100 The temple of Bonampak was built around AD 791. After the Classic Maya civilization collapsed a century later, it lay abandoned in the tropical forest, known only to a group of Lacandon Maya Indians. In 1946 they introduced two American explorers to the site and documentation of the temple and its paintings began.
2 Although the facade of the temple was heavily damaged by vegetation growing over it, traces of the original structure remained. It was covered by a layer of plaster, which was enlivened with colour and reliefs. The niches contained images of the gods. In front of the temple stood a round stone altar.
3 The lintel of each doorway was decorated with a painted relief, depicting Maya lords in the act of defeating enemy warriors. They are portrayed grabbing the victim by the hair, the conventional Maya way of representing capture. Since battles were fought to obtain victims for sacrifice, care was taken not to kill the enemy during the battle itself.
4 The paintings of Bonampak tell the story of several elaborate rituals related to the dedication of the temple on 15th November AD 791, and the investiture of the ruler's son as his heir.
24 In room 1 we meet Chaan-Muan, ruler of Bonampak. He is seated on a large throne, accompanied by his wife, lady Rabbit of Yaxchilan. The ceremony depicted in the upper register is the investiture, on December 14th 790, of Chaan-Muan's young son (the smaller figure on the left) as his heir.
5 Close to the throne, fourteen important lords in ceremonial attire are assembled. They wear elaborate head-dresses and jewellery. Their white cotton cloaks are fastened at the neck with spondylus shells, symbols of the earth and the underworld. The two central figures give orders about the coming ceremony.
6 Three lords are being dressed for the dance they will perform during the ritual for the dedication of the temple. Attendants help them to tie large quetzal (jungle bird)-feather pieces to their backs and adjust their jewellery. Their costumes contain many precious items, such as jaguar skins and jade stones, revealing their high status.
7 The lesser nobles are ready for the ceremony and are being saluted by a twelve-man orchestra. Five musicians carry rattles, one plays a large drum and the others play tortoise shells with antlers, trumpets and a whistle. Behind them large parasols are raised.
8 Six actors are positioned between the musicians. They impersonate terrestrial deities. Five of them wear masks with water lilies, associating them with the earth's fertility and with the Otherworld. Amongst them are a crab god, a crocodile and the earth god. The seated youth probably represents the maize god, Hun-Nal-Ye.
9 On 2nd August 792, an auspicious day, Chaan-Muan and the warriors of Bonampak undertake a raid to secure victims for the final ceremony of the heir's investiture. Startling the enemy with their trumpets, they attack in a wild frenzy, waving their banners aloft. Armed with spears and shields they force their victims into submission.
10 In this scene, Chaan-Muan, wearing jaguar sandals and tunic, has taken prisoner the enemy's leader. The aim of Maya warfare in general was to take commoner prisoners as slaves and nobles as sacrificial offerings, rather than to kill on the battlefield. The ruler therefore tries to overwhelm his victim without harming him. Several captains provide assistance.
11 Chaan-Muan, his family and the three high-ranking lords have gathered on the highest level of a stepped platform for the final ceremony of heir's investiture, on 6th August 792: the display, torture and sacrifice of the war-captives. Eight victims sit at their feet awaiting their fate, while the corpse of a ninth lies prone upon the stair.
12 The hands of some of the prisoners bleed and others hold theirs up, awaiting the same fate. The arm of one is being held up: he is about to be tortured by having his nails pulled out or the tops of his fingers cut off. One victims looks up at Chaan-Muan as if pleading for mercy.
13 A formal sacrifice has just taken place. This prisoner lies spread out below Chaan-Muan: his heart has been removed after subjecting him to elaborate tortures. One step down we see a decapitated head placed in a bed of greenery. Where is the body?
14 An assistant carries two white bloodletting objects to Chaan-Muan, who brings one to his mouth. He is about to draw blood from his tongue: this will be collected on strips of bark paper. On his right stands a large jar in which the blood-stained strips of bark paper will be burnt to invoke the gods.
15 Ten nobles discuss the proceedings of the ceremony. The blue sky behind them reveals they are outside, rather than within a building. Walls in the Bonampak paintings are usually rendered in orange. The decorations above this scene represent masks of dragon-like sky and earth gods.
16 On a litter, the figure of an old man with a pronounced nose is carried to the centre of the activities. This is possibly the image of the god Chac-Xib-Chac, who was closely associated with the sacrificial death dance depicted in this room.
17 In the final scene ten dancers are positioned on different levels of a pyramid platform. Besides their -quetzal (jungle bird) feather back-pieces they carry huge projections on their hips. At the top are three figures, the great lords who played a prominent role in the earlier ceremonies. The young heir stands at the edge of the pyramid, being displayed to his people.
20 Three steps down, a naked body falls down the stairs. It has been tied up at the arms and legs. Higher up a man holds a sharp implement. Presumably he has conducted the sacrificial execution. Above him a man holds a bowl, which probably contains the heart and blood of the victim.
