The discovery of a large corpus of Maya inscriptions and paintings in the cave of Naj Tunich in 1980 attracted the attention of scholars because of an explicitly drawn image of a naked couple locked in an embrace. The initial analysis identified it as part of a well-known scene portraying an old male deity with a young female goddess. With the passage of time, it has become increasingly popular to interpret the drawing as depicting a homoerotic ritual involving two men. This article reviews the iconography to show that there is no evidence to suggest that two men are present, especially since male genitalia are drawn on only one figure. Additionally, the homoerotic interpretation is inconsistent with what is known about cave ritual.
References
[1]
Brady, J. E. (1989). AnInvestigationofMayaRitualCaveUsewithSpecialReferencetoNajTunich,Peten,Guatemala. Ph.D. Dissertation, Archaeology Program, University of California.
[2]
Davies, N. (1977). TheToltecUntiltheFallofTula. University of Oklahoma Press.
[3]
Deuss, K. (2007). Shamans,WitchesandMayaPriests:NativeReligionandRitualinHighlandGuatemala. The Guatemalan Maya Centre.
[4]
Garza, S., Espinosa, C., & Brady, J. E. (2004). La supervivencia de creencias y prácticas en el ulama. EstudiosJaliciencias,No.56, 29-39.
[5]
Houston, S. D., Stuart, D., & Taube, K. A. (2006). TheMemoryofBones:Body,Being,andExperienceamongtheClassicMaya. University of Texas Press.
[6]
Lesure, R. G. (2012). Figurine Fashions in Formative Mesoamerica. In J. K. Papadopoulos & G. Urton (Eds.), TheConstructionofValueintheAncientWorld (pp. 370-391). Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvdjrrxf.24
[7]
Looper, M. G. (2009). ToBe like Gods:DanceinAncientMayaCivilization. University of Texas Press.
[8]
Robicsek, F., & Hales, D. M. (1981). TheMayaBookoftheDead:TheCeramicCodex:TheCorpusofCodexStyleCeramicsoftheLateClassicPeriod. The University of Virginia Art Museum.
[9]
Sears, E. L. (2017). Mesoamerica-Maya. In T. Insoll (Ed.), TheOxfordHandbookofPrehistoricFigurines (pp. 221-244). Oxford University Press.
[10]
Sigal, P. (2000). FromMoonGoddessestoVirgins:TheColonizationofYucatecanMayaSexualDesire. University of Texas Press.
[11]
Stone, A. (1985). The Moon Goddess at Naj Tunich. Mexicon,7, 23-29.
[12]
Stone, A. (1995). ImagesfromtheUnderworld:NajTunichandtheTraditionofMayaCavePainting. University of Texas Press.
[13]
Stone, A. J. (2011). Keeping Abreast of the Maya: A Study of the Female Body in Maya Art. AncientMesoamerica,22, 167-183. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0956536111000137
[14]
Tarn, N., & Prechtel, M. (1986). Constant Inconstancy: The Feminine Principle in Atiteco Mythology. In G. Gossen (Ed.), SymbolandMeaningbeyondtheClosedCommunity:EssaysinMesoamericanIdeas (pp. 173-184). Institute for Mesoamerican Studies, University at Albany, State University of New York.
[15]
Taube, K. (1989). Ritual Humor in Classic Maya Religion. In W. F. Hanks, & D. S. Rice (Eds.), WordandImageinMayaCulture (pp. 351-382). University of Utah Press.
[16]
Thompson, J. E. (1970). MayaHistoryandReligion. University of Oklahoma Press.
[17]
Ware, G. A., & Brady, J. E. (1999). Multi-Spectral Analysis of Ancient Maya Pigments: Implications for the Naj Tunich Corpus. Center,19, 132-135.
[18]
Ware, G. A., Brady, J. E., & Martin, C. (2001). Multispectral Imaging and Spectral Classification of Naj Tunich Pigments. In Proceedings of the 54th Annual Spring Conference: Imaging Processing, Imaging Quality, Imaging Capture Systems (Vol. 6, pp. 2489-2491). Society for Imaging Science and Technology.
[19]
Ware, G. A., Chabries, D. M., Christiansen, R. W., Brady, J. E., & Martin, C. E. (2000). Multispectral Analysis of Ancient Maya Pigments: Implications for the Naj Tunich Corpus. In Proceedings of the 2000 International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (Vol. 6, pp. 2489-2491). Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. https://doi.org/10.1109/igarss.2000.859616
[20]
Wilson, R. (1995). MayaResurgenceinGuatemala:Q’eqchi’Experiences. University of Oklahoma Press.
