The Headdress of a Kaloomte’

With the exception of the three Late Classic Tikal kings Jasaw Chan K’awiil I (AD 682), Yik’in Chan K’awiil (AD 734), and Yax Nuun Ahiin II (AD 768), accession statements for the office of Kaloomte’ were rarely noted on public monuments. As discussed in chapter 4, the earliest recorded accession was that of the Kaanul king K’ahk’ Ti’ Ch’ich’ in AD 550 (Martin 2005, 2017; Martin and Beliaev 2017). It is expected that there would have been a headdress that represented the office of Kaloomte’. One overlooked example of an accession into the office of Kaloomte’ is recorded in the main text of the Palenque Palace Tablet, and it provides the name of this headdress. The scene on the Palace Tablet illustrates K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II receiving an ux yop huun helmet and tok’-pakal from his parents (Bassie-Sweet et al. 2015; Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017) (figure 5.1). The focus of the scene is the acquisition of the ux yop huun, and the episode of the caption text that frames this action states that it happened when K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II was nine years old. It is his initiation into the Tlaloc cult. The main text begins with the birth of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II in AD 644 and states that he was the child of K’inich Janaab Pakal I and Lady Tz’akbu Ajaw (figure 5.2). The time frame then moves forward seven years to his first bloodletting event and k’al mayij “binding of the sacrifice” in honor of the triad of patron gods and other deities (Carrasco 2004:452; Stuart 2005b:154). The narrative then links his first bloodletting to his father’s 9.11.0.0.0 Period Ending ceremony. The text states in couplet form that K’inich Janaab Pakal I performed the two essential action of a k’atun Period Ending: he tied a commemorative stone and made a blood offering (Hull 2003:144). The story next relates the 9.11.13.0.0 Period Ending and specifies that K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II made a blood offering to the triad of patron gods on this minor Period Ending. The story continues with the death of his father (AD 683), who is said to have been a four k’atun Kaloomte’. The time frame then advances from the death of K’inich Janaab Pakal I to the accession (AD 684) of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s older brother K’inich Kan Bahlam II (AD 702). It also states that on this date K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II, who was thirty-nine years old at the time, was named heir apparent. The story moves forward to K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s death and then to the date of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s accession (AD 702). This date is greatly highlighted by a Supplementary Series notation, but instead of the expected reference to the sak huun headdress of kingship, the text refers to the tying of another type of huun headdress. The signs naming this headdress are undeciphered, but the first element is a variant of the “capped” ajaw sign that may be related to flowers (P1). The episode ends with a reference to the second change in the office of the West Kaloomte’.

The implication of this statement is that K’inich Janaab Pakal I was the first Palenque Kaloomte’ and that his eldest son, K’inich Kan Bahlam II, was the first successor to this office and his younger son, K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II, was the second. This parallels the situation at Yaxchilán, where the ruler Bird Jaguar III is named as a Kaloomte’ and his son is called the first successor of the Kaloomte’ (see chapter 6 for a further discussion of these Yaxchilán kings). With the exception of the Subterranean Tableritos and the Temple of the Inscriptions cornice, the two notations of K’inich Janaab Pakal I’s Kaloomte’ status in the Palace Tablet narrative are the only references in the over forty examples of K’inich Janaab Pakal I’s nominal phrase in the Palenque corpus. It is obviously an important point of the Palace Tablet narrative.

The next episode of the Palace Tablet story backs up in time to AD 615 and states that K’inich Janaab Pakal I took the sak huun headdress of kingship on this date. His nominal phrase again refers to him as a Kaloomte’. The narrative then returns to the accession date of his son K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II and states that he, too, took the sak huun headdress of kingship. K’inich K’an Joy Chitam’s accession as king is then tied to the climax of the story, which is the dedication of the building that housed this monument. While the narrative structure of this episode draws a direct parallel between the acquisitions of the sak huun headdress of kingship by K’inich Janaab Pakal I and his son K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II, it is the acquisition of the “flower” headdress that is highlighted by the Supplementary Series, and the taking of the “flower” headdress is referred to as the second succession of the West Kaloomte’. The obvious conclusion is that this headdress represents the office of Kaloomte’.

Regrettably, the name of the “flower” headdress has not been deciphered. Some evidence on the monuments of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s older brother K’inich Kan Bahlam II suggests that the headdress of a Kaloomte’ is the Tlaloc headdress consisting of the Mexican year sign and Tagetes lucida flowers.2 K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s accession as king is described in the narratives of the three Cross Group tablets. The scene on all three Cross tablets illustrates two moments in K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s life: his designation as heir apparent at age six and his accession at age forty-eight (Bassie-Sweet 1991). In all three illustrations of his accession, the caption text that frames him refers to the acquisition of the sak huun headdress of kingship. In each depiction, he wears a broad cloth headdress tied around his head. However, protruding out of the top of the cloth are the Mexican year sign and bundle of Tagetes lucida plants found in Tlaloc headdresses. Although K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s accession texts focus on the sak huun headdress of kingship, these elements of his headdress appear to be a subtle reference to his Kaloomte’ status. This suggests that the undeciphered “flower” headdress sign refers to these Tlaloc elements. Might it be that the “flower” of this headdress is a direct reference to the Tagetes lucida flower?

The Ux Yop Huun Headdress

The T678 ko’haw headdress identified with Tlaloc warriors was discussed in previous chapters. Although the T678 logograph of the ko’haw headdress illustrates a specific kind of helmet-like headgear made from platelets, the narrative on the Palenque Temple of the Inscription tablets employs the T678 helmet to describe the headdresses of the three Palenque thunderbolt deities known as GI, GII, and GIII (Macri 1988). Given that none of their headdresses take the helmet form of T678, this category of headgear must have been more inclusive than just the helmet form. The following discussion focuses on the T678 ko’haw helmet that is named ux yop huun.

As noted in chapter 4, the narrative on Tikal Stela 4 indicates that the young Tikal king Yax Nuun Ayiin I acquired his ux yop huun helmet on the day of his accession. The illustration of this event on Stela 31 depicts his helmet with a feathered diadem and a sweeping panache of feathers (see figure 4.8). The base of the feathers includes a row of shorter feathers and is decorated with the obsidian zigzag design. The Palace Tablet provides crucial information about the history of this type of headdress at Palenque and indicates that it was an heirloom that had been passed down through at least three generations (Bassie-Sweet et al. 2012; Bassie-Sweet 2017; Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017) (figure 5.1). The monument illustrates the fifty-one-year-old K’inich Janaab Pakal I handing an ux yop huun helmet to his nine-year-old son K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II in AD 654. The caption text that frames this action begins by stating that the ux yop huun was created in AD 598. The caption text is succinct and does not indicate who originally owned the headdress, but the regent at the time was K’inich Janaab Pakal I’s maternal grandmother, Lady Yohl Ik’nal, who reigned from AD 583 to AD 604.

Lady Yohl Ik’nal’s reign was highly unusual in that it is one of only two documented cases of a female acceding to the throne. It has been assumed that she was the daughter of the previous ruler K’inich Kan Bahlam I and that she was placed on the throne because he had no appropriate male heirs. Although obviously not in the descent line for rulership, her husband, Janaab Pakal, still must have been a member of the ruling dynasty, for he is called a holy Palenque lord in the Temple of the Inscriptions narrative. Following the death of Lady Yohl Ik’nal, the throne passed to her grandson Ajen Yohl Mat, who was the offspring of her daughter Lady Sak K’uk’ and son-in-law K’an Mo’ Hix. Although no birth record exists for Ajen Yohl Mat, there is clear evidence that he came to the throne as a child or youth and that his grandfather Janaab Pakal acted as a regent.3 A text on a stone incensario from Palenque Structure J-1 (also known as Group IV) states that during the reign of Ajen Yohl Mat, his maternal grandfather Janaab Pakal oversaw the accessions of a Ti’sakhuun (AD 608) and a series of Yajawk’ak’ lords in AD 610 (Zender 2004b:159). This function was usually the prerogative of a king, which suggests that Janaab Pakal was serving as regent. The text links these events to the successful war against Santa Elena three days later, suggesting that Janaab Pakal organized and led this invasion of Tlaloc warriors. I speculate that the ux yop huun was likely created for and first owned by Janaab Pakal. This does not preclude the possibility that the headdress was created from an early version of an ux yop huun.

Following the death of Ajen Yohl Mat in AD 612, a lord named Muwaan Mat took the throne. His relationship to Ajen Yohl Mat is unclear, but given that Ajen Yohl Mat’s twelve-year-old brother K’inich Janaab Pakal I then took the throne, it is possible that Muwaan Mat was also his brother. The Oval Palace Tablet illustrates K’inich Janaab Pakal I receiving an ux yop huun headdress from his mother, Lady Sak K’uk’ (figure 5.3). Although the Oval Palace Tablet inscription lacks a date, the adjacent texts to the monument suggest that he received the helmet on the occasion of his accession in AD 615. During K’inich Janaab Pakal I’s reign, Palenque’s fortunes increased, and by the time K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II received the ux yop huun from his father in AD 654, Palenque was enjoying a period of prosperity.

What is interesting about this acquisition is that K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II was not the heir apparent when he received the ux yop huun helmet. That role fell to his older brother K’inich Kan Bahlam II, who had been named heir in AD 641 and undergone another type of ritual just before K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s ux yop huun ceremony.4 These two brothers also had a younger sibling named Tiwol (Bassie-Sweet 1991; Ringle 1996; Stuart 2005b:152–153). The three brothers were pictured together prior to the death of their father on a stucco panel in Temple XVIII (Stuart 2005b:152–153). Without a doubt, all three brothers would have engaged in ritual activities during their youth to prepare them for their adult roles either as king or as part of the royal court, although only the early rituals of K’inich Kan Bahlam II and K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II were documented in the art of Palenque. While there is no record regarding the wives and children of his two older brothers, Tiwol married Lady Kinuw and had offspring. Although the reason for his demise is not known, Tiwol died in AD 680 at the relatively young age of thirty-two, three years before the death of his father.

After K’inich Janaab Pakal I’s death, his eldest son, K’inich Kan Bahlam II, took the throne. Because of his father’s advanced age, K’inich Kan Bahlam II was already forty-eight years old. The Palace Tablet narrative indicates that his brother K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II was then named heir apparent, one assumes because K’inich Kan Bahlam II had no offspring to designate. Following the death of K’inich Kan Bahlam II in AD 702, the fifty-seven-year-old K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II became king. He apparently also had no heirs, for the next ruler was the forty-four-year-old K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III, the son of Tiwol. K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III was just two years old when his father died. The household in which K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III was raised is unknown. However, the Temple XVIII stuccos and Temple XXI bench describe his first bloodletting event at the age of fourteen and his participation in Period Ending rituals during the reign of his uncle K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II in AD 694 and AD 709. Although there is no surviving death date for his uncle, it is assumed that he died just prior to K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s accession in AD 722. The Temple XIX and Tablet of the Slaves depict K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III receiving the ux yop huun headdress on the date of his accession as king.

In short, the ux yop huun headdress of Palenque was created in AD 598, likely for Janaab Pakal. K’inich Janaab Pakal I received it in AD 615 and passed it to his son K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II; finally, it was given to his grandson K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III. The acquisition of heirloom objects is found in virtually all cultures. It would be expected that headdresses would be passed down through the generations, particularly if they represented the accumulated spiritual powers of particular forebears.5 In Tzotzil Zinacantán, tools and clothing assume their owner’s soul (Breedlove and Laughlin 1993:105).

The Origins of the Tlaloc Cult at Palenque

The presence of the ux yop huun at Palenque in AD 598 indicates that Palenque had been incorporated into the Tlaloc cult at least by this time. A depiction of Tlaloc on the stucco facade on an Early Classic substructure in the North Group suggests that it was earlier than this date (Tovalín Ahumada and Ceja Manrique 1994). This sculpture is composed of a bust of a male wearing Tlaloc’s goggle-like eyes and carrying a spear thrower. Although the area above his head is damaged, the shell platelets of the headdress encase the face. The torso has the form of a bundle that is decorated with feathers and the obsidian zigzag design. The motif likely represents an effigy of an ancestor identified with Tlaloc.

The war narratives concerning the Kaloomte’ K’inich Kan Bahlam II suggest that the Tlaloc cult was part of the founding of the site in AD 490. The Tablet of the Sun focuses on his heir designation (AD 641) and accession events (AD 684) that were related to the deity GIII, who had clear associations with war as discussed in chapter 2. The right door jamb of the Temple of the Sun was shattered. A drawing made by a visitor to Palenque in AD 1787 prior to its destruction and the fragments that were subsequently recovered allow for a partial reconstruction (Mathews cited in Stuart 2006a:157). The jamb illustrated K’inich Kan Bahlam II standing in profile. It is uncertain what kind of headdress he was wearing, but the surviving fragments show him holding a spear and a Tlaloc incense bag. The caption text refers to a successful war against Toniná on 9.12.15.7.11 10 Chuwen 4 Sak (September 12, AD 687). It is the only reference to a war event in the Cross Group narratives; as such, it must have been a particularly important exploit for K’inich Kan Bahlam II.6 The Cross Group was completed in January AD 692, and K’inich Kan Bahlam II celebrated the important 9.13.0.0.0 Period Ending in March of that year.

The Temple XVII Tablet, which was created sometime after AD 695, illustrates K’inich Kan Bahlam II dressed in a Tlaloc warrior costume while standing before a kneeling captive (see figure 1.7). The scene contains two caption texts. The text on the right next to K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s headdress refers to the AD 687 war event conducted by K’inich Kan Bahlam II against Toniná (Mathews 2001). It is likely that K’inich Kan Bahlam II not only succeeded in attacking Toniná but actually killed its ruler (Martin and Grube 2008:181). According to monuments at Toniná, a new Toniná king named K’inich Baaknal Chaak took the throne the next year. He was thirty-six years old at the time of his accession and had surely participated in the earlier war with Palenque. His nominal phrase on Toniná Monument 171 indicates that he held the office of Kaloomte’ (Stuart 2013b). On October 7, AD 692, K’inich Baaknal Chaak retaliated against K’inich Kan Bahlam II (Zender 2004b:313; Martin and Grube 2008:18). He successfully captured the Yajawk’ak’ lord K’awiil Mo’, who was a vassal of K’inich Kan Bahlam II, as well as another Palenque-affiliated lord. More vassals of K’inich Kan Bahlam II from the region of the Usumacinta were captured the next year. Returning to the Temple XVII Tablet narrative, the caption text above the head of K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s prisoner names him as Bolon Yooj Ch’ok Aj “Rodent Head” and refers to his capture in AD 695. This event is clearly what is depicted in the scene. The implication is that K’inich Kan Bahlam II successfully struck back at Toniná and did so in the guise of Tlaloc.

No death date for the K’inich B’aaknal Chaak has survived, but his successor Ruler 4 was placed on the Toniná throne in November AD 708. Strangely enough, Ruler 4 was only two years old at the time (Martin and Grube 2008:183). What extraordinary circumstances would have led to such a situation is unknown. However, an examination of K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s captive Bolon Yooj Ch’ok Aj “Rodent Head” may clarify this situation. His nominal phase includes the title ch’ok “youth” (Stuart 1987; Ringle 1988), and such labels are commonly used to designate young princes. I speculate that Bolon Yooj Ch’ok Aj “Rodent Head” may have been the Toniná heir apparent for K’inich B’aaknal Chaak. Such a captive would certainly have been a coup for K’inich Kan Bahlam II and a significant loss for K’inich B’aaknal Chaak.7

While the scene on Temple XVII is concerned with the historical events of K’inich Kan Bahlam II, the main text that flanks the image begins with the Long Count date 9.2.15. 9.2 9 Ik’ ti’ Yaxk’in (AD 490) and the founding of Lakamhá by the Early Classic ruler Butz’aj Sak Chiik and his younger brother K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I. These lords were thirty-one and twenty-five years old, respectively. Lakamhá appears to refer specifically to the central zone of Palenque adjacent to the Río Otulum (Stuart and Houston 1994). Where these two lords were situated prior to this time is unknown, but other texts refer to a location called Toktan associated with earlier rulers. Palenque already had a significant population at this point in time. The narrative proceeds from the founding of Lakamhá to the AD 501 accession as king of Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I and calls him a holy Palenque lord. The time frame then backs up to the AD 490 founding event and emphasizes an action by K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I at this time and joins this to an event conducted by him one tzolk’in (260 days) later, in AD 491. Part of the concluding passage is destroyed, but what remains of it mentions K’inich Kan Bahlam II. While the meaning of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I’s actions is opaque, the juxtaposing of these Early Classic events and those of K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s implies that K’inich Kan Bahlam II’s success as a Tlaloc warrior was somehow linked to these earlier events. This is not the only monument that highlights the Early Classic king K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I. The mortuary shrine of K’inich Janaab Pakal I contains two narratives about his life and death: one in the temple and one in the tomb itself. Both narratives begin with events pertaining to K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I. I suspect that Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I may have been not only the first lord to be seated as king at Palenque but also the first to be inducted into the Tlaloc cult, and this is why he was particularly revered on the Temple XVII Tablet. It is also possible that the headdress K’inich Kan Bahlam II wears in the Temple XVII scene was an heirloom headdress that first belonged to K’inich Akhal Mo’ Nahb I.

Temple XVII is a building of modest size situated on the east side of the plaza that is south of the Cross Group. The plaza is dominated by the large Temple XX on its south side. The size of the temple-pyramid is deceptive because the earliest structure at this location was built during the Picota Phase (AD 200–AD 350) on a natural hillock. Temple XX contains an impressive Cascada Phase (AD 500 to AD 620) tomb consisting of a burial chamber with a vestibule and two side rooms (González Cruz and Balcells González 2015). Its size and sumptuous grave goods, including two jade masks, indicate its status as a royal burial. Regrettably, only fragments of bones were recovered, so little can be said about the nature of the body. Although badly deteriorated in places, the walls of the burial chamber were painted with at least nine figures. The best-preserved examples indicate that they were holding GII scepters and shields. The composition is clearly the role model for the better-preserved stucco reliefs found on the walls of the Temple of the Inscriptions tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal I that also feature figures holding GII scepters and shields. Given the importance of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I in the Temple of the Inscriptions narratives and the fact that K’inich Janaab Pakal I modeled his tomb after Temple XX, it is possible that Temple XX was the burial monument of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb I.

What is intriguing about the Temple XX tomb is that the eastern chamber contained three amazonite earplugs and an astonishing number (1,320) of amazonite beads (González Cruz and Balcells González 2015). The only known Mesoamerican sources of amazonite are in northern Mexico. Amazonite artifacts have been found in the tunnel under the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent, which is the major shrine related to the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan cult at Teotihuacán. Amazonite objects are relatively rare in the Maya region, but the tomb of Piedras Negras Ruler 3, who was intimately connected with the Tlaloc cult, contained 66 amazonite beads (Coe 1959:53, 124). The burial of the Tikal king Yax Nuun Ahiin I contained a pair of earrings depicting Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan serpents that were made from amazonite, jade, and shell (Moholy-Nagy 2008:fig. 85).8 The hoard of amazonite jewelry in Temple XX may indicate a relationship with Teotihuacán and, by extension, the Tlaloc cult.

The Origins of the Tlaloc Cult at Piedras Negras

Although the Piedras Negras rulers never carry the Kaloomte’ title in their nominal phrases, the acquisition of an ancestral ko’haw-type helmet in the form of a Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan headdress is documented on Piedras Negras Panel 2 (Schele and Miller 1986:149; Stuart 2000a:498–499; Martin and Grube 2008:144) (figure 5.4). The scene illustrates a central figure standing in a frontal pose, wearing this headdress and carrying a spear and rectangular shield decorated with an Owl Tlaloc. On the left side of the scene, six armed lords kneel before the central figure. Their small size indicates that they are youths, and they wear ko’haw helmets that are topped with Tlaloc year sign headdresses that have the obsidian zigzag design at the base. The caption text above each one provides his name and place of origin. The first youth is named as a Lacanhá lord, the second is from Bonampak, the third and fourth lords are from Lacanhá, the fifth lord is a very young lord from Yaxchilán (he is considerably smaller than the other youths), and the sixth lord is again from Lacanhá. The central figure is flanked on the right by a standing youth, who is named in the adjacent caption text as Joy Chitam Ahk, a ch’ok “youth” and lord of Piedras Negras. Joy Chitam Ahk wears the goggle eyes of Tlaloc, and he is armed with a spear and a shield decorated with a Tlaloc headdress.

There is no caption text adjacent to the central figure, so we must look to the main text to understand what event is illustrated and who this character is. The protagonist of the narrative is Piedras Negras Ruler 2, who was born in AD 626 and took the throne at the tender age of twelve (Martin and Grube 2008:142). The main text narrative begins with Ruler 2 receiving a ko’haw helmet on 9.11.6.2.1 3 Imix 19 Keh (AD 658), 20 years after his accession. The narrative then moves back in time 147 years to AD 510 and relates a similar ko’haw helmet acquisition event that happened to the Piedras Negras ruler Turtle Tooth. Turtle Tooth is said to have received his ko’haw helmet from a Kaloomte’ lord named Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun. The final episode of the Panel 2 narrative moves back into contemporary time and relates Ruler 2’s accession on 9.10.6.5.9 (AD 639) and his Period Ending on 9.11.15.0.0 (AD 667). We know that Ruler 2 retained the ko’haw helmet for the remainder of his reign because a narrative on a panel from the Piedras Negras region indicates that his helmet underwent an adornment ceremony the year before his death, 28 years after he acquired it (Martin and Grube 2008). The fact that Ruler 2’s ko’haw helmet warranted such documentation indicates the vital importance of this particular headdress.

The part of the main text referring to Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw event frames the central figure. This is a well-known convention employed in Maya art to indicate what event from a narrative is illustrated in the scene (Bassie-Sweet 1991; Wald 1997; Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017). It is a clear indication that the scene is a retrospective depiction of Turtle Tooth’s acquisition of his ko’haw helmet and the actions that followed this acquisition. In addition, the feathers of the central figure’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet touch the ko’haw glyph and Turtle Tooth’s name, further emphasizing that the figure is Turtle Tooth. This overlapping of text and image also confirms the fact that the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet was considered to be a type of ko’haw headdress.

Turtle Tooth’s acquisition of a ko’haw helmet under the supervision of Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun is also noted on a Late Classic wooden box recovered from a cave in the Piedras Negras region near the modern village of Álvaro Obregón (Anaya et al. 2003; Anaya 2005). The carved inscription on the box indicates that the event happened at a Wiinte’naah structure. The action parallels Yax Nuun Ayiin receiving his Tlaloc cult regalia from the Kaloomte’ lord Sihyaj K’ahk’ at a Wiinte’naah.

The acquisition of the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet by Turtle Tooth under the authority of a Kaloomte’ lord provides insight regarding the scene on the Museo VICAL vessel discussed in chapter 4. The vessel illustrates two figures named in the caption texts as Sihyaj K’ahk’ (the Kaloomte’ lord who defeated the Tikal king) and a lord named Yohl Ahiin (see figure 4.3). One figure carries a spear, shield, and incense bag identifying him as a warrior-priest, while the other is dressed in a Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet and carries an incense bag and a scepter in the form of this fire and meteor serpent. The simplest explanation of the Museo VICAL vessel scene is that the caption text in front of each figure names that individual. In other words, the warrior-priest is the Kaloomte’ Sihyaj K’ahk’ and the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan figure is Yohl Ahiin. It is an abbreviated reference to the induction ceremony of Yohl Ahiin into the Tlaloc cult by Sihyaj K’ahk’, and it is thematically parallel to Turtle Tooth’s induction and acquisition of the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet under the Kaloomte’ Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun.

The roles of the youths who flank Turtle Tooth on Panel 2 are not readily apparent. It is possible that they were initiated into the Tlaloc cult by Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun at the same time as Turtle Tooth’s induction.9 It is also conceivable that Turtle Tooth was placed in charge of the youths and their education in the cult. It is of some note that both Turtle Tooth and Joy Chitam Ahk carry incense bags in addition to their weapons, while the foreign youths do not. The implication is that they, unlike the kneeling youths, have the status of Ch’ajom.

The young Joy Chitam Ahk is somewhat of an enigma because he is not featured in other narratives. Based on his position adjacent to Turtle Tooth and his ch’ok title, Joy Chitam Ahk has been identified as Turtle Tooth’s heir (Martin and Grube 2008:144; Fitzsimmons 2009:147). His placement on Panel 2 in relationship to the main text may provide a clue to why he is so prominently featured on this monument. While Joy Chitam Ahk’s spear overlaps his nominal phrase in the caption text positioned in front of his face, his headdress overlaps the main text behind him that relates the accession of Ruler 2. I think it is safe to assume that prior to his accession, the twelve-year-old Ruler 2 had been properly prepared to become king. I suspect that the juxtapositioning of the young Joy Chitam Ahk with Ruler 2’s accession is a subtle reference indicating that Ruler 2 had been inducted into the Tlaloc cult prior to his accession, just as Joy Chitam Ahk had.

The Hereditary Headdress of Turtle Tooth

While the main text of Panel 2 is obviously drawing a direct analogy between Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw event and that of Ruler 2, it is curious that the scene depicts Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw event rather than that of the protagonist Ruler 2. What can account for this focus on Turtle Tooth? In light of the fact that a ko’haw helmet was passed down through the generations at Palenque, the simplest explanation is that Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw event is highlighted because Ruler 2 specifically acquired Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw and the spiritual power that came with that headdress.

A review of the Piedras Negras monuments that feature Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan headdresses supports such an interpretation. The narratives of Piedras Negras and its rival Yaxchilán very briefly mention a number of Early Classic Piedras Negras kings who ruled before Turtle Tooth (Ruler A and Ruler B) and after (Ruler C and Ruler D), but there is a long gap before new monuments appear at Piedras Negras. The revitalization of Piedras Negras began under the auspices of Ruler 2’s father, K’inich Yo’nal Ahk I (AD 603–AD 639), who erected an innovative Period Ending stela of great artistic merit (Stela 25) just five years after his accession. K’inich Yo’nal Ahk I is also known as Ruler 1, and for ease of discussion I will refer to him as such. On Stela 26 and Stela 31, Ruler 1 is featured wearing the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet during war-related events twenty years later (http://research.famsi.org/uploads/montgomery/536/image/JM05430.jpg, http://research.famsi.org/uploads/montgomery/541/image/JM05442.jpg). Stela 26 portrays secondary lords from Palenque and Sak Tz’i’ kneeling in submission before him. Ruler 1 was clearly a successful warrior. Let us assume for the moment that this is the same Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet his son acquired in AD 658 nearly twenty years after Ruler 1’s death. Where would this helmet have been during the early years of Ruler 2’s reign? A number of examples of shell platelet helmets have been documented in Maya tombs, indicating that lords were occasionally buried with these headdresses. There is strong circumstantial evidence on Panel 4 that Ruler 2 obtained his father’s helmet by opening his tomb and taking it. Panel 4 describes some of the military exploits of Ruler 1, then climaxes with the reopening and censing of his tomb in AD 658, just a mere thirteen days before Ruler 2 acquired the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet. In view of the close time frame of these two events, James Fitzsimmons (2009:149) suggested it was highly likely that the ko’haw helmet acquired by Ruler 2 was taken from his father’s tomb. In other words, Ruler 2 did not go to the great effort of opening his father’s tomb just to venerate him; rather, he sought his father’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet and the spiritual power it represented.

In short, the narratives on these Piedras Negras monuments suggest that Ruler 1 obtained Turtle Tooth’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet and successfully wore it while battling his foes from Palenque and Sak Tz’i’. I would venture to say that he got this ancestral Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet from the Early Classic tomb of Turtle Tooth. After his death, Ruler 1 was buried with this prestigious headdress. Subsequently, when his son Ruler 2 was in need of this powerful object in the later part of his reign, he opened his father’s tomb and took it.

So, what became of the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet after the death of Ruler 2? Just a few months after Ruler 2’s demise, his son Ruler 3 (K’inich Yo’nal Ahk II) took the throne in AD 687. Unlike his father, who was placed on the throne at the tender age of twelve, Ruler 3 was twenty-two years old at the time of his accession and was likely already an accomplished warrior. On Stela 7, Ruler 3 is illustrated wearing the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet with a war captive crouched beside him (see figure 3.31). In the maw of the caterpillar-serpent is a human portrait. I suspect that it represents Turtle Tooth, the original owner of this helmet.

The next Piedras Negras king was Ruler 4, who acceded to the throne in AD 729. None of his inscriptions state his paternal parentage, so it is unclear what genealogical relationship he had with Ruler 3. While Stela 9 depicts Ruler 4 dressed in Teotihuacán-style war regalia in AD 736, he does not sport the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet; rather, he wears an Owl Tlaloc headdress (see figure 3.27). However, in AD 745 he is pictured on Stela 40 kneeling before his mother’s grave, dropping incense into her tomb (figure 5.5). Her body is illustrated on her funeral bier wearing a ko’haw headdress in the form of the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan (figure 5.6). The art of Piedras Negras rarely depicts women. However, females are well documented in the surrounding communities playing vital roles in the Tlaloc cult as priestesses, and the women of Piedras Negras likely had this function. While the scene on Stela 40 may depict Ruler 4’s mother as the final recipient of Turtle Tooth’s ko’haw helmet, I think it is more likely that Ruler 4 did not open his mother’s grave just to venerate her but rather to obtain the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet for his own use, just as Ruler 2 opened the tomb of Ruler 1.

As noted above, Panel 2 documents Turtle Tooth’s initial acquisition of the ko’haw-type helmet and the aftermath of that acquisition. While the original location of the panel is unknown, one of the later rulers (probably Ruler 7) reset Panel 2 in the mortuary shrine above Ruler 4’s burial. The implication is that Turtle Tooth’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet was indeed of great importance to Ruler 4 and his descendants. The long-standing importance of Turtle Tooth at Piedras Negras is reflected in the fact that Ruler 7, the last of the great Piedras Negras rulers, was named after him. It is possible that the ancestral effigy belt assemblage worn by Ruler 4 on Stela 40 represents Turtle Tooth.

Panel 3 was also set in the building above Ruler 4’s burial. Its main text begins with the first k’atun anniversary celebration of Ruler 4’s accession on July 13, AD 749 and the culmination of that event two days later, when Ruler 4 performed a macaw-themed dance and drank cacao as the sun set. The time frame then advances to his death and burial in AD 757. The narrative climaxes with the opening and censing of Ruler 4’s tomb in AD 782 under the supervision of Ruler 7, who had taken the throne just the year before. I speculate that it was likely that Ruler 4 was buried with Turtle Tooth’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet and that Ruler 7 opened his tomb to obtain it. If so, it did not seem to do him much good in the end. After enjoying a series of military successes against Santa Elena and Pomoná, he met his demise at the hands of the Yaxchilán king K’inich Tatbu Skull IV in AD 808.

In summary, the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet of Turtle Tooth played an important role in the public monuments related to four Late Classic Piedras Negras rulers. On Panel 2, Turtle Tooth is said to have received his ko’haw helmet from a Kaloomte’ lord named Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun. The Panel 2 and wooden box narratives demonstrate how important Turtle Tooth and his induction into the Tlaloc cult were to the rulers who succeeded him. The validation by the Kaloomte’ lord Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun was an essential act of legitimacy in the Tlaloc cult, and Turtle Tooth’s Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan helmet was the symbol of that legitimacy and power. Indeed, there appears to be a direct relationship between the wearing of Turtle Tooth’s headdress and success in warfare. The headdress represents not only the spiritual power of Tlaloc but that of an ancestor, making it that much more potent. Piedras Negras kings do not carry the Kaloomte’ title, so this Early Classic validation by the Kaloomte’ Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun was obviously very important.

Hereditary Bloodletters and Wooden Boxes

There is some evidence that the wooden box referring to Turtle Tooth may have contained stingray spine bloodletters that were originally owned by him. The box was found in a cave on the ejido of Álvaro Obregón, located in a valley about 13 km northeast of Piedras Negras (Anaya et al. 2003; Anaya 2005). Community members removed the box, the remains of another uncarved box, and some ceramic pieces from the cave for safekeeping. Regrettably, the cave has never been surveyed, much less excavated, so the original context of the box is unknown; but Arnando Anaya (2005) noted that regional ceramics point to the conclusion that the valley was under the control of Piedras Negras during the Late Classic period. This is not surprising, given that the valley is a natural access corridor to the coast. The size and construction of the box strongly indicate that it was used for the storage of bloodletting tools. The wood of the box is eroded, and the narrative carved on its surfaces is consequently incomplete. A portion of the side of the box that begins the narrative is missing entirely. The first surviving glyph refers to a Wiinte’naah structure, and then there is a distance number of 155 days leading to the date of Turtle Tooth’s acquisition of the ko’haw helmet and the statement that it was done in the presence of Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun, the Wiinte’naah lord. The time frame moves forward 6 days to an undeciphered event under the auspices of Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun. Despite the references to Early Classic events, the style of the glyphs on the box indicates that it was carved in the Late Classic period.

Anaya and his collaborators (2003) suggested that Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun was a lord of Teotihuacán and that the box was owned by a descendant of Turtle Tooth. They speculated that the narrative of the box commemorated “what was probably the most important event in the history of his family: a royal audience with a lord of Teotihuacan.” While the ethnic identity of Tajoom Uk’ab Tuun as a Teotihuacán king is uncertain, I concur with the observation that the box was likely owned by one of Turtle Tooth’s descendants or a banded-bird official associated with that descendant. The more pertinent question is, how do the Early Classic events of Turtle Tooth relate to the function of the box as a storage container for bloodletting tools? The fact that the narrative focuses on Turtle Tooth suggests that the contents were directly related to him and his acquisition of the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan headdress. I suspect that the box contained an heirloom bloodletter related to Turtle Tooth’s Tlaloc cult duties. Perhaps it would have included a perforator handle like those recovered from the aforementioned Piedras Negras tombs. The notion that there were specific bloodletters used in Tlaloc ceremonies is well attested at Tikal. The burial chamber of the Tikal king Jasaw Chan K’awiil I included inscribed bloodletting bones. MT 33 and MT 36 describe the conjuring of a Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan (Moholy-Nagy 2008:fig. 195).

How to Become a Kaloomte’

As noted, the rulers of Piedras Negras are not named as Kaloomte’ lords despite being immersed in the Tlaloc cult. How the kings of other sites, such as Yaxchilán, Toniná, and Palenque, were able to first achieve their Kaloomte’ status is undocumented. It is not impossible that they were self-proclaimed Kaloomte’. On the other hand, the Dos Pilas narratives indicate that the Dos Pilas king Bajlaj Chan K’awiil was the vassal of the Kaanul Kaloomte’ Yuknoom Ch’een, yet he attained the title of Kaloomte’. It is likely that Yuknoom Ch’een bestowed this title on him. Evidence from the Yaxchilán and Lacanhá-Bonampak regions suggests the possibility that a Kaloomte’ could confer the Kaloomte’ title on the ruler of another site or at least endorse that achievement.

During the Late Classic, Yaxchilán was ruled by the Kaloomte’ kings Shield Jaguar III (681–742), his son Bird Jaguar IV (752–circa 768), and his grandson Shield Jaguar IV (circa 769–800) (Martin and Grube 2008:122–137).10 Narratives related to the history of the area along the Río Lacanjá watershed southwest of Yaxchilán are limited, but a very general understanding of the region can be gleaned from regional narratives (Mathews 1980; Miller and Martin 2004:80; Biró 2005, 2007, 2011; Safronov 2005; Tokovinine 2008, 2013; Miller and Brittenham 2013:160). During the second quarter of the eighth century, the Lacanhá-Bonampak region was under the rule of Knot-eye Jaguar of the Tied-Hair site (the location of the Tied-Hair site is unknown). A leading antagonist in the region was the site of Sak Tz’i’ located somewhere to the north, perhaps at Lacanjá-Tzeltal (Golden et al. 2015). As discussed in chapter 1, Aj Sak Teles of Lacanhá became Knot-eye Jaguar’s Sajal in AD 743. Despite his apparent allegiance and subservient role to Knot-eye Jaguar, Aj Sak Teles captured a vassal of Knot-eye Jaguar just five years later, as documented on Bonampak Structure 1 Lintel 3. At some point after this war event, Aj Sak Teles became an Ajaw and a Bakab and apparently relocated to Bonampak. Lacanhá and Bonampak are just 5 km apart, with Bonampak the far more defensible location, on higher ground at the western base of the Sierra La Cojolita. A place name for Bonampak is Usiij Witz “vulture mountain” (Stuart 2006b), and this name appears to allude to the site’s defensive nature.

It seems likely that Aj Sak Teles’s upward mobility was made possible through an alliance with Yaxchilán, his more powerful neighbor located 23 km to the northeast. Aj Sak Teles’s son Yajaw Chan Muwaan was married to a woman from Yaxchilán who held the rank of Bakab and participated in the Tlaloc cult. Her genealogy is unknown, but she was surely of royal status, perhaps a daughter of Bird Jaguar IV and a sister of Shield Jaguar IV. In AD 776, Yajaw Chan Muwaan acceded to the Bonampak throne, presumably after the death of his father. Yajaw Chan Muwaan was a close confederate of Shield Jaguar IV. Bonampak Lintel 2 of Structure 1 illustrates Shield Jaguar IV capturing a lord from Sak Tz’i’ on January 12, AD 787, while Lintel 1 depicts Yajaw Chan Muwaan seizing another Sak Tz’i’ lord four days later.

In the Room 2 murals of Structure 1, Yajaw Chan Muwaan engages in a fierce battle on the south wall and stands with war prisoners in submission beneath him on the north wall. The date of this battle is most likely 9.17.15.12.15 13 Men 13 Ch’en (July 19, AD 786). Yajaw Chan Muwaan’s nominal phrase on the north wall ends with a Bakab title and an eroded designation. Given that emblem glyphs usually precede Bakab titles in other Bonampak inscriptions, it seems likely that the eroded title is that of Kaloomte’. Although both Lintel 1 and the Room 2 battle scene feature Yajaw Chan Muwaan in combat, he does not wear Tlaloc regalia. In fact, Structure 1 contains no overt Tlaloc imagery at all. Nevertheless, the portraiture on Bonampak Stela 2 and Stela 3 indicates that both Yajaw Chan Muwaan and his wife participated in the Tlaloc cult. Yajaw Chan Muwaan is illustrated on Bonampak Stela 3 circa AD 785 wearing the Waxaklajuun Ub’aah Kan headdress and carrying Tlaloc regalia (figure 5.7).

A prisoner kneels before him, but the adjacent caption text that likely identifies this captive is eroded (Mathews 1980). Yajaw Chan Muwaan is again pictured with Tlaloc imagery four years later on Stela 2 (Mathews 1980:fig. 2). In this scene, he holds an incense bag decorated with a Tlaloc motif (a front-facing feline that is likely a puma) while the dress of his wife, who assists him in his ritual, is decorated with Tlaloc images. It will be remembered that young lords from Lacanhá and Bonampak are pictured on Piedras Negras Panel 2 participating in the Tlaloc cult in AD 510. Lacanhá Stela 1 displays a lord performing the 9.8.0.0.0 Period Ending (AD 593) while dressed in Tlaloc regalia, so there is a long history of cult involvement in this region (O’Neil 2012:fig. E.6).

Three young Bonampak ch’ok lords are prominently featured performing rituals in the Structure 1 murals (Houston 2012; Miller and Brittenham 2013:70). The eldest of these young princes was named Chooj (puma). He fights beside Yajaw Chan Muwaan in the Room 2 battle and stands adjacent to him in the prisoner scene. Logic dictates that Chooj was Yajaw Chan Muwaan’s son and heir apparent. An Initial Series text in the Room 1 mural documents the accession of the next Bonampak king in AD 790, most likely Yajaw Chan Muwaan’s son Chooj (regrettably, the regnal name glyph of the new king is eroded). What is intriguing about the accession statement is that the new king is named as both a Bakab and a Kaloomte’, and his accession was said to have happened in the presence of Shield Jaguar IV (Miller and Brittenham 2013:70). Shield Jaguar IV’s participation validated not only the change of rulership from Yajaw Chan Muwaan to the new king but the new king’s status as Kaloomte’. Shield Jaguar IV certainly had a vested interest in a smooth transition and in maintaining the status quo at Bonampak. With the Lacanhá-Bonampak polity on his southwest frontier as a stable ally, Shield Jaguar IV was in a stronger position to deal with threats from other quarters.

The Office of Yajawk’ak’

The lords who held the office of Yajawk’ak’ were in charge of war-related paraphernalia, in particular the ux yop huun headdress of the Tlaloc cult (Zender 2004b; Stuart 2005b; Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017). The Yajawk’ak’ title is carried by a number of secondary lords with both priestly and military duties. The role model for these lords was the fire and flint deity GIII. A headdress worn by GIII on a Palenque Group B incensario has been identified as the headdress of the Yajawk’ak’ office (López Bravo 2000, 2004; Zender 2004b:195–209; Stuart 2005b:123–125). It is composed of a portrait of Tlaloc juxtaposed with an unusual coronet of long and short feathers that Marc Zender has characterized as “torch-like” (see figure 2.10). The headdresses worn by Yajawk’ak’ lords are a more abbreviated version of GIII’s headdress. As an example, the Yajawk’ak’ lord Yok Ch’ich Tal who sits adjacent to K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb’s ux yop huun headdress on the Temple XIX platform is also illustrated on a pier of the building dressing his king. In the pier scene, the coronet of long and short feathers is decorated with huge Tlaloc eyes, which clearly stand as the pars pro toto for Tlaloc’s face (figure 5.8). Yok Ch’ich Tal also wears an obsidian earring that reflects his close identification with Tlaloc. In addition to naming Yok Ch’ich Tal as a Yajawk’ak’, the caption text adjacent to him calls him the Ajk’uhuun of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III. On the Temple XIX platform, Yok Ch’ich Tal also wears the Yajawk’ak’ headdress with large Tlaloc eyes, but it is obscured by another headdress tied over the top of it that may refer to his role as an Ajk’uhuun (see figure 0.11). Yajawk’ak’ headdresses are also worn by pottery figurines (Halperin 2014:fig. 4.28).

As noted in the introduction, the headdress of the Yajawk’ak’ Chak Suutz’ is called a k’ak’ huun “fire headdress” using the standard T24 fire sign. It is predictable that an individual holding the office “the vassal of fire” would have a headdress related to fire. The translation of the Yajawk’ak’ title “vassal of fire” and the fire name of the Yajawk’ak’s headdress have suggested to researchers that this office was related to making incense offerings to the gods as well as maintaining temple fires and elaborate effigy censers (Zender 2004b). Be that as it may, the Tlaloc goggle element of the Yajawk’ak’s headdress indicates that these lords were specifically also involved in the Tlaloc cult and the propagation of its deities (Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017). It is not surprising, then, that they were involved with the ux yop huun headdress of the Tlaloc cult.

The narrative on the Palenque Structure J-1 incensario (AD 605–AD 612) demonstrates that the office of Yajawk’ak’ was not held by just one lord at a time (Zender 2004b). The text begins with the AD 608 accession of a Ti’sakhuun named K’ab’is Uchich Aj Sik’ab’ under the auspices of the ruler Ajen Yohl Mat’s grandfather Janaab Pakal. This accession is followed two years later by the accessions into the office of Yajawk’ak’ of four if not five other individuals, again under the auspices of Janaab Pakal. These men are also said to be the Sajals of K’ab’is Uchich Aj Sik’ab’. Three days later there is a military attack against Santa Elena, presumably by these men. The time frame then moves forward forty years to events during the reign of K’inich Janaab Pakal I. While this narrative links the office of Yajawk’ak’ with military exploits and demonstrates that many lords could hold the office at the same time, it also indicates that Yajawk’ak’ lords held multiple offices.

A review of the Palenque Tablet of the Slaves provides some interesting details regarding the office of Yajawk’ak’ and its relationship to the ux yop huun headdress (figure 5.9). The scene is compositionally and thematically parallel to the Palace Tablet. It illustrates a central figure sitting on a throne, flanked by a male and a female who hand him the ux yop huun headdress and tok’-pakal. The left caption text names the male as Tiwol Mat and the right caption text names the female as Lady Kinuw, the father and mother, respectively, of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III. There is no caption text naming the central figure, so once again this information must be ascertained from the main text.

The main text begins with a reference to the accession of the ruler K’inich Janaab Pakal I (AD 615) and his subsequent Period Endings (9.10, 9.11, and 9.12) and those of his sons K’inich Kan Bahlam II (9.13) and K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II (9.14). The narrative then moves back in time to the birth of the secondary lord Chak Suutz’ (AD 671) during the reign of K’inich Janaab Pakal I and links his birth to the acquisition of a huun headdress by K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III on the date of his accession (AD 722). The main text then relates the accession of the fifty-two-year-old Chak Suutz’ into the office of Yajawk’ak’ the following year and his appointment as B’aah Ajaw “first lord.” The story continues with a series of successful military captures and attacks under the auspices of Chak Suutz’. The climax of the story is the dedication of a building and the celebration of Chak Suutz’s three k’atun anniversary of birth nine days later (AD 730). In the clause relating K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s acquisition of the huun headdress, his name overlaps the feathers of the ux yop huun headdress illustrated in the scene. This visual device indicates that the central figure is K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III (Wald 1997).

Although the scene features K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III, the protagonist of the narrative is Chak Suutz’, who is named as both a Yajawk’ak’ and a Sajal. Part of Chak Suutz’s duties as Yajawk’ak’ was the maintenance of his lord’s war regalia, including his ux yop huun headdress (Zender 2004b; Bassie-Sweet and Hopkins 2017). Hence the scene on the Tablet of the Slaves depicts K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb’s acquisition of this headdress, and the main text connects this acquisition to Chak Suutz’s accession as Yajawk’ak’. It is likely that the building referred to in the narrative was used to house this object.

As discussed in chapter 4, the Temple XIX platform illustrates the moment K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III received his sak huun headdress of rulership (see figure 0.11). Sitting beside him is the ux yop huun he will receive next. Juxtaposed with this headdress is the Yajawk’ak’ lord Yok Ch’ich Tal. He was clearly the presiding Yajawk’ak’ lord in charge of the ux yop huun at the time of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s accession in AD 722. It can be deduced from the Tablet of the Slaves narrative that he was replaced by Chak Suutz’, hence Chak Suutz’s additional title of “first lord.” The artist of the Tablet of the Slaves used a clever strategy in the depiction of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s acceptance of the ux yop huun. Instead of featuring Yok Ch’ich Tal handing the headdress to K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III, which was surely the historical reality, he illustrated K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s deceased father, Tiwol Mat. Tiwol Mat was the third son of K’inich Janaab Pakal I, and he would have been in line to inherit the throne after his brothers if not for the fact that he died in AD 680. By portraying Tiwol Mat on this monument, the artist eliminated the role of Yok Ch’ich Tal. This does not necessarily mean that Yok Ch’ich Tal was demoted after K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s accession. He may have simply moved on to a more prestigious office or even died.

The Yajawk’ak’ Lord of the Palenque King K’inich Kan Bahlam II

As discussed above, Palenque and Toniná engaged in military actions against each other during the reign of K’inich Kan Bahlam II. The AD 692 conflict is recorded on several Toniná monuments, and the Toniná perspective on this event reveals the close association of the Yajawk’ak’ with war. Monument 27 portrays a lord in a fallen pose with his head tipped backward and his arms tied behind his back. He wears the Yajawk’ak’ headdress (figure 5.10a). The caption text adjacent to the headdress names him as K’awiil Mo’, while the right caption text indicates that he was a captive of K’inich Baaknal Chaak (Miller and Martin 2004:185). K’awiil Mo’ is also depicted on Monument Mp49 (figure 5.10b). In this scene, he kneels with his arms bound behind him. Instead of his Yajawk’ak’ headdress, he wears the elements of his name. The text that flanks him begins with the 3 Ak’bal 11 Keh date of the AD 692 war and includes a Supplementary Series to highlight its importance. The verb is the so-called star wars event denoting a military attack. The war verb is followed by the phrase “the t’ok-pakal of the Aj pitzlal ohl lord of Palenque.” Aj pitzlal ohl is a well-known title of K’inich Kan Bahlam II. The narrative then relates the capture of K’awiil Mo’ by K’inich B’aaknal Chaak. K’awiil Mo’ is not documented in the monuments of Palenque, but this Toniná depiction clearly indicates that he was a Yajawk’ak’ of K’inich Kan Bahlam II.

The rope holding K’awiil Mo’ extends off both sides of the panel, suggesting that he is tied to other captives. Such a display is seen on Piedras Negras Stela 12, which documents the aftermath of a prolonged conflict between Piedras Negras and Pomoná (see figure 0.17). As discussed in the introduction, the stela depicts the Piedras Negras king Ruler 7 seated on a throne (Martin and Grube 2008:153). Below him, two of his vassals present him with their Pomoná captives. The most prominent prisoner sits on a step between the two lords with his arms behind his back and his head tilted back. His nominal phrase indicates that he was a Sajal, but he wears the Yajawk’ak’ headdress just like K’awiil Mo’ on Monument 27. On the ground beneath him are eight more captives, three of whom also carry the Sajal title. Clearly, the Yajawk’ak’ was the prize captive. The five captives seated on the baseline of the scene are tied together.

An argument could be made that the use of the phrase “the tok’-pakal of K’inich Kan Bahlam II” on Monument Mp49 was simply a metaphor for war against the forces of K’inich Kan Bahlam II. On the other hand, the Tablet of the Sun illustrates the six-year-old K’inich Kan Bahlam II obtaining a tok’-pakal on the occasion of his heir designation ceremony in AD 641 (see figure 2.13). It seems more likely that one of K’inich B’aaknal Chaak’s goals was to capture this object and the power it represented. I speculate that the great focus on K’awiil Mo’ rests in the fact that this Yajawkak’ was in charge of his lord’s tok’-pakal. K’inich B’aaknal Chaak may not have succeeded in capturing K’inich Kan Bahlam II or his tok’-pakal, but he apparently got the next best thing.

The Yajawk’ak’ Lord of the Palenque King K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II

K’inich Kan Bahlam II died in AD 702 at age sixty-seven and was succeeded by his fifty-seven-year-old brother K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II. There is no documentation in the Palenque corpus of a Yajawk’ak’ lord directly identified with K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II, but the Temple XVI narrative indicates that Janaab Ajaw became his banded-bird official in either AD 712 or AD 718 (the month position for this event is eroded, but the two possibilities are either AD 712 or AD 718). Janaab Ajaw continued in his role after K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s death, and he is pictured on the Temple XIX platform officiating at K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III’s subsequent accession as king in AD 722 (see figure 0.11). In this scene, he is paired with the Yajawk’ak’ lord Yok Ch’ich Tal, who oversees the ux yop huun headdress. A logical conclusion to draw from this pairing is that Yok Ch’ich Tal had originally been the Yajawk’ak’ lord of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II and that he continued his role into the reign of K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III. These secondary lords brought a measure of continuity during the transition from one king to the next.

The Palenque inscriptions provide little insight regarding events during the reign of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II (AD 702–AD 722). Temple XXI illustrates the 9.13.17.9.0 Period Ending (AD 709) where the princes K’inich Ahkal Mo’ Nahb III (age thirty-one) and Upakal K’inich performed bloodlettings with their grandfather’s stingray spine (see figure 0.3). A stucco inscription from Temple XIX indicates that Upakal K’inich performed a similar ceremony on the 9.14.2.9.0 Period Ending (AD 714). Other than these two events, the Palenque record is silent on the early years of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s reign. The same is not true at Toniná. Toniná Monument 122 relates a war event on 9.13.19.13.3 (August 30, AD 711), just three months before the 9.14.0.0.0 Period Ending, and it depicts K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II as a bound prisoner (Mathews 2001; Stuart 2004b). Toniná Ruler 4 was a five-year-old child at the time, so it is highly likely that the secondary lords of Toniná named K’elen Hix and Aj Ch’anaah, who were recorded on other Toniná monuments acting as regents for Ruler 4, were involved in this turn of events. It is not known where K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II was captured or whether he or Toniná instigated the conflict. Period Ending ceremonies required sacrificial victims, so it may have been the result of a raid for the upcoming Period Ending.

In spite of this Toniná depiction of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II as a humiliated prisoner, he survived his capture and returned to Palenque, as documented on the Temple XVI Tablet that places him at Palenque overseeing the accession of Janaab Ajaw. The circumstances of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s return to Palenque are not known. Escape, rescue, or ransom are possibilities, as are tribute payments. It is even possible that he was exchanged for the Toniná lord Bolon Yooj Ch’ok Aj “Rodent Head,” who his brother had captured in AD 694. K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II might have been released on the condition of Palenque withdrawing from areas in the Middle Usumacinta coveted by Toniná. It has been suggested that his capture may have resulted in Palenque becoming a vassal of Toniná for a period of time, as was the case of the Seibal king Yich’aak Bahlam, who became the vassal of Dos Pilas-Aguateca Ruler 3 after being captured (Stuart 2004b).11

The capture of K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II may explain the lack of information about his tenure in the Palenque Palace Tablet narrative. As previously discussed, the narrative relates K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II’s early life and his AD 702 accession as king and Kaloomte’ but then moves forward in time to the dedication in AD 720 of a new building on the north end of the palace to house the ux yop huun (House A-D). No mention is made of the events in the intervening years between his accession and the house dedication. While K’inich K’an Joy Chitam II seems to have returned to Palenque relatively soon after his capture, it is possible that his capture resulted in the loss of his ux yop huun and that this object was not recovered until AD 720. If this were the case, its return to Palenque might have been the impetus for the construction of House A-D and the carving of the Palace Tablet.

Tlaloc Executioners

Bishop Diego de Landa describes a hierarchy of offices in Postclassic Yucatán with priestly functions: Ah K’in, Chilan, Chac, and Nacom. (Tozzer 1941:111–113, 122). The Nacom lords were war captains and executioners, and there were two categories:

The Nacoms were two officers; the first was perpetual and did not bring much honor with it, since it was he who opened the breasts of the human victims whom they sacrificed. The second was a choice made of a captain for war and for other feasts. His duties lasted three years, and he was held in high honor . . . The captains were always two in number, one whose office was perpetual and hereditary, and the other elected with many ceremonies for three years in order to conduct the festival, which was held in their month Pax, falling on the twelfth of May, and to be the captain of the other division in war . . . The two captains discussed the affairs of war. (Tozzer 1941:112–113, 122–123)

Landa described the method by which the Nacom removed the heart of a sacrificial victim:

If the heart of a victim was to be taken out, they led him with a great show and company of people into the court of the temple, and having smeared him with blue and put on a coroza, they brought him up to the round altar, which was the place of sacrifice, and after the priest and his officials had anointed the stone with a blue color, and by purifying the temple drove out the evil spirit, the Chacs seized the poor victim, and placed him very quickly on his back upon that stone, and all four held him by the legs and arms, so that they divided him in the middle. At this came the executioner, the Nacom, with a knife of stone, and struck him with great skill and cruelty a blow between the ribs of his left side under the nipple, and he at once plunged his hand in there and seized the heart like a raging tiger and snatched it out alive and, having placed it upon a plate, he gave it to the priest, who went very quickly and anointed the faces of the idols with that fresh blood. (Tozzer 1941:118–119)

A number of colonial documents indicate that Postclassic executioners often used flint knives to extract hearts, and one such flint knife sacrifice conducted in the presence of two deities is illustrated in the Madrid Codex (page 76) (Tozzer 1941:113, 119, 122–123). On the other hand, the juxtaposing of obsidian knives and hearts is well documented in Classic period Tlaloc imagery and in the art of Teotihuacán, which suggests that sacrifices conducted in honor of this god were done with obsidian knives. Obsidian knives suitable for heart extraction have been found in the archaeological record, like the knife buried with the Yaxchilán Kaloomte’ Shield Jaguar III (Garcia Moll 2004).

Some Tlaloc impersonators wear a long rectangular object in a horizontal position over their chests. The object is suspended from the neck by cords. On Naranjo Stela 2, the ruler K’ahk’ Tiliw Chan Chaak wears such an object that is decorated with an obsidian knife and a skull, both depicted in a horizontal position (see figure 2.10).12 Similar rectangular objects are worn by other kings dressed as Tlaloc warriors on the Copán hieroglyphic staircase and Structure 26 facade, Dos Pilas Stela 2, Piedras Negras Stela 7, and Piedras Negras Stela 9. In these cases, only the horizontal skull decorates the object. The rectangular object worn by Lady K’abal Xook on Lintel 25 is undecorated, as are those worn by the youthful warriors on Piedras Negras Panel 2. It would seem that the object’s rectangular shape is enough to identify what it is. On Piedras Negras Stela 8 and Stela 35, the rulers are also dressed as Tlaloc impersonators, but they do not wear the rectangular object. In contrast to the other Tlaloc impersonators, they wear an obsidian knife in their headdresses. This suggests the possibility that the rectangular object may be a reference to the role of the Tlaloc impersonator as an executioner. If so, the rectangular object might actually represent the box that held such a knife; hence, it is marked with an obsidian knife on Naranjo Stela 2. As discussed, there is significant evidence that wooden boxes were used to store other types of bloodletting implements.

A number of ranked individuals are illustrated on a Xultun mural, and some of these men carry titles that have been deciphered as Sakun Taaj “senior obsidian” and Itz’in Taaj “junior obsidian” (Rossi 2015; Rossi et al. 2015; Saturno et al. 2017). It has been argued that these Taaj lords belonged to an order of scribal priests versed in astronomical and calendrical knowledge whose duties included the creation of murals and codices. They have been compared to the Ah K’in Mai priests of the Postclassic period. Taaj lords have been identified in a very limited number of contexts outside of Xultun. Such a depiction is seen on a looted panel from La Corona that illustrates a lord playing ball at Calakmul (figure 5.11). He is named in the caption text as an Itz’in Taaj and as the Ti’sakhuun of the Kaloomte’ (the Kaanul king). He is dressed in a costume laden with Tlaloc imagery, including the rectangular object decorated with a skull. One has to wonder whether the senior and junior Taaj lords were more like the Nacoms than the Ah K’in Mai and that one of their duties was the execution of war prisoners using obsidian knives.

The Juxtaposing of the Deity GIII and Tlaloc

As discussed in previous chapters, both GIII and Tlaloc were closely tied to jaguars and owls, animals with clear military associations. An early example of the juxtaposing of GIII and Tlaloc imagery occurs on Tikal Stela 4, which illustrates Yax Nuun Ahiin I dressed in Tlaloc regalia while holding a GIII icon. Rulers taking on the guise of Tlaloc frequently also hold the war shield embellished with GIII’s portrait. Further evidence for an intimate relationship between GIII and Tlaloc is seen in GIII’s Yajawk’ak’ title that incorporates the eyes of Tlaloc. I believe the juxtaposing of GIII and Tlaloc represents the amalgamation of flint and obsidian deities for the purpose of successful warfare. The Maya elite’s long-term willingness to embrace the obsidian deity Tlaloc may have been partly motivated by a desire to acquire proprietary rights to this imported commodity. Control of a foreign product that everyone needs or desires is a source of both wealth and power.

Summary

The Tlaloc cult in the Maya region spawned at least three types of offices: Kaloomte’, Wiinte’naah Ch’ajom, and Yajawk’ak’. There is evidence that the Kaloomte’ office was represented by the basic Tlaloc year sign headdress with its Tagetes lucida flowers. These flowers were one of the offerings made to Tlaloc and may allude to the role of the Kaloomte’ as a high priest/priestess of the Tlaloc cult. One of the duties of the Kaloomte’ office was to initiate others into this sect. The fact that Tlaloc regalia was passed down through time implies that these early initiations and validations carried high esteem and were greatly valued by later generations. The Wiinte’naah structures were dedicated to Tlaloc; hence, the Wiinte’naah Ch’ajom title likely specifies that these kinds of Ch’ajoms were in charge of the offerings made in these structures.

Beneath the Kaloomte’ kings in the Tlaloc cult were the Yajawk’ak’ lords. The war-related activities of the Yajawk’ak’ lords included curating the Tlaloc regalia of the king. The mothers and wives of rulers also appear to have played a significant role in the presentation and maintenance of Tlaloc regalia. On the Palenque Oval Palace, the Palace Tablet, and the Tablet of the Slaves, the mother of the king holds either the ux yop huun headdress or the tok’-pakal during investiture ceremonies. As discussed in chapter 6, women at Yaxchilán and Naranjo were also involved in the Tlaloc cult and carried the Kaloomte’ title.