The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque) (23 page)

They chanted in unison, voices blending softly in the watery vastness of Underworld swamps and caverns. Pakal felt a quiver around his heart and realized the sun was setting. The moments for escape were upon him and he could delay no more. Quickly he summoned the owl that was his transport and heard large wings flapping nearby.

“Elie, I must leave now. You will be safe; you will be able to return to life in the Middleworld. Keep on chanting without end, believe and trust Ahau K’in. Farewell.”

Pakal leaped onto the owl’s back and urged it to speed toward the cave opening. Faintly he heard the voice of Pasah Chan calling him to return, not with his ears but with intuition. “Hurry, hurry!” The priest kept repeating. Wings flapping madly, the owl soared over the canyons, the River of Blood and the River of Pus. It swooped into the tunnel and ascended steeply. Golden sunlight sent shafts through the cave opening, tingeing the walls with rosy hues that dimmed rapidly. Pakal jumped off the owl, gave quick thanks and ran through the cave mouth just before its rocky teeth crunched down.

2

The sun reached perfect measure with the moon, day and night of equal length at the fall equinox. Slowly the sun’s path traveled southward as the days shortened and the season of rain intensified. Whether the sun rose and set in clear skies, tumbling clouds or pounding rain, Pakal stood outside with arms uplifted, chanting the incantation he taught the strange woman Elie. Twice daily he chanted, holding an aura of protection around her, and envisioning her being released from Xibalba.

One morning as the time of greatest darkness approached, he began the chant but spontaneously stopped. Alert to every nuance emanating from K’in Ahau, he sensed that something was different. Opening his eyes into slits, he squinted at the first brilliant rays of sunlight streaming through layered clouds to the east. Before the question could form in his mind, the answer was there. Elie was freed from the Underworld. Bowing with both arms folded across his chest, Pakal gave profound thanks to the Sun Lord, bringer of life anew upon the earth.

Although Pakal attempted to discover where the woman’s soul might have re-appeared, he could get no clear image. The only sense of location he could get was that her feet again touched the earth not far from where he stood. She returned to the lands of the Maya. That triggered the image he had seen while in Xibalba, the heart-rending vision of his city in ruins. It evoked strong emotions, too strong for him to effectively seek intuitive answers.

Perhaps his mother could help him reach some understanding. She must have heard stories from his grandmother about this strange woman.

When next visiting Sak K’uk, Pakal pursued information about Elie after their usual greetings and embraces.

“When you were a girl, did your mother Honored Ancestor Yohl Ik’nal tell you about her visions and journeys?”

“That she did, on many occasions,” Sak K’uk replied. “Most seemed so odd to me that I could not understand. She went to exotic places and interacted with many deities.”

“Did she ever mention a woman, maybe it was a young girl, named Elie?”

“Hmmm, not that I can recall. So many years and events have passed; I rarely visit these childhood memories. That is an unusual name.”

“She comes from foreign people, I believe,” said Pakal. “From somewhere far away.”

“Why are you asking this? How did you learn of her and what is the connection with my mother?” Sak K’uk was now thoroughly perplexed.

“You will recall my journey into the Underworld required by Pasah Chan, some moons ago.”

“Indeed, for much worried I was and thankful for your safe return.”

“While inside the caverns and swamps of Xibalba, after the tests and meeting with Yohl Ik’nal through the Vision Serpent – which I described to you – I had another experience that I was not yet ready to discuss. It involved fulfilling a request my grandmother made of me, and I could not mention it until it was completed. Recently I did complete it.”

“And this request involved the woman Elie?” Sak K’uk had a quick mind.

“Just so. My grandmother said Elie was her friend, a golden-haired woman from a distant place who became trapped in Xibalba. Grandmother asked me to help Elie escape the clutches of the Death Lords, saying it was of great importance to our family. And something else appeared during the time I was helping Elie. . I saw our city nearly covered by jungle, in ruins and being explored by Elie’s companions, who were angry and violent men seeking treasures.”

Sak K’uk frowned, concentrating. She dredged up faint recollections of stories her mother told, flitting impressions that she could not decipher.

“I remember once my mother tried to explain a visionary experience that showed the future of our people, and how the immense cycles of the calendar worked. She talked about rising and falling of cultures, but it was too complicated for my young mind.”

Sak K’uk sighed, giving the hand signal of regret.

“Much do I wish that I had listened more carefully, learned more from my mother about visioning.”

“But you do not recall any mention of the golden-haired girl?”

“No, my dearest. To my dismay, for I see it holds significance, I cannot recall anything.”

Time was once again much on Pakal’s mind. Since the Katun 9 ceremonies, K’in Ahau had completed two journeys from north to south, two full seasonal cycles. The passage of two tuns brought changes in both his body and mind. With the approach of his twelfth tun, Pakal had grown noticeably taller, his body well muscled from physical training and his face assuming mature proportions with a prominent straight-bridged nose that swept in a clean line from tip to elongated forehead. His long oval face had high cheekbones, arched brows over tilted almond eyes, and sculpted lips giving a sensitive expression. Immersion in esoteric sciences expanded his inquisitive mind and created a thoughtful quality in his manner. Constant awareness of his ba-ch’ok status and the heavy responsibilities that accompanied it, as well as the expectations placed upon him to repair the city and renew links with the deities, gave him a solemn character.

The attainment of 12 tuns not only signaled his accession to rulership, but also his transformation from childhood into early adulthood. Another 6 tuns were needed for full adulthood, although many young people assumed adult responsibilities, married and began families before then. The signs of a maturing body, of developing manhood, were evident and Pakal was instructed in management of sexual energy. Pasah Chan taught him the spiritual meanings and techniques for directing this powerful force.

“Sexuality is a very important tool of spiritual development. Sexual acts have procreative and recreational ends, but the greatest purpose is sacred union – more valuable than jade, more exquisite than cacao, and sweeter than ripe figs. All creatures of earth, air and water, the fruit and flowers, exchange masculine and feminine energies. The subtlest exchange, however, is between humans and the divine, and this requires spiritual contemplation and practices.

“First you must learn to sublimate your sexual impulses and use their power to boil the vapors within your body that propel spiritual expansion. This mix of desire, sexuality and breath creates the water and fire of these vapors. Take the principles you have mastered for movement of Ik’-wind-breath to control your mind, physical posture and respiration. Apply these now to the surges of sexuality moving through your being, bring this intense energy deep into your core and channel it upward along the spine to the center of spiritual awareness between your brows. Then will you experience the ecstatic explosion into sacred union.

“The woman is earth, is sweet, is cold and is night. The man is sky, is fire, is heat and is day. The two together create a vaporous force that awakens the Plumed Serpent to climb the central column of the body and open its energetic centers to the fullest until both attain the cosmic realm and know the infinite. Thus can you fully participate in the game of life and the miracle of creation.

“The lower centers along the spine have masculine nature, are filled with heat and fire, have to do with control, force and sexual drive. The upper centers are feminine and have to do with love, compassion, self-transcendence and spirituality. Dark shamans work with the lower centers and evoke their powers for harm or manipulation. Mystics work with the upper centers, but may be unable to accomplish practical worldly things. A real human, Halach Uinik, must master both lower and upper forces. True mystical guidance must be grounded in the earth, or it takes flight into mere imagination. Your accomplishments as a child in applying subtle energies have been impressive. Now your real work begins. You must become master of your body and mind, to serve your higher divine nature.”

Pakal listened to his mentor with avid interest. He recently began experiencing sexual urges, a mixture of intense surges of pleasure and disturbing agitation. The new things his body seemed capable of doing, particularly his genitals, made him bemused and eager. Pasah Chan was still a young man, and had married shortly before the Kan attack. Pakal was curious.

“Yum Ah K’in,” he said, using the honorific title Yum-Master, “have these things been your experience since you married?”

Pasah Chan tilted his head and eyed Pakal warily. The boy was nothing if not clever in probing for the information he sought.

“To some degree, yes,” the priest replied. “Mastery of sexual energy is a lengthy process. The innate skill and depth of insight possessed by the woman is key. Of this will I speak next.”

“Women must also learn control of sexual forces?”

“Indeed. In particular those women who will unite with rulers and ahauob leaders. These are ancient arts but sadly overlooked among many families.”

“With all respect, Master, was your esteemed wife so trained?”

Pasah Chan hoped the slight flush he felt spread across his face did not show.

“Not well-trained,” he admitted, quickly shifting focus back on Pakal.

“The woman chosen in the future as your wife must have outstanding training,” he said. “Your destiny calls for a consort whose ability to apply esoteric sexual techniques can match those you will develop. Where to find such a woman I do not yet know. Such training in Lakam Ha has fallen from favor among noble families. We shall search when the time comes.”

“When will be that time?” Pakal asked with more eagerness than pleased his teacher.

“Not for many tuns,” the priest replied sternly. “Great care must be taken, and you need time to perfect your abilities and assume your rulership responsibilities. Let such questions fall from your mind, Pakal. You have much to accomplish.”

Pakal lowered his eyelids and accepted the reprimand.

Pasah Chan continued on a cautionary note.

“Many women will look at you with eyes of desire, and you can choose to have them because of who you are. But you should choose not to have them, because of who you are. Your mission in life is ultimate service to your people. Your life is not your own, it belongs to the B’aakal lineage. It belongs to the deities from whom you are descended. Those in the most powerful positions have the greatest obligations, the grandest opportunities and the most profound risk. Your people’s destiny rests upon your shoulders; you may take it to new heights or plunge it into abysmal depths. For you – for rulers – the dangers to overcome arise from selfishness, greed, pride, and sensuality. Each danger has its snares that will entrap your spirit and cloud your mind.

“To avoid the snares of the sexual drive, you must master its forces and move them according to your intention. For this, you will need knowledge and experience. The first I can provide, the second a special Lunar Priestess will give at the appropriate time. She will teach you to manage your sexual energy using the ingredient most powerful upon the earth – the feminine essence. Woman is a gift of Hun Ahb Ku to men, and is considerably stronger on the spiritual and energetic level than men. When male and female sexual energies combine in sacred ways, immense creative forces are produced. The Lunar Priestess will give you techniques for shaping sexual intentions and focusing sexual forces. But not until you are united with the woman chosen as your royal consort, who is also well-trained and carries the correct bloodlines for your dynasty, will the fullness of this potential be realized.

“Until then, practice as I am teaching you with breath, meditation, physical postures and mental focus. Do not allow your mind or body to run away with you. Discipline is essential every moment. Apply the enormous will that you possess, and you shall successfully become master of yourself – as well as of vast knowledge, wisdom and power.”

Another aspect of time engulfed Pakal while studying the dynastic history of B’aakal. He memorized the lengthy recitation of origins tracing back to Muwaan Mat in the celestial realm, and the names and ruling dates of all his human predecessors from K’uk Bahlam. This story would be told during his accession ceremony, as it had been told by all designated as carrier of the royal bloodline. He reflected upon the character and qualities of each ruler, their accomplishments and building programs. He imagined how Lakam Ha appeared during the different time periods, and how the Lords of the Katuns influenced the city’s fortunes.

During one meditation about the Bahlam dynasty, he slipped into a spontaneous vision. On a cloud-enshrouded mountain several gentle hills surrounded a valley that cupped a small lake. Tall reeds grew along the shore, their narrow spires waving in soft breezes. Among the reeds, long-legged herons speared the shallow waters with pointed beaks. Clusters of green-backed ducks swam while numerous dark cormorants swooped and dove into the water. The forests beyond the lake were full of colorful red and blue macaws, magnificent iridescent quetzals, doves, owls, and sparrows. Howler monkeys cavorted in treetops. On the forest floor walked deer, peccary, coati and jaguars. Across the grassy hills near the lake, several snakes, turtles and lizards slithered.

The creatures began to form a procession, led by a jaguar with a quetzal perched on its back. Other strange combinations included a howler monkey grasping the long tail of a white coati, an open-mouth turtle with a macaw on its carapace, a snake twining around the neck of a peccary, a jaguar with a snake coiled on its back, a wind blowing from the north, a cormorant wearing a heart pendant, and a hawk-cormorant paired with a white quetzal.