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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Colonia Polanco in Ciudad de México, Mexico — The Valley of Mexico (The Central Highlands)
 

Bonampak

 
 
Bonampak Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, November 30, 2019
1. Bonampak Marker
Inscription.  

Bonampak: Cuarto 1
En el año 790 d.C. los miembros de la corte vistiendo capas blancas y collares de Spondylus, se congregan frente a Yajaw Chan Muwaan y su familia que los observa desde el trono. Asisten a la presentación del joven príncipe heredero bajo la supervisión de la familia real de Yaxchilán. A un lado del trono se distingue un bulto que contiene 8000 granos de cacao, entregado al gobernante quizás como tributo. Sobre el muro de la entrada, Yajaw Chan Muwaan es asistido para ataviarse con un resplandor de plumas de quetzal y sus brazaletes, es el preludio a la danza ritual; mientras en el recuadro inferior los artesanos elaboran el vestuario. La escena inferior muestra una procesión de músicos y danzantes que ingresan al recinto por la puerta, son quienes acompañan a los señores de Bonampak, Yaxchilán y Lacanjá en su danza ritual. Desde el cielo las potestades divinas contemplan el evento.

Bonampak: Cuarto 2
El tema central es la batalla, cuya importancia es enfatizada incorporando al espectador en la contienda. El propósito de la guerra era obtener cautivos para el sacrificio
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ritual, por ellos vemos a Yajaw Chan Muwaan en el muro central tomando de los cabellos a su prisionero. En la pared que el observador tiene a su derecha, un grupo de guerreros protege una caja de madera, quizás sea la misma que veremos bajo la banqueta del cuarto 3. Al paracer, las cajas de madera al igual que los bultos que se muestran junto a los gobernantes, contenían objetos sagrados y de poder, tales como cetros, perforadores para el autosacrificio y espejos. En el mural sobre la puerta de acceso, Yajaw Chan Muwaan, acompañado por sus sajales, cortan la última falange a los vencidos. En el firmamento brilla la constelación de la Tortuga que hoy conocemos como el cinturón de Orión, así como la de los Pecaríes, que podría ser Géminis.

Bonampak: Cuarto 3
En lo alto de un gran basamento los señores de Bonampak, Yaxchilán y Lacanjá encabezan una danza ritual, ataviados ahora con tocados de pumas y una especie de “alas”. En esta danza también participan siete personajes que pudieran ser los sajales que se destacaron en la batalla; todos ellos acompañados por un grupo de músicos. La escena plasmada en la parte superior del acceso se desarrolla al interior del Palacio, donde los señores engalanados nuevamente con sus capas blancas y collares de Spondylus, comentan los sucesos. Quizás en un espacio íntimo, por tratarse de una sangría ritual, las damas
Additional Bonampak Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton
2. Additional Bonampak Markers
de la corte se perforan la lengua. Se encuentra con ellas el príncipe heredero, a quien introducen en el ritual. Bajo la banqueta se observa una caja de madera, seguramente la que los vencedores tomaron como trofeo de guerra con los objetos de poder.

English translation:
Bonampak: Room 1
In the year 790 A.D. the members of the court, wearing white capes and necklaces of Spondylus, congregate in front of Yajaw Chan Muwaan and his family who watches them from the throne. They attend the presentation of the young crown prince under the supervision of the royal family of Yaxchilan. On the side of the throne there is a bundle containing 8000 cacao beans, delivered to the ruler, perhaps as a tribute. On the wall of the entrance, Yajaw Chan Muwaan is helped to dress with glowing quetzal feathers and his bracelets as the prelude to a ritual dance; while in the bottom part of the mural artisans make costumes. The lower scene shows a procession of musicians and dancers who enter the enclosure through the door. They accompany important men from Bonampak, Yaxchilán and Lacanjá in their ritual dance. From heaven the divine powers contemplate the event.

Bonampak: Room 2
The central theme here is the battle, whose importance is emphasized by incorporating the spectator into the contest. The purpose of the war was to obtain
Bonampak Markers image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, November 30, 2019
3. Bonampak Markers
The markers can be seen in the doorways of a reproduction Bonampak building in the distance.
captives for ritual sacrifice, so we see Yajaw Chan Muwaan in the central wall taking a prisoner by the hair. On the wall on the observer’s right, a group of warriors protects a wooden box, perhaps the same we will see under the bench of Room 3. Towards the end, the wooden boxes as well as the bundles are shown together with the rulers, so they may have contained sacred and powerful objects, such as scepters, needles used for self-sacrifice and mirrors. In the mural above the access door, Yajaw Chan Muwaan, accompanied by his sajales, cut the last finger from the defeated. In the sky shines the constellation of the Turtle that we know today as the Belt of Orion, as well as that of the Peccaries, which could be Gemini.

Bonampak: Room 3
At the top of a large foundation, the lords of Bonampak, Yaxchilán and Lacanjá lead a ritual dance, now dressed in puma headdresses and "wings." This dance also involves seven characters that could be the sajales that stood out in the battle. All of them are accompanied by a group of musicians. The scene embodied in the upper part of the access way takes place inside the Palace, where the men, again wearing their white capes and Spondylus necklaces, comment on the events. Perhaps in an intimate space, because of the act of a ritual bleeding, the ladies of the court pierce their tongues. The crown prince meets them,
A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, November 30, 2019
4. A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals
whom they introduce into the ritual. Under the sidewalk a wooden box is observed, surely the one that the victors took as a war trophy, together with its objects of power.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, MusicNative AmericansWars, Non-US.
 
Location. 19° 25.532′ N, 99° 11.245′ W. Marker is in Ciudad de México. It is in Colonia Polanco. Marker is on Avenida Paseo de la Reforma, on the left when traveling east. The markers and reproductions of the Bonampak murals are on the grounds of the National Anthropological Museum of Mexico, south of the main building of the museum. The marker can only be seen by entering the museum grounds. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Ciudad de México 11100, Mexico. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Stela 12 of Piedras Negras (within shouting distance of this marker); Stela 6 of Piedras Negras (within shouting distance of this marker); Hochob Building 2 (within shouting distance of this marker); Ek Balam Building 1 (within shouting distance of this marker); Stela E of Quiriguá (about 120 meters away, measured in a direct line); Monolith of Coatlinchán (approx. 0.3 kilometers away); The National Anthropology Museum of Mexico
A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, November 30, 2019
5. A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals
(approx. 0.3 kilometers away); The Large and Small Lakes at Chapultepec (approx. half a kilometer away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ciudad de México.
 
Also see . . .  Bonampak. (Submitted on February 2, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.)
 
A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals image. Click for full size.
Photographed By J. Makali Bruton, November 30, 2019
6. A portion of the reproduction Bonampak murals
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on February 2, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana. This page has been viewed 159 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on February 2, 2020, by J. Makali Bruton of Accra, Ghana.

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May. 10, 2024