and
two apples!) goes to him and to my other teacher in Mayan
script,Michael D. Coe.
References Cited
Agrinier,P.
1966 La casa de banos de vapor de San Antonio. Boletfn
del InstitutoNacional de Antropologia 25:29-32.
Alcina Franch,J., A. Ciudad Ruiz, and J. Iglesias Ponce de
Leon
1982 El "temazcal"en Mesoamerica:evolucion, forma y
funcion. Revista Espafiola de AntropologfaAmericana
10:93-132.
Alvarez, C.
1984 Diccionario etnolinguistico del idioma maya
yucateco colonial. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de
Mexico, Mexico, D.F.
Andrews,G. F.
1989 Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico: Maya Art and
Architecture.Labyrinthos,Culver City, California.
Andrews, E. W., IV, and E. W. Andrews,V
1980 Excavations at Dzibilchaltun, Yucatan, Mexico.
Publication 48. Middle American Research Institute,
Tulane University, New Orleans.
Arreola,J. M.
1936 El temazcal o bano mexicano de vapor. Ethnos
1:28-33.
ArzapaloMarin,R. (translator)
1987 El ritual de los Bacabes. Fuentes parael Estudio de
la Cultura Maya 5. Instituto de Investigaciones
Filologic as, Centro de Estudios Maya, Universidad
Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, D.F.
BarreraVasquez,A. (editor)
1980 Diccionario Maya Cordemex, Maya-Espafiol,
Espafiol-Maya.Ediciones Cordemex, Merida.
Beltrande Santa Rosa Maria,P.
1859 Grama'ticay semidiccionario de la lengua maya:
arte del idioma maya reducido a sucintas reglas y
semilexicon yucateca. Espinosa, Merida.
Berdan,F. F., and P. R. Anawalt
1992 The Codex Mendoza. S vols. University of
California Press, Berkeley.
Berlin, H.
 148
LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
1963 The Palenque Triad. Journal de la Socie'te'des
Ame'ricanistes52:91-99.
Blake, S., and M. Blake
1988 A Regional Study of Household Features in
Modern Maya Communities. In Ethnoarchaeology
Among the Highland Maya of Chiapas Mexico, edited
by T. A. Lee, Jr., and B. Hayden, pp. 39v3. PapersNo.
56. New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham
Young University, Provo, Utah.
Blier, S. P.
1987 The Anatomy of Architecture: Ontology and
Metaphor in Batammaliba Architectural Expression.
CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.
Bricker,V. R.
1973 Ritual Humor in Highland Chiapas. University of
Texas Press, Austin.
Campbell,R. J.
1985 A Morphological Dictionary of Classic Nahuatl: A
Morpheme Index to the Vocabulario en lengua mexi-
cana y castellana of Fray Alonso de Molina. Hispanic
Seminary of Medieval Studies, Madison, Wisconsin.
Carrasco,P.
1946 El temazcal. In Me'xicoprehispa'nico,edited by J.
A. Viro, pp. 737-741.
Caso, A.
1960 Interpretation of the Codex Bodley 2858.
Translated by R. Morales, revised by J. Paddock.
Sociedad Mexicana de Antropologia, Mexico, D.F.
Coe, M. D.
1978 Lords of the Underworld:Masterpieces of Classic
Maya Ceramics. Princeton University Art Museum,
Princeton, New Jersey.
Coe, M. D., and P. T. Furst
1977 Ritual Enemas. Natural History 86(3):88-91.
Coe, W. R.
1967 Tikal: A Handbook of the Ancient Maya Ruins.
University of Pennsylvania Museum, Philadelphia.
Corona,H.
1960 Deidades de la medicina y de los banos. Boletin del
Centro de Investigaciones Antropolo'gicasde Me'xico
8.6-8.
Cortezy Larraz,P.
1958 Descripcion geografico-moral de la Diocesis de
Goathemala,tomo II. Sociedad de Geografiae Historia,
GuatemalaCity.
Cosminsky,S.
1972 Decision Making and Medical Care in a
Cuatemalan Indian Community. Ph.D. dissertation,
Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. University
Microfilms, Ann Arbor.
1977 El papel de la comadrona en Mesoamerica.
Ame'ricaIndigena 37(2):305-335.
Cresson,F. M.
1938 Maya and Mexican Sweat Houses. American
Anthropologist40:88-104.
deCoto, T.
1983 Thesaurus verborum.In Vocabulariode la lengua
Cakshiquel v[el] Cuatemalteca, nuevamente hecho y
recopilado con summo estudio, travajo y erudicion,
edited by R. Acuna. UniversidadNacional Autonoma de
Mexico, Mexico, D.F.
deFuentes y Guzman,F. A.
1972 In Obras historicas de don Francisco Antonio de
Fuentes y Cuzma'n:Recordacion Florida (1690-1699),
edicion y estudio preliminar de C. Saenz de Santa
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
Maria. Biblioteca de Autores Espanoles. Ediciones
Atlas, Madrid.
de Smet, P. A. G. M.
1985 Ritual Enemas and SnuJ5fsin the Americas.
America Studies 33. Centre for Latin American
Research and Documentation,Dordrecht,Holland.
Duran,D.
1971 Book of the Gods and Rites and the Ancient
Calendar. Translatedby F. Horcasitas and D. Heyden.
University of OklahomaPress, Norman.
Edmonson,M. S.
1965 Quiche'-English Dictionary. Publication 30.
Middle American Research Institute,Tulane University,
New Orleans.
Foster,G. M., and B. G. Anderson
1978 Medical Anthropology.John Wiley and Sons, New
York.
Freidel, D. A., and J. A. Sabloff
1984 Cozumel: Late Maya Settlement Patterns.
Academic Press, New York.
Freidel,D., L. Schele, and J. Parker
1993 Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the
Shaman'sPath. William Morrow,New York.
Furst,J. L.
1978 Codex VindobonensisMexicanus 1:A Commentary.
Publication4. Institutefor MesoamericanStudies, State
University of New York,Albany.
Gage,T.
1958 In ThomasGage's Travelsin the New World,edited
by J. E. S. Thompson. University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman.
GironMendez, I. de J.
1985 El temazeal: un estudio arqueologico y su trascen-
dencia contemporanea. Licenciaturathesis, Escuela de
Historia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala,
GuatemalaCity.
Griaule,M.
1965 Conversations with Ogotemmelli:An Introduction
to Dogon Religious Ideas. Oxford University Press,
Oxford.
Hill,R. M. II
1992 Colonial Cakshiquels: Highland Maya Adaptation
to Spanish Rule, 1600-1700. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Fort Worth,Texas.
Hollenbach,E.
1977 El origen del sol y de la luna: cuatro versiones en
el trique de Copala. Tlalocan 7:123-170.
Holmes,W. H.
1895 Archaeological Studies Among the Ancient Cities
of Mexico, pt. 1. Anthropological Series 1. Field
Museum of NaturalHistory, Chicago.
Houston, S. D.
1994 Classic Maya Depictions of the Built Environment.
Paper presented at the October 9, 1994, Pre-Columbian
Symposium "Function and Meaning in Classic Maya
Architecture,"DumbartonOaks, Washington,D.C.
Houston, S. D., and D. S. Stuart
1989 The Way Glyph: Evidence for '4Co-essences"
Among the Classic Maya. Research Reports on Ancient
Maya Writing 30. Center for Maya Research,
Washington,D.C.
Ichon, A.
1973 La religion de los Totonacasde la Sierra, Me'xico.
Instituto Nacional Indigenista, Mexico, D.F.
1977 A Late Postclassic Sweathouse in the Highlands of
Houstonl SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA 149

Guatemala.AmericanAntiquity42:203-209. Mythological Portion of the Hieroglyphic Text of the

Jansen,M. E. R. G.
1982 Huisti Tacu:estudio interpretativode un libro mix-
teco antiguo, Codex Vindobonensis Mexicanus 1.
Incidentele Publicaties 24. Centro de Estudios y
Documentacion Latinoamericanos,Amsterdam.
Karttunen,F.
1992 An Analytical Dictionary of Nahuatl. University of
OklahomaPress, Norman.
Katz, E.
1990 El temazcal: entre religion y medicina. Paper pre- Mason, J. A.
sented at the III Coloquio de Historia de las Religiones
en Mesoamerica y Areas Afines, November 28-30,
Instituto de Inve stigac iones Antropologicas , Matos Moctezuma,E.
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico,
D.F.
Kelley, D.
1965 The Birth of the Gods at Palenque. Estudios de
CulturaMaya 1:183-198.
Kidder,A., and E. Shook
1959 A Unique Ancient Maya Sweathouse, Guatemala.
In AmerikanistischeMiszellen: Festband Franz Termer
in Freundschaftund Verehrunggewidmet von Freunden,
Kollegen un Schulern zur Vollendung des 65.
Lebensjahres, pp. 70-74. Mitteilungen aus dem
Museum fur Volkerkunde in Hamburg No. 25.
Kommissionsverlag Ludwig Appel, Hamburg.
Krickeberg,W.
1935 Beitrage zur Frage der alten kulturgeschichtlichen
Beziehungen zwischen Nord- und SUdamerika.
Zeitschriftfur Ethnologie 46:287-373.
Lee, T. A., Jr.
1979 Coapa, Chiapas:A Sixteenth-CenturyCoxoh Maya
Village on the Camino Real. In Maya Archaeology and
Ethnohistory,edited by N. Hammondand G. Willey, pp.
298-222. University of Texas Press, Austin.
Lee, T. A., Jr., and D. D. Bryant
1988 The Colonial Coxoh Maya. In Ethnoarchaeology
Among the Highland Maya of Chiapas, Mexico, edited Neuenswander,H. L., and S. D. Souder
by T. A. Lee, Jr., and B. Hayden, pp. 5-20. Papers No.
56. New World Archaeological Foundation, Brigham
Young University, Provo, Utah.
Lewis, O.
1951 Life in a Mexican Village: Tepoztlan Restudied.
University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Logan, M. H.
1977 AnthropologicalResearch on the Hot-Cold Theory
of Disease: Some Methodological Suggestions. Medical
Anthropology 1(4):87-112.
Lopez Austin, A.
1988 The Human Body and Ideology: Concepts of the
Ancient Nahuas. 2 vols. Translatedby T. and B. Ortiz de
Montellano. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City.
Lothrop,S. K.
1924 Tulum:An Archaeological Study of the East Coast
of Yucatan. Publication 335. Carnegie Institution,
Washington,D.C.
Lounsbury,F. G.
1976 A Rationale for the Initial Date of the Temple of
the Cross at Palenque. In The Art, Iconography, and
Dynastic History of Palenque, pt. III. Proceedingsof the Paul, L.
Segunda Mesa Redonda de Palenque, edited by M. G.
Robertson, pp. 211-234. Robert Louis Stevenson
School, Pebble Beach, Callifornia.
1980 Some Problems in the Interpretation of the
Temple of the Cross at Palenque. In Third Palenque
Round Table, 1978, pt. 2, edited by M. G. Robertson,
pp. 99-115. University of Texas Press, Austin.
1989 A Palenque King and the Planet Jupiter.In World
Archaeastronomy,edited by A. F. Aveni, pp. 246-259.
CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge.
1991 Distinguished Lecture: Recent Work in the
Deciphermentof Palenque's Hieroglyphic Inscriptions.
AmericanAnthropologist93:809-825.
1935 Mexican and Mayan Sweat-Baths. Museum
Bulletin 6(2):65, 67-69.
1987 Symbolism of the Templo Mayor. In The Aztec
TemploMayor: A Symposiumat Dumbarton Oaks, 8th
and 9th October 1983, edited by E. H. Boone, pp.
185-209. DumbartonOaks, Washington,D.C.
McKee, B. R.
1990 Excavationsat Structure9. In 1990 Investigationsat
the Cere'nSite, El Salvador:A PreliminaryReport,edited
by P. D. Sheets and B. R. McKee, pp. 90-107.
Department of AnFropology,Universityof Colorado,Boulder.
Miller, M. E., and S. D. Houston
1987 The Classic Maya Ballgame and its Architectural
Setting: A Study of Relations Between Text and Image.
RES 14:46-65.
Miller, M., and K. Taube
1993 The Gods and Symbols of Ancient Mexico and the
Maya: An Illustrated Dictionary of Mesoamerican
Religion. Thames and Hudson, London.
MoedanoN., G.
1977 El temazcal y su deidad protectoraen la tradicion
oral. Boletin del Departmento de Investigacion de las
TradicionesPopulares 4:5-32.
Morley, S. G.
1935 Guide to the Ruins of Quirigua. Publication
Supplement 16. Carnegie Institution,Washington,D.C.
1977 El sindrome caliente-frio, humedo-seco entre los
Quiches de Joyabaj: dos modelos cognitivos. In
Estudios cognitivos del sur de Me'soamerica,edited by
H. L. Neuenswander and D. E. Arnold, pp. 9>121.
Publication 3 of Museo de Antropologia. Instituto
Linguistico de Verano,Dallas.
Nuttall, Z. (editor)
1903 The Book of the Life of the Ancient Mexicans,
Containing An Account of Their Rites and
Superstitions,pt. I. University of California, Berkeley.
1975 The Codex Nuttall: A Picture Manuscript from
Ancient Mexico, introduction by A. G. Miller. Dover
Publications, New York.
Orellana,S. L.
1987 Indian Medicine in Highland Guatemala: The Pre-
Hispanic and Colonial Periods. University of New
Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
Parsons,E. C.
1936 Mitla: Town of the Souls, and Other Zapoteco-
Speaking Pueblos of Oaxaca, Mexico. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago.
1974 The Mastery of Work and the Mystery of Sex in a
Guatemalan Village. In Woman,Culture, and Society,
edited by M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere,pp. 281-299.
StanfordUniversity Press, Stanford,California.

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 LATINAMERICANANTIQUITY
150
Piho, V.
1989 E1uso del temazcal en la Altiplanicie Mexicana. In
Homenaje a Roman Pina Cha'n, coordinated by R.
Garcia Moll and A. Garcia Cook, pp. 213-228.
Coleccion Cientifica 187. Instituto Nacional de
Antropologia e Historia, Mexico, D.F.
Riese, B.
1980 Die Inschriften von Tortuguero,Tabasco. Material
der Hamburger Maya Inschriften Dokumentation 5.
Universitat Hamburg,Hamburg.
Ringle, W. M.
1988 Of Mice and Monkeys: The Valueand Meaning of
T1016, the God C Hieroglyph. Research Reports on
Ancient Maya Writing 18. Center for Maya Research,
Washington,D.C.
Robertson,M. G.
1983 The Sculpture of Palenque: 1. The Temple of the
Inscriptions. Princeton University Press, Princeton,
New Jersey.
1985 The Sculptureof Palenque: 111.The Late Buildings
of the Palace. Princeton University Press, Princeton,
New Jersey.
1991 The Sculpture of Palenque: 114 The Cross Croup,
the North Group, the Olvidado, and Other Pieces.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Roys, R. L.
1965 Ritual of the Bacabs: A Book of Maya Incantations.
University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
1967 The Book of Chilam Balam of Chumayel.
University of OklahomaPress, Norman.
Roys, R. L., F. V. Scholes, and E. B. Adams
1940 Report and Census of the Indians of Cozumel,
1570. Publication 523, Contribution 30. Carnegie
Institution,Washington,D.C.
Ruppert,K.
1935 The Caracol at Chiche'n Itza', Yucatan, Me'xico.
Publication454. Carnegie Institution,Washington,D.C.
1952 Chiche'n Itza: Architectural Notes and Plans.
Publication595. CarnegieInstitution,Washington,D.C.
Ruz Lhuillier,A.
1952 Exploraciones en Palenque, 1951. Anales del
InstitutoNacional de a4ntropologEa e Historia 5:47-66.
Satterthwaite,L.
1936 An Unusual Type of Building in the Maya Old
Empire. Maya Research 3(1):62-73.
1952 Piedras Negras Archaeology: Architecture; Pt. v
Sweathouses. University Museum, Philadelphia.
Schele, L.
1992 A New Look at the Dynastic History of Palenque.
In Supplement to the Handbook of Middle American
Indians: 5. Epigraphy, edited by V. R. Bricker, pp.
82-109. University of Texas Press, Austin.
1994 The Iconography of ArchitecturalFacades during
the Late and Terminal Classic Period. Paper presented
at the October 9, 1994, Pre-Columbian Symposium
"Functionand Meaning in Classic Maya Architecture,"
DumbartonOaks, Washington,D.C.
Schele, L., and D. Freidel
1990 A Forest of Kings: The Untold Story of the Ancient
Maya. William Morrow,New York.
Schele, L., and P. Mathews
1979 The Bodega of Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico.
DumbartonOaks, Washington,D.C.
1993 The Proceed ings of The Maya Hieroglyphic
Workshop,March 13-14, 1993, University of Texas at
This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
[Vol. 7, No. 2, 1996
Austin, transcribed and edited by P. Wanyerka.
Cleveland State University, Cleveland.
Seler, E.
1963 Codices Borgia. 3 vols. Fondo de Cultura
Economica, Mexico, D.F.
Sheets, P.
1992 The Ceren Site: A Prehistoric Village Buried by
Volcanic Ash in Central America. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Fort Worth,Texas.
Smith,A. L.
1950 Uaxactun, Guatemala: F,xcavations of 1931-37.
Publication588. CarnegieInstitution,Washington,D.C.
Stephens,J. L.
1841 Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas,
and Yucatan.2 vols. Harperand Brothers,New York.
Stuart,D.
1987 Ten Phonetic Syllables. Research Reports on
Ancient Maya Writing 14. Center for Maya Research,
Washington,D.C.
1994 "The Fire Enters His House": Maya Hieroglyphic
Records of Building Dedications and Related
Ceremonies. Paper presented at the October 9, 1994
Pre-ColumbianSymposium "Functionand Meaning in
Classic Maya Architecture." Dumbarton Oaks,
Washington,D.C.
Stuart,D., and S. Houston
1994 Classic Maya Place Names. Studies in Pre-
Columbian Art and Archaeology No. 33. Dumbarton
Oaks, Washington,D.C.
Taladoire,E.
1981 Les Terrains de Jeu de Ball (Me'so-ame'riqueet
Sud-Ouest des Etats Unis). Etudes Mesoamericaines,
Series II, no. 4. Mission Archeologique et Ethnologique
Francaiseau Mexique, Mexico.
Tarn,N., and M. Prechtel
1981 "Eating the Fruit": Sexual Metaphor and
Inititiation in Santiago Atitlan. Paper presented at the
XVII Mesa Redonda, Sociedad Mexicana de
Antropologia, San Cristobalde las Casas, June 21-27.
Taube,K. A.
1988 The Ancient Yucatec New Year Festival: The
Liminal Period in Maya Ritua1 and Cosmology.
Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation, Department of
Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven,
Connecticut.
1989 Itzam Cab Ain: Caimans, Cosmology, and
Calendrics in Postclassic Yucata'n.Research Reportson
Ancient Maya Writing 26. Center for Maya Research,
Washington,D.C.
Virkki,N.
1962 Comentariossobre el bano de vapor entre los indi-
genas de Guatemala.Guatemala Indfgena 2(2):71-85.
Wagley,C.
1949 The Social and Religious Life of a Guatemalan
Village. Memoir No. 71. American Anthropological
Association, Menasha, WI.
Wauchope,R.
1938 Modern Maya Houses: A Study of Their
Archaeological Significance. Publication 502. Carnegie
Institution,Washington,D.C.
Notes
1. Lakam may be glossed as either"big" or "banner"(Stuart
and Houston 1994:30). As David Stuart(personalcommuni-
Houston] SYMBOLICSWEATBATHSOF THE MAYA
151

cation 1992) points out to me, "banner"accords better with ing 13 jars of cenote wateron a flat, presumablyheated stone.
iconographic evidence, in which soft objects held by lords The text is importantfor two reasons: (1) the color-codingof
(and at least one lady) closely resemble elements of the "circles" (seating areas?) and kinds of steam suggest some-
LAKAM logograph. thing of the recondite,ritualizednatureof this bathing;and (2)
2. Robertson reconstructsthe head as that of a supernatural the existence of such an incantationin the northernLowlands
confirms the use of sweatbathsin areas beyond their present
being, yet a photographby Maudslay demonstratesthat the
head was completely gone by 1889, leaving its identity up to distribution.Regrettably,the two translationsof this passage
in the Ritual of the Bacabs vary considerably,although the
conjecture(Robertson 1991:Plate81).
general meaningremainsclear.
3 I leave out a possible, intermediatedate of 9.12.18.5.19 for
the reason that it is unlikely to exist an ordinalconstruction, 7. There is a possibility thatthe notions of "hot"and "cold"as
appliedto humansmay have extended to partsof the ceremo-
occurringwith a transitiveverb referringto the summoningof
nial landscapeat Palenque;presumably,certainlocations gen-
gods, has been, in my view, mistakenly identified as a so-
called "distance number,"which specifies the time elapsed erated "heat,"others exercised a "cold"influence on states of
between two dates (cf. Schele and Mathews 1993:124). bodily equilibrium.Implicit here is a rejection, seconded by
Lopez Austin (1988) in his study of centralMexican belief, of
4. Schele and Freidel are mindful of this reading (1990:470, Foster's notions regarding the Spanish origins of humoral
Figure 6:14) but preferto emphasize the meaningof "sanctu- pathology in indigenous medicine (cf. Foster and Anderson
ary"or "undergroundbuilding,"a term thoughtto evoke "the 1978:59). Foster's historicalperspectivewas a useful correc-
tombs of Pacal and other kings in pyramids" (Schele and tive to prior,naive ideas, but, in my opinion, has been taken
Freidel 1990:239). too far, as was also trueof his studyof nagualism(cf. Houston
5. Some of these readings,especially och na, come from work and Stuart1989).
by Stuart (1994). Note, too, that several signs are undeci- 8. Alternatively,only a few structuresmay have meritedsuch
phered, such as the superfix on the "sky" glyph; readings metaphoricplay.A glimmerof this occurs in Colonial Yucatec
markedwith an asteriskare reconstructiblefrom parallelver- sources, such as the ChilamBalam of Chumayel,in which the
sions in other inscriptions.The Cholan spelling of the month most importantstructure,the Cathedralin Merida, Yucatan,
name has been modified to accord with epigraphic usage, was describedin termsof couplets:"his greatchurch,his royal
which favors Yucatecanforms. house, his mountainoushouse, his darkhouse, for the service
6. Taubepoints out to me that the Ritual of the Bacabs, writ- of God the Father,God the Son, God the Holy Ghost"(Roys
ten in YucatecMaya, provides the most complete indigenous 1967:43, with my emendationsof the translation).
descriptionof sweatbathingand its medicinalproperties(Roys
1965:6s61, 106-107; Arzapalo Marin 1987:398v00). Text
XL, folia 18>182, records the generationof steam by pour- Received February22, 1994; accepted January 13, 1995.

This content downloaded from 188.37.82.74 on Sun, 8 Jun 2014 20:41:56 PM

All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions